Argo The Rat
Argo is a prominent character in the Sword Art Online series, widely recognized by her moniker Argo the Rat. Operating as one of the few female information brokers within the virtual death game of Aincrad, she plays a vital supportive role for players. Utilizing her past experience as a beta tester, she compiles and distributes detailed strategy guides to assist both front-liners and inexperienced survivors. Despite her shady appearance and shrewd business dealings, she adheres strictly to her personal code of conduct, making her a trusted intelligence source throughout the virtual world.
Overview
Argo is a prominent character in the Sword Art Online series, widely recognized by her moniker Argo the Rat. Operating as one of the few female information brokers within the virtual death game of Aincrad, she plays a vital supportive role for players. Utilizing her past experience as a beta tester, she compiles and distributes detailed strategy guides to assist both front-liners and inexperienced survivors. Despite her shady appearance and shrewd business dealings, she adheres strictly to her personal code of conduct, making her a trusted intelligence source throughout the virtual world.
Appearance
Argo is defined by her short golden-brown hair and three distinctive whisker-like lines painted on each cheek. She has a short, petite build and typically dresses in modest clothing covered by a long hooded cloak. The whisker markings originally stemmed from a failed quest during the beta test, which she intentionally recreated in the official launch as her signature look. In various game installments, her attire changes; for instance, she takes on feline features as a Cait Sith in Lost Song, wears a cropped hooded jacket revealing her midriff in Hollow Realization, and dons an aviator-style dress in Fatal Bullet.
Personality
Argo possesses a playful, easygoing demeanor, frequently using casual phrasing and unique nicknames when talking to acquaintances. As a businesswoman, she is exceptionally sharp, able to extract valuable intelligence from brief conversations. While she jokingly claims she would sell her own status for the right price, she adheres strictly to a moral boundary: she never trades player identities or sensitive real-world details. She takes pride in verifying rumors and paying fair compensation for useful facts. Her main vulnerability is a severe phobia of dogs, which causes her usually composed composure to break down when facing canine creatures.
Abilities
Argo utilizes an agility-focused build and equips dual hand claws as her primary weapon, eliminating the risk of accidentally dropping her equipment during battle. Her skill set emphasizes stealth and perception, such as concealment and detection, complemented by the specialized Martial Arts extra skill. Although her direct combat power is inferior to top-tier front-liners due to her non-combat role, her stats in Fatal Bullet position her as a formidable tank unit equipped with high health, high defense, taunt abilities, and handguns tailored for critical hits and weak-point targeting.
Background
During the beta testing phase of SAO, Argo attempted a quest to unlock the Martial Arts skill but failed to complete it, resulting in an NPC leaving whisker-like facial markings on her. Choosing to adopt this mark for her public image upon the official release, she launched her career as Argo the Rat. To prevent casualty rates among non-clearing players, she authored strategy guidebooks containing beta knowledge, selling them to front-liners and using the revenue to distribute free copies to novices. Following the resolution of the SAO incident, she returned safely to the real world under her birth name, Hosaka Tomo, eventually joining later VRMMO titles.
Relationships
Argo maintains a close professional and personal relationship with Kirito, whom she frequently exchanges information with and affectionately nicknames Kii-bou. She similarly favors Asuna, addressing her as Aa-chan, and was one of the earliest players to discover and congratulate them on their in-game marriage. Additionally, Argo acts as a protective buffer for former beta testers as a whole; by refusing to sell or reveal lists of past testers, she prevents potential hostility and witch-hunts among the surviving player base.
Trivia
The whisker markings on her face originated as a penalty from a failed quest during the beta test, but she turned the mark into her personal brand. Her published strategy manuals gained notoriety for their quirky marketing phrases. In the game Fatal Bullet, she is notably remembered by players for selling extremely high-priced specialized items and enhancement materials for vast amounts of in-game currency.
