In the first volume of the .hack//Liminality series, a Japanese school girl Mai Minase and her friend Tomonari Kasumi became unconscious from playing an online computer game and was rushed to the hospital. Fortunately, Mai Minase regained consciousness, but Tomonari remains in a comatose state. Later after the incident, Mai is one day on her way to school until she ran into a man named Junichiro Tokuoka who claims to know what caused her friend Tomonari to be in a coma. At that time, Mai doesn't know or believes him. Later, Mai had no choice but to believe Tokuoka and tries to find out how the popular online game, "The World" did this to Tomonari. Can Mai and Tokuoka find out clues about "The World" and wake Tomonari Kasumi up out of his coma?