It started when a giant lizard monster entered one of the villages and bought a pack of meat.
The creature didn't attack anyone and paid for the meat with gold coins. The only reason that the merchant didn't scream in fear was because a group of players were nearby.
Maybe the game had somehow come in contact with another game's data or perhaps it was just a bug in the system but everyone soon forgot about what happened, everyone was still trying to escape the game.
What point was there in worrying about a monster that could enter the towns and buy things like a person?
If the thing could enter the towns then it wasn't a threat after all nothing dangerous could enter the cities or villages.
If it had only ended there.
It didn't take long for all kinds of creatures to start popping up, some had spikes coming out of their bodies, others looked like monsters that came out of a nightmare.
There was a lot that looked Human, but that was the thing they looked Human, and unfortunately for everyone, they didn't get along.
No one knew when the fighting started but it didn't stay outside of the Safe Zones and once again all of the Players were forced to work together to put the threat down.
One army became eight, days blurred into hours, and before anyone knew why they were fighting it all ended when the floor bosses left their floors and entered the war.
Radius the ruler of the castle had had enough and ordered everyone to stop fighting or else she would deal with them herself.
The massive beings' presence was enough to force everyone to glare at each other before they shook hands and went to wherever they called home.
][]][
[The Town of Beginings\ The City of Orphans ]
"So today is the big day" Kirito says to him and he couldn't help but smile at his friend's words.
"Yeah.' he said nervously, he didn't know why he was so worried after all he already knew the answer and he had played the scene over and over again.
Hell, the boys even agreed to help him practice, of course, they mocked and played with him but it was all good because they helped him prepare for today.
Out of instinct he pushed the doors to the orphanage open and walked inside.
The smell of sweet milk filled the air, but it wasn't alone, he could smell talcum powder and milk along with alcohol and chlorine.
It was hard for him to see the place like it was, but the orphanage had been an emergency hospital for both soldiers and civilians during the war.
He stopped walking when he saw her and if it hadn't been because he started coughing he wouldn't have remembered to breathe.
"Hey for good luck." Kirito says to him before he hands him the emblem of his guild.
The rulers of Aincrad are the Floor Bosses and beneath them are the Players, all Players belong to a guild and each guild controls one or more floors.
The guilds vary in size, some have thousands of members, while others are nothing more than a single person who is just starting.
He can't help but look at Kirito who just smiles at him and nods.
Normal people, hell even super-powered people can't make guilds of their own but anyone can be invited in by a player.
So it's a big deal to be offered a spot no matter how small it is.
"Okay here I go." he says to himself before turning around and he finds her standing behind him.
"Johnny?" she says to him before she hugs him.
He can only hug her back before they finally let go of each other, and before she can say anything she sees the ring in his hand.
Before he can say anything she says yes and kisses him, he wants to say something anything, but she doesn't give him the chance and before he knows it he's returning the favor.
"Wait I almost forgot." he said to her before showing her the Black Sword emblem of his guild.
"Does that mean?"
"Yeah, as of this moment, Johnny is a member of my guild and when you marry him you will be too" Kirito interrupts their moment but he can't complain the man explained things better than he could.
"Sorry sir, we were too excited." Sonya says to Kiritio who shakes her hand and smiles at the two of them.
'Don't be, I would have left but rules say that I have to be here to give you the good news.' Kirito says to Sonya.
"Sir?" Sonya asks confused.
"Comeone you just got engaged. The two of you should be celebrating not talking to some higher up."
"Go have fun enjoy your lives." Kirito says to them before he turns around and walks away.
"Sir." Sonya tries to protest but Kirito won't hear any of it and just says to invite him to the wedding.
[]]Elsewhere][][
The strongest and most respected\ feared Guild Leaders argued with one another, they had to decide what they were going to do with the creatures.
They could easily call the monsters and kill them just like they did with any of the monsters, but that was the problem the creatures weren't monsters.
They were beings who had talked and even worked alongside normal people, hell some of them even avoided attacking civilians.
They argued for hours but in the end, they decided to just leave them alone, there was no point in them attacking anything smart enough to know that angering something that could kill them with a look wasn't a good idea.
Plus there was the chance that they would need the creature's help if something else attacked and they didn't know how to deal with it.
In the end, they agreed to open trade with the creatures and offer them a chance to become citizens of Aincrad.
The creatures had skills that the players didn't, and it would be foolish of them to let the chance of adding that power to their own slip away.
The creatures would be divided into different groups, those that were docile or closely resembled Humans would be welcomed everywhere.
Those that looked like monsters but didn't attack people would be beneath them but would be welcomed in any city or large town.
Those that looked like monsters or needed to hurt people to survive would be at the bottom of everything.
They were no different from criminals that needed to be kept away from everyone.
At the very top of this hierarchy would be the humans, ridiculous by any standards because of how weak normal Humans are when compared to the other creatures, but the Players were the rulers, and anything they said was law.