Date: 5/23/2024

System announcement

Attention all players. As of this date, over 70% of Sword Art Online has been completed. Following this victory, a special, ongoing event has been triggered. At this time, a rare enemy has been introduced to this world. These new monsters have been given the name Titans, due to thier preprogrammed massive size. These Titans are unique, and unlike all enemies players of Sword Art Online have seen before. These enemies have been granted a few exceptions to previously stated rules of Aincrad, and are described as follows:

*While all other monsters are still forbidden from entering the safe zones on all floors of Aincrad, These Titans have been given freedom to enter and roam through said safe zones. Players will not be granted safety from these monsters while in these areas.

*Titans cannot be slain by simple means of attacking at random. Instead, they posses a simple vulnerability centered on the back of thier neck. An attack upon any other part will not be successful.

*These Titans also posses an advanced AI and player tracking program. This allows diversity amongst Titans and a more realistic predator system.

In addition, 2 new items can now be purchased at your nearest NPC market stall. These items will give you an advantage during encounters with the new Titans. We appreciate your time and consideration during this system announcement. Good luck, players.

Panic. Panic and chaos. Those were the only things that could describe the fallout that followed the end of the system announcement. I, myself could not hold myself together in the least.

Surely this isn't true. There hasn't been a system announcement since the beginning. There's no way that they would do an update that significant in the middle of the game. No safe zones? That's impossible, right?

All these thoughts and more ran through my head constantly as I and countless other players swarmed the NPC stalls, many people getting trampled and smashed to buy and utilize the magical lifelines that were somehow able to provide security against these new creatures that supposedly are impossible to kill.

I was fortunate enough to be located directly in front of an NPC stall when the update was initiated. I bought both items, but I ran as fast as I could to the border of the town I was staying in before opening my inventory to view the things I had purchased. I was very surprised to find how cheap and worthless the first item was. It was a single steel cutlass-looking type weapon, but the tip wasn't curved at the end, and instead it looked like someone had diagonally hacked off the tip of the blade.

I looked at the stats, and was baffled to notice that it not only had a horribly low damage rating, but the durability was less than that of a level 1 beginner's sword. How on earth was this supposed to be of any use whatsoever against these rumored colossuses? Regardless, I equipped it to my character and gave it a few swings. I felt almost childish, as if I were swinging a piece of cardboard in the rough shape of a cutlass.

The second item was even more perplexing. It didn't have any description of any kind, but it was listed under the wearable equipment category. I unequipped the bandolier of throwing knives I usually wear, and substituted it for what ended up being some clunky piece of leather that sat around my waist, with a metal box with small vertical slots in front on either side of my hips.

At the combination of both items, a single cord stretched its way from the pommel of the sword and connected itself to this... I pulled up the menu and looked at the name of the thing that now sat against my legs.

"3D maneuver gear," I said out loud. Could they have picked a more ridiculous name? This is a virtual reality, of course it's 3D.

With the cord securely attached to both items, 2 triggers apparated between the hand guard and the top of the handle. My fingers slipped between the trigger loops and depressed the triggers simultaneously. Honestly you can't blame me; you see a red button, so naturally you push it. It's the same when it comes to levers, dials, and of course, triggers.

What happened next was the most surprising thing I had seen that day apart from the unbelievable system announcement. There was a brief *crack,* and suddenly 2 wires sprung from the metal boxes of the maneuver gear and stuck fast inside the wall of a nearby building. A short breath escaped my lips, but was suddenly sucked away as my whole body was yanked towards the wall by the wires now retracting back into the boxes on my hips.

I hit face first, my voice resounding an audible "Bluagh" as it smashed into the cobblestones. However, by the time I had disconnected my body from the wall, I couldn't prevent myself from laughing histaricaly. I could fly! Not really, but it was beautiful. I aimed myself a little higher, pushed the triggers again, and once more I was flung against a solid brick wall. I looked around the town. People didn't seem to be making much headway either. Hundreds of poor souls hung suspended in trees, or face planting the walls, much like I had done moments before. It was comical; Hilarious even. I would've spent the entire day laughing and zipping through the air, but, as is the unspoken law of this game, nothing good or of good humor ever lasts here. A short while later, the ground began to shake.

Everyone looked around, attempting to locate the source of the incredible and violent shaking. When everyone finally looked to the south gate, all the smiles on everyone's face seemed to shivel back to whatever dark hole they go to when horror strikes. A shadow rose over the town. From behind the south gate, standing at a predictable 20 feet, was a creature that, under normal circumstances, would have looked adorably ugly. But this was a death game, and things are not designed to be cute. As I focused in on the gigantic figure whose face looked astonishingly human, a red cursor appeared above it's head. It's name still haunts me.

Those that could not scramble fast enough, or loose themselves from the trees or walls they were tangled in, were swiftly devoured by the Aberant Titan. Jumping from the tops of building, shingles flying away from the impact, the titan swept through the town like a tornado. Of the 2 hundred players that had resided in that town before, only 13 survived. They were the ones who had enough sense to teleport away, or run off into the woods. The shining polygons of dead players fell like rain. I was buried under some debris that used to be a guild house. I survived simply because the AI that controlled the titan wasn't equipped to see through walls. It was a fluke, but from then on I understood my calling. I knew what I was meant to do in this world of death and carnage.

I organized the first anti-titan guild.

Authors note: Ok guys, this is the first chapter of what I hope to be a successful long-term story. I didn't and do not plan to use the names of the seperate military corps from Attack on Titan. I also only provided a single sword to fight the titans. This is because SAO doesn't have duel wielding, except for Kirito's unique skill, and I didn't want to change that.