Asuna stood in front of all of the animal-eared people, as well as the people that looked like animals.
She had to remind herself that despite their appearance none of the people in front of her were monsters.
This was too much for her to handle without sleeping, but considering that she was in charge at the moment, it was up to her to tell everyone what to do.
"Everyone welcomes to Aincrad." she said to everyone she could hear the other guilds welcoming their groups, some were just starting their speeches while others were already explaining how Aincrad operated, while others were about to finish with their explanations.
"As you can see, the castle is bigger on the inside than it is outside."
"There are about a hundred floors in the castle and each floor is guarded by a floor boss, floor bosses are the strongest creatures on the floor that you are in."
"Their job is to stop anyone that's training from being able to pass onto the next floor, but everyone else is free to pass whenever they want, as long as they are living in the castle or are a guest."
"Now in Aincrad we have what we call Players or Adventurers, we usually wear armor and carry weapons and were usually just trying to move from one floor to another." Asuna said to everyone hoping that they understood what she was telling them.
She noticed the drones that were showing everyone in Lungmen and most likely everywhere else what the first floor of Aincrad looked like, as well as her explaining everything to everyone.
"Now in here, people are separated into two categories, players and civilians."
"Let me make this clear once you become a player you can never stop being an adventurer, except if you're injured or have a family."
"No that's too confusing even for me, ah I know."
"A person that works in a bakery all of their lives is a baker or a civilian and everyone like him that just lives their lives inside a village- town or city are civilians because they just live their lives."
"Players, on the other hand, we fight to protect the people of the cities- villages and towns and we go get materials from where ever they are no matter how dangerous the place is."
"Aincrad is a place ruled by pain, the first floor is designed to hurt you."
"If you are about to die an automatic teleportation system will bring you to the town of beginnings to get you patched up.
"All of you will be tested to see if you're strong enough to become players, but if you are pregnant, are too young, or too old you cant participate in the tests."
"We've also changed the rules, considering that some of you might be the only relative that some of the kids have, so you won't have to take the test either." Asuna said to the group in front of her, as she watched some of them let out a breath of relief.
"Men please say your goodbyes to your wives and children if they are infants and if they are pregnant."
"Everyone that can't walk or is around seventy please hug those you care about as they will be going through some bad times."
"Now everyone that's eight years old and older takes your swords and good luck, all that you have to do is survive." she said to everyone as a bunch of swords and daggers appeared in front of them.
"You have until you hear the bell." Asuna said to everyone before she stepped back and walked up to the group of people that had separated themselves from the rest.
'You didn't tell them what you do." A woman said as she watched her son hold a dagger in his hand for the first time.
'They'll be fine, I never said that they had to take the test if they want to forfeit all they have to do is enter the town and stay in it until time runs out." Asuna said to the woman.
She listened to the woman run to her side before she took a deep breath and began to protest how cruel the castle was to treat her son and everyone else like this.
Normally Asuna would have agreed with her but this was one of the castle punishments for the players.
Since the players had brought the refuges into Aincrad then it was their job to deal with them and that meant making them feel the same pain they had felt when they first realized that they could die in the game.
Asuna hardened her heart for a moment and listened to the woman complain until she was done and after a moment Asuna began to answer the woman.
"This isn't just to see how strong everyone is, these tests will bring out everyone's true personality."
"Those that are resourceful will figure out how to live without having to fight, or they will be able to judge which person can protect them from everyone and everything around them."
"Those that were helpless will have to defend themselves and they won't be so helpless anymore, this is just the start no one fails the first test because there's no way of failing it."
"Remember what I said earlier, a stupid person and a smart person will both understand that if they stay in the town they will live so you cant tell them apart." Asuna said to the women as she led them into the town.
"So then how do people fail?" An elderly man with wolf ears said to her.
"They give up." Asuna answered him.
'They didn't have what it takes to constantly put themselves in danger and so they are better suited for farming- helping make things or anything else, maybe work in a company somewhere." Asuna answered the man who stopped walking.
"Lady Asuna please let me take the test." the man said to Asuna.
Asuna didn't say anything she just opened her inventory and took out one of the many low-level swords she had and gave it to the man.
She watched as the beast-man bowed his head at her and walked into the field ready to put his life at risk, as she walked deeper into the town of beginnings she found herself looking at a lot of familiar faces.
She smiled most of the people in front of her were in her group while a lot more belonged to people she didn't recognize, so maybe she didn't have the worst bunch.
"Congratulations you died." Asuna said to the group as a bunch of kids began to cry.
She walked up to the group of children and knelt in front of them. "It's okay it's over now you don't have to go back." She said to the kids who just cried even louder.
Asuna wanted to help them but she was forbidden from giving anyone any special treatment.
"Come with me." she said to everyone as she led them to a large tent that had a sign that said I give up written on it.
"Now everyone enjoy the food and if you are sleepy we have rooms available for you while we wait." she said to everyone as the other members of the Knights of the Blood Oath began to give a hot plate of vegetable soup to everyone that was with her.
InLungmen Ch'en listened to her uncle Wei argue with the representatives from the different kingdoms that were more than eager to get rid of their infected populations.
It wasn't that her uncle was making it hard for those people to come here but it was that despite knowing what fate awaited the infected everyone was more than eager to send them to the city of Aincrad.
Were they watching the live footage, didn't they see the people being forced to fight for their lives against beasts and plants that were by the Player's admission created to hurt them.
Weren't the people outside of Lungmen, no outside of Grate Yan better than this?
"I guess that's it." she heard Wei Yenwu say to himself as he hung up the phone.
"What's going on?" Ch'en asked her uncle.
'Nothing, just that once everyone found out that those bunch up there were willing to take all of their undesirables they decided that they would all be sending them through here." Wei answered her.
"Not to mention that the Emperor in all of his wisdom decided that since Lungmen was the one to make the deal with Aincrad, all of the infected from Yan should be put in the front of the line." her uncle added as he mocked the emperor's decision.
Ch'en didn't say anything it was obvious that the other kingdoms were going to use this chance to plant spies inside Aincrad, it was the player's fault for carelessly opening their doors like this but she didn't care about that.
What she cared about were the people that lived in the slums and were now being tortured.
'I'm leaving." she said to her uncle.
"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow." Wei answered her.
"No I'm leaving, if there's no place for the infected here, then there's no place for me." she said to her uncle as she uncovered her arm that had several pieces of crystal growing out of it.
'Where would you go?" Wei asked her but Ch'en didn't answer him, she just walked out of his office without saying a word.