Progressive Factor II: Lacrimosa Of A Reaper

Chasing After Theano

Koharu

"All that from a sneeze...¦" Jaymes murmured as the three enormous grey tentacles of Ophiometus writhed above the surface of Lake Talpha. Beside him, Koharu silently shared his sentiment as she swallowed as much air as her lungs could contain. The third trip across the star-shaped lake (Mito's fifth, Myia's first) had nearly ended in a watery death for the six young people.

After sending Qusack on their way and parting from Kizmel, Koharu and her group reunited with Jaymes and Mito. They caught up on their different experiences, including the news that Theano had been sighted in the south and was heading for the labyrinth in the fifth area. Before the elf parted from them, she gave Kriito the Drops of Villi so they could cross the lake.

Myia was excited to see the lake for the first time, believing it to be an ocean as she'd never seen so much water before in her life. Asuna explained that an ocean is thousands of times larger than Lake Talpha, which Myia was amazed about.

After the drops were applied to everyone's feet and the danger of Ophiometus was explained to the girl, Kirito led the trek across the water. Myia and Asuna, Koharu followed him, and then Jaymes and Mito in the back. It was a peaceful sunset walk across the foggy lake. Koharu enjoyed the quiet after a hectic afternoon in battle, allowing her mind to rest briefly.

Then, after a chilly gale, Kirito sneezed.

It wasn't the sneeze that set in motion the trouble that had them skipping across the lake's surface. Kirito's body jerked with the sneeze, partially breaking the surface tension. Asuna and Myia managed to catch Kirito before he ultimately fell into the water, but it was too late. That minor movement was enough to rouse Ophiometus.

Thirty meters below the dark grey, bubbling surface, the three deep red Tentacles of Ophiometus's cursors appeared.

Thankfully, Koharu and Asuna remembered Argo's ability to skim across the water's surface and vaguely explained what to do. The others got it to work, and they all dashed across the lake to the banks of the fifth area. They didn't stop until they reached the grassy part of the bank, then looked beyond the beach to see the three tentacles had not come up to land.

All that trouble because of a sneeze.

Koharu couldn't partake in the sunset filtering through the castle's apertures after the tentacles sunk back below the surface. That little run exhausted her -- ironic for a former track and field athlete. She could only imagine how her partner and Kirito felt as they'd been up since two am. There's Mito, now with two death-defying experiences in three hours.

"Ready for just a bit more?" Kirito asked.

"Of course. I'm perfectly ready."

"I'm good, too. I can still go."

"As long as we get a break in town first."

Asuna, Myia, and Mito answered one by one. Koharu nodded and glanced at her partner. He sighed, clearly not wanting to continue but knowing time was of the essence. "The nearest town, Murutsuki, is about thirty minutes away. The fifth area is like a Middle East-themed place, desert included. Unfortunately, no mysterious dude is giving us directions, or a woman is singing in the background... You guys wouldn't understand Hollywood. Let's go."

With that said, Koharu and her party turned away from Lake Talpha to the ocean of sand.

According to her "RPG tutorial" with Jaymes around the beginning of SAO, RPGs consist of five biomes—grassland, forest, snowfield, watery land, and desert—with some variations and combinations. The first, third, and fourth biomes followed the basic rules, while the second and sixth had variety. This is the first time Koharu has experienced a desert, but if this is how one's like on an entire floor and in real life, she'll never want to revisit one.