Telrenya

Two hours later... "And then! And then! I tried to equip it like an item!" Telrenya was fighting laughter as she recounted one of the seemingly funniest stories she'd ever told. "But it doesn't have an equip option, so I just immediately used it by mistake! Ohhh my goodness, I thought Hestia was going to throw me off the side of Aincrad." Her hand slapped down on the bar counter, jostling their glasses. Each had been refilled several times over by now. Telrenya clutched her stomach with her other hand, recovering from a bought of laughter. "Wait wait!" She wiped a bead of tears from

She didn't know Ryo well, but she was aware enough to notice that he was acting differently. The way he spoke had gotten messier. He seemed unfocused. Then he nearly fell over in his chair. Telrenya almost stood from her own seat to help somehow, but when she leaned over so quickly she felt that rush in her head and that dizziness struck her again. "Huh? What's wrong?" She caught his distress. Something was wrong. Why was she feeling like this? Had the tavern done something to them? Were ghosts going to pop out at them after all? 'No, no, no.' That was just silly. But as Telrenya wasn't d

✧♪✦⋆♫⋆✦♪✧ She was back in the place full of colored glass. It took her a moment to realize she had entered a new space, but one look back confirmed that the path behind her had disappeared. ”Vengeance, too, is subjective.” The voice of the dark shape snapped her to attention and she spun to lay eyes on it. ”Was it beautiful?” She wondered what kind of question that was, and a frown quickly took over her expression. ”I–” She stopped herself, and hesitated. Would she get anywhere by trying to get this person to explain themselves? Her eyes fell, and she stopped to think.

Telrenya thrashed violently, but found no more resistance. She shot up from where she lay on a cold stonework floor and her head whipped around looking for the danger that had just engulfed her. Her hands, shaking in front of her, were free. She was panting, sweating, and shivering, but she was unharmed. ’That couldn’t have been a dream…’ She thought. But then where was she now? ✧♪✦⋆♫⋆✦♪✧ She recognized this place. The massive room she found herself in was carved from smooth grey stone and held modest sconces of torchlight with the faintest tint of blue. Pillars with ornate carvings

A plain stone staircase stood in front of her now, long and imposing and either side lined with tall metal bars affixed from floor to ceiling. Beyond the barred rails, a landscape. Too vague and distant to identify, but it clearly looked and felt like the outside from…wherever this was. Telrenya turned and looked back over her shoulder. The stairs continued downward behind her, with no sign of the massive doorway she had just walked through. She swallowed, the burning sensation of sorrow still fresh in her nose and throat. She hastily wiped at the corners of her eyes and down her cheeks, and b

✧♪✦⋆♫⋆✦♪✧ She strained and squinted against the bright light that now surrounded her, lashes fluttering in an attempt to fully open her eyes as she struggled to take in the blinding landscape. She flinched, bringing her hand up as a makeshift visor in order to make it bearable. Telrenya stood enveloped in a blank canvas of empty white. ”What is this place…?” She softly wondered aloud. She held a hand close to her chest, fingers gently curled as she took slow, careful steps forward. ’Tap, tap, tap, went the heels of her boots, echoing in the vague nothingness that surrounded her. A gl

If there was anything the castle Aincrad could be praised for, it was the consistency of its landscapes. The sixth floor was just as difficult to traverse as always. Telrenya had been having a rough time wading through underbrush and either avoiding or cutting through all of the aggressive flora and fauna that lived here as she trudged ever eastward. Ryo hadn’t given her the most precise directions–how could he when the surrounding area could only be described as “more jungle”?--but after asking around in Krycim about the ‘Sage Waterfall’ that he had recounted to her, she felt decently sure th

A stalemate. Is that what this had turned into? Each of their health bars sat just above the halfway mark, but it had felt like ages since either one of them had landed a meaningful blow. She wondered if every match of this weeks-long tournament would play out something like this. No... She'd seen the roster of players signed up to participate. Strangers, all but one. Unknown faces, but those names... The names she recognized, at least half of them. Some of the strongest players in Aincrad were taking part, she was aware of that. In a fight against those powerhouses, she'd be lucky to survive

She expected Yue Hua to react to that sickly sweet scent, to stagger or stutter or otherwise throw the woman out of focus. Instead, she shook off the effect and faced her with a sword swirling with energy just waiting to swing at her. "Huh?" Telrenya blinked, taken aback for a moment. Why hadn't her item done anything? And then it clicked. She had used something earlier, hadn't she? When Yue Hua backed off after dousing her with the pheromones. Telrenya's shoulders went stiff and she sucked in air through visible, clenched teeth, a grimace on her face. 'She blocked it!!' Telrenya pulled h

"Really!?" Tel perked up excitedly, trying to push away that fuzzy feeling pressing against the front of her skull. Plenty of people in SAO were from Japan, so it was unclear why she was so surprised. "I'm from Higashiyama in Kyoto." She smiled widely. "I've only been to Tokyo a couple times. That's so cool that you live in the big city!" She giggled again. Her cheeks were warm and everything seemed a little funnier. More enjoyable. This was the lightest her mood has been in a while. "Oh, I'm an art student." She answered plainly before delving into the topic. "I mean, I know you asked wh

No longer burdened by the pheromones' debuff, Telrenya's Evasion rescued her from another devastating blow. For every time she forced Yue Hua's blade off course by blocking with her own, now she could move her body out of the way entirely. A strike pushed forward in the form of a straight lunge and Telrenya braced her knees with a firm bend before launching herself into a forward leap that would carry her not only over the blade, but her opponent as well. She was left with a choice. Both of their health bars had dwindled. The fight wouldn't last more than a couple of solid hits on either

Their dance continued until her partner found an opening. No, she forced an opening. Air was pushed out of Telrenya's lungs and she stumbled backwards. She looked up. There was no stopping the force shooting after her--all she could do was tense her muscles to brace for the impact. A gasp escaped her. Her entire midsection tingled while the green color steadily drained from her health bar. Telrenya looked down at the bright red band of injury that stretched fully across her waist. Yue Hua may have well sliced her in half just then. Her hand rested over the pixelated wound and her chest he

At the edge of her vision, she could tell her opponent was preparing an attack. Telrenya's body twitched as the system held her still, her chest rhythmically rising and falling to catch her breath. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing mentally where she could not physically. And then... She almost fell forward as Cardinal released its grasp on her. She planted a foot down to catch herself and spun around to regain her fighting stance. She had expected Yue Hua to lay into her while she could--what happened? She met the woman's pearly eyes and caught the pink hue burning on her face. Telreny

Telrenya held her smile. The plan worked. The topic seemed to pull him out of that bit of stiffness, something he was genuinely interested. "Oh, really?" She was a little surprised to hear he worked as a cook in the real world. She guessed that explained his knowledge and interest. "If you don't mind me asking, where are you from?" She listened to him, sipped her drink, then considered his questions. Her cheeks had taken on a bit of color, though she hadn't noticed. She leaned comfortably against the counter and idly kicked one of her feet back and forth under her a couple of times. "My b

The liquid in that vial had clung to her boots, lightly staining the white cloth. Each breath that Telrenya drew in she caught a fresh whiff of that sweet, sugary scent. Overpowered by notes of vanilla and citrus, it took over her senses and her sights seem to hone in on Yue Hua. Her rapier moved quickly, matching each block of her opponent's sword with metallic 'clangs' that rang out over the stadium. Telrenya's eyes were unusually sharp as she continued to press for any break in Yue Hua's defenses. She'd landed one hit and continued searching relentlessly for the next. Her weapon may ha

Telrenya sighed when Ryo pointed out how the quest wasn't working right in his menus. Of course it was broken. She thought briefly about checking her own quest log, or searching around the bar for any possible clues or next steps, but instead she simply placed her elbows on the counter and leaned her weight into it. A strange apathy washed over her. So what if they ended up leaving empty-handed? What was she going to do with any new items, anyway? She chose to focus on conversation. After this they would probably part ways and she'd just go back to Delilah on Floor 3. She'd figure out how

"It is!" Telrenya was a little proud to recognize what the drink was. She didn't have much exposure to alcohol--just a cocktail once or twice back in the real world. She could hardly remember what those tasted like, nor that champagne she'd had at her friend's wedding. She set the emptied glass back on the counter and let her hand fall to linger resting against the flared base. "Mead?" That confidence drained from her just as quickly as she struggled to think about what kind of drink that was. What was it made out of, what did it taste like? She thought she'd heard of the name before. Maybe.

She expected the parry of a blade coming her way. Telrenya had pulled back as much as she could have managed, bringing her rapier across her body to attempt a block, but instead of crashing steel, the sound of broken glass filled her ears. Bits of the empty Pheromones vial fell to the ground like glittering gemstones and suddenly a sickeningly sweet scent filled her nostrils. It was like she had been dropped into a perfume store. Her senses were assaulted and she had to take a step backwards and give a quick shake of her head to steady herself. Blinking and trying to keep her attention on Yue

Was this really such a good idea? Surely there were a dozen other ways she could have gone about poking her head back out into the world. But the flyers just looked so flashy and interesting, and she had never competed in a tournament before... Telrenya swallowed when she heard her name called out. 'Ex-frontliner'. The word stung a little. She didn't plan to stay known that way for long, at least. But...living her best life? Running with wolves? Telrenya fought against a puzzled expression, wondering what they meant by that, or just what kind of impression she might have on anyone watchin

Buying the following items: (again) Crafting Material x9 Total: (700 * 9) = 6,300col

'Knock, knock, knock Telrenya nervously rocked back and forth from her heels to the balls of her feet. She stood in front of the thick wooden door where a dialogue menu popped up in front of her as she'd approached. 'Closed', it read. She fidgeted slightly. Telrenya had only met Teion once or twice before. They had never quite shared a guild, but Ryo spoke highly of her skills as a blacksmith, and Telrenya was growing desperate to find one who could help her. She rehearsed her lines in her head two or three times, then brought her hand up one more time for another knock. 'Maybe she's not

Skill(s) Being Dropped: Extended Weight Limit SP Incurred Towards Limit: 10 SP Refunded: 10 Cost: 10,000

Buying the following items: Crafting Material x9 Total: (700 * 9) = 6,300col

She spent a few more precious moments searching, not yet daring to turn her full attention to Ryo until she was sure that other her wouldn't pop up out of nowhere and strangle her. Still, there was an urgency in his voice. She had no time to sit around. "Y-yeah. Yes, let's hurry." She agreed, pulling herself back up with the assistance of the wagon. "Alright, and...!" She gave a short warning before she heaved her weight against the wooden bar to get the thing moving again. Against all odds, the two made it back to the tavern in one piece. It took some time for them both to fumble around

"Right." Telrenya nodded. While she had hoped this quest would give them some insight on the floor, or maybe allow them to run into some other players or an NPC or two, it seemed they would have no such luck. She couldn't help but start planning for a speedy exit through the teleport gate once they'd delivered the goods and retrieved the reward. Together, the two sloshed and splashed through the tepid wine while they hefted box after crate up and down the stairs. Each trip was a little bit precarious, especially when they had to lift the most unwieldy crates from either side and shuffle i