Beyond M-Eclipse: Easy Mode LIVE

———Karra———

“Test… test…” I muttered out as the stream started up. Looks like everything is in working order. “And… We’re live! Hey chat, it’s been a while.”

{Welcome back}

{Why does the footage looks so clean tho}

{Where the heck are you rn. Also what’s with the angle}

{Is this inside the dungeon?}

{Criips footage}

{The heck is that interior. You’re actually in a dungeon?}

“To your many questions, I am indeed inside a dungeon right now. As you all know, a good deal of dungeons have been opened up, this is the first to do so, since it was already quite well-documented, thanks to yours truly.” I said with an air of confidence. Of course, while the fundamental designs of the floors stayed the same, it kept shifting in layouts each day, so my run didn’t give everything away.

{Haven’t heard that tone in a while}

{So how are you making your camera move around like that?}

“Oh. You guys noticed the camera moving around like a drone?” I said, knowing that many are confused and intrigued by it. “It’s quite simple, really. It is a drone! Let me show you with this other camera.”

Then my left shoulder pad opened up to reveal a mechanical arm holding another camera, meeting the floating drone.

{WHat the fuck!?}

{Holy sci-fi madness}

{Where the hell do you get shit like this!?}

“Impressive aren’t they! These two things are going to make my run into the dungeon more clear than ever! You’ll never find a footage of a dungeon run clearer than this!” I said while puffing up my chest with pride.

It’s a bit shameless to boast about this particular fact, considering it was Edea’s gift to me. But if I keep quiet about where I got this from, the less likely the words about their involvement will go out.

{Source? Where?}

{Pls tell where you get}

{Bet that cost millions}

“Now then. Let’s actually get started. We’re on the ninth floor right now. Just got done bashing those damn golems in.” I said to catch the viewers up on what I’ve been doing, ignoring their inquiries. “Now then. It’s been a while since I showed you guys my horse girl swagger. Let’s get this show on the road.”

{didn’t you participate in that fight at your school?}

{got preview and now the real thing!}

Seems like they think they got a good idea of what I’m capable of. Sucks for them, I can do a bit more than that. “[Flare Bullet]”

*Bang* *BOOM*

I created a giant explosive bullet and sent it to the end of the corridor, destroying the archers that could be troublesome.

{Holy movie effect}

{the heck she doing?}

{oh i rember}

“...Say. How many of you are new viewers anyway. Do I need to tell you guys what this floor is like?” I said as the cameras lowered to show the grid of colors on the ground. “Traps and mooks with projectiles. Just screams annoying and deadly with how it’s presented.”

{How do you actually navigate through this?}

“So if I were to offer some advice, for anyone near this particular floor of this dungeon, which is close to my school, then you just have to jump over the area that are clearly traps. So make sure to have good legs.” I said before aiming for a particular safe spot.

*Leap*

{Looks dynamic}

{It’s like you have a floating cameraman lol}

*Leap*

“...Here we go.” I said as I reached the other side of the floor, and then went down to the tenth floor. A floor dedicated to just a single powerful enemy.

I hold my knife tightly as I see the giant monster in the distance, the magenta brute.

*Dash* *Slash* *Swing* *Evade*

I quickly rushed in with a slash towards one of its legs, then avoided the incoming counter attack.

{Holy cinema}

{fast!}

*Sizz* *Leap* *Slash*

I activated the spell within this special knife then jumped right at the giant brute, swinging my weapon and getting a good hit on its head.

*Kick* *Crash*

{huh!?}

I then changed my trajectory mid-air and kicked its head in while it screams in pain from the scorching slash, making it fall to the floor.

*Sizz*

“Let’s finish this up quickly.” I said while maintaining the spell, the fire remains harsh and clings onto the knife.

*Stab*

I stabbed the monster right in its head before it could recover, ending the fight swiftly and efficiently…

“Easy peasy.” I said with my voice slightly strained. I use up a good deal of power in order to end the fight quickly. It might be rather excessive, but I don’t want to deal with any possible gimmick this thing may have. Last time we were here Wiina finished off the bosses so quickly we basically have zero clue on its capabili- Oh. “Maybe I should have gone easier on it. At least you guys will have some idea of what it can do.”

{Oh yeah. Where’s our walkthrough!?}

{I mean I wasn’t gonna go in anyway}

“Anyway. Let’s go down and explore some more! I still have some energy left, and I won’t rush it out, trust me.” I said with a thumbs up.

*Shine*

Oh right. The rewards as well. Almost forgot about that.

———Lynda———

“Man. What a pain in the ass.” I muttered to myself as I leaned against the bench, basking in the cold air from the air conditioner.

“At least it’s over. So let’s be thankful about that.” Glery said, looking worse for wear than I am.

It’s not like the physical exam was hard, it’s just long. Also, what the hell are all those questions thrown our way? Most of them are rather pointless in the grand scheme of things, so why even waste our time?

“I swear, if those guys don’t do something about this, I’ll do it myself.” I bitterly said.

“It wasn’t that bad…” Glery said with an awkward smile, as if half-believing her own statement.

“How did Karra even get the adventurer card so quickly?” I can’t help but ask. It just opened up today. Early in the day, but still only today. “There must’ve been some sort of dealing going on…”

“Uhh…” Glery doesn’t seem too keen about me throwing that accusation out there. Fine, I’ll stop at that.

“Anyway. Let’s go find something to eat. I could eat a large burger or two.” I said as I got off the bench with her following closely behind.

As the two of us talked along the street, I noticed that she’s watching something on her phone right now. Is that…

“Karra’s streaming already?” I said, feeling a bit bewildered. I know she posted on Chirping about getting her license already, but to stream right after… “Why is the stream like that?”

“Don’t know where she got it from, but she got a flying camera drone and a mechanical arm attached to her shoulder that holds up another camera. It looks very advanced.” She answered.

“What the hell? How did she get stuff like that? I doubt those even exist outside of experimental military equipment or something.” I said, even more flabbergasted than before. Just how in the world could she get those things? Who was it from? What is with this level of favoritism?

“I don’t know.” She replied, sounding a bit spooked. Did I raise my voice a bit too much just now? That can happen sometimes.

Well. Let’s not talk about this further if neither of us have any clue. Let’s just make our way straight to MicKKaz.

———Jeff———

“Easier than I thought!” I said with a smirk formed on me unconsciously. Now this is epic!

“Those guys were chumps. Even with the advantage in superior gear they still crumble. Shouldn’t those officials have more dignity than that?” Malk said, clearly not pleased with how the test goes. I don’t really care that much, to be honest.

“In their defense. Capable fighters that dabble in the new arts are not common, and for the test to go smoothly they need to be the one with the advantage, so to speak. They need to compensate with what they already have.” Orrel said, telling the story from another perspective. “Also, this is one of the first locations to have an explorer’s HQ. There will be growing pains and mistakes.”

“Whatever. What matters is that we got the stuff. Should we go in right away or…” Qyunda said, sounding uninterested in the whole deal.

“We have until 5 pm, so if we want to do a dungeon run, we have to do it now.” Useph pointed out. Us five can probably go pretty damn far, which means we’ll stay in there for a long time too.

“I doubt they’ll care much if we came out a little bit late, though it is better to be safe than sorry.” Orrel remarked. “So should we do it? I’m certain the monsters have respawned by now.”

“Let’s do it then!” I said, starting to feel excited.

———Wiina———

“Sixteen isn’t bad, you know?” I remarked. Dungeons are pretty long and hard to navigate, at least some rooms are. The fact that you have to fight through hordes of enemies, weak and strong, means that you have very little room for error. There isn’t much breathing room to speak of, and you might not get any potions for your reward.

“I know, but there’s like… a bunch more floors.” Karra said, complaining about it still.

“I think you did your best for what you have. You’re not a bottomless well of stamina.” I said so that she could stop with that tone of hers. She probably expects a lot since she has finally revisited the place after a long while. I think the fact that the viewership was kinda lacking doesn’t help. She might have some infamy but she never had a large following, so people didn’t really realize what she was up to unless a big incident that could be linked to her happened.

The fact of the matter is that some of her bigger streams were due to circumstances beyond her control, where opportunities presented themselves. She hasn’t found a way to keep them for most of her streams so far.

Still. The most important aspect of her return to dungeon diving is that she did well and came back with some spoils to trade for cash. Admittedly it’s chump change considering all the risk, but they don’t really have a good gauge on the value of both an adventurer and the foreign mystical materials.

It’d be a shame if all the brave adventurers were to lay dead so soon with so little gain to their name. It’d greatly discourage people if many of the first batch of divers were to turn up dead in a few days. A new status quo is about to start and to have it end so soon without seeing any results would be quite a disappointment and a show of incompetence for everyone involved.

Then again, what use could there be for more hopeful risk takers to join in on the fun? Just a few strong individuals should be enough to bring enough loot and corpses to analyse and use to improve aspects of human life, unless they choose to use all these materials for war, then that’s a no-go in my book.

So far it has been a start with little fanfare. What should I do about it? It feels like the start of one of those novels, but those are mere fiction, they cannot be used as a basis for a plan… What could even be used in those? What is the…

“Say. Karra.” I said, with an idea popping up in my head as I look through my sea of thoughts.

“What is it?” She asked.

“I have something I want to do. I wonder if you want to be a part of it.” I said with a subtle mischievous grin on me. This could be quite a fun game to play, and a beneficial one to her as well.