Beyond M-Eclipse: Easy Mode LIVE

———Wiina———

“What do you mean you didn’t expect me to be here? I can come here whenever I want.” I nonchalantly said.

“W-Well… Uhhh…” Jennla can’t get any words to come out as her tail curled up. “Why are you even here though?”

“Groceries.” I would have used the Jass identity for this, but I want to spice things up a bit. “Seriously, if I hadn’t worn this hoodie, would I’ve been swarmed by paparazzi?”

“I mean… Most likely?” She said, not sounding all too sure. Indeed, maybe my intimidation factor that I had been building up would come in handy in that regard, but it can’t hurt to be extra bit more cautious. Wouldn’t want this trip to be a slog.

“Anyway. If you don’t have anything interesting to add, I’ll be on my way.” I said that but her glare makes it clear she has something to say.

“Wait.” She said with a low voice. Had to wonder what she wants, it’s not like she’s lacking in anything last I checked.

“What is it?” I asked. Even though I’m willing to entertain her, the whole grocery thing is true. Mom asked me to go buy a few things for dinner. Karra will also come to visit, so it’s more reason to not dally too long.

“Can I… Do a dungeon run with you at least once?” …Well that’s a rather mundane request, all things considered.

“Sure. Tomorrow will work, what’s the time?” I don’t have anything to do tomorrow, or for a few days, just like with everyone else. Even if I do, I can just split myself into multiple bodies.

She looks absolutely flabbergasted as if I would reject the idea. Maybe because she thought I was a stranger? That could be it. From my perspective I’m entertaining a friend’s request, which is significantly less weird. “Well? I still have obligations. Stop wasting my time.”

“U-Uh… 2 pm! That’ll work, right?” She blurted out the time.

“Very well. Make sure to be punctual.” I said before walking away. Sorry to be a bit of a dick, but the groceries don’t wait.

———Kenni———

“And then I call him a prick before leaving.” Qyunda finishes recalling her little tale.

“Of course you do.” I said, not surprised at the bickering she described. “Anyway, we’re here.”

I landed and let go of her. The two of us quickly make our way into the cave.

“So first off the mountain was cold as fuck, and now this cave is hot as fuck. Just great.” She said with the words dripping with sarcasm. “You seriously start training here?”

“Yeah? Unlike the dungeon which is somewhat crowded and the school which isn’t always open, this is where some of the stronger monsters are. Of course they exist in the mountains too, but you’d go blind from all the snow before getting to fight much.” I elaborated why this is my place of choice. “Obviously I call dibs on this. No going here without my permission, ‘kay?”

“Like hell I’m gonna come here more than once or twice. This is so far from home it’s not even funny.” She exasperatedly said. “How did you even find this place?”

“A local talked about it and I searched the area.” That’s all that needed to be said.

“...There are people here?” She said in confusion.

“Yeah.” It’s just one person, admittedly, but that’s not important. “Anyway, let’s go inside and check out the monsters. It’s an unregulated area people aren’t aware of, so I doubt we can take the materials and see them unless we go through the black market.”

“And there’s a black market?” …She doesn’t know about that?

“Forget I said anything.” Maybe I have been looking into shady shits too much. I should be more mindful of such a topic.

———Lynda———

The cold air and the darkness’ embrace truly does mend the mind. Nothing but the sounds of the wind and the occasional crickets. It feels like everything came to a stop, as if no one else is here. It’s a pocket of time where all you have is you and your own thoughts.

Of course, it is all ultimately an illusion of isolation. There are still people active in other parts of the world where the sun graces its denizens, and some people are night owls who seem to never ever be able to sleep at night. The lack of light is the main thing that makes everything feel like it is closing in on you, creating a feeling of isolation and a window of time for introspection.

…If someone were to hear that I bet they would cringe. I was never the one to say anything with a lot of sophistry. People tend to be much more eloquent in their mind compared to the words spoken out even if the meaning remains the same.

That is to say. In this… subjectively safe space. The local park in the middle of the night, the time people are very afraid of wandering about due to monster activities, is a place where very little could disturb me. There are monsters, I suppose, but even those are rare around these parts, and some are relatively passive.

Back on topic, I want to recall all the events that led up to this point. A lot of people have either gone with the flow or try to ignore the changes the best they can. I would’ve been in the former camp if it weren’t for all the crazy shits that have been happening that more or less forced me to do some introspection, if only for my own sanity if nothing else.

First of all is the Mythical Eclipse. I don’t know who coined the terms, but most people around here use it, so let’s stick with that.

The event that started it all. Everyone from all walks of life was rendered completely unconscious regardless of what they were doing. Some people in certain parts of the world get it easy since it’s their bedtime. From the limited amount of reports, they apparently sleep through it instead of getting a knock on the head like the rest of us, lucky bastards.

And so the world changed forever, roughly half of the population were turned into some sort of demi-humans, having some sort of animal or monster traits, but it sounds like everyone at least remained humanoid.

Also magic. People can use magic now. It’s kind of a big deal that people now have capabilities to dish out attacks comparable to military-grade weapons, though so far not a lot have hit that threshold. I sure didn’t.

Oh. Dungeons and monsters. Can’t forget about those. Suddenly a bunch of classical monsters popped up. Thankfully they are mostly confined to dungeons, which is a new thing. Some sort of underground system that appeared out of nowhere and strangely does not seem to share most of its physical space with our world. The underground portion does not intersect with anything that was already there. It’d be more appropriate to call it some sort of gate to a different dimension.

Then there are magical assholes who could probably nuke a country off the face of the earth. These people are pretty damn terrifying, and I’m pretty sure Wiina is one of them, and Rico and Wana are probably close behind.

Now about the people who are said to be capable of toppling a nation… Wasn’t there that espionage master turned into… some sort of top tier vampire? Or was that just a rumor? I don’t get the words being said, to be honest.

Another candidate would be that rabbit woman. She is no public figure, but a swing of her hammer literally topples a building. Also that blonde woman who is seen alongside her. Isn’t she some sort of bloodthirsty vigilante?

What else… I guess there are rumors about a soldier who was turned into some sort of demi-god, but that’s hard to believe. The fact that every conflict was halted to recuperate from Mythical Eclipse means that whoever this is supposed to be referring to didn’t get to shoot their shot.

There are a lot of unsubstantiated stories going about. It doesn’t look like those are gonna stop either, but I am getting off-track here. Let’s continue with the recap.

So Wiina showed up, that was wild. I didn’t really know about her until I talked to Glery at a later date. She cut a guy’s arm off in a flash, which was pretty damn brutal.

And then there was that dungeon incident that I… I can’t recall much, so let’s skip that.

Then the school just went poof and was replaced with a different one. We all have no idea what any of it could mean aside from the ‘leaked’ document Wiina posted on DieChan of all places.

Oh right, she did also do that crazy stunt of hers and posted it there too. Being on the government’s shitlist seems to not phased her at all.

After all of that, a new semester began and we got some time to practice magic and general combat. It was pretty exciting at times, and at others feel like you were completely powerless. It’s a weird lesson to give.

The curriculum is more or less the same, but with how much better the vibe is with the new decor it feels way less stuffy. Also less homework, that was really appreciated. Food is also better than ever. Students from other schools are probably green with envy.

And now here we are, with the dungeons opening up to the public again, it feels like this is going to be where things go either really right or really wrong. Who’s to say.

As it stands now I don’t feel particularly different than I was seven months ago, aside from the magic business. It is going in a positive direction at least, since I managed to get some cash, no matter how little it is.

Today is not the day we go back to school, it’d be next week on Monday. Stretching out the midterm break.

There are no assignments given to us, and there are also the holidays that will come next month. It looks like a period of time that gives us students quite a lot of free time.

It has all been a bit too smooth of a sailing, there seems to be some sort of blessing casted on this small town that gives us very little to grieve over in comparison to the rest of the world.

I think I have heard something about ‘territory’? I don’t focus on that too much since it basically means nothing, or rather not something that is too concrete of a guess for me to take seriously and consider. Maybe if I knew a lot more about these terminologies, I would be more interested.

Rico did tell me to start reading up on the library books, and I guess that would be what I am doing once it opens back up.

Right now? I’m just wasting my time and lost in my thoughts. Couldn’t see others doing anything particularly important at this time. We’re winding down a bit, especially after the highs and lows of dungeon runs and needing time to rest, or maybe just double down and continue to risk our lives for pennies and bragging rights.

If there was going to be any big incident happening, it would’ve been very deliberately orchestrated by one of the ‘defenders’. Wiina, Rico, and Wana are all strong enough to ward off a lot of the terrors shown in the news… Wait. Is this what that territory business was about? Was it that simple? If it was, I feel stupid for even dismissing it. Maybe I should use my brain for more than filling up my head with a bunch of words.

“Keeeek!” Huh?

*Flap*

A big humanoid bird landed on the ground in front of me, holding a giant spear that is much more visible than its crow-like color scheme blending well into the darkness. Great, a monster now of all times? I was just about to go back home and sleep.

This fucking bastard, getting out of the way!