Beyond M-Eclipse: Easy Mode LIVE

———Wiina———

“She just ran off on her own, huh…” I remarked as I played around with my hair.

“Just how she is, what can I say?” Karra replied. “Probably causing some carnage somewhere, so about the usual. What are the guys doing?”

“Most of them go to the gym or combat-related facilities, but Orrel and Gregori are checking the library.” I recounted what they all said before everyone split.

“...Is there anything revelatory there or…” Karra asked, clearly a bit concerned about information overload.

“In the forbidden section, which is there for the fun of it, basically.” Even then it’s not like it has anything too existential, as far as I can see.

“Ain’t that something…” She remarked. “...So do these secret rooms exist everywhere?”

“In a lot of facilities, but they don’t have much practical use besides being a private space, like this one.” I said, looking at the transparent wall behind her that is covered in orange light.

It’s probably bizarre to think we are in the globe of light that is on top of the canteen building. It looks like it’s just there for aesthetic, which it admittedly is, but no one would expect there to be a hidden telepad that gets you inside in. With tables and chairs.

It’s going to be fun seeing people discover these, even if most of them don’t have much to them. It’s like a secret area in a video game. Those are fun to find.

Anyway, how is everyone else doing I wonder…

———Lynda———

*Swing* *Evade*

“Shit!” That was too close of a call!

“Don’t just run away now!” She screamed as she kept swinging the massive scythe towards me.

*Swing* *Evade*

I felt goosebumps all over my body the moment the fight started, and since then I can’t do anything besides being on the defensive.

Just trying to parry her attack once leaves my arms completely numb, and the only thing I could reasonably do is dodge.

Damn it, don’t you think attacks that look like they hit as hard as a sports car ramming you at top speed is going a bit much!? I really feel like my limbs could be cut off here!

Her animalistic movements really make her seem more like an unhinged monster more than anything else. Hard to believe she’s part of the homeroom known for acing every subject with how she’s conducting herself. It’s like they’re in an entirely different realm!

“Attack me won’t ya!?” She yelled out before-

*Leap*

“Ugh!?” There’s no way I can dodge a human cannon ball!

*Swing* *Crash* *Clack*

“Gah!” Trying to swing my axe towards her doesn’t help counter her offense at all! She powered through it and slammed her body into mine and sent me flying, and I lost my axe as I was sent flying and hit the barrier… Wait.

“Trying to opt out already?” Shit, she figured it out quickly, but she’s a few seconds too late before I- “I set the match to stop only when you hug it for thirty seconds, not enough time.”

*Grab*

In my confusion I didn’t even realize she was running at me and grabbed me by the neck!

*Swing* *Slam*

“Argh!” I let out a cry of pain, my throat hurt as did the rest of my body… That bitch, she pulled a fast one on me!

“Alright, that’s enough.” Now someone else new came in!

*Slash* *Shatter*

“” A sharp sound is heard and suddenly the robot announcer says the fight is over, and I feel a sense of relief… In a more literal sense, with the healing magic fixing me up.

“I thought you might try something funny, but you practically speedrun it.” The newcomer said, and I turned my head to see a familiar figure. That’s-!

“You’re ruining my fun, Wiina.” Emmie bitterly said. That’s what she’s going to say, out of everything? “Guess I should’ve expected you to be around, since you’re so involved.”

“Should your tone be so haughty at a time like this?” Wiina said before glancing down at me.

“W-What the hell is going on?” Trener said, having been nothing but a spectator after that embarrassing loss.

“Anyway, got anything to say for yourself?” Wiina asked the crazed woman, ignoring the guy.

“Not much. You ruined my mood, that’s about it.” She said, sounding quite petty about it. “So why are you here?”

“What do you think?” She asked, clearly not expecting an answer. “Still, I hope you didn’t cause any trauma on the first day, that’d be one hell of a bad look.”

“Come on now, all the pain is skin deep anyway.” No they’re fucking not! It felt like some bones were broken!

“Not exactly convincing…” Wiina said as she took a glance at me. “I guess I can overlook this for now, if none of you have any objections.”

…I really want to complain, but with the heavy atmosphere I find it hard to say anything bold.

“Lynda…” Glery walked over, clearly rather concerned.

“I’m fine… mostly.” I replied, probably not sounding all too convincing.

“In that case, I’ll take my leave…” She said before turning her back to us. “Also, Emmie. You better not try something like that again. Lest the basement floors ended up with an early occupant.”

*Zoom*

Just as sudden as she appeared, she disappeared into thin air… What was that about the basement?

“She really kills my mood.” Emmie said before turning around to look at me, not with the same predatory gaze as a few minutes back. “Anyway, guess I have to dip. Get stronger or whatever.”

And with that, she just left. What’s with all the theatrics earlier?

…Also, she was really fucking scary. Despite her attitude just now, that’s not going to stop me from seeing as some sort of monster in human form. Just how strong is she? What about the others in the same class?

This whole situation felt like it should’ve made everyone a little bit more equal, at least in certain areas, and yet…

“So is anyone gonna fill me in on what just happened or…” Trener interrupted my line of thought with his annoying voice.

“Just go somewhere else, dude.” I said before gathering my stuff and having Glery follow behind.

———Kenni———

“How does matchmaking even work?” I asked out loud.

“No idea. Like will one be teleported to the other or what?” Jennla threw the idea out there. I meant more of if there’s some sort of weighted result, or is it completely random.

“I’m asking if it’s skill-based matchmaking.” I replied.

“Oh. That.” She awkwardly responded while scratching the back of her head. “I dunno. Can it even check how strong we are?”

“Let’s check its features more thoroughly first, rather than yapping.” I said before walking over to the interface and feign tapping around. I already know it exists, but that’s because of me getting early-access. “Huh. This is probably it.”

“Really? Lemme see!” Jennla walked over, excited about this for some reason.

“There are multiple types of results, which do you want to use?” I asked, just to give her the options.

“Uhh…” I guess she wouldn’t know which is the best. Honestly, I don’t either.

“Guess we’ll go with Magic Reading then.” I said while pressing a few more buttons and a magic circle appeared on the field. “Go step inside it.”

“Will do!” She said before walking over to it.

*Shine*

After a brief flash of light, the results came up, displaying the numbers above the control panel as a hologram.

“57/112” I repeated the result shown.

“...What does that even mean?” Jennla asked as she walked over. Thankfully, there is a help section to explain things.

“Seems like the former number is how much power you can put out in one go, and the latter is the amount of power you have. Output and Capacity, it said.” I explained using the terms mentioned in the explanation. “It also said the average capacity for humans is around 20.”

“What about the Output? Does it say anything about the average?” She asked, tilting her head.

“It just says that most people have the Output to Capacity ratio of one-to-four. If you try to input more mana into your spell than that ratio it will cause a strong recoil, damaging you physically and spiritually, whatever that means. It does seem like the latter number is still more important overall, since it’s your absolute limit.”

“...So if we dumbed it down to the bare basics, I’m five times stronger than a regular joe?” She asked while scratching her head.

“No idea. You would think that, but…” From what Wiina had told us, these readings aren’t always the most reliable. There are other factors that can amplify either numbers, this is the baseline. “We don’t know if the numbers are relative… And I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some other way to boost these numbers in the middle of a fight.”

“Like pulling a new power out of your ass?” Yeah, that. Isn’t that kinda common in fantasy stories anyway?

“Basically. I bet those exist.” I said, already knowing it to be true. “Anyway. Just showing the numbers on the screen isn’t all that exciting is it?”

“It’s a little bit interesting, at least.” She said, not having the same opinion as I do. It kinda lacks weight or has any sort of punchline, so it feels rather empty, at least to me. “Especially if I compared mine to yours.”

“What.” Is this what it’s all about?

“C’mon, I wanna know yours too! What’s your power level?” …I guess I should’ve expected that. She is right that there really needs to be something else for scale aside from the ‘average’.

“I guess that is the punchline ain’t it.” I said before repeating the process and walking over to the magic circle.

*Shine*

“...Huh.” Jennla muttered, clearly rather surprised and taking a bit of time processing it. “The hell is your training routine!? 141/299!? I thought I worked my ass off during the downtime!”

“Well clearly, it’s not enough.” I said with a grin. Okay, this is quite funny, seeing her reaction.

“You’re almost three times stronger than I am? How is that real?” She seems to find it hard to believe. The funny thing here is that it really does come down to the training method. I have access to more advanced tools right off the bat and a training partner in Karra… and Wiina a few times when I pissed her off hard enough.

*Smash* *Grab* *Slam*

“Aaagh!” I involuntarily screamed out loud as she swung her two hands down towards the back of my head, then grabbed me by the arm and slammed body against the hard floor.

*Crackle*

“Don’t pass out now.” She said as I could hear a crackling sound.

*Zap*

“AAAH!!!”

“With how much punishment she was taking, you’d think she’d come up with a safeword or something at this point.” Karra remarked as I lay down motionless on the floor.

“...Should you really call it that?” Wiina replied, clearly not pleased with that choice of words with the clear disapproval on her face.

“Hey, call it whatever you want, but I’m not a weak bitch, lemme tell you that.” I said while giving a thumbs up. Sure I was screaming my lungs out, but those were just reflexive things.

“...You have a problem.” Wiina said, and I think she’s stupid for saying that.

“Dumbass.” I said without care.

>>> Present Time

I’m made of sterner stuff mentally, so I’m not too bothered by basically getting tortured and beat up by those two. Hurt like hell, but it’s just in the moment, so I’m not really bothered.

I know full well they aren’t out to get me, so why would I care? It’s no different from trash-talking each other. Still friends at the end of the day with no hard feelings.

“Hello?” Oh right, she asked me something.

“I just found a good method of doing it…” Wait, do I even need to feign ignorance at this point? The school is already open, so I have no reason to hide anymore. “You see, I also get early-access to the institute’s facilities like Karra does. She just felt like saying it unlike m-

“HUH!?” She screamed loudly into my ears, before grabbing my shoulder and shaking my body suddenly. “Are you for real!?”

Yeah, of course that reaction was gonna happen…