Beyond M-Eclipse: Easy Mode LIVE

———Wiina———

“...You know. I still don’t really know why all of this even happened.” Karra suddenly asked a pretty important question as she lay on my lap, basking in the calm atmosphere of the park.

“It might be something we will never know for centuries.” I jokingly said… Somewhat jokingly said. “There might be new myths and legends that come out, saying this is all the sparking point… Who really knows what people will say to justify its existence.”

“...Huh. Speaking of that, weren’t those zealots panicking really badly? It was on the news and all.” She brings up a rather old topic we haven’t really talked about much. “Did they come up with a new excuse? I haven’t seen those guys stirring stuff up online or anything, were they just moping and coping?”

“Not really something I really care to look into. There are more relevant topics to look through.” I answered honestly. It’s just stuff to get infuriated over and ultimately doing nothing about. It’s a bunch of dumb discussions, but not dumb enough to be worth talking about or taking actions. “But more importantly… Actually. There’s not much to do or say, it feels like. At least as it stands right now.” 

“Been a bunch of slow weeks. Nothing wrong with that, but I also haven’t got much to do or stream.” She mentioned. It’s not like the school prevents her from streaming or anything, but it’s not like she has much time to do it before she has to go back to class. Not because the schedule is strict, but just that a long stream is better overall, and she could only reasonably stream for about an hour in there. She also doesn’t want to test the limit of how long the school is actually open.

Obviously she still posts short videos and pictures to gather attention, but her options aren’t all that exciting or unpredictable. She’s been getting real sick of talk-only streams.

“...So speaking of not having much to do, I guess you haven’t been up to anything either?” Karra asked, keeping the conversation going as we simply basked in the gentle breeze.

“Nothing of the sort. I barely get asked to do anything, and I don’t have plans of my own.” I don’t really have grand ambitions or anything like that, and I see no point in stirring stuff up for fun… Well. At least I don’t feel the need to.

In the early months while I was still exploring what I can do and being strung along to train, as well as getting bothered by those guys, I was definitely doing a few stunts I didn’t need to. That Antarctica stunt is definitely impressive in many ways and got me on a bunch of headlines, but practically becoming a global enemy because those guys couldn’t stop throwing tantrums about their foolish expedition and need someone to lash out on, was a bit of a headache for a while.

They were seriously hunting and interrogating anyone who even remotely looked like me, thinking just my general color scheme and being in an English-speaking country is enough to start harassing people, starting with this town, of course.

The backlash to that was so big that thankfully I didn’t have to step-in and do some dirty business to get them to stop, but it does leave a bad taste in my mouth after everything was said and done.

Maybe if I was way less compromising like the old guards I would’ve been less bothered by it and willing to… Let’s not go there.

“Guess you won’t be pulling any stunts for a good while.” She remarked. I don’t really have a crave for that kind of attention right now. If anything I’d rather her have it, since she would benefit more from it than I do.

Fame can translate into a lot of wealth, and I wasn’t really willing to capitalize on it. It was just a bunch of things I do on a whim, and I couldn’t bother with a follow-up.

“Of course I wouldn’t. No good idea to act on, as of late. In fact all those things are basically crimes of opportunity.” I simplified the cause and effect. How and why I do those things that normally I wouldn’t do. At this point I should just sit still and only show up when… Wait a second. “Maybe if you give me some ideas then maybe I could stir stuff up, just for you.”

“Where did that come from?” She asked with an amused chuckle.

“From this conversation, obviously.” I replied sarcastically. “But like you said, there’s nothing happening for me to act on, or have anywhere to really get loose without much issue. I don’t really have much of a creative drive.”

“So you’re asking me for ideas?” She seems a bit bewildered that this is what I’m insinuating.

“More like requests. I guess.” I replied, getting a bit coy. “I think you could use someone to help you with your content.”

“So that’s where you’re going with this.” She said before her eyes darted away. “Honestly. I really don’t want to bother you with it. I know this can really snowball into a… less than ideal relationship.”

“Is that what you think?” She’s showing a surprising lack of confidence. I guess it’s because it could jeopardize our bonds, and she doesn’t want to risk ruining something so precious. “Then I guess we should stop talking about this for now then.”

“Yeah…” She sheepishly replied. I still think I need to act to give her more success in the future, but if she doesn’t want me to do it because she asked me to, then I need to do things on my own accord… and I have zero ideas in mind of what to do, so let’s put that line of thought elsewhere for the time being.

At least she isn’t afraid to ask for something when it’s a rather pressing matter, but it has only happened once so far…

…Will I be able to do the same kind of act as hers? Probably not, but I shouldn’t be reserved if push comes to shove.

What she did yesterday was more than needed. It was excessive, torturing both the mind and body when all she needed was getting rid of the intruders and extracting information. There wasn’t a need for such an excessive and flashy execution.

Now as for what I’m doing. There are two objectives, both are directly linked, and it should be easy enough as long as I don’t fool around.

First I just need to apprehend… I don’t actually know how many there are, but as long as they stop making trouble, it’ll work out.

And as for the second objective, which is a bit simpler, is to find and confirm the safety of-

“Hey! Who the fuck are you!” Someone shouted out, probably addressing me considering my conspicuous appearance. I’m wearing a long black robe with the hood on so no one recognizes me at first sight, alongside changing my hair and eye colors to match for extra measure. It probably seems redundant to do both at the same time, but you can never be too cautious, at least up to a point. “Answer right now!”

Now is this one part of the gang or is it just a random violent bystander. He has a gun on him, looks pissed off, and very paranoid. I can’t be too certain.

“I could say the same about you.” I deflected calmly. I obviously don’t want anyone to know what I’m doing, and I’m not exactly a good actor. Not saying anything revealing is the best I could really do.

“You know who you’re talking to right now!?” He yelled out while pointing at the armband with a distinct symbol on it. So he is part of the gang. If I am to go with my original plan and method, then I should silence him quickly.

*Dash* *Smack*

“Agh!” I quickly got behind him before he could even aim his gun at me, and hit him hard in the head, making him fall to the ground. For good measure, I took his gun and put it away, just to be certain he can’t stir trouble after waking up.

Now where was I… Right. I need to find her and make sure she’s safe. If Karra’s description is accurate, then it might already be too late, but that’s just way too cynical of a take to say out loud. It’s been two days of radio silence, and a lot can happen during that time.

…Of course, I already gathered all the information needed to be certain that she is still alive. I know what to do and where to go

If I was just ‘merely’ strong, then all of this would’ve been a bit of a wild goose chase for a while. I need to gather information normally, talk to people, search the area, and all those mundane tasks that will take too long for my liking. Raw power is not going to make this mission that much smoother, at least not by itself.

However, as a cheat, not only do I have a vast pool of strength, but I have a ton of esoteric abilities that I don’t use on a daily basis because it’s going to warp my worldview if I keep any of it on for too long.

I can simply survey the large area around me passively, picking up on life signals, looking through walls, checking the level of strengths of each person, the emotions emitted by each individual, their intent, all that jazz. I can see all of that just by looking around for a bit, and the range extends to the entirety of the city itself.

And then for extra hax, now that I know where I need to go with information Karra has given me and those I’ve gained just now…

*Zoom* 

“Wha-!?” The tanned woman is obviously bewildered at my sudden appearance, but that’s not important.

*Shine*

I enacted a barrier around her and the other hostages to make sure they’re protected from even bullets. They are still scattered throughout the hideout, but this should suffice.

“How did you get in-

*Smack* *Crash*

I smacked the guy trying to threaten me with a gun with the back side of my hand, sending him flying into the wall. I think I have enough of those cliche lines.

Also, aren’t you guys also mages? Where’s your staff and- Oh right, those aren’t all that practical in comparison to a firearm, not to mention I ended the fight way too quickly for them to even start doing that.

Looks like she doesn’t have anyone else watching over her, but the commotion is definitely going to attract more of these mooks.

“Who the hell are you?” She asked from within the barrier bubble that is preventing her from moving. I could’ve just given everyone a barrier around their body akin to some sort of magic armor, but just to be safe, they’ll be staying where they are until I’m finished.

“I guess you earned that much.” I said, even if it’s simply because she’s an online friend of hers. I reverted back to my usual appearance and took off the hood. Her eyes widened as she could clearly recognize my looks. My appearance is definitely not unknown after the stunt I pulled that put me on a bunch of shit lists. “Now then, time to go get rid of those eyesores. I’m sure you’re sick of those already.”

*Zoom* *Punch*

I teleported right into the room of the head honcho and punched him right in the jaw, just when he was relaxing in his room.

*Smack* *Smash*

I beat him up some more until he’s unconscious, lay down on the floor pathetically beaten up. He didn’t even get a single word in, probably not comprehending my appearance in the first place.

“Boss!” A few members break through the door and try to apprehend me, probably confused as all hell as to how did I even get in here.

*Smack* *Chop* *Smash*

I quickly subdue them without trouble. Too slow and weak, to no fault of their own, the gap of strength is simply too big.

Hmm… Now that I think about it, using my fists are too slow at subduing all of them, not to mention the small chance of causing lifelong injury. Let’s use a sleep spell and get this over with quickly.

Now what hand motion should I use? Fingersnap is kinda overdone at this point. Pointing? Waving?

“Put your hands up!” More mobs joined in while I was trying to decide. What a pain, what should I choose?

…You know what, let’s not make unnecessary movement and let the spell do its thing.

*Thud*

Yeah. That’ll work. Casting a spell that incapacitated all of the members. Now let’s gather them and lock them up somewhere while I move the prisoners…