Beyond M-Eclipse: Easy Mode LIVE

———Karra———

<9: 58 pm>

“Huh. I didn’t realize you three go along with a family drama.” I remarked, despite having been involved in something way wilder. They’re not supposed to know, so let’s forget that topic for now.

I take a glance at Wiina on her computer, playing games. She’s not listening in on this at all.

“<Unfortunately, even now I do not know the full story. I doubt even Emmie knows all that is happening. From the sound of it she only went along because she wanted to have some fun in the dungeon, not going in solo for once.>” Orrel explained. I could probably just ask Wiina about it. I wouldn’t be surprised if she figured out a few details Orrel didn’t.

“<...Say. What did you talk with Kenni about yesterday?>” Qyunda suddenly asked. Come on now, does she really have to ask that?

“Something about her dungeon shenanigans. It’s a long story and I’d rather not elaborate on it.” Seriously, it’s a tale that lasts over a month. I wasn’t there for most of it, of course, which further justified my silence on the matter. Just go harass Kenni about it.

“<Did she get in trouble for something?>” Malk asked, starting to get curious. I probably shouldn’t give too many hints.

“You could say that. She wasn’t exactly being clear on the details, so who knows what went down.” I said while trying to sound dismissive. Kenni isn’t even here right now, so I doubt their curiosity will pique that much.

“<Hmm… That sounds like it could be troublesome.>” Gregori said. With how vague it was, it’s reasonable to think something less than civil happened. The other party is a bit too much for even her to provoke, so nothing like that actually happens. She isn’t stupid enough to tempt fate like that.

“All I really know is that she’s talking it out. We all should know by now she’s not that stupid.” I elaborated so they don’t need to worry about her.

“<So what have you been doing?>” Jeff changed the topic of the conversation since it’s clear we’re not getting anywhere about what shenanigans Kenni is up to. I actually do know more than that, but I don’t want to spill the beans. “<Is it something to do with Kenni? You did talk to her about it.>”

“Yeah? That seems obvious, but outside of discussing what she should do, I just stroll around or slack off. I don’t really want to be involved, as you all may guess.” Kenni might bitch at me later for pinning it all on her, but she would probably be a bit annoyed at most. Maybe she’ll flip the script around and make fools out of them, but that’s all up in the air. “But on what you were saying, Orrel. How many floors was it? You only said ‘pretty deep’.”

“<Twenty five. We could’ve gone further, but the others are so low on stamina and mana that they can’t even defend themselves, so we need to end the run earlier than we otherwise would.>” Guess this time around, the more isn’t the merrier.

“<I guess you didn’t have enough potions to go around for that.>” Malk remarked.

“<It’s more than that. They are just not equipped to handle those floors in the first place. Maybe they could be kept safe if one of us stood and guard them, but that just shows that they are a liability. It really killed Emmie’s mood about the prospect, as if she didn’t already keen on fighting by herself.>” Orrel further elaborated. “<From my understanding, the dungeon run is kind of a pretext to gather the relevant parties together first and foremost due to the ongoing tension, so there was no point of continuing further once things got too much for them to handle.>”

“<I guess you three were always meant to be the third wheel, not the other way around.>” Sixson pointed out. “<But still, surely there is a better way for reconciliation than this.>”

“<My best guess is that it is a plan that was rushed out, considering the heavy atmosphere between them and dialogue that I heard bits and pieces of being rather incoherent at times.>” So this is probably thought up in like a day or two at most. Is it really alright to be so hasty?

“<Well that probably means things didn’t end as gracefully as it could have. Hope it doesn’t end worse than how it started, at least.>” Qyunda remarked.

“<It doesn’t look that way to me, at least.>” Orrel gave his opinion.

“Well, it would be nice to know if it improves from the other two.” I said loud enough for Wiina to actually hear me. She simply looked at me with a nod before continuing her gaming session.

“<Why did your volume spike up just now?>” Jeff asked, obviously not knowing the reason why. I didn’t turn my camera on, so there’s no way they even know I’m with someone else, let alone that I’m in Wiina’s house right now.

“<So those two topics aside. What have you guys been doing? Malk and I have been hanging out in his house.>” …Is that what we’re calling it now?

“<I’m procrastinating.>” Jeff said without hesitance. Rather rare for him to slack off. He’s one of the more active people in our class. “<Sixson beat the shit out of me yesterday and I’m still sore from what.>”

“<What the hell happened there?>” Useph asked, sounding bewildered. The ‘beat the shit out me’ part is par for the course. Jeff’s fighting style is very prone to making him lose due to the recoil of his attacks, and Sixson is just flat out stronger and more skilled than he is. What is weird is that…

“<What in the world did you say or do to him for that to happen? He’s no Emmie.>” Malk spelled out what I was saying. Jeff can be a bit dense, so it could happen, but it’s still unlikely and odd.

“<I forgot.>” What. You can’t just forget that!

“<You… Whatever. Forget it. Sixson, care to speak up?>” Gregori was about to complain before realizing that Sixson is still on the call. He tends to be quiet so sometimes we forget he’s even there. Wiina is also like that on occasion, despite talking a bit more. “<...Sixson? Six? Are you there? Is he AFK?>”

“Well ain’t that convenient.” I can’t help but comment. Guess we’re not figuring that out for a while. “...Say. I did remember something popped up not too long ago. Did you guys ever go there?”

“<What are you talking about?>” Useph asked. Well, I guess I should've been a bit more clear.

“The clinic. What was it called again? Baguette Beal? The one near the dungeon.” It has a weird name. It also has a bread section, for some reason.

“<...Orrel, have you heard of it?>” Useph clearly didn’t, so he asked his best friend about it instead.”

“<I have heard some people mention it, but it never really crossed my mind. After all, it’s not like we are prone to getting serious injuries. I think all of us know to bail out when need be.>” He only has slightly more clues on it.

“<I haven’t set foot inside, but I did notice how peculiar the place is.>” Gregori meanwhile has some clue on what is going on with the place. I was thinking about checking it out and actually trying the bread, but the business with Kenni came up. I couldn’t really pass up the chance of getting involved in something that interesting. It was slightly stressful, and obviously I can stream it, but it was intriguing nonetheless.

“<Nothing on my end, and probably Qyunda’s as well.>” Malk answer for both of them. I guess I’ll go check it out with Wiina tomorrow. For all I know, it might actually be a sketchy place. Healing is more important than ever with a risky job like dungeon diving for materials used for who-knows-what.

“<Yep. Never heard of it. Why is there a clinic open up now of all times? We already have a hospital close by, right?>” Qyunda asked, equally confused and clueless. I thought this was quite a hot topic, maybe I was wrong on that front?

“<If I were to guess, then it’s because dungeon diving has made local medical facilities a bit more desirable. Though the probable and mundane reason is simply that the Eclipse caused a lot of havoc and therefore delay the process of constructing and opening up the clinic until now.>” Orrel offers some theories. I guess it could just be something that simple, especially since it looks like the owner wants the place to be more… flexible in what it can offer. Probably need multiple licenses for that.

“<Doesn’t really explain the bread…>” Gregori noted. “<Feels like some kooky characters start coming out of the woodworks once the world has gone topsy-turvy.>”

“<But Coach Wana was already there?>” Jeff asked while sounding genuinely surprised.

“<If you say shit like that one more time I’ll put you in the clinic.>” Gregori threatened. Well that’s one way to excuse your way into the doctor’s office.

“<Speaking of kooky. Where did Emmie and Kenni go afterward?>” Jeff just ignored his threat and quickly moved on to a different question.

“<No idea. Probably going back home and doing whatever she does. Her hobbies are quite the enigmas.>” Orrel said semi-sarcastically. Always a rather private person.

“As for Kenni… She flies off somewhere. She loves abusing the power to fly.” And I get it, if you can fly, why won’t you. People always dream of flight… I mean we technically already succeed in that, but it’s rather limited and costly. Kenni can just do that whenever she wants and it is probably very convenient. The ability to travel with little to no restriction.

“<I still have no idea how she flies with those.>” Qyunda remarked.

“<It certainly is not large enough to carry the weight of a human, not to mention how an avian’s body is lighter relative to their size than a human does. Two things are working against her in that regard, and yet she still flies anyway.>” Orrel repeats that sticking point. “<Of course, she can use mana to reinforce those wings to be much more effective, perhaps flapping faster and with much greater force, but a human’s body is not aerodynamic in shape. Saying she powers herself up is not enough of an explanation.>”

“<Just come out with the answer, we already talk about this, isn’t that right?>” Gregori chimed in. What is this explanation they have been keeping quiet for who knows for long?

“<...Basically. Her body seems to have some sort of magic spell programmed into it. You can think of it like a magic tool which will activate a spell once you put in the necessary mana. From what I’ve read on demi-humans and the like, that is one thing that regular humans don’t have. It’s an innate magic that helps emphasize the special capability of that subrace.>” Hm. That’s quite interesting. Is Qyunda’ regeneration something like that? It’s not super strong, but it’s definitely more than what a regular human can do. “<For example, in Karra’s case as a horse girl. She should already instinctively know how to use spells that will enchanted her speed, or specifically her legs.>”

“Wait. I didn’t know that.” I said before looking at Wiina to see if she knew about this the whole time, but right now she is still occupied.

“<I doubt most of you do. Aside from that certain demi-humans should have abilities similar to that of their animal counterparts that aren't necessarily magical in nature.>” Orrel further explained. “<And certain individuals in that group can have special addons as well. Some of us might have something like that.>”

*Tap* *Tap*

“Hm?” I got tapped on my shoulder, so I turned to look and Wiina was holding a tiny whiteboard with the message ‘Qyunda has a hidden stinger in her tail that has deadly venom’. Well that’s quite a neat ability… Hold on a second. Let me just mute myself first… “Have you been listening in this whole time!?”