Beyond M-Eclipse: Easy Mode LIVE

———Fiss———

<9: 09 AM>

Just… What the hell is this reality I’m living in right now?

I feel so damn lost just wandering around having no idea what to do next. Points? Rewards? Like hell I know what any of that means.

If it wasn’t for all that crazy stuff this place has pulled off I might’ve gone hysteric at this point, and even then I still don’t get why this is happening or how.

I really need to keep myself together… Don’t panic. Try to be rational, overly rational.

…Huh? Is that a town? I’m seeing some buildings over there. Why are there human-made structures in a place like this?

I walked over to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating, and indeed there seemed to be a city block in the middle of nowhere. Decently sized too.

I doubt all the buildings are gonna be empty, though I don’t really know what could be here aside from maybe some loot. Maybe I could exchange those for a spear if there isn’t an armory or something like that here.

…A bunch of nondescript buildings. There doesn’t seem to be a store anywhere? Maybe it’s just not labeled on the outside? Let’s check each building and see what each one has…

This one has a receptionist desk and a few chairs placed next to a wall. No idea what sort of building is, seems a bit too lacking in detail. There is a box on the counter.

…It’s a sword. That’s unfortunate, but I could just sell it, so let’s just take it for now before going further into this building.

“Uh!? …Oh.” I thought that was an actual person. It’s just a mannequin wearing a suit. Scare the hell out of me.

…Does it have anything on it that I could sell? I might as well check with this blue device… Oh. There’s something in the suit’s pocket. Let me see here… Is this a freaking grenade? The hell is this doing on a mannequin.

At least it sells for just enough to exchange for a spear. Let’s do that right now just in case I get into a fight.

Anything else? There’s a plant pot in here… Nothing from the scan, so probably just for aesthetics. Though I think it was said that unsellable items won’t be scanned, so I can’t be too sure…

…!? I saw a shadow moving. Someone seems to be outside right now and doesn't seem to notice me. I almost gave myself away by trying to literally dig for clues.

*Rumble*

The floor is shaking and I can hear something in the distance. There seem to be people fighting outside.

*Rumble* *Crash*

“Aguh!?” I screamed out when the pot fell over and shattered. The people fighting outside must be crazy strong to cause the place to shake like this… And there’s nothing in there, it seems.

I want to see what is happening outside right now. A battle causing such a ruckus can’t be a simple scrapping for points. They’re really going at it.

*Smash* *Crash*

Before I could even step outside the corridor, something had smashed through the building and torn through the walls separating me from the outside.

Luckily for me, I wasn’t caught in the crossfire, but what the hell was that? That was freaking terrifying. It’s like they thought those solid walls were made of tissue paper. Normally you’d be a red paste on the wall by now, right? I don’t see a bloodstain anywhere, big or small. Did whoever got attacked managed to tank that?

*Strike* *Crash*

I quietly walked out of the building and looked in the direction I sensed the fight happening. One of them was being hit in the gut so hard he got launched into another building. How the hell is he tanking stuff like that?

*Grapple* *Strike* *Evade*

Both of them are still going at it with just their bare hands and nothing else. It’s weird. The power output seems kinda low compared to what I usually see but the environmental destruction is saying otherwise. I feel like someone who could shred through buildings just as collateral damage would’ve been talked about a bit more. I mean the people in that class were considered a big deal, right?

Maybe I’m seeing something I’m not supposed to see here. Two juggernauts fighting and I’m stuck as a spectator. Can I maybe ambush one of them after the fight is over? They seem quite even so whoever is left at the end should be plenty exhausted. It’s a dirty tactic but if it works then it doesn’t matter.

*Strike* *Smash* *Grapple*

Both of them seem to be low on power as they’re struggling to even push each other right now. Just get this done quickly so I can swoop in for the… Hold on.

*Dash* *Pierce*

““Owugh!?”” Both of them were taken by surprise as a spear pierced through the two of them.

“Sorry about that.” I casually said before taking a few steps back with the two collapsing to the ground before dissipating into digital smokes.

Well if nothing else that effect helps to reinforce the fact that we’re not in the real world. I’d have some doubt if all I was left with were two corpses on the ground.

Talk about luck. Those were two brawlers so I can easily sneak in and attack both at the same time. I got their points, the kill points and a kill steak bonus on top of that.

…Two hundred and fifty and nothing else? Those two were broke! Not a single point on any of them! What a scam!

Ugh. I guess it’s still way too early for that. It hasn’t even been half an hour since we started. I’m still trying to make sense of it all, and not everyone is gonna know what to do at the moment. Even when I was hearing out the rules and important tidbits it still felt like I was daydreaming.

Heck. I still don’t know why it said everyone entered at eight thirty-one when I’m pretty sure I overslept and came in late. I still haven’t wrapped my head around that. I could’ve sworn it was almost nine when I entered the main building.

…Ugh. I really can’t think at all. Not much to do but ride the wave like everyone else is doing. Maybe once I get a map or something I’ll have a plan.

…First off. I should search through this city block and make sure I’m not missing anything. Hopefully nothing important was destroyed in the aftermath…

But I need to do it quickly as well. Such a big commotion will cause anyone close by to come investigate sooner or later. I’m on a strict time limit here.

———Lynda———

<9: 17 AM>

“Hmm…” I muttered to myself while looking at the sky. The fact that the number is on there right now means that someone was eliminated earlier. Might be one of the last few eliminations of the day considering the size of the map. Hats off to them.

“At least they get out early. I suppose.” Glery said to give them a bit of consolation.

“A loser is still a loser. If they wanna get out with some dignity then they’ll stick it out.” I commented. “I’m not looking to be someone eliminated in literally a minute of the match.”

“It’s still quite absurd that the acceleration is cranked that high. It’s hard to believe such a thing wouldn’t cause some sort of damage once we leave this space.” Glery commented on that particular detail.

“I wouldn’t worry about that, personally.” It’s just something that’s probably better for us to ignore in the long run. Less sense of existential dread that way. “Ugh. How long until we actually find something! We’ve been walking for like half an hour!”

“It’s only natural that we won’t find something so soon. We’re talking about an entire state here.” Glery pointed out.

“You’d think it’d be packed with anything else to fill out this empty field! Who made a map and kept it barren like this nowadays!?” I said in frustration. This is some procedural generation nonsense.

“Calm down. Unless you want to run at full speed and risk being noticed.” She flatly said. As if I’m crazy enough to risk that. What if we’re in the proximity of one of those guys? That’s just asking for an early and embarrassing exit.

“Yeah nah.” I said in response. “Here I thought the road would’ve led us somewhere by now. Too bad neither of us have any observation-based ability. For all we know we moved in the wrong direction.”

“Could’ve been the case.” You don’t need to say that out loud!

“Damn it. If only we had some sort of radar or something as well…” As it is we can’t sense anyone since everyone has learned about energy control. They know to suppress it at all times and not let anything leak out less they leave themselves wide open or be clocked in as a threat. Even those rowdy folks in the guild let it slip often and made me think they were gonna stir up some trouble.

“We can’t really ask for much today. Odds are we’re not going to run into anybody else today.” Glery reassures me. So what. We’re gonna book it?

“…So we’re running then?” I asked to be sure we’re on the same page.

“Might as well.” She replied. Hmph. What’s going on today? Usually I’m the one who advocates taking risks ain’t I? “W-What are you-!?”

“Hang on tight!” I said after scooping her up in my arms.

*Dash* *Leap*

———Kenni———

<9: 23 AM>

Hmm… Well it doesn’t look like anything interesting is gonna happen today. I might as well take a nap and worry about other things tomorrow. Now which one of these buildings has a bedroom for me to use? Maybe with a couple of snacks as well.

I can worry about getting a map tomorrow. Not like I have to worry that much about where I am on it anyway. I can zip around the entire map just fine.

Anything looking like a hotel here? Most of the buildings, no matter how big or small, look rather generic and lacking in color.

…That one building looks a bit fancier. Some gold lining on the outside. Let’s see here.

This place certainly looked like a hotel lobby. As expected there is no one around manning the place, and I have the free reign to do whatever.

Let’s go upstairs and see what we got, or the elevator, rather.

…Yep. This is a hotel corridor alright, or an apartment. I don’t really care as long as I can take a break for the rest of the day. Are any of these unlocked or do I actually have to find a keycard…

…Whoever designed this map. I hate you.

———Lynda———

<9: 28 AM>

“Well we did find a city block. I guess.” It’s kinda awkward how there’s just a square area with buildings in it. Looks so jarring. Aside from that there are also other pathways leading here, so there’s a chance we find someone here… “...Isn’t it kinda messed up how some people in the school could just nuke this place and take away all resources?”

“Perhaps, but I doubt we have to worry about such a possibility right now. Let’s search this place for items.” Glery said before moving on ahead.

“...Actually. Do you think destroying it would leave the items intact? Those should have special properties, right?” I asked since if we did it that way we can skip the searching phase.

“Please don’t do that.” She quickly shut the idea down.

“Ugh. Fine. Let’s do this the boring way.” I said as I followed her lead.

———Kenni———

<9: 30 AM>

Well at least everything seems to work. The air conditioner, the fridge, the TV on the wall, all that stuff works perfectly fine.

Nice bed for me to sleep in and slack off. I already checked the map and I’ll be fine for the day. Looks like I’m just barely off the edge.

Alright, time for a long nap and hope no one comes over. I’m taking it easy.