Chương 107: Strength

Evel sat cross-legged, taking slow, controlled breaths. Albert stood behind him, a hand on his back. Around him, a few golden-yellow marigolds blossomed, scaling his body. Bit by bit, the impurities on his Core dissipated. Bit by bit, his body loosened. Bit by bit, a weight he didn't know he'd been carrying slipped off. And for the first time in ages, his mind returned to a calm, tranquil state. When he'd woken up, the headache had mostly disappeared, replaced by a heavy, groggy sensation. Now, even that was gone.

All that remained was a small portion of the initial headache, but a little pain like that was practically the same as none. He exhaled.

"I've already taken your credits," Albert said, patting him on the back a few times. He pushed himself to his feet and prepared to leave. Evel quickly got up and bowed to his teacher.

"You've done so much for me. Thank you." Albert gave him a strange expression, then sighed.

"Lunch is ready; I'll be in the garden if you need anything." Evel bowed again.

"Thank you!" For lunch, Albert had made him Ichoris' specialty: deer soup. It was created with a fruit that grew on the indigo trees, only found in the area and had a special sweetness. Combined with Albert's masterful cooking skills, the meal was delicious. He cleaned up the area and quickly thanked Albert one last time as he left. The day's training had been a success, and his body felt a lot lighter to boot. When he stepped out into the path, he realized he didn't actually have anywhere to be.

He'd given a load of responsibilities to Mateo, and with Yuna's management, they could pretty much take care of the entire circus by themselves. He'd just finished training, so his body was still a bit exhausted and he didn't want to take a stempack so early and train again. In the end, he decided to visit the circus anyway. It was important as their boss to make sure everything was running smoothly. A few steps in, he paused. Monday's their day off.

He seemed to recall something about Yuna considering changing the schedule. Or maybe different people worked on different days? A lot had changed since he was responsible for everything, and he hadn't been keeping track of all the little changes. He personally didn't show up on Mondays anyway. May as well check it out. I'm sure they expect me to come around and make Mateo's transition as smooth as possible. I guess I also never read yesterday's newspaper since I went to sleep so early, either...

Walking through the city, he arrived at Steven's door. The door chimed as he entered.

"Yesterday's newspaper, please."

"Right! Of course," Steven said, almost jolting from his seat as he scurried to grab the paper. Strange... He decided to stay in the store as he read through the paper's contents, which ended up being nothing special. A few inconsequential changes in prices and business stories, with a few fun and tragic stories mixed in. Placing the paper back on the counter, he nodded. He'd been a bit concerned it would be a waste of time, but the lack of news allowed him to finish it fairly quickly.

I shouldn't waste much time at the circus either. I need to keep pushing myself. He left without another word, heading towards the slums. When he arrived at the bridge, both guards avoided him and let him pass without issue. It wasn't just him who'd cross the bridge now. With all the workers of the circus, as well as the traffic from the Uppers visiting his circus, their days had gotten pretty busy. Poor guys probably just wanted to laze off. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen.

Report the violation. He leisurely walked through the alleyway, and another round of fresh faces caught his eye. Most of them were sitting along the road in makeshift tents with cardboard roofs. They looked exhausted and were covered by the slum's signature layer of white ash from the mines. He continued. When he finally arrived at the tent, it was bustling with activity. Noticing a mask on the ground, he got an idea. He placed it on his head, changed his manner of movement, and quietly slipped in.

He slowly walked around before arriving at the end of the stage, which contained a fairly high vantage point. Surprisingly, most of the oldest workers were here. When was their day off, then? Toan was creating some sort of costume, and a few others were watching him — whether he was teaching them or the other way around, it was impossible to discern. He… he knows what he's doing… Toan ripped apart the costume he'd been sewing and started from scratch. Probably.

Clara was in the midst of perfecting her gymnastics routine as a few workers in similar costumes watched. Mateo was giving lessons to other magicians-to-be, but his eyes kept darting towards Clara between tricks. The two did seem to spend a lot of time together, but he'd never really given it much thought. Were they romantically interested in each other? He couldn't find Yuna, but he had no concerns about her slacking. She'd more than proved herself, and probably took the day off.

Although he knew he was wasting his time, he decided to stay for just a bit longer to ensure everything was going smoothly. He continued watching for the next half hour or so with a soft smile underneath his mask when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Sorry, what was your name again?" Yuna politely asked. About time I leave anyway… When he took off his mask, she completely froze.

"E-Eth!" she stammered. Her reaction was a bit extreme, but considering he was responsible for paying her, it wasn't unexpected.

"How's everything with you?"

"Yes! Great! Toan is working on the costumes for the clowns, Mat—" Evel raised his hand and cut her off. He'd already seen it all himself and didn't need her summary.

"A-are you planning on staying for the day?"

"No, I was just checking in."

"Okay." She softly exhaled. It had been exactly two weeks since he got the message from Graham. He'd said there was one month until Colton's return, which gave Evel only two more weeks to train. Although that time frame couldn't be fully trusted, it was probably accurate. If Graham's intention was truly to screw over the Mayor, he had no reason to lie. He still had time to train. To get stronger. Thinking of the upcoming battle, he remembered one important thing he'd yet to do.

"Oh, another thing." She looked at him.

"Keep a lookout for a copper-haired man from Redigo. His resting face might be a little angry, and he should have a glass emblem on his chest." He wasn't sure why he hadn't thought of doing this earlier, but having the circus keep an eye out could be a major help in ensuring he didn't fall into an ambush.

"Glass emblems? The ones with the little knives on them?"

"Yes, but it might have a hammer or wheel as well. We can expect him to show up in the eastern slums. The moment he's seen anywhere, I am to know. If he comes looking for me, tell him I'm in the far west slums." She paled.

"W-west slums? Where the gangs are, and disappearances happen?" I guess she doesn't know that Redigo is responsible for whatever activities they're doing there. With a nod, he went into more detail on the specific location. The location he had in mind was far from the strange teleportation door, so he wouldn't meet any unexpected surprises. Other than that door, the western slums were basically empty and perfect for a fight. The area was also close to the forest, so he could make a run for it whenever he needed to.

No… I've run enough. I need to win.

"I'll let everyone know. Is… is that everything?" Yuna's behaviour was a little strange. There was probably a lot going on in her life in the past weeks that he'd never bothered to learn about. If she wanted to tell him, she would. With a quick nod, he left the circus. The day was still young. With his body and mind rested, he could start pushing himself to the limit again.

He wanted to spend a bit more time watching the circus performances, helping them out with a few small things here and there, but wasting his time like that would only get him killed. He'd already taken enough time to rest. A longer break wouldn't help him catch up. A longer break wouldn't help him with the fight. Steeling his mind, he threw himself back into training once more. This time he didn't have a myriad of responsibilities in the circus dragging him down.

With Yuna taking care of all the management and Mateo responsible for becoming The Oracle Hand, he was finally free to train as hard as he could. His strength would grow at unforeseen speeds! And to get stronger in such a limited time frame, he needed to become as efficient as humanly possible. The usage of sunken vials continued at four a week. As a temporary measure, it was necessary, and he'd immediately lay off as soon as the fight was over. The usage of stempacks increased.

The usage of the rest pods increased. The headache returned in full. Unfortunate, but ultimately an inevitable side effect of getting stronger. The week passed by, and for the first time since its inception, the Ichoris Legerdemain did its full performance with Evel nowhere in sight. Instead, he was in his room, lying flat on the carpet, heaving deep, heavy breaths and tightly clutching his head, a desperate attempt to contain the torture blooming within. Beside him was the empty container of a Sunken Vial.

The fifth one that week. But he'd only use more until the fight with Colton. Then he'd return to normal. Once he got strong enough, everything would return to normal. As he felt his strength increase, so did the constant agony in his mind. Evel crawled up from the floor, and his shaky hands moved to the stempack on his table. With it, he'd be able to keep training. The exhaustion, the agony, the gnawing hollowness. None of it mattered; strength was the only thing that mattered.