Chương 131: Chapter 132: First Play

Evel felt a gust of wind as he barely ducked Albert's punch. He kicked off, lunging towards Albert's leg and grasping tightly to destabilize him. But his teacher remained too firm, easily shaking him off. Bam! Albert's other leg crashed into Evel, sending him soaring into the distance. His body bounced a few times, but he quickly caught himself, sliding backward on his feet. Albert, in his signature neon-yellow shirt, smirked, opening his mouth to comment, but Evel was already upon him. BAM! A clean hit to his gut.

He reeled back another arm for a follow-up, and Albert shifted his body weight backward to give himself more space to block. But Evel was already prepared, and he wouldn't let his teacher's moment of distraction go unpunished. He got low, rotating around Albert's guard. Bam! Another clean hit, right on Albert's ribs. If it weren't for the subtle movement that absorbed most of the hit, his teacher would have been seriously hurt! Evel jumped back and disengaged, keeping his body light in case of a follow-up.

"You're stronger than before," Albert commented. The corner of Evel's lips curled upward. Despite a full month without training, he could feel it. His movements were lighter, his thoughts clearer, and his reaction speed quicker. Evel burst forward again, meeting Albert in the middle and raining down a series of punches and kicks. His teacher dodged most of them, letting the least harmful ones through, and parrying the rest. In return, Evel received a few hits of his own.

After a minute of exchanges, the two separated again. Evel was a little worse for wear, but the enormous gap was no longer there.

"Alright, not bad." Albert smiled.

"I'll raise my speed again." Evel raised his chin.

"I haven't even caught up to this speed yet. Are you that afraid of losing a single battle?"

"Hoh? Bold words, but unlike somebody I know, I don't fall for such shallow taunts."

"Tch." Albert's muscles strained.

"Now I'm only one level slower than you." Though Evel was still faster than Albert, the following fight could hardly be called such. Desperately fending off the intensifying attacks, a wide grin spread across Evel's face regardless of the beating he was receiving. Even compared to when he'd faced Albert at his slowest, he was already faring better. His improvement was undeniable! Evel sipped the broth from the wooden ladle, his face bruised and purple. Once Albert increased his speed, he truly didn't hold back.

They'd even skipped training with Evel's abilities and weapons, just so he could get beat up for longer. The food was good, at least.

"I'll admit it," Albert huffed.

"I missed beating you up."

"You're a shitty teacher." Albert chuckled and gulped down a mouthful of soup.

"You used your rest well." This month off was great for his mind. He'd gotten the rest he needed, and his body now felt lighter. He was ready to push forward once again. There were some other major discoveries as well. For example, the wonders of boredom. Because of boredom, he got his first lead on Dissent, became closer to everyone at the circus, and learned about the wonders of popcorn. All achievements of equal importance.

"So," Albert said, his tone turning serious.

"Are you planning on using Sunken Vials going forward?" Evel took a deep breath. He had plenty of time to think about it and often went back and forth on the issue. But now, he felt firm in his decision.

"Yes," he replied.

"If I can't trust myself, then I'll never get anywhere." Albert's deep eyes pierced Evel's for a few seconds before he softly nodded.

"And any updates on Dissent?" Evel swallowed and placed his spoon on the table.

"I'm taking it slow. I'll probably wait at least until the first play is done to start nudging him to tell me more." The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Albert hummed, and Evel continued.

"Wednesday evening, we're planning on using the tent for the first play, so a lot of the costs are fixed. Now that a proper division is set up, we should be good for weekly plays."

"Will you alternate like with your show?"

"Zephyr forbids us from competing with them in Upper-Ichoris, so it'll be stuck in the slums for now. In exchange, she's handling a lot of the initial costs of our expansions."

"So your little circus is finally going big, huh?" Evel nodded. The fact that he was soon gonna own a circus more successful than the Yosten Phantasmagoria's peak was absurd.

"If it's anywhere as good as the Legerdemain shows, I'm sure it'll succeed," Albert comforted. Evel raised an eyebrow.

"You come to the shows?"

"Some." He shrugged.

"It's my duty as your teacher. Also, they're pretty good."

"Well, I'm not actually one of the actors. I'm leaving it to the rest of them to figure it out. Unfortunately, we won't make much Riak since the slums can't afford it, but it also means there's no competition. Even if it sucks, we'll succeed."

"Will it suck?" Evel smiled. He'd watched the rehearsal and knew full well of his staff's talents.

"No." His smile widened.

"It's quite good." A middle-aged man staggered forward. His hand was tightly gripped around a small slip of paper—a ticket for the Legerdemain's play. With the brutal drain of his energy from the mines, he usually didn't have the energy to do much else after work. Since he'd recently gotten to the city, most of his time was spent alone. He wasn't sure why today was different, but he just couldn't be alone. He decided to bite the bullet and spend the two Riak to see the first-ever play.

He'd always heard whispers about the great shows of the Oracle Hand and how they made the impossible possible. And though he was old enough to know it was bullshit, he was also old enough to understand the grace of a kind lie.

"Do you have a ticket, sir?" a woman at the entrance asked. Her voice was snarky, and she was wearing an impressive amount of fake jewelry. She looked happy, though. It was rare to see such an expression in the city. He wordlessly brought the ticket forward, and she allowed him through the curtains. The inside was colorful and bright, and activity was high. So much energy in one area...

It felt like all the excitement and hope from everywhere else in the city was being sucked up and concentrated into this small building. He even recognized a few faces he'd seen working in the mines. They looked nowhere near as miserable as they usually did. He studied his ticket once more and made his way to the proper section.

"First show?" In the section he was supposed to sit, there was an old man. He was wearing a clean white shirt, and his face was a sea of wrinkles. Around his wide smile were thick, concentrated patches of freckles, and his white hair betrayed his age. The man took a deep breath and sat down beside him.

"Yes, I got here last week."

"I was making a joke, 'cause it's everyone's first show."

"Ah..." The old man extended his shaky arm forward.

"I'm Gale. Pretty shitty place to come to, huh?"

"Wallace." He paused.

"The work is hard, but they feed us and give us payment, so I shouldn't be too ungrateful, I suppose."

"That's why you came here?" Gale asked.

"For a job?" Wallace stared at the old man for a long time before releasing a deep sigh.

"The ol' wife was terrorizing me, and this was the only place I could find work." Gale raised an eyebrow.

"That scary?" A pang of nostalgia hit Wallace. Scary didn't even cover it. When she got angry, it was like the whole world shook to its very core. Each cry was the booming of thunder, and each step sent tremors through the world. He sighed again.

"She was the most terrifying person I'd ever met." Gale took a while to reply." Was, huh?" Wallace shook his head.

"S-sorry, I shouldn't have—""Tell me more about her." The two shared a long glance.

"There's not much to tell." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"We'd known each other since she was a kid, so we got married. A few months ago, she helped the wrong person and suffered a bullet as punishment."

"I'm sorry." Another beat of silence. He'd come to escape these very shitty memories, but here he was, back to his old habits. He stood up.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have come here." He'd done it again. The joyous old man who'd come here to throw his life's worries away for an evening was now brought back to reality.

"My wife took her own life," Gale finally said. Wallace paused, then quietly sat back down.

"She left me with my daughter, Clara—one of the actresses in the performance. After her death, we came to the city and worked nonstop. We were begging on the streets, and I thought our lives were over. But now here I am, wearing a clean white shirt and watching my daughter perform." He grinned.

"Things can get better, Wallace." Wallace took a deep breath.

"Call me Wally." The lights dimmed, and their attention was pulled back to the stage. The spotlight fell on a girl—black hair, freckled face. He turned to Gale, who watched with a massive grin. Gale offered him a glance.

"That's her!" he hushed.

"She's too young for you, though." Wallace blinked, taken aback by the unexpected comment. Then, he almost burst into laughter. The play began. The story was about two lovers working on a farm, struggling to pay off their debts. They worked day and night, along with many others, but their debt always climbed higher than their income whenever they got close to paying it off. Tragedy struck time and again—first a fire, then a hidden bill they'd never known about.

Wallace grimaced every time they were so close to escaping, only for their hope to be torn to shreds before their very eyes. Soon, the two became suspicious, sneaking out in the middle of the night and talking of their plans for a brighter future. Their future together. Wallace shifted uncomfortably. Near the end, the two lovers finally figured out the truth: They were trapped on the farm to be worked forever as slaves, and the only way to escape was through a dangerous trek across the mountains.

The only reason they could never repay their debts was that the slavers never wanted them repaid in the first place. Fitting whatever they could on their backs, the two escaped. It was a tumultuous journey—one that almost killed them many times over. In the end, they arrived at an open field and a big lake.

"What if they find us?" Clara whispered. Wallace held his breath.

"Then we'll run away again," the male lead, a tall man with a sharp chin, whispered back.

"As long as we're together, I'll never be away from home." The two embraced in a deep hug. The lights dimmed. Wallace quickly wiped his eyes. He was too old to be crying at such a soppy story. When he looked to his right, Gale was full-blown sobbing. With a smile, Wallace rubbed the old man's back until his sobs were replaced with a proud smile.

"Amazing! She really looks just like her mother. Clara did amazing!" Wallace nodded. From the start, he'd been completely hooked.

"She really did."

"Her lover was quite something too," he added. Gale's face fell.

"No. There's already someone else for her, though I'm starting to doubt if he'll ever find the courage to confess." Wallace chuckled.

"Was he one of the other actors?" The story was deeply moving, and their escape from the farm was motivating. He too could work hard and improve his shitty life. A part of him felt somber, thinking of all those others on the farm who were left behind to live their remaining days as slaves, but that was their punishment for not being willing to take the risk to escape. And the whole experience had only cost him 2 Riak.