One-Eyed Monster

Igor and Kadi followed behind the clown named Brava. They were on high alert now, because the feeling this circus gave them suddenly changed, quite different from what they had imagined.

Initially, Igor and Kadi thought this circus was just a regular circus, possibly with one or two people connected to that clown, but now it seemed that this circus displayed a strange situation everywhere, from the captain to this clown named Brava, all showing odd behaviors. Not to mention the process of them joining the circus was a bit too simple, but the fact that both the captain and Clown Brava exhibited two completely different appearances was enough to make Igor and Kadi suspicious. After all, they had met similar people on Guru Mountain, like Slayer Kuren.

Igor and Kadi stayed close behind Brava, observing the clown while also keeping an eye on the entire circus.

They discovered that the circus had far more people than those introduced by Stanley. Captain Stanley said some of those people were temporary hired hands, but Igor and Kadi didn’t believe it was entirely true. Among these people were stilt walkers and fireball players, clearly members of the circus, yet the captain didn’t mention them at all!

Clown Brava exaggerated his steps and didn’t notice Igor and Kadi’s unusual state. He kept talking as he walked, performing his duty as a guide for newcomers: ”The circus is about displaying all sorts of bizarre and wonderful things, demonstrating the impossible to people.”

Igor and Kadi listened as they walked, wanting to see what was so special about this Star Circus.

”As clowns, we are the vanguards of the circus, naturally showing off the spirit of the circus with exaggerated, humorous, and bizarre methods...”

Clown Brava introduced various methods, mostly exaggerated body language and some small tricks. To Igor and Kadi, these weren’t difficult at all, especially compared to the special training on Guru Mountain.

”Remember, here and now you are only clowns, nothing else. Forget who you were before, that’s very important, understand?”

”Understood!” Igor and Kadi answered in unison.

”Good, then tell me, who are you?”

”I am I...” Igor couldn’t finish the word before forcing it down and shrugging, ”I am a clown!”

Clown Brava nodded and looked towards Kadi.

Kadi ignored him, not even glancing at Brava.

”Who are you!” Brava pressed Kadi.

”Me?” Kadi looked at Brava bewilderedly, ”Whoever you think I am, that’s who I am, it’s not that important.”

In fact, Kadi was quite resistant to this idea of forgetting who he was, something he could never do.

”Hmm, reaching such a state is an impressive condition too. As clowns, you must be selfless!” Brava was surprisingly pleased with Kadi’s display, confusing Igor.

However, Igor wasn’t bothered, as long as Brava didn’t make things difficult for Kadi, it was fine.

”You must know that we clowns exist to make people laugh. No matter if we are hit or scolded, we can’t change the expression painted on our faces. We must constantly play the expression on our face.”

”Who you are isn’t important; you must perform your role well. If you’re laughing, keep laughing; if you’re playing the sorrowful role, stay that way. A sad sack should always play a sad sack, and a prankster should always be a prankster.”

”You must capture the audience’s attention, make them genuinely laugh, so they say this clown is really interesting.”

”Only when you reach this level can you become a true clown!”

...

Clown Brava trained Igor and the others for quite a while, carrying his enthusiasm through dinner time, full of energy and effort.

At dinner, Igor and Kadi met several other clowns...

The circus had a total of four clowns, and now with Igor and Kadi, it made six.

”Are you new here?” The three clowns suddenly got friendly with Igor and Kadi.

”Yes!” Igor replied.

”No wonder the head keeps following you.”

”Aren’t newcomers supposed to start as clowns!” Igor countered.

”Hehe, we arrived a few days before you. He came the earliest, joined a month ago.”

The clowns chatted without names; Igorsensed that they were possibly forced to forget who they used to be.

”You must have met those elite performers of the circus already, right?” A green-nosed clown asked.

”Elites?” Kadi and Igor exchanged glances.

”Yes, those people introduced by the captain, like the giant, dwarfs, and the twin brothers, etc.”

”Uh, we saw them once...” Igor nodded. If that counted as knowing them, then he could fill several carriages with everyone he ’knew’.

”Do you have confidence in becoming one of them!”

”Huh?” Igor was puzzled.

”You mean you aren’t aware?” A red-haired clown was surprised.

”Aware of what?”

”The newbie test, the head is our examiner. Once you pass his test, you can shed your clown identity, gain the true strength of the circus, and be reborn!” The green-nosed clown said.

”Clearly, we weren’t aware, today we were just trained to forget our identities...” Kadi said listlessly, somewhat tired of the training.

”Shh!” The sorrow-faced clown quickly signaled for them to keep quiet, ”Don’t let the head hear about this!”

”Huh?” Igor was bewildered but felt he had learned quite a bit over the meal.

”They say the head could never forget who he is, which is why he’s stuck as a clown, knowing that the clown in our circus is the symbol of the lowest status!”

”Then the head...” Igor wanted to know more.

”Shh—” the green-nosed whispered, ”Be quiet, when the head isn’t wearing makeup he’s very sensitive, don’t let him hear us talking about this!”

”Oh oh oh, then what’s the real story!” Igor lowered his voice, already becoming part of the newcomer group.