One-Eyed Monster

”It’s normal you don’t know anything yet, but stay a few days and you’ll know everything.”

The red-haired Clown smiled. Clearly, he had taken it upon himself to act like a big brother, because among these people he was the one who had joined the Circus earliest, so he knew the most.

”Why do we absolutely have to forget who we are!” Kadi was still hung up on this question. He’d always felt this was a terribly wrong thing.

”Shh, keep your voice down, we can’t let the Boss hear talk like that.”

”Yeah, whether it’s the Boss in makeup or the Boss without makeup, we can’t let him hear.” The long-faced Clown looked around nervously, afraid Brava might show up here.

”But, but when the Ringmaster introduced us, he said the Boss’s name was Brava!” Igor scratched his head, lowering his voice.

”Well, heh, you need to know that ’Brava’ is a bestowed name.” The red-haired one said with a smile.

Igor put down his food. He’d almost finished eating anyway, and now he just wanted to hear what story lay behind all this.

”What do you mean, a bestowed name!” Kadi was completely puzzled.

”Why did you lot join this Circus in the first place?” The green-nosed one looked at Kadi with a bit of disdain, as if he thought Kadi was always out of step with everyone.

”Of course it was to gain more and more power!”

”Hm? You guys are Adventurers with Class?” The long-faced one looked at Igor and the others with curiosity.

”Heh heh, that’s right!”

”Then no wonder.” The green nose and the long face exchanged a smile, as if they now understood Kadi’s reaction.

”We came here to break through the boundary between Adventurers with Class and Non-professionals, so the difference between us and you is pretty obvious.” The red-haired one said.

”Our goals are all the same, hahaha.” Igor tried to laugh it off. Their actual goal clearly wasn’t the same as these few in front of them.

”Bestowed names are our first step toward breaking our limits. Only elites can truly receive a bestowed name, like those people the Ringmaster introduced.” The red-haired one went on. He was the most senior here, so it was only natural that he be the one to explain all this.

”Once we puncture that thin membrane, we can truly gain power, and then we’ll become real strong ones!” The green nose envisioned the future with relish.

”Don’t get so full of yourself. You still have to go through layer upon layer of tests in the Circus before you can really break through. Haven’t you noticed none of those elites have managed to leave yet? That means they still haven’t broken through that barrier.” The long-faced one doused the green nose’s enthusiasm.

Kadi was completely lost, while Igor was listening with great interest.

”So what you’re saying is, if we make it through this Clown stage, we can be given a bestowed name and gain a new power, right?” Igor asked quietly.

”Exactly!”

”And then we have to slowly adapt to this new name. Only once we adapt can we become strong. Is that it?”

”That’s right!”

Igor gradually understood. This Circus was exactly the place they had been looking for. This so-called bestowing of names was the Soul Devourer’s Devouring, and the process of adapting to the new name was precisely the Soul Devourer first seizing someone else’s consciousness... Unexpectedly, by sheer coincidence, they had found the Circus organization like this. The way they operated was quite similar to that unseen enemy!

Igor slowly sank into thought. These people in front of him had joined the Circus to break the boundary between Adventurers with Class and Non-professionals. That meant this place was a small base of the Soul Devourer, and that Ringmaster and those other elites were all people whose bodies had been taken over by the Soul Devourer...

No wonder they could display two completely different personalities. It was the Soul Devourer stirring up trouble inside them!

”But why is the Boss different from the other elites!” Kadi pressed on with his questions, still unable to let go of his doubts.

”Well, the Boss only counts as half an elite.” The red-haired one said.

”Why?” Igor was also interested in this topic now.

”Because the Boss seems to strongly resist becoming Brava!” the red-haired one whispered.

”If it were us, we’d be overjoyed. No idea why the Boss would do that!” The green nose and the long face both shrugged.

”He seems to have never forgotten who he is, but at the same time he really loves the role of the Clown, so he’s always struggling in this contradiction.” The red-haired one went on.

From this brief account by the red-haired one, Igor picked up on a few things. Apparently this Clown called Brava had originally been just the Circus’s Clown. Then the Circus went through a transformation; the old Circus that existed purely for performance was gone. The current Circus focused more on recruiting people, building up the organization’s strength. At that point the Ringmaster gave the Clown a new name—Brava. The new name represented new power. Unfortunately, this Clown could never forget who he was. He resisted the identity of Brava with all his might, to the point that once he put on makeup he became Brava, and once he removed it he became someone who was not Brava. Yet as for who he originally was, he’d completely forgotten.

The Clown began to grow sensitive, afraid of talking to people, because no matter what, he couldn’t remember who he was and had no way to communicate with others.

The greasepaint on his face turned him into Brava, but the rejection in his heart made Brava incomplete. That was why these Clown apprentices said he was only half an elite.

Igor sighed inwardly. He thought this Clown was the true Resistor here, and that he was confronting the Soul Devourer with the consciousness of a Non-professional. Such a person was truly worthy of respect. In that instant, Igor felt a spontaneous surge of admiration for this Mr. Clown.

Kadi still didn’t understand the reasons behind all this, but he trusted Igor deeply. Seeing Igor’s expression now, he didn’t ask any more. He knew Igor would tell him everything; all he had to do was wait patiently.

”Heh, you’ll slowly adapt to life here. Everyone’s goal is the same. As long as you first forget yourselves, everything can be resolved. Don’t end up like me—been here a month now and I still remember some things from before. I’ve got a long way to go before I can get a bestowed name!” The red-haired one sounded somewhat vexed at his own performance, but he was still holding on and hadn’t collapsed into giving up.

”Heh heh, everyone will succeed.” Igor laughed it off, thinking to himself that if you have to forget even yourself, then what does gaining power matter at all.

Just as Igor and the others were chatting happily, the Clown called Brava walked over again, with someone at his side.

Igor and Kadi had good eyes; in a moment they recognized who the person beside Brava was.

Quinn Smith, that big, burly musical-instrument peddler’s helper, was at this moment following Brava as they walked up to them.

”You’ve got another companion. Give him something to eat, put makeup on him, and once he’s done, bring him to me.” Brava tossed out these words and then left.