A Street Performance (1)

The streets of the hospitality zone bustled underneath the white sun. It wasn’t as busy as the morning rush or night hustle, but there were still a lot: a combination of tourists shopping and workers taking their lunch break. It was simply a normal day, or at least what I thought ‘normal’ was in this world, given it was only my third day here.

But today would be a bit more exciting.

Now, let’s get started.

T@e #tre$m %as s^&rt*d.

WHOOOSSHHH!

“H-huh? What’s going on?”

“Why is there a wind storm?!?”

“Are we under attack?!?”

“Someone has to be using magic!”

A gaggle of reactions spread through the nearby people, staring at the coalescing winds, tinged green – making it easily visible. While it looked like a tornado, it was no more dangerous than a light breeze, not that the people understood that. Some were beginning to panic, so I decided to introduce myself earlier than anticipated.

“Now, now. No need to worry!” I boomed, eliciting some confused responses. After all, they had just heard a voice coming from the tornado, one that was beginning to catch fire. The winds rose in response morphing into–

“A phoenix?!?”

“Is it real???”

“So cool!”

“What precise control…”

Yep, the tornado turned into a phoenix flying around the sky. What? If you’re gonna dazzle someone with fire, what else would you make? A dragon? Boooring. The passersby watched on, captivated by its realistic movements. Then, once it reached the apex of its flight, it dived straight into my hand, turning into a small ball of fire – one I easily extinguished by clenching my fist.

“Hello, hello. It’s a pleasure to meet all of you street people! I am the Jester, and I’m here to entertain.”

I gave a small bow in my trademarked black suit illusion, holding my top hat against my chest. The astonished crowd was frozen, but a few kids clapped with ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’. Of course, not all the reactions were positive. I could see a few concerned looks, likely because of my reckless display, but they held their tongue. It seemed they realized this was a show. Even if they didn’t, I managed to capture enough interest for the audience to stick around.

“Let’s begin with an old classic. By a show of hands, how many of you know how to juggle?” To demonstrate, I illusioned bowling pins into existence, throwing them into the air until I was juggling four with one hand. I expected one or two to raise their hand, but surprisingly, almost everyone raised theirs. “Wow, really?”

“What’d you expect, fancy man!” one person jeered.

“We can’t use magic like you do!”

“Well, back in my homeland, this was considered a rare technique. You guys are rather skilled, aren’t you?” Hey! I can see you acting smug over there! “I should’ve expected as much from the people of…” Hmm… what is it again? I slid over to one of the middle-aged women and whispered loudly, “Psst. Where are we again?”

“Huh? Um, Reale. The capital?”

“Reale! Of course! The people of Reale!” I boasted with my arms wide, eliciting a few chuckles. “But how about this?” With a snap of my fingers, atop the four bowling pins appeared an element ball: one of fire, water, earth, and wind. Then, along with the pins, I also juggled the balls from pin to pin.

“Wha–?!?”

“Wow!!!”

“What kind of insanity–”

“Pretty…”

Ah, illusions make things so easy sometimes. The crowd oohed and awed, entranced by the colorful streaks bouncing around me. It almost seemed as if I was constructing a painting. Of what? Who knew.

Still, now I had an accurate sense of what my audience wanted to see. Based on what I could tell, while the lower castes were physically skilled, they were not so much magically inclined. That’s why they considered the pins on their own a cute trick while the magic balls were an amazing show. Are mages not that common then? Or maybe those who have mana are taken into the upper castes? Well, it doesn’t matter. I quickly adjusted the rest of the show in my head, adding more magic elements.

Once I finished, I caught the pins and combined the elemental balls into a giant one, mixing the hues together. Then finally, in a flash of white light, the ball disappeared, leaving behind little specks that the light glinted off for a bit more mystique.

The audience cheered and clapped much more loudly than before as I took another bow.

“Thank you! Thank you! Before we move on, I have something to tell you.” I leaned in, prompting the people to respond in tandem. “Now, while these shows are free, you have to understand, this is my job, and unfortunately, free things don’t pay the bills. So if you’re liking the performance and want to show your support, feel free to pass over a reale or two. It’s always appreciated.” Those lines were thoroughly ingrained into me from my life as a streamer that they flowed out effortlessly. I unzipped my money bag as a white bar faded in above my head. “Of course, in return, if we can make it to one thousand reales, I’ll give you all something that has never been seen before: a view like no other.”

Of course, the audience were skeptical, but since I didn’t ask for a huge amount, there were quite a few willing to provide a few reales, which I quickly stuffed in the bag with a brief, ‘Thank you’. With each reale, the bar slowly grew green. After all, it was basically one of those progress bars, though this time it didn’t count the number of subscribers.

After going around the circle once, I had gained about a hundred reale. Quite a sum, and I would only be making more as the show went on. “Thank you for your amazing–”

Ding!

All of a sudden, the bar turned green instantly… no… it overflowed. I opened my bag to check, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. The last bill sitting on top, which I thought was ten reales, was in fact a thousand.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I’m quite curious as to what this never before seen view is.” I swiveled around to find a young woman sneering at me. I hadn’t noticed at first, but her clothes were clearly of a higher grade. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was a noble. “Come now, don’t tell me you can’t do it.” Her tone was a mix between genuine curiosity and untoward malice. Was she expecting me to take the money and run?

“Hmm,” I pretended to think on it for a moment, but I already had my answer. “Okay then. Let me ask you a question then. What do you know about light and dark magic?”

“Are those even types of magic?” she rolled her eyes.

“Hmm? Are they not?”

“Never heard of them.”

“Maybe you’ve just never seen it then. Not all humans are well versed in magic, right?”

“Hmph,” she looked away like it was a sore spot, confirming my suspicions.

“Well then, let me explain. Light and dark magic are functionally the same thing, either providing or absorbing the light.” I held up two new balls in my hands. In one, a miniature sun shined, brightening the area even more. In the other, a black mass sat there, as if censoring a part of the world. “Of course, alone, they have their uses. But when combined…”

I threw them both into the sky. At once, the dark ball spread into a thin film, encompassing the audience in pitch black. The light ball, meanwhile, split into thousands of stars, given the realm an almost otherworldly quality. As expected, everyone’s mouth dropped to the floor.

But I wasn’t done yet.

I twirled my finger, causing the stars to move, leaving behind streaks of white. It was one of my favorite videos back in my world, only possible due to the infinite possibilities of cameras. However, it didn’t seem like they existed yet in this world, making it a sight like no other. Of course, with my bad memory, I couldn’t make out any constellations. Still, it was a breathtaking sight.

One I sorely missed.

The young woman collapsed to the ground in shock, tears pooling in her eyes. With an internal sigh, I held out a hand with a smile on my face.

“Welcome to my world.”