A Runaway Performance (4)

T@e stre$m %as end&d.

After a final round of donations, I ended the show for today. You could say it was because of my assailants, but it was more to avoid dealing with the ten foot hole taking up the entire city block street. I was pretty sure my attackers would be held responsible, but if they stuck that cost on me, I would never be able to escape. Debt collectors were terrifying, no matter what world you’re in.

Regardless, I almost made as much as I did yesterday – just shy of two thousand reales. Granted, most of it was from the large influx of spectators after I cordoned off the block. At this rate, ten thousand reales was only a few days away. Of course, I doubted I would be this lucky – or unlucky – again, but a man could dream.

Now, let’s make my illusion disappear and–

“Oh, sorry.” A middle-aged woman was trying to pass, but we ended up doing a little sidestep instead. She walked on the left (or right from her perspective), so I moved to the right, only to see her move right too. I then stepped left to the same result. Finally, we looked at each other, gave a small nod of acknowledgement, and went to different sides.

…wait. She actually noticed me. That seemed obvious at first glance, but my illusory self was still hanging around. I should’ve been invisible to her. I checked again with someone else, and like the woman, we went through the same chicken dance. In fact, it seemed like no one was paying attention to my suited counterpart anymore.

Then that means… the streams are acting like they do in my world. When it starts, they only see the illusion I’m showing them. Then, once the show ends, they go along with their daily lives, no longer observing the image I conjured up. Essentially, I’m the coordinator putting all the pieces together. The main difference is that I can do things more independently from my illusion, almost like a magic trick.

It’s a plausible theory, but then how does the mana work? It’s like it goes against the natural function, almost like it's corrupted… I remembered the blue box and the text that appeared. My mana usage could’ve been like a work-in-progress program, with plenty of bugs, slapped onto this world. Then, over time, the bugs were being fixed on the fly, which could explain the more legible text.

As for the streams themselves, they tended to start and stop automatically based on the current events. If something interesting was happening, then the stream would broadcast – simple enough. Of course, that explanation wasn’t a hundred percent foolproof. I wasn’t streaming when I talked to the guards yesterday in the alleyway. Also, that knight in the palace almost noticed me in front of the queen’s chambers. It almost felt like someone was picking and choosing when my magic was more effective.

But who could do something like that? I can only think of one person or organization.

PAX: the one(s) who transported me into this world.

…

…

…really?

Unfortunately, nothing appeared to confirm my suspicions – no blue box or anything. A bit disappointing, but I expected as much. Plus, my theory was so far out there that it probably joined the ranks of conspiracies like ‘birds aren’t real’ or that ‘lizard people exist’. Well, that last one may be true in this world, but I digress.

Well, I could think about it some other time. There was something more important I had to solve first.

Even though I had managed to stay out of danger so far, if I were anywhere on the street when that fire blast went off, I would’ve died. Illusions couldn’t stop bombs from exploding, nor could they teleport me from danger. They were just that, illusions: something that could be seen through if you knew where to look.

Therefore, I had to find something to defend myself with. Weapons-wise seemed rather easy. There were a good number of tourists carrying around a sheath on their side or an armament on their back. Magic-wise, however, I hadn’t seen anything besides the rings, wands, and staves my attackers used. Given how the palace snatched them all up, I doubted I could walk into any store and buy one.

Luckily, I knew a guy who sold plenty of questionable things.