After the circus arrived in Glam Gas Land, they settled into the venue where they would soon perform.
Ringmaster Moritonio had originally planned to take Hisoka to the hospital for treatment, but seeing that Hisoka seemed able to move on his own, he simply found a clinic for basic bandaging.
The troupe members were all somewhat surprised by this young man's tenacious vitality.
After all, when they encountered Hisoka, he had appeared to be on his last breath.
And it had only been a few days?
However, no one had the mind to focus on Hisoka, a greenhorn newcomer. They had to prepare for the performance the day after tomorrow. The troupe members had already begun rehearsing in the venue according to the ringmaster's requirements, striving to ensure there would be no mistakes on the day of the performance.
This circus had many performers—fire-breathing, acrobatics, animal taming, everything one could think of! But the most famous was still Ringmaster Moritonio's signature act 'aerial swimming'. This so-called aerial swimming referred to the performer being able to defy gravity, fly briefly, and walk on high places as if on flat ground.
In Akira's eyes, having already figured out the ins and outs, it was actually the ringmaster using Nen abilities to adhere to buildings.
Moritonio's Nen attribute had a 'magnetic' effect.
At the same time, Akira also recalled… this ringmaster of his, besides being a serial killer, was also a competitor who took the Hunter Exam in the same batch as Ging Freecss. Unfortunately, only Ging Freecss stood out from that session.
Moreover, what happened during that time was unknown to outsiders… In any case, Ging Freecss had left a huge shadow on the ringmaster, causing the old man to seemingly abandon his aspiration of becoming a Hunter afterward, instead becoming a wandering performer and creating this circus.
"Yo!"
The day before the performance, Akira was washing clothes in his room when he heard a familiar sound behind him.
Without turning around, he knew it was Hisoka.
Hisoka leaned half his body against the doorframe, looking at Akira who ignored him, and said with a carefree smile, "Everyone in the troupe has one or two special skills. What about you? What can you do? Laundry?"
"…"
"Are you bored with nothing to do? Not going to continue sneaking into the venue to watch their performances and steal their techniques?"
Akira's face was expressionless.
Ever since arriving at the performance venue, Hisoka had been observing each troupe member's performance methods and techniques.
Akira was very clear… this kid was learning!
Judging from Hisoka's future strength and performance, his learning ability was terrifyingly strong.
"Mm… I've seen enough."
Hisoka shrugged his shoulders.
Akira's heart skipped a beat.
The implication of those words was simply that… he had already learned everything, as if the skills the troupe members had practiced for years held no technical difficulty in Hisoka's eyes.
"I'm busy… If you have nothing to do, please leave."
Akira said flatly.
His value in the circus was logistical support. Since he had just joined the troupe not long ago, although he was also learning to perform, he couldn't yet take the stage. To survive in the circus and find his proper place without making others dislike him, Akira had to be diligent and do odd jobs.
"Hey…"
Suddenly, an arm reached over and draped across Akira's shoulder from behind.
Hisoka brought his head close in an overly familiar manner.
"You snuck out last night… didn't you?"
"!!!!!"
Upon hearing this, Akira's pupils suddenly contracted.
He had gone out to train in secret… In Akira's view, he had to seize every moment to arm himself, cultivating according to the martial arts provided by the system. For normal people to lay a foundation required an extremely long process, but with the system, he could greatly reduce the time needed for growth.
Because he knew what would happen next… The ringmaster would die at Hisoka's hands, the circus would fall apart… and after that, he would most likely have to fend for himself.
"Living with you really isn't a good thing."
The disgust on Akira's face toward Hisoka became even more obvious.
Yes, when rooms were assigned, the ringmaster had put him and Hisoka together.
"Hehehehe…"
Hisoka laughed, "That training method of yours, I've never seen anything like it… It seems quite interesting. How about teaching me?"
"How about this…"
Akira held up a finger, "If you tell me your real background and origins, I'll teach you."
His training methods specifically strengthened certain parts of the body, such as legs or arms… The effects were astonishing, completely incomparable to ordinary fitness exercises. Of course, the side effects were also severe… Even now, his hands and feet ached terribly.
He just endured it, so outsiders couldn't tell.
"Interested in my background? …I thought you really disliked me…"
Hisoka deflected, changing the subject, "No matter… I've already memorized it."
"You go ahead with what you're doing, I won't disturb you."
With that, the guy waved his hand and turned to leave.
"Watertight… Afraid someone will catch you by the tail, huh…"
Akira continued scrubbing clothes and let out a cold laugh.
He wasn't afraid of Hisoka telling others his secret, because it didn't matter… The circus was going under soon anyway.
And also… within the troupe, Hisoka had no friends either. Everyone seemed to dislike this kid who was always squinting with a smile on his face.
They naturally rejected him.
As for Akira himself, he could only say that because they were the same age, he 'reluctantly' got closer to Hisoka than others.
...
Gram was a city of pleasure, prosperous and filled with numerous entertainment venues.
Especially casinos and luxurious high-end clubs and hotels…
Such an environment had also created a rich entertainment atmosphere in this city, making it a holy land for performers.
Various artists and performers frequently took up residence here, and circuses were among them.
The day of the performance arrived.
The venue that could accommodate thousands of people was packed.
The Moritonio Circus took the stage amid the audience's cheers, performing one spectacular act after another.
The climax of the performance, when the cheers were loudest, was when Ringmaster Nio hung upside down from the venue's ceiling, holding his cane, walking steadily on the dome.
The crowd below whistled and threw various gifts and tips onto the stage. Akira, along with several other troupe members, collected the gifts, paper currency jenny, and coins. Then they bowed to the audience and quietly withdrew.
While exiting, Akira spotted Hisoka sitting cross-legged on a beam in the venue, watching the upside-down Moritonio with considerable interest.
"This guy… he hasn't already sensed Nen, has he?"
Akira's eyelid twitched.
Ever since learning the ringmaster's identity, Akira had been consciously or unconsciously observing the latter.
Including Moritonio who was currently using Nen, but unfortunately… he couldn't sense the flow of aura, that is, 'Nen'.
This required talent!
Clearly, Hisoka's talent was monstrous!
After a full day, the performance ended.
The circus received applause from the locals. The performance was undoubtedly a success.
"Akira… how's your equestrianism coming along?"
In the evening, when everyone gathered for dinner, the ringmaster looked at Akira and asked.
"I can perform the basics."
Akira answered.
"Then… prepare yourself, you'll perform tomorrow." The ringmaster nodded.
"Okay."
Since Akira hadn't been with the troupe long, what he could learn were only the simplest performance forms. Equestrianism was the easiest to pick up in the circus—it was a type of horse training art that included performing various fancy and dangerous moves on horseback as well as vaulting.
Having lived two lives, Akira's learning ability, though not comparable to a freak like Hisoka, was still quite excellent.
Mainly because he worked very hard… All of this, Nio as the ringmaster saw with his own eyes.
"Isn't it too soon?"
Abaki, the orange-haired girl with a ponytail, spoke up.
There were only three of them around the same age in the troupe.
Akira, Hisoka, and Abaki.
"This day will come sooner or later. Performing early to gain experience and accumulate practice is a good thing. Don't be afraid of failure, you're still young." The ringmaster smiled warmly at Akira.
"Mm."
Off to the side, Hisoka nimbly twirled his knife and fork, lost in thought.
Time slowly passed, flying by.
Akira's first performance was unremarkable, causing no ripples.
He wasn't responsible for the opening, nor did he close the show. He merely warmed up the crowd during intervals in the performance, so naturally there was no pressure to speak of.
After he began performing, the idle Hisoka took over his chores, starting to handle backstage logistics like… washing clothes, organizing props, and so on.
Performance after performance, gradually… the Moritonio Circus began making a name for itself in Gram.
The troupe's business improved considerably.
As for Akira, besides rehearsing and performing during the day, he continued training himself at night.
Even sharing a roof with Hisoka, he no longer hid it. When the time came, he'd simply get up and leave.
He was frantically squeezing every bit of rest time.
Of course… doing this also made his training results improve remarkably.
...
At night… in a secluded park somewhere in Gram City.
Akira had sandbags tied to his limbs and weights strapped to his body as he crawled on the ground… His clothes were already soaked through, sweat constantly dripping from his face onto the dirt.
After crawling back and forth dozens of times, he began using both hands and feet to climb trees with his bare hands.
Then, following the system's teaching, he started striking tree trunks…
Each set of exercises was strictly completed according to the system's instructions, without the slightest negligence.
Before he knew it, a hint of pale light appeared on the horizon.
Finally, stopping his hands, Akira removed the equipment from his body, gasping heavily with a parched mouth.
His chest heaved like a bellows.
"My bones' strength, flexibility… judging from the numbers, they're about as refined as they can be. It's time to start training in the martial arts techniques." Calming his breath, he spread open his calloused palms, revealing a satisfied smile.
At this moment, compared to over a month ago, he had undergone a complete transformation.
This change was quite astonishing!
Most obviously, his body now had defined muscle lines, his physique was more solid and robust, and he'd grown a size larger overall… At first glance, he was no different from an adult.
This physique, even if others just glanced at it, they could sense the power contained within.
Achieving a strong physique in just over a month was nearly impossible in most people's understanding!
Yet he had done it.
Apart from the system's role… a large part of the reason, Akira believed, was related to this world.
After all, this wasn't Earth… The living environment and power systems were different.
Freakishly strong individuals were everywhere.
Moreover, his current physical level was only enhanced to a degree inconsistent with his age. He was still far from the ultimate limits of the human body.
But having this kind of growth in such a short time, he was already quite satisfied.
"It seems my body… at least in terms of constitution, has some talent and potential…"
"Compared to traditional training methods, what the system provides could be called a demonic teaching approach… Though extremely painful and torturous, the focused effects are obvious—it's all pure essence!" Akira felt… as long as he had the system, he had a clear path forward.
Combined with his familiarity with the plot, he could profit greatly from it. This way, it was like adding wings to a tiger on top of getting twice the results with half the effort!
Removing his soaked clothes, Akira's muscular body steamed in the night.
His body temperature was very high.
"It's about time…"
Akira said, and just as he took a step forward, his pace suddenly halted.
In front of him, a familiar figure sat on a park bench with crossed legs, "Heading back?"
Hisoka!
"When did you get here?"
Akira frowned.
"I've been here for a while… You were just too focused on training to notice me."
Hisoka stretched lazily, "I couldn't sleep either, and being alone is boring…"
"..."
Akira fell silent.
The feeling of being spied on was unpleasant.
Especially when… the one spying was Hisoka, which always made him feel a bit creeped out.
"Hey…"
Hisoka tilted his head, propping his cheek with one hand, his usually squinting eyes opening slightly, his tone different from usual, "You seem to have something weighing on your mind… I always feel like you're shouldering something… You're different from the others in the troupe. As a friend, I wonder if I might have the honor of hearing your secret? Perhaps… I could help…"
As soon as the word "secret" came out.
Akira's eyes turned cold, his lips curling as he stared brazenly at Hisoka, "You really want to help me?"
From their time together, Akira had gotten pretty familiar with some of Hisoka's personality traits.
This guy definitely wasn't that kind-hearted… Rather than saying he wanted to help, it would be more accurate to say… he wanted to dig out some "bait" that could provide him entertainment.
Mainly… he understood this guy's nature all too well.
"Of course."
Hisoka laughed lightly.
"Great… Can you go die?"
Akira said each word deliberately.
"Are you angry?"
Hisoka raised an eyebrow.
Akira walked away with long strides, ignoring him completely.
"Don't be so cold… Don't worry, I'll keep your secrets sealed tight."
"I hope you understand… you and I are just colleagues, not friends."
"Mm… I understand, I understand."
Hisoka caught up at a leisurely pace, responding in a very perfunctory manner.