Chapter 13: Changing Professions
Chapter 13: Changing Professions
Audrey’s tone was icy cold. Her teeth clenched tightly, eyes flashing with a chilling light, and her body trembled slightly, as if she harbored intense disdain for Vans.
Xia Zuo rarely saw her so repulsed by anyone and quietly asked, “Big sister, what’s wrong with Vans?”
Audrey brushed aside the hair from her forehead, revealing a resigned smile. “Little one, who do you think makes the better fire-spitting potion, mine or Vans’s?”
Xia Zuo didn’t even need to recall the feedback from his detection skills; just by virtue of being a fire-spitter, he could distinguish quality. “Of course yours is better! Both potions have similar effects, but yours is much less toxic!”
Audrey’s smile brightened, her expression shifting from gloom to warmth, clearly pleased with the boy’s answer. “Then guess why mine is better than Vans’s?”
“Because of the fireproof oil!” Xia Zuo answered without hesitation.
An inspiration sparked in his mind. He suddenly understood. “I think I get it. Big sister, when you recruited Vans, you offered him the fireproof oil and the new fire-spitting potion recipe as part of the deal, right?”
Audrey’s smile froze momentarily, then grew even more radiant—it was clear the boy had hit the mark.
“Fireproof oil must be expensive… Big sister, you really went to great lengths.”
Seeing Audrey’s expression, Xia Zuo was sure his guess was correct.
“You really cared for him. How did your brain get so smart? No wonder you remember everything so clearly.”
Audrey cupped the boy’s face, kissed his forehead, and spoke with heartfelt emotion: “That Vans… hmph. I gave him the recipe and promised to cover half the cost of the fireproof oil. But he used that money to buy addictive painkillers. Snake and the others knew Vans was addicted all along but tolerated him because of the fire-spitter’s status in the circus.”
Audrey seemed to recall something and stared seriously into the boy’s eyes. “Xia Zuo, you have to promise me—unless absolutely necessary, never use painkillers. And never before fire-spitting. Vans relies on painkillers to push through the side effects of the fire potion. Sooner or later, he’ll overdose and end up half-dead.”
Xia Zuo laughed heartily. “Of course. I don’t even need that stuff. Look at my recovery ability—painkillers don’t even work as fast as I heal.”
Audrey chuckled at his tone. “Haha, you’re right. You’re practically made for fire-spitting.”
She paused for a moment, tightened her lips, and spoke resolutely, “I’ve decided. Once the performance at Pike Fortress is over, Vans is out. You’ll take his place. The circus’s income might drop, but it’s better than having an accident at any time. I don’t want to deal with that bastard’s aftermath.”
After saying this, Audrey’s gaze became somewhat distant. She was silent for a moment, then murmured, “I spent my own points to redeem the recipe and fireproof oil for Vans, and I never deducted his pay... Xia Zuo, have I done all I could?”
“Yes, big sister.” Xia Zuo nodded firmly. “I even think you’ve been too lenient with him. There’s no need to sacrifice so much for an addict. Vans is an adult and must be responsible for his actions.”
Looking into Audrey’s gradually clearing eyes, he said in a deep voice, “With me in the circus, things will get better soon.”
Under the moonlight, the two discussed the arrangements for tomorrow’s performance before returning to the stage to continue rehearsing.
...
The next day.
Audrey’s circus officially began its show.
News that the fortress commander had invited the townsfolk to watch spread through the city’s taverns the night before.
By morning, nearly every household knew there was a free performance to enjoy.
Amid the chaos caused by marauders, the city’s residents were anxious and hadn’t had such a free treat in a long time.
Before 8 a.m., the Fountain Square was already packed with a dense crowd.
The fortress commander was generous but clearly underestimated how passionate the people were about free entertainment.
At 9 a.m., before the show started, a messenger soldier arrived from the fortress, handing Audrey a letter and a pouch of coins.
After reading the letter and weighing the pouch, Audrey turned to the troupe with a laugh.
“The commander has sent another payment for the tickets! Everyone, open the tent flaps by a third—we’re adding more seats today!”
Xia Zuo silently gave a thumbs-up. Fantastic! Although he wouldn’t get experience from ticket sales, this was his first performance, and the audience had doubled!
Audrey entrusted Xia Zuo with warming up the crowd and announcing the acts, easing a lot of pressure from the clown sister.
While the other members prepared the stage, Xia Zuo worked to keep the audience’s energy up, preventing the atmosphere from cooling during the wait.
Though this wasn’t an official performance, he gave it his full effort.
Knowing he was short, Xia Zuo wore height-enhancing shoes.
To stand out more, he changed into a bright clown costume.
About ten minutes later, five rows of seats were filled, adults and children whispering excitedly, creating a lively buzz.
Xia Zuo peeked out from behind the backstage curtain.
His fluffy green wig and red-painted exaggerated smile immediately caught the children’s attention.
“Beep! Beep! Beep!”
He whistled and swaggered exaggeratedly toward the center of the stage.
“Ladies and gentlemen!”
The crowd smiled warmly at the clown’s splayed feet.
“Friends of Pike Fortress, before the circus officially begins, let’s praise the generous and kind fortress commander!”
Xia Zuo raised both arms, his painted face solemn.
“Praise the commander~”
The audience raised their arms in unison, shouting together.
“Thank him for inviting us to watch for free~”
Cheers erupted from the crowd, followed by good-natured laughter. “Haha, we hope there’ll be more shows like this!”
Amid the laughter, Xia Zuo suddenly drooped the corners of his mouth, drawing two teardrops beneath his eyes.
“Wah wah wah~ Everyone, do you know? The generous fortress commander has put me out of a job!”
The crowd fell silent briefly, wondering why the clown said this.
“I used to be the ticket seller—one hand takes the money, the other hands out tickets.”
Xia Zuo smiled broadly, pulling out an absurdly stuffed money pouch filled with coin-like objects.
He proudly swayed, “But the generous commander just gave me the money directly~ Oh~ I’m so sad, I haven’t even sold a ticket, and my job’s already done~”
“Shh~”
The audience mockingly ‘disapproved’ of the clown’s antics.
Xia Zuo tossed the heavy pouch backstage and looked toward Audrey behind the curtain.
She signaled with hand gestures: the strongman and the rest needed thirty more seconds to prepare.
Xia Zuo winked and replied with his eyes, “Got it.”
He pulled a torch from behind, stepping about three meters from the audience.
“Hey, everyone. As you can see, I’m a diligent ticket seller. I don’t want to lose my job again because of generous patrons, so I learned a few tricks myself. Watch and see how I do.”
He lit the torch with a match and took a sip of fire-spitting potion.
“Puff!”
A small flame flickered steadily in front of him.
Xia Zuo raised one finger, inviting the audience to time him.
“One.”
“Two.”
“Three.”
The children counted aloud, eyes fixed on the flame.
“Four.”
“Five.”
“Six.”
A few adults joined in.
...
“Thirteen.”
“Fourteen.”
“Oh my, he can spit fire for this long?”
The audience gasped, as if a switch had been flipped, and everyone began counting aloud:
“Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen! Nineteen! Twenty! Twenty-one!”
Xia Zuo closed his mouth, and the flame disappeared.
Hands on hips, leaning back with an expectant grin, he asked, “So, how was my performance?”
“*Clap clap clap!*”
“Wow~ Clown, you’re really something!”
The children’s sharp voices stood out amid the applause.
“Very good~ Do it again!”
“Do it again~”
“Thank you all for the praise.”
Xia Zuo bowed deeply, lowering his head to his knees, sneaking a glance behind the curtain.
Audrey, half-hidden, watched with an admiring gaze, signaling “all ready” with a hand gesture.
Xia Zuo jumped up and cheered, “Oh yeah! The next act is brought to you by strongman Popeye and the clown siblings... Exploding Big Color Balls!”
To the lively beat played by Snake on the drums, the clown sister took the stage first.
Her high-pitched calls and seductive dance moves swayed to the music, capturing the audience’s attention.
Xia Zuo quickly slipped behind the curtain.
“Little one, you did great.”
Audrey half-hugged Xia Zuo’s shoulders, gently squeezing them, speaking softly, “Take a break. You’ll need to warm up the crowd again later.”
Xia Zuo glanced at Vans, who was hunched over mixing fire potions. Two empty potion bottles lay near his case.
The bald man, addicted to painkillers, forced himself to perform dangerous fire acts, trapped in a vicious cycle.
Addiction required money, money came from performance fees, fees bought more drugs, drugs intensified the addiction, so he performed on drugs for more pay to buy more drugs...
If it weren’t for breathing techniques that greatly enhanced his physical condition, this addict would have collapsed long ago.
Xia Zuo shook his head helplessly and sat on his stool, reviewing the information in his mind.
“Successful fire-spitting performance.
Fire intensity: flame.
Duration: 21 seconds.
Audience: 45 people.
Average satisfaction: 80%.
Experience gained: 0.756 points.”
[Level] Lv.5
[Experience] 0.9 + 0.756 → 1.656 / 200
A mere 21-second fire-spitting act granted 0.756 experience points!
According to Audrey’s schedule, Xia Zuo could perform about ten times today, easily earning at least 5 experience points.
Level 6 was within reach!
The information briefly flickered then clarified again:
“Host’s [Identity] has changed. Character template updated with new advanced entries related to [Identity]. Added [Resistance] and related advanced entries.”
[Personal Template]
[Name] Xia Zuo
[Gender] Male
[Age] 15 years 2 months
[Identity] Commoner → Fire-Spitting Performer
[Identity Level] Apprentice
Spitting flames grants 100% experience. Small flame (0.5m), medium flame (1m), strong flame (2m), big fireball (3m) grant 10% to 40% additional experience respectively.
Experience from commoner activities like cooking or ticket selling reduced by 95%.
Experience from reading books and attribute-related training remains unchanged.
[Promotion Conditions]
Under the witness of at least 20 strangers, continuously spit small flame for over 15 seconds, achieving at least three consecutive performances with average audience satisfaction above 80%, to be promoted to beginner fire-spitting performer.
[Identity Bonuses]
Level 1 fire resistance, increasing fire resistance by 0.5%. (This bonus converts into a character trait upon identity change.)
[Level] Lv.5
[Experience] 1.656 / 200
[Health] 22 / 22 (Healthy)
[Health Regeneration Rate]
[Base] 1.11 points/hour
[Real-time] 1.11 points/hour
[Average] 1.11 points/hour
[Resistance]
[Fire Resistance] 0.5% (reduces fire damage and fire-related abnormal effects by 0.5%)
[Strength] 3
[Agility] 2
[Endurance] 3
[Vitality] 5
[Perception] 3
[Willpower] 3
[Spirit] 1.1
[Charisma] 3
[Free Attribute Points] 3
[Character Trait]
[Immortal Body]
Before health reaches zero, even if hit in vital areas, will not die; all injuries heal automatically as health recovers.
[Character Skill]: [Detection]
[Knowledge Reserves]: Various books and fire potion knowledge.
Increasing fire-spitting identity level boosts fire resistance!
The cheat system emphasized that changing identity does not remove fire-spitter bonuses but converts them into character traits!
That means bonuses from multiple identities can stack!
If I fully develop the fire-spitter bonuses and pick up other fire-related identities, maybe I can stack fire resistance to 30%, or even 50%?
Xia Zuo hid his excitement-induced tremble by drinking water.
Audrey, who had thought the boy was calm on stage, realized he had been nervous all along and only just showed it now.
She smiled softly, ruffling his hair. “Drink slowly, little one.”
(End of chapter)