It was as if a famous celebrity had shown up. The Clown grinned unpleasantly and walked among the people. The sound of clapping and shouting became louder and louder.
Watching him, I smiled and clapped like someone who had been waiting for him. I needed to blend in to avoid suspicion. I couldn’t stand out.
“Haha, what a welcome! I feel honored.”
He exaggeratedly twisted his body as he spoke. The Clown grabbed someone’s drink and gulped it down, laughing out loud. The crowd went wild.
It looked like everyone had gone mad. I let go and became swept up in the madness. I shouted like a kid cheering at a celebrity. I blended in.
“You’ve waited for a long time, haven’t you? I’ll cut right to the chase. Let’s start with a simple Game. Some of you might say such a small world is boring… But you know me, don’t you? I will bring you fun with any Game!”
And with that, the Clown lifted his hand, and the bar’s interior transformed. The shabby bar with tables strewn about and drinks spilled on the floor changed.
I blinked once, and the bar had become a fabulous casino. The Transcendents that had been wearing ordinary clothes were now wearing suits and ties.
A chandelier hung from the ceiling, and the cups on the tables changed into elegant wine glasses. The Clown, who had been wearing clothes that didn’t suit this place, was now formally dressed.
And before I could notice, my clothes had changed, as well. The massive transformation reminded me of something the Traveler said.
-Travelers that have reached a certain level can affect others as well as themselves with the images they possess.
-They can affect small things such as how their nearby environment looks to things such as other people in that environment.
-Transcendents call this a small world. It’s a sort of technique that turns their images into spaces.
-You won’t be able to defeat someone on that level yet.
-After all, you still struggle with immersing yourself into images. And the moment you are transformed by someone else’s image, you are sucked into their domain. This basically means that you start at a disadvantage.
-So, avoid Transcendents like that. Don’t try to fight them.
The Clown was more powerful than I thought. He danced around in his small world. Everything inside the bar became infused with his image.
A place full of the joy and pleasures of gambling. I looked at the space meant for enjoying entertainment and narrowed my eyes. When the Traveler told me to avoid Transcendents like him, I didn’t stay still and accept his words.
‘What if I can’t avoid them?’
There was always a way. But since I lacked experience and research, I asked the Traveler. Because asking about what you don’t know and deriving the best solution from the answer was the smart thing to do. Luckily, the Traveler replied matter-of-factly.
-Then you must break the world. It is very hard to defeat the owner from inside their small world. Why jump into the ocean when it’s full of sharks? It’ll be much easier to fight them after dragging them out of the water.
-Bait them. Entice them with a nice bait, then stab them as they flounder outside of the water so that they can’t return to the ocean. Then, they will slowly shrivel up.
Destroy their image and drag them out of their small worlds. That was the solution.
I brought the casino’s image to my mind. What were the key words that described a gambling house? And what was the Clown’s role within the image?
“Why don’t we take a look at the world? It’s small in scale but full of very exciting events. But first! Let’s make our bets. As always, you must make a bet if you want to watch. If you don’t like small Games or aren’t interested, you may leave now. After all, I don’t force joy.”
The Clown was playing the role of a dealer or host. His job was to smoothly lead the game in the right direction.
After my brief analysis, I observed the casino. At a glance, it was very glamorous. A place fit for entertainment. But that wasn’t the main factor that created the mood and image of this place.
The noisy atmosphere and constantly laughing people. The sound and fervor were what formed the casino. There were no quiet and empty casinos. Such a place could not exist.
‘I see.’
I tapped the table a few times. A vague plan came to my mind. I lifted my head again. The Clown was stopping by every table to collect betting money. No one had left yet.
My turn was coming up. I looked at the drink in my glass and drank it up. It tasted bad, but I needed the faint smell coming from it. People were bound to put down their guard and underestimate someone if that person smelled like alcohol. It would be no different with Transcendents.
He was using polite language as he looked at us, but he was probably looking down on us on the inside, thinking that we were dumb addicted gamblers. In his mind, the Clown was superior to his clients. And that would be the fundamental factor constructing this image.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login