Chapter 65: Setting Off

After stylishly extinguishing the candles in the basement with a wave of his hand, Florent plunged the room into complete darkness...

In the absence of light, not only did his vision vanish, but so did his hearing... strangely enough, Florent also fell silent in the pitch-black basement.

"Ahhh!" Florent clutched his head and let out a frustrated scream in the dark.

At this moment, he realized he must have been an idiot to show off by haphazardly using his abilities, only to end up needing to relight the candles.

Instinctively, he thought of using Burning to light a candle, but then remembered he also had the Flash ability. Squinting his eyes, he prepared to cast the trick.

Florent began carefully sensing the intricacies of spellcasting...

As if by instinct, he activated a specific part of his soul, allowing faint traces of Spirituality to merge with the surrounding environment.

Then, a flash of light burst forth from his palm, wrapped in his spiritual energy. His eyes widened in anticipation, eager to see the effects of his trick.

The Flash spell worked far better than expected. To Florent, its brightness surpassed that of an ordinary flashlight, though not quite as intense as a high-powered one.

Back on Earth, Florent had once made the mistake of shining a high-intensity flashlight directly into his own eyes in the dark.

Normally, flashlights were designed to emit light in one direction, minimizing harm to the user. But in his recklessness, Florent had stuck his face right in front of it.

The moment the blinding light hit his eyes, he dropped the flashlight in shock. The physiological discomfort and psychological nausea were overwhelming. Even after squeezing his eyes shut, all he could see was a sea of white.

As time passed, the white gradually faded when his eyes were closed, but when he reopened them, tears streamed down his face uncontrollably. Worse, his vision remained pitch-black for a while before slowly returning.

Florent wasn't sure how long his recovery took, but it felt like an hour, or even longer... though the clock told him otherwise.

This traumatic experience left him with a mild phobia of flashlights. He could no longer look directly at them, and even car headlights made him instinctively lower his gaze.

Now, if asked how he knew the Flash trick was so potent, he could only answer: 'Because I looked straight at it.'

The consequence? He immediately canceled the spell, clutched his eyes, and let out a pained yell.

But after a short while, the screaming stopped. To his surprise, the pain in his eyes had vanished. It seemed the physical enhancements from being a 'Trickmaster', though modest, were still significant enough to mitigate the damage.

'Who would've thought the first person I'd hurt with my tricks would be myself? Life is too hard,' Florent lamented inwardly.

But soon, a thought struck him, 'Heh, if Flash is this strong, maybe the other spells aren't as weak as I thought?'

Lifted by the idea that he might actually possess decent combat abilities now, Florent indulged in a brief daydream before settling on a plan for advancement:

"Right now, I'm a 'Trickmaster'. Based on Fors's experience with potion digestion, performing in a circus should allow me to steadily digest the potion. But I want to do it faster. If I focus on proper digestion, I should— no, I will digest it quicker than Fors did..."

"...So, I need to analyze the potion's name... Trickmaster... 'Tricks' are obvious, since I already have them. 'Master' likely refers to deep understanding and mastery of these tricks, meaning I'll need to study them too. Combined, 'Trickmaster' probably means not just knowing tricks, but being an expert in them. Though not to the extent of a Magician, which would make digestion harder. Even performing in a circus should allow relatively fast digestion..."

"...First, I should visit a circus to learn how to become a magician. For now, watching a couple of magic shows should suffice. While performing, I can figure out how to analyze and refine my tricks."

Having clarified his next steps, Florent wasted no time...

He decided to head to a circus immediately, watch a few magic acts, analyze them, and then volunteer as a magician to aid in potion digestion.

Trier was currently in early autumn, with only a slight chill in the air. Compared to the city's usual abundant sunshine and warm climate, the cooler weather was actually quite pleasant for its residents...

Florent casually hailed a carriage and said, "Take me to Haddon Street in the Goldenthorn District."

The Goldenthorn District was an aristocratic area, and Haddon Street was one of its bustling commercial (or rather, entertainment) highways. The number of theaters, cafés, and taverns far outnumbered ordinary shops.

Having long prepared for his potion digestion, Florent had already chosen his destination. After comparing several circuses based in Trier, he had settled on this particular one.

There was no special reason... it was simply the least successful among them.

Circus locations were a delicate matter, especially in an era where wealth disparity was far more severe than in later times.

Choosing an aristocratic or wealthy district would alienate the middle-class audience, as high-end areas strictly controlled entry. Fortunately, Florent had no business that required him to visit such places.

On the other hand, setting up in a commoner or slum district was even worse. Regular patrons avoided such areas, and the circus animals suffered in poor conditions. Even those who occasionally splurged on entertainment were reluctant to frequent unpleasant neighborhoods for a show.

Thus, the ideal location for a circus was a moderately affluent district... one that was neither too high-end nor too low-class. A middle-to-upper-class area was the perfect balance...