Chapter 183: The Rookie Actress (1)

Mud and Dust

was a historic Terra troupe that used to be popular. To be more precise, its rich history was all that kept the troupe’s will going. After the previous troupe master left behind a will and disappeared because of the troupe’s financial difficulties, the word “will” became an insult rather than a compliment[1].

The Terra troupe master gestured at me. “Come inside.”

“Did I pass the test?”

“Of course you passed,

ugor

. You’re a Sylvan, but if I fail you even after watching such a performance, I have no right to run the troupe.”

The troupe master led me into the theater with his nostrils flaring up. He pushed open a door, revealing a theater with a hundred and thirty years of tradition, though it had clearly deteriorated over the years.

“Wow.”

The inside was dark. Torches lined the wall, but it would have been better if there were none at all because soot coated the ceiling and all the walls. Since Terras liked damp places, there was even murky water on the floor, but I couldn’t tell if it was groundwater or something else. My eyes

and

nose were getting assaulted from all directions.

“This is a bit...”

That wasn’t all. Spiders, centipedes... All the bugs in the universe were here to prove how much they loved damp places. Thanks to them, even this small theater was overflowing with love, life, and, above all, cobwebs.

“What...?”

The troupe master looked proud. It seemed he totally misunderstood my reaction. “You seem impressed. I understand. I also loved this place just as much when I first saw it as a boy. My heart pounded really hard as if I fell in love for the first time. Looking back now, my pounding heart has led me to where I am now in my life.”

My heart was pounding hard too upon witnessing the majestic spider webs spread out like the Great Wall of China.

“Troupe Master, how long has it been since you cleaned this place?”

“Huh?”

I gave up all hope when it looked like he had no idea what cleaning was. Yes, goblins had always loved muddy water. Even if I nagged them to clean, my words would enter one of their ears and immediately go out the other.

—I-I can’t believe I actually passed the test even though I don’t have any muscles! I can’t believe it! You’re amazing! You really are Kekerukker!

Sonia hovered around me as a spirit, just like the Guardian did. However, she couldn’t communicate with him. Only I could hear both of their voices. Now I had two ghosts by my side.

It feels as if there’s two mosquitoes buzzing around me in the hot summer...

—Pardon?

Nothing. Hey, Sonia, why were you so eager to join a troupe like this? Since you decided to become an actress anyway, you could have tried joining a good one.

Sonia became dispirited.

—At first, I also wanted to join a famous troupe like Blaze or Wildfire... Popular troupes won’t even give me a chance. All they say is that Sylvans with flimsy muscles are useless... This troupe master at least talked with me.

Huh.

Sonia was a victim of species discrimination or, rather, muscle discrimination. How in the world did my children become so obsessed with muscles?

“Follow me. Let me introduce you to our troupe members.”

I followed the troupe master and went deeper into the building. Inside a dressing room, there were piles of worn-out theatrical props. In the middle of it all, two Terras were sleeping comfortably.

The troupe master hit the Terras on the head with a hand the size of a pot lid. “Wake up, you pigs! What time do you think it is?”

“

Uger, uger...

”

The Terras opened their eyes with difficulty. One had one arm, and the other had one eye. The Terras rubbed their green eyelids with their green hands before glancing at me.

“Why is a Sylvan here, Troupe Master?”

“Did you hire a new ticket agent?”

“You pigs, this is a new actress, not a ticket agent! I told you before that there is a Sylvan who follows me around all the time, asking to be hired as an actress,” the troupe master answered.

Only then did the Terra actors come to their senses.

“

Ah

, that super annoying Sylvan?”

“Wait. Don’t tell me you actually hired her.”

The troupe master shrugged. “What? She just passed the final test.”

“Have you gone mad? Troupe Master, how can you think about having someone with no muscles on stage?”

That was harsh.

“Don’t worry. I know. Even though her muscles are flimsy, her acting skills...”

“My name is Sonia,” I chimed in.

“Yes, Sonia. Sonia’s acting had more sincerity than any other actor I’ve ever seen. These days, audiences only focus on muscles, but they may change their mind when they see Sonia.”

The troupe master’s attempt to reassure the actors intrigued them.

“

Whoa.

”

“If you say so...”

“Anyway, she’s now the youngest member of the troupe, so you seniors should set an example. Don’t just sleep in the dressing room forever. Wash up and come up to the stage. Come on.”

“Alright, alright.”

The actors stood up. The props that were piled up like Legos collapsed. Surprisingly, there was actually one more Terra sleeping among the props. He was missing an ear and hugging a stuffed lion.

The troupe master pinched the actor's ear and dragged him away. “Wake up already!”

“

Ah

?

Hey

!”

Even while being dragged away, the actor did not let go of the lion doll. Adorable.

After a while, all the actors gathered. The troupe master, with his hands clasped behind his back, walked back and forth in front of the stage.

“As you know, the Cavefire play that will air in two weeks is

Wild Fire Sword Dance

. Kekerukker has been living an ordinary life, but one day, he meets the Fire Emperor, whom he has always respected. When they meet, life changes completely for one of them, while the other’s life ends. Recently, there have been many cases of this story being reinterpreted with the Fire Emperor as a good guy, but we’ll follow the classic.”

The one-armed actor raised his hand. “Troupe Master, I thought about this a lot, but this play is too old. Shouldn’t we also follow the trends?”

“That’s right. The audience wants something new,” the one-eyed actor joined in. “Even if it’s a bit childish, we need to flirt a bit on stage without making it obvious. It’s said that the trend is to spice things up with a little push and pull to make plays more enjoyable.”

The troupe master stared at the actors intensely. “

Ha

, that sounds terrible! Firewood is nothing to true fire! Once you start chasing thrills, you will not want to return to your roots anymore. The theme of

Wild Fire Sword Dance

is people’s disappointment in others and how that disappointment drastically affects a person’s life. Anything other than that is heresy!”

The actors didn’t like that.

“This guy will remain a boomer until he dies.”

“I think we’re doomed for real...”

“Quiet! Because you guys complain so much, I added a few more lines to the play, and that will be it. Go stretch and warm up your voice for twenty minutes. We’ll start practicing right away afterward!”

“That won’t cut it...

Ugh

, fine, Troupe Master...”

As the youngest member, I quietly sat in the audience seat and watched my seniors practice. After thirty minutes, I arrived at a conclusion.

Wow, this whole place is a mess.

A Cavefire play used aura. When actors had to act out being angry, they didn’t just recite their lines in an aggressive manner, but ignited their aura like fire. If the actor was proficient in using aura, they were bound to be good at their job. This was also true the other way around. Thus, Cavefire actors naturally became great warriors since they were also excellent at using aura. That was how it was supposed to be...

“Why are they all so stiff?” I muttered.

Unfortunately, the troupe master heard me. He stopped barking instructions at the actors and turned to look at me. “What do you mean by that?”

“

Uh

, well, I feel like they use aura in a very stereotypical way...”

There was a scene when Kekerukker realized the extent of the Fire Emperor’s atrocities and lost his temper. The actors were too focused on the anger part, but their entire focus was wrong. When they expressed their characters’ anger, they burst out their aura like wildfire. For sadness, their aura went limp, as if there was a set formula in using aura to express emotions.

Their aura continued blazing like crazy before extinguishing before my very eyes. It had a dazzling charm, but that was it.

It’s flashy, but there’s no point to this play if they perform like that.

I said, “Cavefire is the art of aura, and aura is the power we use based on our mindscapes, like willpower and emotions. Emotions should come first. If we prioritize how we move our arms or recite lines, aura will become lifeless. How should I put it? It just... doesn’t feel alive.

Oh

, I got it! A fish that has been struggling on land for three minutes would flap more energetically than that.”

The troupe master frowned. He looked as if he had beaten up a fair share of gangsters in the past.

“What kind of Kekerukker’s bark is that?”

“Is that a Terra proverb by any chance? Anyway...”

I went up to the corner of the stage. The actors also stopped practicing and looked at me.

“Now, we shouldn’t decide on a simple action for anger, sadness, or any other emotions. Do people always cry when they’re sad? No, right? Everyone reacts in their own way. Aura has meaning only when we can respond immediately, even in completely unexpected situations.”

Amused, the senior actors chuckled.

“Troupe Master brought us a teacher, not a newbie, didn’t he?”

“Teacher! Give us an example!”

I looked around. How could I make this easy to understand?

“

Umm.

First of all, I don’t think the torches are doing any good here. Let’s extinguish them all.”

I bent down and picked up a handful of dirt from the floor. Using my aura, I shot the dirt toward the torches until they all went out, drowning the entire theater in darkness. The Terras were bewildered.

“What?”

“

Huh...

?”

I nodded. “Okay.”

All the Cavefire play theaters resembled Slimepolis, a cave city with a hole in the ceiling. The Terras had forgotten how it felt like to live as slaves. However, the past had left its mark, casting a shadow over the Terras’ architectural style.

“Everyone, please be quiet for a moment.”

After the torches went out, the blue light of dawn streamed only from a small hole in the ceiling, settling down on the shabby stage.

“We don’t need unique, special lines. Actually, we don’t need any lines. Aura isn’t a spell that requires incantations. Allow me to show you. Let’s say you’re expressing anger.”

I started doing push-ups on the stage carpeted by the quiet light of dawn.

“The more people can recognize your poses, the better. We don’t need to try too hard in the facial expressions department.”

After a sharp inhale, I continued my push-ups in a steady rhythm.

“Now, this is normally how fast you do your push-ups, but...”

I immediately unleashed my aura. Red flames emanated from all around me. Now, I was doing push-ups much more quickly and mechanically than before, to the point where it looked unnatural.

Everyone was silent, myself included. I made no sound as I picked up the pace with my push-ups, staring straight ahead. Bloody-red aura continued to blaze all around me.

After thirty seconds, I pushed myself up from the floor.

“

Phew.

See? They’re just push-ups. We all know what those are, but what do you think of my performance? Simply increasing the speed makes it feel completely different. What would happen if I did them frantically as I sweated profusely? It would instill another emotion. If what you just saw was refined anger, then my other example would be wild anger. That’s how it is. We don’t need special lines or moves to express emotions.”

The Terras seemed to get it, but they also seemed incredibly confused. It was a bit frustrating. I realized this was my first time meeting goblins who weren’t talented when it came to aura manipulation.

“You.” I pointed to the one-eyed actor, who was playing the role of the Fire Emperor.

“M-Me?”

“Yes, the Fire Emperor is very egotistical. If you were him, how would you express his egoism?”

“

Uh...

”

“How would you use your aura to express egoism?”

Despite his confusion, the one-eyed actor thought about my question. From a prop pile nearby, he took out a pocket mirror and looked into it. His aura rose faintly and crawled around him like a wicked snake. He said, “I guess I would do something like this...”

“Not the worst, but a bit strange. It doesn’t fit his character.”

“It doesn’t?”

“The Fire Emperor is a self-proclaimed macho man. Would that punk look into a hand mirror or carry one in the first place? Why would he do that?”

“

Uh...

”

“You’re fixated on the idea that narcissists often look in the mirror. Plus, you think that egoism is a wicked emotion. Something that needs to be portrayed in a very obvious manner. That’s why you used your aura like that, but you shouldn’t do that. You just end up imitating a stereotype. You should use aura in a way that reflects your mindscape.”

“H-How would you do it?”

“Take a look.”

I took a deep breath. Just like Uburka, I enveloped myself with aura and built virtual muscles as if I had been born a bodybuilder. To show off my muscles, I did push-ups very slowly, deliberately huffing and puffing. I wasn’t trying to train myself but to show off my good physique.

“See? Simple, right?”

“I’ve been wanting to say this, but using aura like you do is...”

“What if I wanted to emphasize egoism even more in this case? In times like this, it would be good to have props. We can line up wooden chairs around us. The Fire Emperor is a nuthead, so he’ll never sit down and keep doing push-ups even though there is a chair right next to him.

“Then, even if he has no lines, people will instantly think of him as a lunatic. He loves himself so freaking much that he doesn’t notice his surroundings. Do you get what I’m talking about now? Actually, I’ll show you.”

I lightly lifted some wooden chairs and brought them on the stage, placing them in a circle. In the middle of the chairs, I slowly did push-ups like before as I breathed heavily. Of course, I didn’t forget to create the illusion that I had bulging muscles using my aura.

“What do you think? Easy, right?”

Bewildered, the one-eyed actor asked, “Who in the world are you?”

“I’m a rookie actress.”

The Terras looked at me like I was crazy. What did I do?

1. It's a Korean wordplay. The pronunciation of will(유서) and historic(유서 깊은) are similar. Some changes have been made for a smoother flow. ☜