I Became the Leader of the Monster Circus Troupe

Chapter 176: Demon in the Bottle – 15

No matter how armed with an elite mindset, the students of prestigious school were still devotees of the circus.

Their astonishing skill lay in breaking conventions.

And even stimulating their identity as acrobats with a single word.

They couldnt help but be swayed by Mayas words and actions.

Her mysterious aura added to that stimulation.

But they couldnt honestly express such feelings from their standpoint.

They just stood there nervously, watching the reactions of the top students.

Clara sensed the change in the atmosphere inside.

And it was not in the direction she desired.

She tried to salvage the situation somehow.

But at that moment, a hand grabbed onto the ledge of the 5th-floor window.

Eek!

With a strange shout, a person suddenly popped up.

With fiery red hair, a fierce-looking girl tilted her head.

It was Karen.

She breathed heavily as if gasping for air and crossed over the window like it was nothing.

Whew, thought I was gonna die.

She wiped the sweat and drool with her sleeve and glared at Maya with a resentful look.

Then, she let out a whiny voice that would have made her brother and colleagues scream if they heard it.

Hic, Maya, youre too much. Leaving me behind.

Maya looked at her indifferently.

Theres another way for you.

I didnt climb up through the stairs

Karen muttered with a sulky expression.

Clara looked at her hand, now reddened with effort.

She heard a few words from the children murmuring below.

She realized how Karen had come up.

She had grabbed onto a bamboo from the first floor and climbed up.

With just her strength.

Can you believe this?!

Clara looked at her incredulously.

E for Endurance was a virtue that symbolized the skill of ground acrobatics among SPECIAL.

Balancing weight with palms and soles was the specialty of ground acrobatics majors.

But climbing up a bamboo about 30 meters with just that.

It was unbelievable.

Karen stood at the window, rubbing her palms.

And she shouted while looking down.

I heard everything on my way up. These brats. Whats cheating about it? You guys are funny.

Her voice was as bold as if she had just had a drink, unlike when she spoke to Maya earlier.

She rebuked the students, glaring at them.

I only know ground acrobatics. But why should I jump around here like a jester?

A jester?

At Claras chilly response from behind, Karen turned around in surprise.

Oh, well, I mean, not to, not to senior Just, those kids who speak so lightly Um

She muttered in confusion, looking at the person with cold eyes.

She was still the girl who had difficulty dealing with others, especially those with skills like Clara, who could throw cold glances while laughing.

Meanwhile, there was a commotion below.

Encouraged by Maya and Karens performances, the students began to raise their voices.

Yeah. Thats right! Im a ground acrobat, so why do I have to jump around on bamboo?

Me too! Im a vaulting acrobat, not a tightrope walker! I mean, elite students might be good at everything.

Were going to be here for a month, no need to rush to the 5th floor now.

The children said so and confidently started climbing the stairs.

There were the students who were supposed to ridicule them.

But they hesitated, looking at each other nervously, and then made way for them.

And so, all the students moved towards the 5th floor, except for one.

In silence, Merren stood before the bamboo again.

She was different from the other children.

She was determined to regain her honour as a tightrope acrobat.

This time, even Clara couldnt stop her.

She pushed off the bamboo and flew into the air.

Everyone watched her silently.

She climbed up to the fourth floor height using the same route as before.

There was still no sound of footsteps.

And her movements were as stable as if she wasnt injured at all.

She ignored the place where she had made a mistake earlier.

Anyway, that place had a broken branch, so she couldnt pass through it.

She explored a new route.

She moved to another tree using one branch as a foothold.

She went back a bit from the original path, but there was another way to reach the 5th-floor window.

She carefully climbed onto a new branch.

There was a creaking sound, but it didnt break.

Unless intentionally broken like Clara or a braggart majoring in strength control, bamboo rarely broke. This was because the gardener checked and took care of it every day.

She jumped across to the other side.

And she added an action to signal the end of her show.

Intentionally making noise with her last step.

Thud.

With a cheerful sound, her feet touched the threshold of the 5th-floor window.

She smiled happily and looked around the garden.

The students climbing the stairs, even the students of Lekachep, nodded their heads and gave a slight applause.

Even the top students couldnt stop and looked at each other with lowered heads.

Wow!

Amazing! Merren!

To break through the obstacle in just two attempts!

Karen approached her with an excited expression.

She mustered up the courage to talk to her.

Amaz amazing! Great

A jester?

Merren shot back at her.

It was a playful remark, but Karen was taken aback and stepped back.

Merren approached Maya, who was standing a little apart, with a smile.

And she said, Thank you.

Maya grinned back at her.

For what?

She even saw Ella giving her a thumbs-up from afar.

Why is that?

All the freshmen arrived on the 5th floor.

At the same time, the bell signaling the end of break time rang.

The students scattered to attend classes or practice.

After a while, an elderly gardener entered the empty garden.

He discovered the fallen bamboo branch on the ground and shouted.

Whats this! You broke the bamboo again!

The elderly gardener looked around the empty courtyard, shouting in anger.

Damn kids!

The freshmen entered the office of Elpara, the deputy principal and tightrope walking professor.

Beyond the window of her study, the courtyard was visible.

Elpara blocked out the old mans cursing by closing the window.

You passed through the barrier beautifully.

Wearing a black hat and a long black robe, she was nicknamed The Witch by the students due to her strict demeanour.

But now, a smile that was rarely seen by students once a week adorned her lips.

She glanced at Clara, who blushed and avoided the professors gaze.

Allowing obstacles for the freshmen was one thing, but deliberately making them the subject of ridicule during break time was something she had done on her own.

That kind-hearted Clara changed like this in just a few months.

Was it because of the pressure of the Circus Grand Prix?

Or was there another reason?

She felt bitter.

Elpara had been missing her old friend more and more lately.

Lekachep was famous for its elite mentality, but it wasnt this severe in the past.

Initially, the schools status wasnt this high.

Graduates going out into society often heard comments like, Why go to a school to learn acrobatics?

The current elite mentality started seventeen years ago, after the terror incident during the 2nd Circus Grand Prix.

It was since Ursus, the tamer, left this world.

The five of them were skilled acrobats, but none of them had ever properly taught or led others.

Like most acrobats of that era, they learned their skills in an apprenticeship-style fashion.

Guiding and teaching dozens of teenagers through an educational curriculum was unprecedented.

Moreover, at the time, they were all in their twenties or thirties.

They didnt know how to deal with immature individuals on a personal level.

Their limit was preparing challenging tasks to make students compete and improve their skills.

But Ursus was different.

He was a professional tamer.

He was familiar with education, such as how to calm someones mind, control a crowd, and understand each individuals aptitude.

While other professors passed on technical skills, he took care of the students non-academic aspects from behind.

They didnt realize his role while he was there.

They didnt understand the significance of his small actions.

It was only when he left and the student generation changed over the years that the internal culture deteriorated, and the professors noticed what role he had played.

When they tried to make up for it, it was already too late.

The school had grown several times larger, and their abilities were lacking.

The new Professor for Taming didnt have the same capacity as their friend.

Even Elpara, volunteering as the deputy Principal, struggled to establish order.

Especially this generation, with professors busy preparing for the Circus Grand Prix, couldnt properly understand the students feelings.

Clara was able to easily instigate and manipulate the kids based on these circumstances.

Elpara sighed sadly.

As the freshmen left her office, they continued towards the next professors office.

Along the way, they encountered more obstacles.

As befitting a circus school, Lekachep had places throughout the school where skills could be used to cross.

One such obstacle was a thick, locked iron door.

No matter how much force was applied, it seemed to yield but suddenly stopped, as if caught.

It was strange.

The students who had taken the entrance exam pondered.

Finally, one student exclaimed as if remembering something.

Static friction?

Ella nodded, pointing to the top of the iron door.

The width of the door was 1 meter, and its height was 2 meters.

However, there was a groove in the wall surrounding the door.

It seemed to be about 2 meters wide and 4 meters high.

And in turn, there was a groove at a width of 4 meters and a height of 8 meters.

Look closely.

Ella pushed one side of the iron door, and Reyna pushed the opposite side.

The iron door creaked and moved backward.

But then, with a clicking sound, it stopped as if caught on something.

Some students, following Ellas gesture, applied more force to open the door.

Then something amazing happened.

The wall surrounding the 12 meter door began to move.

What they thought was a wall turned out to be a hidden door.

As the freshmen marveled, there was another clicking sound, and something seemed to catch on the door again.

They instinctively looked higher.

The 48 meter door.

Ella and Reyna let go of the door.

The hefty-looking male students were gestured forward by Reyna.

They were weightlifters.

They each grabbed one side of the door and exerted force according to her signal.

Their basic strength was naturally superior to Ellas.

The door opened easily.

To pass through this, skill in strength was necessary.

So they continued to hold onto the iron door even after opening it to allow other freshmen to pass.

Using their respective skills, they helped each other pass several more obstacles and toured the professors research labs.

Now, only one place remained.

Professor Tamings office.

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Chapter 175: Demon in the Bottle 14