Backstage
The bottled dread collected through William's performance was being concentrated. The refined liquid would ultimately become food for the Circus Tent.
Once the tent consumed the refined dread, it could grow, gain more interior space, and become more stable and harder to detect.
In short, it would become more perfect.
What exactly the Circus Tent was—few people in the entire circus could explain it clearly.
Some said it was an ancient artifact connected to the origin of disease.
Some said it was an otherworldly treasure the Boss had seized from invaders during the Old World war.
Others said that, like the head chef, the tent had been one of the Boss's earliest followers.
William was curious as well, but had no way to inquire. He would surely have to delve deeper into the circus and become an official member—or even gain the chance to speak with the Boss at length—to learn the truth.
The backstage worker wearing the Diamond Five mask quickly finished calculating the payment.
"Mr. William, the total amount of essence you earned from this performance was 50 ml. After deducting the 20 ml spent on constructing the venue and the ten percent control over the audience's flesh, your earnings from this performance come to 27 ml.
"We discovered that this was your first performance, so we're giving you this Trading Bracelet from the circus as well."
Diamond Five held out a hollow ring-shaped bracelet marked with graduations. A small amount of pitch-black substance was injected into it, precisely reaching the 27 ml mark.
Old World coins did not circulate within the circus. Dread was the only currency.
Catherine stared at the graduation marks on the bracelet and shook her head.
"William, you only get this little money even after maximizing the fear! Looks like building the