Lug was running through the forest.

He had forgotten his coins, but it was too late to go back and get them.

He was already 15 minutes late for his first day of training.

His alarm had not gone off.

Even if he ran with all his might, he would still be late.

At that moment, he realized he could strengthen his legs to run faster.

He stopped.

"How could I forget? Okay, then..." he closed his eyes.

Lug did not have perfect control over muscle reinforcement.

He needed to concentrate - at least a little - to use it effectively and safely.

"25% should be enough" he thought.

He concentrated, took his stance, and lunged forward.

He was going fast.

Too fast.

The scenery flashed before his eyes.

Everything became indistinct.

A tree brushed past him.

He felt a branch whip his face.

Lug became frightened.

There were too many trees, too many stones on the path, too much risk of falling.

He began to slow down.

Then he stopped.

He was out of breath.

"I can't do this. Everything is moving too fast. I'm dizzy." he thought.

His brain couldn't keep up.

He knew he needed to strengthen it to be able to go that fast.

"That was only 25%, and it was already too much, hahaha." Lug laughed.

He was impressed by his speed, by his potential.

But there was no way he was going to risk using brain reinforcement again.

Nevertheless, he decided to give muscular reinforcement another try.

"I'll go slower this time."

He lunged forward again, but this time more slowly.

He was now running about as fast as if he decided to sprint without reinforcement.

But his breathing was regular, his muscles didn't hurt.

He felt like he was trotting.

Lug had just realized that reinforcement could allow him to use his psychic energy to save his physical energy.

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But this idea seemed strange to him.

"Using energy to save energy? It makes sense, but at the same time it doesn’t » he thought.

When he arrived in town, he took the small streets, he knew well to avoid the main avenue.

He found himself in front of the circus in a few minutes.

Proud of himself.

"I didn't lose everything by oversleeping" he thought.

He was breathing heavily, but not out of breath.

He was barely sweating.

His legs - which he touched to be sure - didn't hurt.

Maybe just a slight discomfort.

It was a sensation similar to stretching a muscle.

He was now sure: his limit was 25%.

He entered the circus and saw that Deborah was there.

She hadn't seen him come in.

She was practicing.

This young woman didn't look like much.

A little clumsy and hot-headed.

But here, she was a completely different person.

She was wearing a glittery acrobat leotard.

Her makeup matched her outfit.

Blue around her eyes, lipstick of the same color.

She juggled with several clubs.

Throwing them in the air and catching them while doing complex figures.

She stood on one hand while juggling with the other.

Her legs arched, then stretched in a wide split.

Lug was hypnotized by the agility, dexterity, and speed of execution that he was witnessing.

After a few minutes, she finally stood up.

Lug applauded.

She turned around and her face - which had seemed so serene the moment before -transformed.

The blue of her makeup now had to coexist with the red of her skin.

The anger was easy to guess.

Lug was about to explain himself, but he didn't have time.

A juggling pin flew towards him.

He narrowly avoided it.

But it was followed by a second and then a third one.

"Wait, wait!" Lug shouted desperately, dodging the projectiles.

"Wait? Yes, that's what I've been doing for 45 minutes. I've had enough of waiting for an incompetent, irresponsible, liar… ughhh!"

She then threw another pin.

"Spoiled child!"

She threw her last pin.

"Good for nothing."

Her gaze searched around her for a moment, then she picked up a juggling ball lying on the ground and threw it.

Lug avoided this last projectile, then approached Deborah.

She had nothing left to throw, it was time to act.

"Deborah, I'm really sorry. I have no excuse. But please, stop throwing things."

"Stop, wait, are there any other orders you want to give me?" She spoke loudly, her eyebrows furrowed.

Lug was annoyed, he felt like nothing he could say would help the situation to improve.

"I really liked what you were doing." He sighed.

He didn't know what to say, so he preferred to change the subject.

Deborah's face seemed to brighten up a bit after hearing Lug's compliment.

"You liked it? Well, that's not what you're going to learn." She had a smirk on her face.

She signaled for Lug to follow her.

"Bring the pins with you," she said, pointing to the chaos she had left behind.

Lug followed the young woman, his arms loaded with multicolored juggling pins.

They stopped in front of a green door.

"This is the storage room," Deborah said, opening the door.

As they entered, she turned on the light.

It was like Ali Baba's cave.

Costumes, tools, equipment.

Colors everywhere.

A unicycle was leaning against a giant cone, probably on which animals sat during a performance.

Dozens of hangers to the left and right of Lug, filled with clothes and costumes.

All colors, all sizes, all shapes.

Lug could have stayed there, staring at this room for hours.

But Deborah had different plans.

She grabbed a hanger and threw a clown costume over Lug, then threw him oversized shoes, a red wig, and a plastic nose.

Lug looked at the costume, trying to understand what was coming.

Deborah looked at him attentively, as if waiting for the right moment to make a hurtful remark.

There, she saw an opening, Lug seemed to have come back from his thoughts.

"You're going to practice being a clown. I heard it's easier for people who are a little..." she waved her finger around her temple and whistled. "...simple up there. It's going to be a piece of cake for you."