Without a car, it was a long way to the dingy flat Tristan called "home".
Although Tristan had changed drastically in the last couple hours, the place that met him was exactly the same as he left it: a tiny studio with peeling wallpaper, leaky faucets, and crumpling furniture.
And even that cost him $1500 a month!
The thought reminded Tristan painfully that today's robbery was supposed to pay for his next month's rent.
Tristan went for a stash behind a pipe, where he hid his savings. There was $500 left, which wasn't enough for anything much.
He had to earn that money quickly, and he also needed money for lessons. Learning was the simplest way to get system points.
But learning without a teacher was much slower than on your own. Besides, Tristan knew he would need a microphone and a guitar to record himself later.
'And new clothing,' he thought, looking with distaste at his second-hand jacket. 'I can't become famous in a jacket like that.'
Tristan yawned.
'Tomorrow I will think about something.'
While he brushed his teeth, Tristan stared long and hard at his healed face again. It was like a stranger's face, but also something dear returned to him from the past.
As he went to sleep, Tristan remembered to put his earring back on to change identities. He didn't want anyone to become suspicious of a strange person coming out of his apartment.
***
Next day.
'Money makes the world go round,' Tristan thought, walking down the street.
In warm July, plenty of tourists and locals were walking in this area, moving from one cafe to another and stopping near the souvenir shops. Many of them had their pockets or phones stuffed right in the back pockets of their pants, just begging to be swiped.
This place was one of Tristan's favorite work haunts. It wasn't so popular that some gang claimed it as his, but still let him earn enough for life. And Mark's gang didn't come here often.
Tristan strolled the street, putting low the hood of his jacket by the force of habit.
When he spotted a target with a low-hanging wallet, he casually strolled towards him, then as if "by accident" bumped the middle-aged man's shoulder.
"Hey!"
"Sorry," Tristan stepped back, smiling apologetically.
His target turned to him with a suspicious glare. One of his hands checked the wallet, and the man relaxed a little when he found it in place.
Usually, at this point, the target would cringe at Tristan and dismiss him. However, now the man actually smiled at Tristan.
"Ah, don't worry! Was looking at the shops instead of where you were going, yeah? Happens to everyone!"
Tristan's eyes widened with shock. Why was this man acting so nice to him?
Then he realized.
His face without the scars was pretty handsome! He didn't look like a suspicious pickpocket at all, but like some student on a summer break!
"Ha-ha, yeah. Sorry again," Tristan said, smiling back at the man. "Have a good day!"
"You too!"
The man turned around, moving away from Tristan. At this moment, when his guard was down, Tristan gently pulled his wallet out of the man's pocket and hid it in his.
Humming a tune to himself, Tristan removed his hood and kept strolling the street.
[Ding!]
[Pickpocketing skill increased by 1. Reward: your PP increased by 10.]
Tristan stumbled from shock.
'My what?! Ah… it must mean Pop-star Points. Cool, I can earn some cash and also grind my PP… Points, I mean. And if something goes awry, I can always run and quickly switch identities.'
Tristan didn't want to resort to this, though. When he pickpocketed, he was always as careful as his first time, when his heart was beating with anxiety and his stomach rumbling with desperate hunger.
But that was a long time ago.
And being handsome helped Tristan a lot. When people were suspicious of him, he just smiled broadly and they dismissed their doubts, thinking that he looked like a good citizen!
Especially women. A few threw him flirtatious glances as Tristan walked by, but he didn't pay them much mind.
[Pickpocketing skill increased by 1. Reward: your PP increased by 10.]
[Pickpocketing skill increased by 1. Reward: your PP increased by 10.]
[Pickpocketing skill increased by 1. Reward: your PP increased by 10.]
After five hours of pickpocketing, Tristan's skill improved by 3 more points. He also earned around $300 in cash, as well as three phones that he could sell to a dealer he knew. While before, he'd feel lucky to earn $150!
Not to mention that a few times people got suspicious of him and even called the police.
As he counted his earnings, Tristan considered his options.
'If I practice my Pop-star skills now, I can improve my pickpocketing and earn even more. Pickpocketing on my own will be riskier than when Mark could look out for me, but it will be worth it.'
However, this required some investment.
Tristan walked into an alleyway, made sure that no one was watching him, and took off his earring. He felt safer in an identity that was a clean sheet with no criminal records attached.
Then Tristan went to the place which before always brought pain in his heart when he walked past it.
This was a musical instruments store. Guitars, violins, and flutes were put on the window display. Their price tags were actually very cheap and affordable compared to the price of instruments Tristan was used to. Only $900 for some of the instruments at the front, while Tristan's old guitar cost $3000.
This was a store aimed at casual musicians first, not a high-end luxury brand place.
The reason for Tristan's pain were his fingers, which were too fragile to let him play a guitar.
But now…
He walked into the store, looking around. There were acoustic guitars, bass guitars, ukuleles…
"Do you need something, mister?" the cashier asked, approaching him. He was an elderly man with a kind smile. "Are you a newbie? We have some self-learning manuals for flutes and guitars."
Tristan looked at the cashier, then remembered how much cash he had. He really hoped this was enough…
"How much is your cheapest electric guitar?"