Twenty minutes later, Tristan walked out of the store $300 poorer, but with a brand-new electric guitar kit.
It was one of the cheapest guitars possible, one that he wouldn't have touched with a six-foot-pole in the past.
However, beggars couldn't be choosers. And this model could work from an accumulator, which was very convenient.
Tristan's fingers were itching to play. It's been so long…
As soon as he switched identities and returned to his flat, he unpacked the guitar—a simple white thing, so crude compared to his old one—and tuned it.
Then Tristan played a short jingle from memory.
The first notes of it were like a breath of fresh air. A wave of nostalgia flooded Tristan, making him tear up just from this simple act.
His fingers slipped at this moment, and the next note rang false. Frowning, Tristan continued with more concentration, but his skills were rusty without practice.
Again and again he would slip. Few mistakes were as bad as the first ones, but to his trained ear they were still glaring. It was even worse because of the poor instrument Tristan was using.
He finished the jingle with one last hit of the strings and tsked.
'Two years without practice—no wonder I'm rusty. But I didn't earn all these Pop-star Points for nothing, so it's time to spend them! Status.'
[======]
[Tristan Hayes (Tristan Gemello)]
[Current identity: Criminal. Second identity: Pop-star.]
[Rank: Nobody.]
[Pop-star Points: 85]
[Criminal Points: 45]
[===Attributes===]
…
[===Skills===]
[Singing: 48]
[Dancing: 8]
[Playing guitar: 39]
…
[Pickpocketing: 28]
[======]
Tristan tapped on a skill and the system opened a window that let him spend points to improve it. As he expected, "criminal" skills cost Criminal Points, and "pop-star" skills cost Pop-Star points.
1 point in skill cost 1 identity point to improve. This meant that practicing pickpocketing was going to be the fastest way to improve Tristan's musical skills, and vice versa.
This was amazing to Tristan. He spent endless hours practicing music before, but how fast will he be able to rise thanks to the SIS… by doing crime?
He tapped his 'Playing guitar' skill and spent his 85 points on it.
[Ding!]
[Playing guitar skill increased from 39 to 124.]
Of course, Tristan didn't get Criminal Points from that.
Out of curiosity, he checked the cost of improving his attributes. They weren't attached to identities, and he could improve them with any points. However, it cost 10 system points for 1 point of attribute.
After this, Tristan took the guitar in his hands again.
It was like the last two years had never happened.
Tristan's hands played the short jingle with complete assurance, never missing a single note. It was as simple as breathing.
After hitting the last chord, Tristan let the silence ring, completely stunned.
It felt like in a single moment he sat through months of musical lessons!
However, the jingle was a simple, short melody. It was a far cry from what Tristan normally played during his practice.
Although his memory after two years was also rusty, he remembered a famous heavy metal song he spent a long time practicing a cover of.
Tristan took his phone, checking messages. Not a word from his 'friends' from the gang, not that he was expecting one. The only one who didn't hate him at this point was surely Ricky, and Ricky did whatever Mark said.
Then Tristan found the drum track for the song online and began to play the guitar part.
The song grew from the slow introduction to powerful riffs, and when it was time to sing, Tristan opened his mouth.
He sang about three lines until someone knocked furiously on the wall of his apartment.
"Turn off that hellish music! Turn it off before I call the police on you! I will do it, I swear!" shouted a muffled, but still shrill, female voice.
"Dammit!" Tristan swore, stopping playing.
He got so used to the non-existent soundproofing of this apartment that he totally forgot about it.
"Fine, you hag! Enjoy your peace and quiet! Bitch." Tristan shouted back.
Women in his life continued to create him problems.
***
Next day.
Tristan sat in a park together with his guitar and his portable amplifier. Right now he was Tristan Gemello, not Hayes, which meant he was going to do no crime.
His future famous identity must have a reputation cleaner than a bleach factory.
Tristan came today not to swipe wallets, but to practice guitar, both for the sake of it, and for CP.
Like before, he turned on the drum track on his phone, just to keep the tempo, and began playing.
After a quiet intro, powerful guitar riffs flew over the park. In this sunny weather, many people of all ages were strolling or sunbathing here.
When they heard Tristan play such a powerful, rhythmic song intro, they grew curious. It was a very famous song, and many people were familiar with it.
Curious, they drew closer to listen, growing a ring of people around Tristan's bench.
His eyes widened at such an audience. It was shocking, and many people would've been shy.
However, despite the years spent hiding his face, Tristan was born to stand on the stage. All the attention only spurred him on.
He stood up from the bench and began singing the song's words. Although his singing skills were just as rusty as his guitar ones, Tristan put all his soul into that song.
This was his first performance, and the audience was enjoying it, even if the sound quality was poor and the singer wasn't perfect.
When the chorus began, some people even began singing along, and then more of them joined, chanting the lines.
When Tristan played the last note, there were at least fifteen people watching him, men and women. Now they all applauded.
"This was damn cool!"
"Hell yeah, I love this band!"
"Man, are you a professional guitarist or something? Do you have a social page?"
[Ding!]
[Playing guitar skill increased by 1. Reward: your CP increased by 10.]
[Ding!]
[Singing skill increased by 2. Reward: your CP increased by 20.]
[Ding!]
[You had impressed an audience of 18 people with your performance. Reward: your CP increased by 80.]