Nick left the matter of his listing and the Marketplace and had already begun fantasizing.
'No, that's not the right word. Planning… yes, I'm planning,' he thought as he went to the Shop tab and set the item search filter to 'Talent'.
Nick scrolled past numerous talents like parkour, drawing, painting, drumming, sculpting, rapping, writing, directing, dancing, public speaking, boxing, taekwondo, market analysis, etc. They were all tier-1 talents and all had varying prices.
Throughout Nick's peruse, he only added three specific talents to his wishlist, mostly based on his interests.
The first talent on his wishlist was the [Singing] talent, which cost only 30 v-points. Nick could play the keyboard a bit and had always wanted to be able to sing along with whatever he played in a better pitch, instead of always singing flatly.
However, the more important reason he chose this talent was simply because of the V-Score, which needed fame and influence to increase. It wasn't stated in the rule book that pointers needed to advance to the next class, but he wanted to advance.
Nick had just been handed the world's biggest secret, there was no way he was going to accept being at the bottom here too. The way he saw it, staying an Irregular wasn't contentment, but foolishness. It was nearly impossible to remain an Irregular, as there was no way to earn an above-average living in this world without gaining either fame, influence, or both. And once one got the ball rolling, it was even harder to stop its increase.
'Maybe if I can become a Specialist, that'll be enough for me. That way, I won't have to perform Mr. Stranger's task too,' he thought.
There were many ways in the world for one to achieve either fame or influence. Nick could join politics since it could give him both fame and influence, but that was too far-fetched. He could become an athlete of any sport too, but he didn't think he would be that lucky in reaching somewhere tangible in a short amount of time, and to be honest, only the top 10% of athletes ever get noticed by the public, achieving fame status. This made him wonder, though, among those successful athletes, how many weren't pointers?
Anyway, Nick knew how the world worked, and from what he understood, the closest-reaching fruit of acquiring an ample amount of fame and influence… was becoming a musician.
The [Singing] talent ensured he would be able to hit high notes and all, but being able to sing didn't determine his capability of making hit music that could top the charts across different countries.
Therefore, the second item on his wishlist was the [Songwriting] talent, priced at 45 v-points. He chose [Songwriting] specifically over others like [Music Composition], and [Music Production] frankly due to the versatility it harbored.
Nick knew [Music Composition] mostly dealt with the creation of orchestra music and film scores, lacking the need for lyrics. It wasn't bad, per se, as great music helped bring movies to life, but it just wasn't what he needed. He was planning to become a musician, not a music composer.
As for [Music Production], it mainly dealt with the technicality of music and the ability to make amazing beats, mixes, and the overall sound engineering of a song. Talented producers were needed to take a song to the next level, but what would be the point if the song itself wasn't already great? And since Nick wasn't even sure of the exact type of music he would make, he wanted to give himself more room to explore with the [Songwriting] talent.
'I can also just learn how to produce myself, it shouldn't be too hard. My hearing is at peak human sharpness, and I learn quickly, even more so now.'
Lastly, the third talent Nick had on his wishlist was the most expensive, priced at 75 v-points, and it was the [Acting] talent.
Nick's interest in this talent was deeper and more personal. He had always wanted to be an actor, starring in amazing movies that brought joy to people, but he lacked the background to chase such a profession. From where he was coming, as the son of a widowed mother, he had to be successful no matter what, so he didn't want to take chances and leave things up to luck. This was why he aimed to get a degree in business administration and management, which in the end, went up in smoke. Life was like that most of the time.
Another talent he contemplated deeply but decided against was the [Writing] talent. From a young age, Nick had heard of writers like George R. R. Martin and J. K. Rowling who became world-renowned, having their books turned into blockbuster movies, games, and other forms of entertainment, and also possessing large communities of loyal fans. He had always admired them because…
'Ah, they probably make so much money,' he thought wistfully.
However, he feared he might be able to write splendidly, but wouldn't be lucky enough to have his months of hard work published due to the saturation of the profession. Everyone with a brain cell or two could pick up a pen and paper and write whatever.
Despite having a talent for it, he could be caught in a conundrum of unpublished works for years, a practice common in the book publishing industry. And years, he didn't have.
However, the biggest factor that made him decide against getting the [Writing] talent was simply the fact that he could train himself to write. Spending v-points on such an easy skill to learn would be such a waste.
"And… that should be all," Nick said, nodding slightly at his wishlist. "These are the three talents I'll put in my talent slots."
After that, Nick freshened up and left the apartment.
He went to a grocery store down the street, restocking most of the groceries he lacked. Cooking food for himself was always more cost-efficient than eating out.
Arriving back at his apartment, Nick quickly cleaned up the old rusty refrigerator and started sorting out the groceries, arranging them inside in transparent storage containers. He couldn't allow anything to spoil or waste.
The frozen chicken breasts, tomatoes, yogurt, and beef were placed in the freezer. And below, in the larger and warmer part of the fridge, he kept the milk, cheese, butter, oats, bread, egg crate, pasta, carrots, and other vegetables. Then, he kept canned foods like tuna, sardines, and canned tomatoes in the kitchen wall cabinet.
When Nick was done with all that, he felt his stomach grumble, and he opened the refrigerator again, admiring his arrangements while scanning for what to prepare.
"I'll have a feast today," he told himself.
'Bread perishes the quickest. Hmm, let's go with a chicken sandwich for breakfast…'
Sometime later, Nick started getting ready for his night shift at the convenience store. This time, he got ready a whole hour before the start time of his shift.
Leaving his apartment by around 3:30 p.m., he muttered sternly, "I have to get that key from Mr. Singh. Hopefully, he hasn't watched the recording of last night."