Piano Lady

7th Floor, Main Dining Hall

As Artis and Alice both entered the bustling dining hall, the aroma of the freshly prepared dish filled the air, evoking their senses as it stirred their hunger even further. The hall was decorated with elegant carpets with tables and chairs set covered with white cloth for the guests to enjoy their meal. 

The walls were decorated with lanterns as various pictures of different famous people were hung over there. Artis scanned the room, his eyes lingering on the array of food laid out on the buffet tables. From savory dishes to cold desserts, tempting him to indulge to his desires. 

Alice led the way, she was followed by Artis, as she spotted an empty table seat by the window where the ocean was visible from, as she gestured Artis to follow her. 

"Let's sit here." she said, flashing a warm smile, "We can have a nice view while we enjoy our meal." 

Artis nodded, agreeing with her, as Alice kept the handbag that she was carrying on the table and both, went to the buffet tables to help themselves with their meal. 

Artis saw variety of options and chose rice, vegetable salad, a grilled fish and a sweet dish for his meal. 

Meanwhile, Alice chose a lighter meal, choosing mixed green salad with seasoning, a serving of roasted chicken breast and steamed vegetables. 

With their plates filled, Artis and Alice both returned to their table by the window enjoying the scenery outside of the dining hall as they settled into their seats. 

As they ate, they engaged in casual conversation, discussing about their Unique Skills, their jobs they will be working on when they reach Aurosia and just engaging into meaningless banter. 

As they kept engaging in this fun conversation, Artis couldn't help but feel that these fun moments between them last forever, even when they are busy with their jobs in the future, they can still have a conversation with each other in the future. 

Because Alice was the only family member he had left. Over 13 years ago, when their family was on a family trip, they got into a huge accident that only left Artis and Alice as the survivors of their family. 

Artis doesn't remember the details of the accident, since he was a child back then but he remembered Alice crying day and nights out hugging him and telling that everything was going to be alright. 

Their relatives took them in, but that wasn't a period that he likes to remember at all. After Alice turned 18, she took Artis with her and decided to cut ties with all their relatives living alone from now on. 

"Is everything alright?" Alice asked, snapping Artis out of his thoughts as he looked at Alice in surprise, "You look pretty out of it, is the food not to your taste?" 

"Huh? No. The food tastes great actually. It's just that....I was just..," said Artis looking down, smiling slightly, "I was just remembering our time when we lived with our Uncle and Aunt and how we are in such a better place than we were before." 

 "Oh?" Alice replied softly as she touched Artis' hand, "Those were some tough times, I admit, but we are in a better place aren't we? Look where we are now. We've come a long way since then." 

Artis nodded, his gaze looking outside, "Yeah. You're right. We've managed to carve out a better life for us since back then. Like, how you manage to get the tickets to this luxurious cruise and both of us getting good jobs now." 

Alice smiled, looking over the sea as well, her expression revealing a bit of hope and sadness, "You're right. After this, we will be journeying to the land of the unknown." 

There was a moment of silence between them, nobody speaking a word to one another, as they continued to gaze at the navy blue ocean stretching out endlessly before them. 

For a moment, Artis found comfort in the soothing rhythm of the sea, feeling a sense of peace wash over him. 

After finishing their meal, Alice stood up and said grinning, "Alright, I'll be going to the Salon now. You know, take care of my beautiful and smooth skin. I'll see you later."

"Taking care of your skin? Please, both of us know that you will never get a boyfriend even if you take care of your skin. Remind me again, why did you break up with your previous boyfriend again?" 

"Say that again, and it will be me who lands in Aurosia and not you!" said Alice, with a threatening smile.

Artis raised his arms in surrender as Alice left the dining hall and went to Salon. 

Bored, Artis helped himself with a scoop of Vanilla Ice-cream and left the dining hall, unsure where to head next. 

'Hmm. I can head out to the pool area or the observation deck to enjoy the sea. Or head out to the casino center and gamble some money. Heh, I can also hope I can record someone with the Gambler skill. Or just go back to my room and sleep until Alice calls me out for dinner.' 

As Artis wandered around the cruise unsure where to head to, he reached the Auditorium bar again where he listened to those programs this morning. 

Curious as to what was happening there now, he headed there again but his focus went to a person who was far away from the room who wore a common white dress with silky black hair looking all dejected and depressed as she sighed. 

'Hey, isn't that? The Piano Lady from the morning? What is she doing here?'

Curious, Artis decided to head over there, "Hey," began Artis, "Is everything alright? I couldn't help but notice that you seem a bit down." 

The woman looked up at him, her eyes betraying a hint of surprise at his sudden appearance. She hesitated for a moment before responding, her voice soft and tinged with sadness.

"I'm fine, thank you," she replied, offering Artis a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm just...lost in thought, I suppose."

Artis nodded, understandably, "I saw your performance this morning actually. You are the one who plays the Grand Piano right?" 

The woman this time did not hide her surprise as she managed to say a few words stuttering, "Oh...You saw that...huh? Yeah, I know my performance was terrible this morning....Haah, I don't know what I'm doing wrong with my skills. It just doesn't seem to be working at all." 

"Hmm? I thought the performance was acceptable. Why do you say that your performance was not good?" asked Artis as his right eye began glowing again. 

The woman paused for a while, before answering, "It's just that....You know, I work for this cruise as a performer and I play Grand Piano whenever I'm slotted to play but it's just that, nobody is showing any reaction to my performance since the past few days...

"Since, we basically perform for influential people in this cruise, those people either clap their hands or cheer for us performers if they like our performance. But, if they show no reaction, or just stare at us, that signals that our performance was subpar and I've been getting that reaction for a while now!" 

Artis listened attentively, sympathizing with the woman's concern how the audience shows no reaction when performers put out a performance. 

"I'm sorry to hear that," Artis replied sincerely, "But don't let it get to you. Every artist faces challenges at some point. It doesn't mean you're not talented or that your skills aren't working. Maybe the audience is just preoccupied or not in the right mood."

"I hope you are right," said the woman, "It's just hard not to take it personally, you know? Playing the piano is my passion, and when it feels like nobody appreciates it..."

"Well, all I can say is just continue practicing your skills and maybe someday, your efforts will pay off." replied Artis as he leaned forward his left hand.

As he moved his left hand, snapping his fingers appeared a violet Amaryllis flower which surprised the Piano lady as she received the flower. 

"How did you do that?" asked the Piano lady surprised. 

"Well, you can say...", began Artis, "I'm a bit of a performer myself." as he grinned and left the conversation. 

The Piano Lady, speechless looked at the flower and the boy who gave him the flower as he disappeared from the hallway as she heard her boss call out to her. 

Just as Artis left the conversation, a blue screen popped up in front of him saying multiple messages. 

[Understanding of Skill [Magician] increased by 0.2%]

[New Attack Skill developed- [Performer]] 

[Would you like to know about the Attack Skill?]