Becoming a pianist in an hour

After dealing with Mark's gang, Tristan had 120 PP stored. Now he took them all and put them into playing piano skill.

[Ding!]

[Playing piano skill increased from 1 to 121.]

A rush of knowledge and instincts fell upon Tristan. Several seconds later, it abated, and Tristan cracked his knuckles.

He shifted in his seat, automatically putting his hands and legs on the piano correctly. Now his posture was that of someone who actually knew what he was doing.

Tristan opened a page of notes on his phone and peered at it.

It was inconvenient to play like that, but after all his spending the last week, he was feeling too stingy to print actual notes.

The phone sufficed.

Tristan began playing the first notes of a "Prelude in C Major" by Sebastian Bach. It was a slow melody, sorrowful and slow from the beginning.

His fingers moved almost on their own above the piano keys, bringing the note sheet to life.

Excited by how easily he knew what keys to press and when compared to his complete fumbling before, Tristan began playing slightly faster, making the song sound more excited and upbeat than before for a moment.

Then he reached the end of the note sheet page and had to flip to the next one.

From this on, Tristan held his excitement and in check and finished playing the melody as it was made to be.

And yet, when he finished playing, Tristan's heart was beating fast in his checks. His fingertips were tingling.

The music was beauty and power, and it was in his hands.

For the next half an hour, Tristan played various melodies, practicing the skills he bought. After all, he paid for a full hour in the practice room.

By the end of that half an hour, he heard another notification.

[Ding!]

[Playing piano skill increased by 1. Reward: your CP increased by 10.]

'Not bad. So what's my CP now? Status.'

[======]

[Tristan Gemello (Tristan Hayes)]

[Current identity: Pop-star. Second identity: Criminal.]

[Rank: Nobody.]

[Pop-star Points: 0]

[Criminal Points: 110]

[===Attributes===]

[Appearance: 33]

[Charisma: 30]

[Fearsomeness: 24]

[Strength: 17]

[Dexterity: 24]

[Toughness: 40]

[===Skills===]

[Singing: 51]

[Dancing: 8]

[Playing guitar: 125]

[Music theory: 19]

[Music production: 8]

[Acting: 20]

[Songwriting: 14]

[Voice control: 34]

[Stage presence: 16]

[Playing piano: 121]

[Sneaking: 20]

[Close-quarters combat: 446]

[Observation: 31]

[Driving: 16]

[Pickpocketing: 28]

[===Talents===]

[Clark Kent Effect]

[======]

'My close-quarters combat is so high… I don't feel like I should put any more CP here. And pickpocketing—I feel like I should aim at better ways of earning lots of money.'

Tristan was still thinking about this as he walked back to his apartment.

Eventually, still walking, he opened his system interface and put all the points in the observation skill. It seemed useful, even if Tristan wasn't sure how exactly it worked.

The effect made Tristan stop dead in the middle of the sidewalk in shock.

He looked around, feeling like he saw the world for the first time.

Although Tristan's sight didn't improve from what it was, his brain noticed all the details and facts that passed below Tristan before.

Several birds were fighting on the other side of the street. Clearly, there was some food for them. Someone must've dropped something.

A group of teenagers gathered near a storefront. They laughed obnoxiously and seemed like normal kids—but Tristan's new sight noticed the slightly tense way they held each other, and the shifty eyes of them. When one of them moved, there was a glint of metal on the inside of his jacket.

These teens were up to no good. They could've been a gang, too.

A man was walking past him, holding a beautiful woman ten years younger by her elbow. There was a trace of a wedding ring on his finger, even if no ring was in sight.

If the woman knew that her partner was married and hiding it, her bright smile showed that she clearly didn't care.

Shaking his head, Tristan resumed walking home.

He thought he was observant before—you had to watch your back out there, or you were toast—but this was nothing compared to that level of skill.

100 points really made a difference. And with almost 500 points in combat skill, Tristan could probably beat professional boxing and karate fighters.

He smiled to himself. Unconsciously, Tristan's posture changed.

Now there was an aura of complete self-assurance around him. He walked like someone utterly sure that he was invincible, because in a way, Tristan did.

***

That evening, Tristan called the number left in the advertisement, with the contact name listed as "A. Pierce", introduced himself, and asked for the job.

"Hm, hm. As a pianist, is that correct, Mr. Gemello?" a dry voice asked from the other side.

"Yes, Mr. Pierce. I can send a resume on your email if you need, but the vacancy—"

"Bring it in paper form for the interview. Can you appear at 9 PM this Thursday?"

It was three days from today. Tristan, of course, had nothing scheduled except for his daily gym visits.

"Yes, Mr. Pierce."

"Good. Since there will be another candidate coming at that time, I will be able to interview both of you at once."

"Another candidate?"

"Yes. You sound surprised, Mr. Gemello, although the salary offered wasn't that low." Pierce didn't sound mocking, just blandly voicing a fact.

"Ah, it was nothing. I don't have questions, Mr. Pierce."

"Call this number at work hours if they appear."

After a brief exchange of polite goodbyes, Pierce ended the call.

Then Tristan clenched his fists.

Competition… of course there would be competition. But to meet another job candidate directly—he didn't expect that.

However, his determination only grew from the challenge.

Tristan decided this job was the most optimal to gather resources from, and he was going to get it!

So now, he went for his DasBook and began composing a plan.