I slowly opened my eyes, still lying in bed. I felt oddly tired, even though I had slept enough. Today's dream had dragged on longer.
I glanced at my phone to check the time. I still had 20 minutes before I needed to get ready.
I yawned, and, I heard the system's ping. A new notification.
[Notification: Skill acquired]
🎸 Acoustic Guitar +1
🎤 Vocal Technique +2
"I got new stuff… oh! Now it even has little icons." I smiled at the thought of being able to track my progress, but without a reference, I couldn't really get excited. (I wonder if I'll be able to analyze others to see what level they're at).
I decided to open my status to check the changes, though most of it looked the same.
[Name]: Ren Cadence
[Class]: Student / Novice Composer
[Specialty]: Musical Magic – Song Magic
[Skills]:
🎸 Acoustic Guitar [7 + 1] ➝ [8]
🧠 Song Lyric Memory [9]
🎤 Vocal Technique [3 + 2] ➝ [5]
✨ Magical Affinity: Sound / Emotional Rhythm
🎶 Harmony Lines: Partially unlocked
🌌 Synced Dimensions: 3 (Fairy Tail), (Black Clover), (???).
(I wonder what the third dimension will be. Maybe another mage anime?) I thought, staring at the notification.
(Though I can't remember that many… could be Magi, or Nanatsu… I hope it's not Nanatsu, I never even watched it). I sat on the edge of the bed and yawned again. (Maybe even Blue Exorcist… or Mahou Sensei? Ugh, I hope not. It's been years since I read those, I barely remember anything).
I shook my head with a sarcastic smile. "With my luck, I'll probably get thrown into Attack on Titan…"
A shiver ran down my body, goosebumps prickling my arms. "Nope, nope, stop thinking about that. People die way too easily there."
Piiing!
The system sound echoed in my mind. I froze.
"…No, no, no, no, wait, I don't want to go there…" I jumped up.
[Repair process completed – Transfer lock fixed]
"…Ahhh, so it was just that…" I exhaled, clutching my chest. (I almost pissed myself, damn system).
I flopped back onto the bed, breathing deeply until I calmed down. "Okay… enough drama for today."
I sat up and checked the clock on my phone. "Ugh, five minutes." I dragged myself to the bathroom.
I looked in the mirror. "Damn! My eyebags are huge."
I turned on the shower and let the cold water wake me up. My body felt refreshed, but my mind kept circling around the new adventure. (Maybe I should read up a bit, just in case. I'm guessing I'll revisit those worlds again).
I threw on the first clothes I found, I'd forgotten to set something out last night. Jeans, and a black t-shirt with a smiley face logo and Xs for eyes. (Heh, Trust the classics. Can't beat it).
I grabbed my guitar from the corner, and froze, eyes wide. "Ohhh!!"
I thought quickly. (INVENTORY)
But… nothing happened. "Huh?!"
I shook the guitar a couple of times, as if the system needed motion sensors. Nothing. (So it only stores items inside each world? Wait... don't tell me I can't access all the loot I earned?).
I slipped on my sneakers. (Or maybe it needs a special command? Come on, don't tell me I have to carry everything by hand).
I sighed in defeat and slung the strap over my shoulder. "Well, guess we're still human."
I tossed my backpack over the other shoulder, double-checked that I had my music theory notebook and headphones, and left my room.
As I closed the door, I kept muttering random words, hoping one would activate the system, but nothing worked. Resigned, I headed downstairs. The smell of fresh coffee drifted from the shops at the base of the building.
I adjusted my headphones around my neck, pulled out my phone, and put on some low-volume music. With that, the walk to university felt a little lighter. (Ugh… I hate Tuesdays. I can't even drive today).
I stepped into the busy streets full of people rushing about. The traffic and footsteps of passersby were just a distant echo thanks to my headphones.
Before leaving, I searched for a good playlist. The first track was Thunderstruck, but since I had just used it recently, I hit skip. As I headed toward the subway, Blur – Song 2 started.
At the station, I found the usual morning crowd: rushed people, students with massive backpacks, and office workers looking like they didn't even want to exist. (The daily grind for most people…).
I lined up and got onto the train without too much trouble. It wasn't peak hour yet, but even so, there were no seats left.
The train's vibration and the murmur of passengers relaxed me. I felt like I could sense the rhythm of the crowd. (Could it be my music magic reacting?)
I pulled out my phone to check notifications while the train moved. I browsed for more songs to play, a 10-minute ride to campus.
While searching, I overheard a distressed woman. I thought she'd been robbed, but when I looked up, I saw her struggling with a bunch of grocery bags and four kids. A teenager, maybe 14, was carrying a baby, another boy around 8 stood close, and she was carrying the youngest, maybe 3 or 4.
People around started murmuring under their breath. Since my music was low as I was searching for a song, I caught some of the disapproving comments.
"With that many kids, what did she expect?"
"Bet she lives off welfare…"
"How irresponsible."
I frowned...