Chapter 380 - What Using An Advanced Ability Felt Like?
Chapter 380 What Using An Advanced Ability Felt Like?
He opened the [Achievement System). There were still 6 achievement missions.
However, one of them had already turned gray, indicating that it was completed. It was the [Painting Achievement) that Su Yang drew 10,000 eggs for three days and three nights.
Su Yang flipped to the bottom and found [Guitar Singing Achievement Mission). He took a look at the introduction. “Using your own guitar to create a video performance, gain 100,000 followers on the internet.”
‘I guess I did not misremember.’
He clicked on (Accept).
A notification popped up in front of him.
[Are you sure you want to accept this achievement mission?]
[Note: Only one achievement mission can be accepted at a time. Completing the mission will not count without accepting the mission.)
‘I’ve long but known about this condition. This is the strange part for these kinds of missions. If I don’t accept the mission, it would not count even if I completed it, which is why I need to accept the mission before recording the video.’
He clicked on (Yes] without hesitation.
As Su Yang confirmed it, the [Achievement System) closed immediately, in front of him was another mission completion status bar.
[Guitar Performance Achievement Mission]
Mission Completion Requirement: 0 / 100,000
Looks like the next step is to get fans.
Su Yang pondered. ‘Right now, the fastest way to get fans was through TikTok, B-Site, and other related platforms. The way these new platforms work is that as long as the singer has a nice voice and sings well, they would immediately attract a whole bunch of fans.
‘Although the fans don’t tend to hang around much since they won’t necessarily receive the singer’s next video in their recommendations, I’m not bothered by it. All I need is to accumulate 100,000 fans to complete my mission!’
With that in mind, he took out a Post-it note and stuck it on a… egg.
It’s unknown why he had stuck it on an egg, he just took it since it was within his line of sight. Plus, he was unsure why there’s a raw egg on the dining table.
The raw egg slowly turned into a clown mask.
Su Yang took the mask and put it on. ‘I have three hours to perform now.’
Su Yang walked out of the villa with his guitar and the (Small Bench That Refuses To Eat Melons). He slowly walked to the backyard and arrived at the empty space. No. 17, No. 18, Little Hus, Gru and Dagger Girl were playing by the river.
The straw hut has been built. From now on, this will be where Qing Zhu lives.
‘This girl doesn’t fit in well with the other monsters’ style. Not only is her dress and speech more ancient styled, she also prefers to be around Nature and does not like, quote, steel confinements.
‘Thus, Little Deeny’s straw hut has now become Qing Zhu’s residence.
Qing Zhu tidied up the thatched cottage. It was very clean and tidy. She also took two blankets from the house. One of them was placed on a small bed in the corner of the thatched cottage, while the other was used to cover herself when she was sleeping.
‘It’s supposed to be a straw hut behind the villa, but she’s made it feel like… an ascetic.
‘If it wasn’t for the fact that I would occasionally see her coming to the villa to “steal” some food, I would have actually believed that she was leading a simple life.
‘She’s also the only monster with a complete form that could eat after Bubbles.’
That was not Qing Zhu’s only hobby. Other than staying in the straw hut, she also liked to transform back into her original form. Sometimes, when Su Yang went to the backyard, he would see that she had disappeared. However, there was a small bamboo forest beside the river which Su Yang would then realize that she had returned to her original form.
‘According to her, she likes the feeling of being one with Nature and was intoxicated by it.
‘However, I have been wanting to tell her that she’s in the virtual space and isn’t close to Nature, the true Nature is outside of here.
‘However, Qing Zhu prefers to stay indoors and has never left the virtual space so I can’t be bothered to explain. After all, I might even have to bring her out to play after I tell her the reality of the situation.’
On that day, Qing Zhu was the same as usual. When Su Yang arrived at the clearing, he realized that there was a bamboo forest on the other side of the river. It was obvious that the Qing Zhu had reverted to its original form and was integrating with Nature.
‘I can’t help but say that Qing Zhu’s original form is very beautiful. The emerald bamboo is literally made of jade. It’s green is so clear that it’s as though it’s translucent and sparkling which looks like the color of Qing Zhu’s skin.’
While admiring Qing Zhu, Su Yang said to her, “Qing Zhu, I need for it to be raining.”
The bamboo in the bamboo forest moved without any wind present and its leaves rustled as if she was saying “I heard it.”
Soon after, the bamboo leaves slowly rose up rhythmically and stood on top of the bamboo forest. Moments later, the weather suddenly changed, and it started to rain in the backyard… Su Yang was surprised. ‘Has Qing Zhu found another way to control the (Qing Zhu’s Umbrella)?
“This way the bamboo leaves opened did look like the Qin Zhu opening up an umbrella, so… is (Qing Zhu’s Umbrella) the formation of the leaves in the bamboo forest?’
Su Yang felt that his guess was very likely to be correct.
‘But I always thought that the leaves would be her… hair…!
Feeling the cool raindrops, Su Yang placed the bench on the ground and welcomed the drizzle. Then, he held the guitar in his arms and lightly ran his fingers across the six strings. ‘After the guitar has been possessed by the crystal guitar, there is indeed a change. The tone sounds good surprisingly.’ With just a swipe on the guitar strings, the noise made was so clear it felt like pearls were bouncing on a plate which was very natural.
And as he swept the guitar string, a notification appeared in his mind, [Detected that a special item has caused a bronze ability to improve. Bronze ability leveled up.]
Su Yang opened the system interface. As expected, a +2 image slowly appeared on Su Yang’s Bronze Ability (Basic Guitar Playing).
Following that, the line of words [Basic Guitar Skill] slowly turned into black ash and disappeared. A moment later, a pile of silver ash slowly gathered from where it was before forming a new line of small words [Intermediate Guitar Playing).
Then the line of words (Intermediate Guitar Playing] that had just appeared turned into silver ash and disappeared. A pile of golden ash replaced its position and gathered to form a new line of small words (Advanced Guitar Playing).
‘It really became an advanced ability!
‘I wonder what having an advanced ability would be like?’
Just as Su Yang was thinking about this, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head. All sorts of guitar related experiences, techniques, and ways to use it entered his mind.
As he accepted this knowledge, he gradually felt, ‘This seems to be different from before.
‘If what I had previously received was “knowledge” and “technique”, then this feels like I’ve obtained the “Way of the Guitar”.
‘I feel like touching the guitar now feels like I’m touching my… thighs. Whatever it is, it feels like it’s a part of my body. I haven’t got any chords, score, postures and movement in my head, just a feel for it. ‘I feel like I don’t even need to confine myself to the conventional guitar playing rules. As long as I hear a song, I think I can replicate it with the most compatible and comfortable melody.
“This is an untapped realm for me.
‘If I were to judge myself, I feel like I’m already a veteran guitarist who has been practicing playing the guitar for decades. Furthermore, I feel like I’m the best in the country, possibly even in all of Asia.
‘My diligence, my hard work and my sweat are all the cornerstones for me to reach the throne.
‘I feel like I’m the person who’s standing at the pinnacle of guitar singing. ‘However, despite everything, I still feel like… I’m still a step away from the top of the hill, it’s as if there’s a higher realm above the level I’m currently at. ‘But that realm seems to be untouchable or unreachable. It’s as if reaching that level is not something that can be achieved through hard work or talent…’
As he accepted the knowledge, he could experience the sorrow and despair from that realm.
It’s the kind of despair that was similar to how a person had worked hard all their life to reach the top, when they finally think that they were only one step away from reaching the peak, they would then realize that they were destined to never reach the top.
‘The higher you stand, the smaller you find yourself…’
Su Yang did not know if this was the enlightenment brought to him by the (Advanced Guitar Playing) or the life experience from the [Masked Guitar Master). He only felt a faint sense of sorrow in his heart. ‘Everyone thought that I’d reached the peak, but only I knew that I was just one step away from reaching the highest realm, yet would never be able to cross it…’
Su Yang closed his eyes and immersed himself in that feeling for 10 minutes straight before he slowly opened his eyes.
His eyes were deep as though countless decades had passed. His hands moved to the most comfortable position before he started to sing “The lights are shining in the distance and you’re down on the road alone.”
“The bigger the city, the bigger the panic, how one yearned for it, yet how long it felt…” “This journey has been filled with so many wounds that the smile I used to have slowly fades. Time has made us both weak and strong. Let me sing to you softly again…”
Su Yang was singing a very popular song recently, “This Lifetime Scenery About You”. He had unintentionally fallen in love with it when he heard it in the capital. He had listened to it a few times at home but did not learn how to play it.
In the end, after obtaining (Advanced Guitar Playing), he was able to catch the rhythm of the music, plus with such easy lyrics, he was able to perform the piece with just a simple swipe on the guitar string.
The original voice of this song was clear and had a fast tempo. However, Su Yang’s performance slowed down the tempo of the song by half. As he slowly poured out his feelings and performed, the song suddenly became more interesting.
As a young man, Su Yang’s voice could also be considered to be quite clear as well. However, perhaps it was because his (Advanced Guitar Playing] ability was really awesome, his voice was full of wisdom, magnetism, and sadness that the audience would be drawn into the song. “I wish I could spend more time with you and explain the first half of my life’s scenery to you.”
“Every quiet night, I would think about the long love and hate relationship we had.”
“I also want to be able to light your path and be the ray of sunshine in your life to light your path, to walk with you through thick or thin…”
After the song was over, the bamboo forest that had been rustling gradually turned silent. On the other hand, No.17 and No.18, who were playing on the clearing, stood up unmoving and looked at Su Yang with their eye widened.
Little Hus and Gru sat on the ground and did not say a word. It was as if they had been infected by the song. Two streams of tears slowly flowed out from Dagger Girl’s tightly shut eyes.
It was as if everyone was touched by him.
Just as the world fell silent, the bamboo forest on the other side of the river suddenly exploded with a brilliant light.
After the light faded, Qing Zhu was holding an umbrella and wearing a green Han attire when she slowly appeared on the other side of the river.
She looked at Su Yang and her eyes were slightly red. Two streams of tears flowed down her fair face. She choked and shouted at Su Yang, “Master!”
Su Yang was speechless. ‘Where’s the recording? What are you doing?”