Thug and Idol: 10X Rewards Second Identity System

Tristan knew, used and liked metaphors, but usually not in this context. However, as he thought more about this, his mind felt more vivid than usual.

He wanted to think in metaphors, not just in the realm of his songs. Just in general. With that realization came a sense of victory.

Tristan smiled to himself.

'I think this was it. Intelligence lets me think with more detail, but imagination adds color to it. Even if this won't help me with my distraction problem by much, it might give me more insights. And also, more inspiration for music. I should put my remaining points there as well.'

He did so. There weren't many of them left, but it was something.

[Imagination attribute increased from 100 to 170.]

Another bucket of water into a slowly growing pond—although the walls of it were still way too high.

Tristan sighed.

'I need more points…'

[New task: increase imagination attribute to at least your intelligence attribute. Value: 100.]

'This won't help. Whatever, I'm losing daylight by now.'

With an effort of will, Tristan closed all his system windows and went on with his day of a celebrity.

He dressed casually but stylishly (it was almost impossible not to, with Tristan's sense of style and handsome appearance), then drove toward the stage where Nel was going to perform today.

In a traffic jam on the way there, Tristan called his personal assistant and asked him to make sure the house had fresh food and a maid came to clean. All the usual things that Tristan had to be mindful of for the sake of his privacy.

Another thing Tristan did for the sake of privacy, although only privacy of his Gemello identity, was put on a pair of large shades.

They didn't really hide his appearance, but Tristan had enough stealth skill to blend into a crowd even without them.

It was past noon by the time Tristan met with Nel, who was doing the last rehearsals and also sound checks on the stage in front of the empty audience hall.

Since Tristan met him, Nel's guitar technique improved considerably. Derek had arranged private lessons for him, and Nel worked over them tirelessly.

When the rehearsal ended and Nel waved Tristan in greeting, there were callouses on the pads of his fingers. Even though he used mediators to pluck the strings most of the time.

"Tris! When did you come? I didn't notice you!" Nel exclaimed, throwing a hug around Tristan. Your next chapter awaits on empire

He backed off after they exchanged pats on their backs. Behind them, at the stage, the staff members finished putting props in the best positions and attaching cables to everything that needed them.

The lights overhead turned off and on and off again as the light technician tested everything.

"Did you hear a lot?" Nel asked.

"Only the end, but it was great." Tristan grinned. "Maybe in a couple of centuries you will even become better than me, Nel."

Nelson laughed at Tristan's attitude. Unlike many people would've been in his place, he genuinely took it in stride, not being offended or envious from the comparison.

As a person who solidly lacked humility, Tristan found Nelson's well of it incredibly admirable.

"This would be good, won't it? We will see how it goes! There isn't much time left to wait, anyway… You will be watching, right?"

Tristan nodded.

"Incognito, from the VIP seats. I don't want to steal your spotlight," he said, gesturing toward the audience hall. The VIP zones were on a balcony, far from the main stage, but with a great view. The audience hall itself was small enough that everything would be heard perfectly from the VIP seats.

Most importantly, they were shadowed and separate from each other.

"Cool, cool." Nelson nervously scratched his neck. "Shit, the more I think about the concert, the more I'm nervous…"

"Stop thinking, then. Just play. That doesn't require thinking from you, does it?"

"Huh. Yeah, I guess! Thanks, Tris. Now, how to stop thinking…" He laughed.

***

Half an hour before the start of the show, Tristan left to take his seat in the VIP zone, one that he bought for his own money.

Here he was a shadowed, anonymous figure, watching everyone and everything but unseen himself.

And since Nelson was still backstage, preparing, Tristan watched only the gathering fans. There was security posted near the stage and the exits, but Tristan wondered if any of the visitors were crazy enough to rush on the stage or throw things.

It was unlikely, but watching out for danger was natural for Tristan at this point.

There was no danger.

Exactly on schedule, the lights in the audience hall went out. Then, a dozen thin rays of all colors of the rainbow poured from the spotlights, criss-crossing the stage and the audience hall.

In the silence interrupted only by cheers and applause of the crowd, Nelson Mayar stepped onto the stage. He was dressed like a rainbow unicorn from the cover of the album that was being released today—"Dream Sequence".

The entire imagery was something Tristan barely understood until today. It was evocative and left a lot of space for interpretation—or just for enjoying the melody and dancing.

Now that he has imagination skill, Tristan felt more in tune with the theme. There were layers upon layers, and Nelson probably didn't understand half of them himself. At least he was unable to put them into words.

But, as Tristan knew both back when he first heard a pre-release version of Nelson's album, and as he knew now, the most important thing stayed at the surface level.

It was a shocking, eye-catching imagery—rock music that juxtaposed itself to the normal "dark and edgy" rock—and just good music.

When the beats hit, Tristan nodded his head with them, and when choruses started, he hummed them under his breath together with the crowd.

Until…

A sensation made Tristan jolt. A shiver went down his spine that could mean only one thing.

'What is going on? Why… Why does my Explosive Awareness tell me I'm in the blast range of an explosive?!'