The alarm started ringing at six-thirty in the morning.
With my eyes still closed, I stretched my arm over the nightstand until I found my phone. After hitting the screen a couple of times, the annoying sound finally stopped.
"...Five more minutes."
I turned onto my side, ready to fall back asleep, but almost immediately opened one eye.
"...No. If I do that, I'm not getting up."
I let out a resigned sigh and sat up. I stretched my arms above my head while letting out a yawn and scratching myself.
"Good morning to me... yay..."
I sat there for a moment with my feet on the floor, trying to convince my body that it was time to start the day. I stood up and opened the curtains. The morning light came rushing in.
"Ugh... damn it."
I immediately closed them again. "Better not."
While heading to the bathroom, I splashed cold water on my face, slowly washing away the sleepiness. I fixed my hair with my hand while looking in the mirror. After brushing my teeth, I returned to my room.
I looked at the guitar hanging on the wall. It was strange. Just a few days ago, my biggest concerns were turning in assignments on time, translating jobs to help pay rent, and figuring out what I was going to eat during the week.
Now... Well, now I had to learn a lot more things.
Thinking about it, helping the characters from my favorite series wasn't exactly my responsibility. But honestly... who wouldn't want to make a difference and help them?
Saying it out loud would sound ridiculous. "If I told someone about this..."
I laughed. "Yeah, right."
I shook my head and headed to the kitchen to make breakfast. While opening the refrigerator, an idea suddenly came to me.
"...Before going to university... I'll try again."
For some reason, I felt like the words would come a little easier today.
I prepared a simple breakfast: scrambled eggs, a couple of tortillas, and a cup of coffee. While eating, my eyes kept drifting toward the guitar hanging on the wall every few seconds.
Ever since the system had appeared in my life, playing music had become more than just a hobby.
"Well... ten minutes won't hurt anyone."
I finished breakfast, washed my plate, and took the guitar from its stand. Like always, the first thing I did was tune it. I had already done it the night before, so I didn't need to check every string. I strummed an open chord and nodded in satisfaction.
I took a deep breath. "No songs... exercises first."
I placed my left hand on the fretboard and started with simple chord changes. After that, I moved on to some arpeggios and finished with scales to warm up my fingers. At first, I played slowly, focusing on making every note sound clean, but little by little, I increased the speed.
Muscle memory did most of the work. I no longer needed to constantly look at where to place my fingers; they simply responded. Even so, every now and then, a string would sound muted or rub against another one, forcing me to stop and correct my posture.
"Relax your wrist..." I muttered, imitating Oriol's voice.
I smiled. "Look at me... one day and I've already been traumatized."
After several minutes, my hands started feeling lighter. I took advantage of the moment and began playing the chorus I had written the day before.
♪ I follow the rhythm of a hero, it beats inside my heart,a melody that guides me straight toward courage.Even if I fall a thousand times, I'll rise again,the music in my blood will make me fight. ♪
I played the melody twice and closed my eyes, listening carefully.
It wasn't bad...
But it wasn't what I imagined either.
"If Daniel were here, he would have already told me I was out of tune."
Something was still bothering me. I tried changing a chord, and the atmosphere of the song became too melancholic. I changed it back, and now it sounded overly cheerful.
"Hmm... I need a style. I wonder which artist I could borrow some ideas from."
I tried again several times, changing the rhythm of the strumming and experimenting with different variations. Nothing seemed to fit. I sighed in frustration and rested the guitar on my legs while reaching for the notebook on my desk.
I opened the page filled with crossed-out ideas and, below the title The Rhythm of a Hero, slowly wrote:
"The echo of the spirit calls my name..."
I stared at the sentence for a few seconds. It wasn't amazing, but I didn't dislike it either. I placed the pencil on the paper and tried to write the next line.
"My voice..." I shook my head and crossed it out.
"My heart..." "Too cheesy." I quickly crossed it out.
I leaned back in the chair and spun the pencil between my fingers.
"How the hell do composers do this? Playing a song is so much easier than writing one from scratch."
I looked at the first line again. For some reason, I didn't want to erase it. I picked up the guitar once more, strummed a couple of chords, and tried to find a melody that matched the words.
"♪ The echo of the spirit calls my name... my song... ♪"
I repeated it a second time, slightly changing the rhythm. Then a third time, trying a different chord progression. I reached the middle of the phrase before stopping and making a face.
"...No." I played it one last time out of pure stubbornness, hoping it would somehow sound better. It didn't.
"Looks good on paper... not so much when sung."
I left the guitar on my lap and stared at the page for a few seconds. It was strange; for some reason, I didn't want to tear it out or cover it with more scribbles. Maybe the lyrics weren't good yet, but at least I had something to build on.
I carefully closed the notebook and smiled to myself. "Well... I guess I made a little progress today."
I put the notebook inside my backpack and stretched my arms. Just as I was about to place the guitar back on its stand, a faint blue light appeared in front of me. I didn't get startled. After everything I had experienced, I was starting to get used to these sudden appearances.
A semi-transparent window finished materializing in front of my eyes.
══════════════════════
Mission: Compose an original song
Progress Updated: 12%
You have created and preserved an original idea for your composition.
══════════════════════
"...Twelve percent?"
I scratched my head without taking my eyes off the window. "Just for writing a sentence and deciding not to erase it?"
I frowned at the screen, then remembered that I had also written several parts yesterday.
The window remained still for a few seconds. I thought it would disappear without another word, but a second line slowly began appearing, as if someone was writing it at that exact moment.
Every great song begins with a single note.
I couldn't help but smile. "The system sounds like a motivational coach..."
I waited for a moment, hoping some kind of explanation would appear, but the screen simply faded away, just like the previous times.
"Of course... you drop a philosophical quote and then disappear. You sound like the principal of one magic school."
"I guess it makes sense. If finishing a song was as easy as writing two verses, anyone could become a composer," I said to myself while stretching.
I shook my head and grabbed my phone to check the time. "Well... twelve percent is still better than zero."
I looked at the time again and my eyes widened. "...Damn! I'm going to be late."
------
Author Notes.
So what do you think about the fic?