They finally reached the large venue like that of an open concert. There was a big stage in the middle, complete with lights for theatrics and speakers for the sounds. In front of that stage was a small bunker where the judges resided and could listen to the music in peace without the noises of the crowd.

Speaking of crowds, there were already about 3,000 people in front of the stage, jamming to whatever song the contestants sang for their test. They were harsh. Even if the singer was technically good but the song choice was not in vibe with the crowd, they would get booed down. That was demoralizing and could lose them points from the judges.

In the entrance, a small booth took care of the tickets for the viewers and the singer number if they were a contestant.

“Excuse me…excuse me!”

The attendant didn’t hear him. He must have been deafened from hearing harsh and loud music all the time.

“EXCUSE ME!” Patty shouted. That finally got his attention.

“Crowd or contestant?” he asked.

“Uh…I’m—I’m a contestant.”

“And you?” he asked Patty.

“Just moral support.” The attendant didn’t seem to appreciate that.

“Fill up your name and take a number. When it’s your turn, the speaker will call your number. If you don’t show up, you’re disqualified.”

Grammo picked out his number from the box and unfortunately got assigned the number 4444, clearly signalling that his music career would be dead before he even started. Truly unlucky.

“Oh, Supes. There’s just no way I’m going to win this thing!”

Grammo didn’t even have to ask where the contestants were waiting. He could hear beautiful harmonies coming out of tents, he could hear guitar riffs that were so fast he couldn’t even count them, he could hear his chances dwindling by the second.

It was only now did he truly realize that there were a lot of talented people in the world. And even they were spilling out nerves from their sweat. He could hear the nervousness in their voice and their uncertainty. But the problem was, Grammo thought their singing was perfect. He could see they were better than him a million times over. If they were nervous they wouldn’t win, then what about him?

Was it getting hot in here? I can’t breathe. The world is closing in. I’m going to die.

Grammo’s thoughts manifested in reality as his body couldn’t handle the psychological pressure. He wanted to pass out.

“Patty, what am I going to do? I suck! There’s no way I’m going to win. Let’s just leave and beg the Professor to take back the bet.”

But Patty didn’t seem to be worried at all. He gave Grammo a reassuring pat in the back. That eased Grammo a little bit and made him realize that Patty truly was a great friend that anyone could have.

Oh! Look at those massage chairs!

Of course, Patty wasn’t really paying attention to Grammo. He was looking over the market section just beside the music venue. He could see a variety of new and old technologies alike being sold at very low rates.

It was his dream to own a massage chair. It was the perfect way to relax his muscles after a hard day’s work of laying in bed all day. His muscles get sore sometimes.

Patty couldn’t take his eyes off this market; it was a veritable mecca for lazy people. After all, what was technology? It was a thing that humans invented to make life easier. At first, it was just for survival; people invented tools to fight bigger and badder predators. After that, it was for new experiences; people learned how to harness electricity. Then–this was his favorite part–people invented the nonessentials, the extra; they found a way to be even more lazier.

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One of his favorite inventions ever were food materializer.

Do you want to eat 5-star meals? Yes I do!

But you don’t want to get out of the house and delivery isn’t an option because the food isn’t the same anymore? No I don’t!

Then the newest F-4000 Cuisine Materializer may be the one for you! Just add water, and you can eat a 5-star meal in your own home in a matter of seconds! Do you want one! YES I DO!

Patty always saw those commercials but never had the money to pay for them. But maybe he could thrift a lower version in the market here.

“Patty! Let’s leave. We can still catch the professor before he leaves.” Patty felt a tug on his shirt.

Patty reluctantly tore away his gaze from the massage chairs. “I have an idea.”

Grammo was expectant. It looked like Patty really did have a plan in place. Of course, seeing how Patty was still looking composed and confident despite the overwhelming odds against them, it looked like Patty knew what to do to help. Patty will help him become a better person, Grammo said to himself repeatedly, as if he wanted to convince himself.

“What should we do?”

Patty then pointed to the marketplace in the distance. “First, let’s go there.”

Was there some kind of machine or technology that could magically make him sing better? Probably not. There were some autotune microphones that automatically made him in the correct tune, but he knew that it would only hurt his dream. In order to reach the pinnacle of his dream, then he would have to do it by his own strength. Using those kinds of ‘cheats’ would only hurt his chances since the universe itself would deny him the power. Either psychologically or magically, people who used those cheats would never reach high enough in their field. It was because as dreamers become better, their skills get higher to the point of defying reality.

But if they used a ‘cheat’, then, their powers would be limited. If Grammo wanted to sing to the world and he just used a very loud speaker, then he might technically fulfill his dreams, but nobody would acknowledge it as true.

But maybe Patty had some kind of other plans to help him, Grammo thought. After all, Patty proved to be unpredictable and he could be doing something unexpected.

Grammo pushed Patty through the crowd and entered the marketplace. Immediately, he could hear enthusiastic vendors trying to entice customers, thrifters trying to haggle down prices, and the occasional drunkards clinking bottles. The first few tents and stalls in the streets were full of cooked snacks like chicken on sticks, brewed milkshakes, and even exotic Fiend meat.

Patty was also tempted to eat all kinds of food and drink some refreshing watermelon juice, but unfortunately, he didn’t have any money. The only thing that he had right now was the 20% pure Kore that he got from Sam, but he’ll have to use that to reconnect his electricity and his internet. He can’t live without his internet.

As they reached the ‘Relax n’ sit’, Patty’s smile grew wider and wider. He saw at least 10 state-of-the-art massage chairs on the front, with a truckload still stored in the back. Most of them were colored black or brown made of traditional leather, but there were also some that were changing colors due to the exotic Fiend leather they were made out of.

“Excuse me, good sir. How much is this?” Patty asked the vendor.

Unlike most vendors who were bending over backwards to entice new customers, this one looked bored. He didn’t seem to care if people bought his chair or not. Since this wasn't just a small piece of thing that people buy every day, a customer needed to invest real good money to purchase one of these. So, in an entire day, it would already be good if he sold items by the single-digits.

“Cured leather. Optimized reclining option. Heat and cold massage mode. This bad boy costs about 40,000 Chains.”

Oh my Supreme. That was expensive. For comparison, he could live worry-free for 4 months using that kind of money. He could have all the food he wanted, he could have the fastest internet, and he could blast the air conditioner all day long. A single massage chair cost that much. But for Patty, it would be so worth it! The feeling of his muscles being relaxed while watching his favorite tv shows would be literal heaven. Uh, it sucks to be poor!

“Uh, what does this have to do with my singing?” Grammo commented, but Patty just ignored him.

“Is there something along my budget?” Patty asked.

The vendor looked at him up and down. “No. This is the cheapest.”

“Can you at least give me a discount?”

“No.”

“Come on! Be a better seller. At least slice down the price for at least 10 percent!”

“No.”

“What if I trade this one?” He showed the 20% pure Kore in his pockets. Currently, this was everything he had. Literally. There was nothing in his bank account, there was nothing stored under the beds, nothing. This was all he had.

“No. if you had at least 4 of those, I would consider it.”

Patty expected that this wouldn’t be enough. Even though this was all he had, if the vendor accepted the Kore, he would immediately take it. He would get the massage chair at 25% of its original price.

[Mission]

[Requirement]

* Try the massage chair

[Reward]

* 10 Yi power

“Can I at least try it?”

“Sure. But if you break it, you buy it.”

Patty grinned and immediately got off the rolling chair and got on the massage chair. Immediately, his body felt like it melted into a viscous liquid. His body immediately became one with the massage chair. It felt like another part of his body. It felt like he finally understood what he was missing with his life.

CLICK

The vendor connected the chair to the outlet and turned on the massage option. Mechanical prods hidden inside the back of the chair started to work its magic and precisely poke Patty’s back methodically as if they were the hands of the best masseuse in the world. It wasn’t too hard, it wasn't too soft. It was perfect.

He felt disconnected from the world. He felt like he was floating in an endless void and all his worries were far behind him. He never knew that he could feel this calm and peaceful. It turned out he was lying everytime he used the word ‘relaxed’ from before. Only now when he experienced this massage chair was he truly ‘relaxed’.

Then, the system showed a new notification he had never seen before.

[Energy: 81.70]

[Relaxation level: 10%]

[Due to your current state, you will gain 10 energy for each hour you are relaxed]