A mild breeze forces my hair, which is long if we use the average man as a standard, to dance and as we head to the location of Vault 101. With the Bassline going full throttle, we should reach the desert zone in no time and soon enough, the Vault will be within reach. At most, within two hours, considering potential encounters and that we are traveling through sand, we’ll have reached our destination.

When we scanned the permit on Ugo’s map, it revealed that the Vault was located near the border between the desert and grassland climates. Due to that, we decided that purchasing more water was imperative, but since we had no more than a single point, we couldn’t even do that. We were left with two choices: remain in the grasslands to hunt [echoed], buy water, then head to the vault, or make our way to the vault immediately and hope to not die of dehydration before stumbling upon an [echoed]. Eventually, we decided to go for the latter. The reason was simple, we are already nearing the middle of the second day and we’ve gained almost nothing. There is no more time to waste.

Truth be told, even if it made sense, and even though I complied, I did not like the idea. I do not especially enjoy leaving things up to chance. Going into unknown territory with menial resources does not put me at ease.

When we cross the border between the two territories, it is as though the atmosphere itself changes. Even though there is no physical barrier separating the two, from the moment you go from grass to sand, the entire world changes. The sun, which had previously been mild, is soothing, now scorching the earth, increasing the ambient temperature manifold and making it difficult not to sweat abundantly. Upon entering, there is sand for as far as the eye can see, and if I look carefully enough, I see a strange shape resembling a pyramid far into the distance. There are even fluctuations in the air due to the heat which cannot be observed in the grasslands.

‘Seriously, how did they do this?’

A few minutes pass following our entry into the biome.

*Clang* *clang* *clang*

The sound of my fist colliding against my shield resonates through the Bassline.

“You’ve been doing that since earlier…but what exactly are you doing, Alden?” Camille asks, curious.

Sophia, who has been intently staring at me, asks the same. “Yeah, I’m curious too.”

*Clang*

After the 30th failure, I reply, discouraged “Training.” I sigh.

‘I don’t see why this wouldn’t work… I really feel like I’m almost there… but something’s missing.’

Sophia, noticing my discouragement, questions me. “Are you perhaps trying to toughen your fists? There’s better ways to go about it, you know?”

I sigh once more. “No… it has to do with my [melody]. I’m testing something out, but it’s not really working.”

Camille, twirling her hair, speaks with a shy voice. “Well…why don’t you explain? Maybe we’d be able to help you...”

‘Yeah, couldn’t hurt…’

I cross my arms. “Remember that ability I used against Peregrine?”

“Hmph, his loss was pathetic.” Ugo snarls from a corner of the vehicle.

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, well anyways. The way it works is I send a wave of pureflow to my entire body, but now I know that’s not efficient at all.” I rub my temples with my fingers. “With the concept of fundamental rhythms, I now know that what I was doing was crude at best, and I’m not fine with ‘crude’. So, I’ve been trying to send more than one wave at the same time, but it’s not working…”

Sophia frowns after hearing my explanation. “I see… so that’s how you do it…”

‘She would have figured it out sooner or later.’

Rubbing her chin, she asks me a question. “But are you certain that you can do that? It could be that you’re asking for the impossible.”

I’ve also considered that option.“See, that’s the thing. What you say could be correct, but why should it be that way? If you’ve seen me fight, you know that this thing can produce various frequencies of sound as long as I will it.” I strike the shield twice to demonstrate what I mean. “I mean, does it make sense that a piece of metal can go from a low-pitched, to the most high-pitched sound when I don’t hit it any differently?”

“Not much logic in that indeed.” Camille mumbles.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“I agree. So then why would logic suddenly be applied when I want to increase the number of waves I’m sending out? Where is the line drawn?” I say, puzzled.

Silence ensues, it seems no one has the miraculous answer I’ve been searching for. I did not expect them to fix my problem, but still, some part of me hoped someone could have helped. Before I can return to striking my shield, however, Ray shouts from the front of the vehicle.

“Have you ever played guitar, Alden?” He asks.

My eyebrow arches. “Not really…no, why?”

With his eyes still on the road, he speaks loudly enough for me to hear him. “You know, one of the most difficult things to learn as a guitarist is learning to sing as you play. Do you know why?”

My confusion grows.

‘Why is he talking about this?’

Nonetheless, I reply. “Enlighten me.”

I see him smirk through the rearview mirror. “It’s simple! It’s because you must think about two different things simultaneously, which isn’t possible for most people! Most often, the rhythm of chords will not match that of the lyrics despite them going together. While your fingers are busy plucking the strings, you also need to perform vocals that can easily destabilize you. This forces guitarists to become so skilled with their instrument, that they no longer need to think about what their fingers are doing, allowing them to focus their thoughts on their voice, or vice versa!”

I rub my chin, still unsure what he’s getting at. “I see…Did you play guitar by any chance Ray?”

I hear a soft chuckle from the front of the vehicle. “Haha! Something like that, though it was more of a traditional instrument of my clan!” His expression turns smug. “ Also… not to brag, but I am quite good!”

Sophia’s eyes turn to him. “Oh? A musician among us? Perhaps you can play for us when this is over?”

Camille chimes in. “I-I’d also like to hear too, if that’s okay with you…!”

Ugo does not say anything, not that I’d expect him to in this situation, but I still make note of it. His mood seems to have worsened since last night. It was already established that he wasn’t a talkative guy, but he’s been even more silent than usual.

Ray throws his fist in the air. “Of course of course! You’re all welcome to listen! I’ll even perform for free since it’s you guys!”

I snort at his joke.

Ray places his hand back on the wheel and a more serious expression returns to his face. “Back to the subject at hand though… What I think is that maybe you’re stuck because you haven’t yet understood how to prevent different thoughts from interfering with each other. It could be that you’re not familiar with your powers enough to utilize them without thinking.”

He scratches the back of his head. “Though… I might be completely wrong, but that’s what I think at least!”

I frown and place my hand over my mouth, deep in thought.

‘To do it without thinking… Can I do that?’

Ray’s words give me an idea and I decide to attempt something by basing myself on his analogy. I’m certain that these guitarists must have started by singing while plucking a single string, and then worked their way up to more complicated songs. Then, just as Ray suggested, perhaps it is that I’m attempting to run without knowing how to walk.

I remember when we were introduced to fundamental rhythms. Learning to send multiple, distinct waves of pureflow at once was a challenge in and of itself, a concept that took considerable effort to grasp. At first glance, it may seem like applying crescendo should have come as a matter of course once I understood the process of defining and directing pureflow. Unfortunately, it didn’t, because, to begin with, crescendo does not use the same principle.

When I use crescendo, I’m not sending pureflow to my muscles. In reality, I’m amplifying the pureflow that I’ve already sent there myself. Thus, I must first decide on a frequency, and send it to the muscle of interest from my core. Then, before striking my shield, I must ensure that the sound that emerges matches that frequency. It may be this added task that’s causing this blockage in my head. I’m attempting to do too much at once. So then I just need to start small, and go from there.

I close my eyes.

‘Step by step. Choose two muscles for which you are the most familiar with their fundamental rhythms. Then, Simultaneously send pureflow to these muscles repeatedly. Now, amplify one of the muscles while still sending pureflow to each muscle.’

*clang*

‘Amplify each muscle one after the other.’

*clang* *clang*

‘Faster’

*clang* *clang* *clang* *clang* *clang* *clang*

‘Even faster, until it feels as though it was one.’

*clang* *clang* *clang* *clang* *clang* *clang*

“Now make it one!”

I strike my shield only once, but with the intention of two.

*clang*

Both my bicep and quadricep feel a surge in power.

‘I did it…!!’

Two muscles seem to be my limit for now. Though it is meager, I think I finally understand. What I need to do is to make two into one, and view it as one. The activation of my bicep and quadricep, though distinct and through different frequencies, needs to be thought of as one action where I focus on neither, yet both at the same time. On top of that, the balance needs to be perfect. If my attention is too tipped towards one wave, then the other will fade.

‘I see…’

I clench my fist with pride as it seems I’ve finally managed to take the first step. I can sense that in the future I’ll be able to target ten, twenty, maybe even a hundred muscles simultaneously if I keep perfecting my technique.

A smile on my face, I expect my teammate’s curious eyes to meet mine once I raise my gaze. I can already picture them congratulating me for this mino achievement. Before this can happen, however, Sophia shouts something with an agitated voice.

“Stop the vehicle Ray, now!!”

Immediately, Ray sinks the brake pedal, sending Camille and myself, who did not have time to react unlike the other two, flying towards the front of the Bassline. I am the first to hit one of the inner walls , soon followed by Camille who lands on top of me. I barely manage to catch her, avoiding a collision.

Holding her, I attempt to assess her state. “Hey, you okay?” I ask.

When my words reach her ears, she opens her eyes, looks at me, then looks around, and towards me once more, before jumping out of my arms. “I’m so sorry!! I didn't mean to land on top of you but thank you for catching me! I hope I wasn’t too heavy? Not that you wouldn’t have been able to catch me if I was since you’re plenty strong!! Not that it matters if you’re strong or not, I don’t judge or anything! Did I say I was sorry?! because I really am!”

She covers her now reddened face with her hands and continues mumbling inaudibly.

‘Did the heat get to her…?’

I divert my attention from Camille and decide to question Sophia. “For you to react like that, it must be something rather important. Did you detect danger ahead?” I ask.

She points to the window she had been looking out from. “Just see for yourself.”

I approach it and stare in the direction Sophia pointed out. It doesn’t take long for me to understand the problem.

“What the…”

Both Ray and Camille approach the window.

The red-haired girl lets out a soft gasp. Ray, on the other hand, can't help but vocalize his shock. “Just what happened here…!”