---
"The future doesn't whisper. It drops the bass."
---
[Scene 1 – Where Bards Go to Die]
The Dusty Mug was the kind of tavern where dreams went to rot and ale flowed cheaper than water. Smoke filled the air, mingling with the stench of old boots, sweat, and spilled mead.
In the corner, a bard wheezed into a wooden flute like he was fighting it. Half the crowd snored. A guy booed. The barkeep threatened to throw his own musician out the window.
> "One more toot from that stick and I'm setting it on fire," he grumbled.
That's when the tavern door swung open with a squeak that somehow sounded cooler than anything the bard had played all night.
Zayden Core stepped in, wearing shades no one had words for, his boots glowing faintly, and a rectangular object under his arm.
The crowd paused.
> "Who's the shiny boy?" a drunk muttered.
> "That's the burger sorcerer!" whispered another.
Zayden ignored the stares and strolled right up to the bard.
> "You play music?" he asked.
The bard gulped. "I… I try, m'lord."
Zayden gently set down the object on a table. It unfolded into a flat glowing panel with circular pads and sliders—his portable beat station.
He tapped it.
And the tavern shook.
---
[Scene 2 – The First Drop in History]
A pulse.
A vibration.
A deep, thumping beat spread across the wooden floor, through boots and bones.
Then: bass.
Layered synth.
A futuristic melody ripped into the air like a comet through clouds.
People ducked. A barmaid screamed. Someone yelled "IT'S DEMON NOISE."
Zayden chuckled and turned a knob. The beat morphed—melodic, rhythmic, irresistible.
Then he pointed to the bard.
> "Sing. Just feel it."
The bard blinked. "I-I don't know this music!"
> "Exactly," Zayden smirked. "No one does. You're the first."
And somehow, the old man—frightened, shaky—began to sing.
At first it was awkward. But the beat guided him. The melody wrapped around his voice like armor.
Then something clicked.
The voice changed. Stronger. Raw. Soulful. It didn't sound like a bard anymore.
It sounded like a star.
The tavern went silent. Then wild.
Mugs clashed. Tables shook. A knight broke dance. Even the bartender shed a tear.
> "By the gods," someone whispered, "is this… future music?"
Zayden leaned back, arms crossed, watching the place transform.
> "Welcome to Core Sounds™."
---
[Scene 3 – The Birth of a Genre]
Hours later, the Dusty Mug was now the loudest place in the kingdom.
The bard—formerly "Old Gregor the Meh"—was now known as G-Rock, Brimvale's first-ever performer of Beatcraft, the new genre sweeping the streets.
People lined up outside just to hear a sound they couldn't explain but couldn't forget.
Outside, merchants were selling glowsticks made from enchanted mushrooms. Kids started humming hooks from G-Rock's first song, "Ale in My Hand, Fire in My Heart."
Zayden uploaded the performance to his capsule database.
M.A.I.A. chimed in:
> "Note: cultural shift achieved. Bard popularity +600%. Local economy disruption: minor. New rumors: 'Demon DJ builds army of enchanted minstrels.'"
> "Good," Zayden replied. "Now let's build a music empire."
---
[Scene 4 – Eyes in the Dark]
But far beyond Brimvale, deep in a candlelit fortress, a council of shadowed figures listened to the echo of G-Rock's music through a scrying orb.
> "This… this noise bends minds," said a hooded sorcerer.
> "He turns peasants into performers. Merchants into madmen," said a robed general.
> "He must be watched," muttered a woman in gold armor, her eyes narrowing.
> "Or stopped."
The orb dimmed. The room darkened.
The past was changing. And they didn't like it.
---
[Scene 5 – Zayden's New Plan]
Back in his bakery base, Zayden was sketching out blueprints: food, music, tech, medicine. Branches of Core Enterprise expanding across cities, kingdoms, continents.
M.A.I.A. buzzed.
> "Three villages now requesting Core Bites. One noble house wants to sponsor G-Rock's next performance. Also, someone sent you a goat."
Zayden raised an eyebrow. "Add 'Goat Handling Department' to the to-do list."
He turned to the glowing map. Dozens of blinking points. This was just the beginning.
> "Alright. We've fed them. We've moved their feet. Next…"
He grinned.
> "We heal their world."
---
📘 END OF CHAPTER 3
Next Chapter:-Chapter 4: The Plague Stops Here🦠