Why Not Play in a Band for Life

Yuki Arakawa herself realized she had misspoke. Fortunately, they had reached the top of a small hill, and a prey in front of them shifted everyone's attention.

It was a long snake made entirely of piled rocks, emerging from the ground. Above ground alone, it was five or six stories high, with no visible head. Where the head should have been, there was only an inverted cone. The snake was estimated to be three to four meters in diameter. Considering its unknown underground length, it was normally the type that would require five people to fight.

"I can handle it alone," Miss Arakawa said.

"Are you sure it's okay?" Nijika looked at her worriedly.

"Easily." Arakawa glanced sideways at the five of them, signaling them to stand back. With a push of her foot, she leaped a story high toward the snake. Mid-air, a gunshot rang out, and the battle began.

Yuki Arakawa Physical Body: 328 Reaction: 246 Intelligence: 100 Shine: 150 Mental Strength: 342 Abilities: [Hundred Deaths No Regrets]: Nothing can kill her until her Mental Strength is depleted. Additions: Black and White Twin Guns: [Belobog of Goodness] [Chernobog of Evil] Skills: Music Production Lv10, Jazz Drum Technique Lv10, Gun-fu Lv6...

Yuki Arakawa had arrived in this world long before Marina and the others. Not long after crossing over, she found the Black and White Twin Guns and learned Gun-fu from their dreams. Since then, she had wandered the land, constantly strengthening herself. The Black and White Twin Guns were powerful but used life force as fuel. It was Arakawa's ability that provided a continuous supply of life force, allowing her to use them freely.

Her purple hair flying in the air, Arakawa descended towards the snake's body. The bullets were faster than her, creating an indentation in the snake's rocky form. The snake reacted, its cone-shaped head lifting to charge at the figure in the air. In the eyes of the other five, it was only a second later that an almost one-sided crushing began.

The snake charged at Arakawa with its massive body. Arakawa pushed back, narrowly grazing past the gap beneath the rocky body, unharmed. She somersaulted, raised her gun again, and spun in the center of the arena. Firepower, unlike that of a handgun, poured from her hands, leaving countless craters on the snake's body. The snake seemed enraged, and more of its body emerged from the ground, sweeping the ground as if trying to stir up dust. Arakawa, however, was completely unaffected. Instead, she leaped up, stepping on the snake's body to reach the other side. Arakawa focused her attack on one spot, and soon the snake's body was half-indented, about to be deeply severed!

The snake couldn't break free and seemed to be a lamb to the slaughter. Watching the purple figure whirl around the battlefield, the five beside them relaxed. However, at this moment, something unexpected happened! The ground between the five suddenly cracked, and stone pillars as thick as a bowl's mouth erupted from the surface! If they hadn't reacted quickly, even if they dodged, they would have been entangled!

Where there is a head, there is a tail. The rock snake's tail had been hidden underground before, and all five had forgotten about it! Unable to deal with Arakawa, the rock snake decided to target the five. Of course, they weren't easy to deal with either. After their initial shock, they prepared to counter. The rock snake's tail emerged from the ground, coiling and circling in the air, blocking out the sunlight and casting a huge shadow over where the five stood.

Arakawa, who was still fighting the main body of the rock snake, raised the white gun in her left hand—[Belobog of Goodness]. Her purple hair fluttered in the wind, her face instantly gaunt, then instantly restored.

Belobog is the god of light and sun in Slavic mythology. Merged with the twin guns based on the original Slavic myths, as long as enough energy is supplied, they can unleash a wisp of the divine might of the Black and White Gods from back then!

A sun-like bullet flew from the barrel, bypassing the gaps in the rock snake's main body, piercing the continuously extending tail of the rock snake, and then ricocheting and refracting among the stone pillars, leaving a trail of light. The stone pillars shattered inch by inch before the five's eyes and fell to the ground, indistinguishable from ordinary rocks.

Sunlight once again shone on the five stunned faces.

"I told you I'd carry you," Miss Arakawa let out a faint chuckle.

This hunt was arguably the easiest. Although the spoils were still not as good as before the dark shadow passed, the five had barely done anything, and their greatest physical exertion was walking around. As they began their journey back, the five looked at Miss Arakawa with much more respect.

"Please stay, Miss Arakawa! We can't live without you!"

"If you stay, I'll offer five basses, no, six!"

Kita and Ryo clung to Arakawa, one on each side. Arakawa, no longer calm as she was in battle, couldn't respond.

"Alright, alright, she has her own plans, so don't cling to her," Nijika said, grabbing the two by their necks. "Miss Arakawa is very strong, but we can't rely on her completely. Remember those two seniors? Even they weren't successful. We must keep working hard ourselves if we want any hope of returning to reality."

Faced with Nijika's logical reasoning, the two could only nod in agreement.

Shiko, walking behind, pinched her chin. Both last night and today, she felt that Miss Arakawa's fighting stance was a bit... how to put it, flamboyant?

She looked at Arakawa's slightly raised head.

Could she be the type of person who liked to show off in front of children?

Shiko suddenly felt that Miss Arakawa wasn't so unfamiliar anymore.

Since they were all musicians, the conversation naturally turned to music on the way back.

"...Since you're a band, have you written any original songs?" Arakawa asked the others.

"Yes," Nijika replied. "But we only wrote them after crossing over, so we haven't performed them officially yet. We're working on the second one now."

The second one, that must be That Band, Shiko thought. She recalled that the creation process of That Band was not mentioned in detail in either the anime or the manga.

As she was thinking, the topic had changed again at some point.

"Miss Arakawa, are you injured anywhere?" Arakawa hadn't looked where she was going and stumbled, but fortunately, she reacted quickly and didn't fall.

"It's nothing..." Before she could finish, Nijika's starlight fell upon her. Feeling the effect of the starlight, she was surprised, "My Mental Strength is recovering rapidly... This is so strong?"

Hearing her senior's praise, Nijika became proud. "Anyone here with a minor injury or bruise has to come to me!"

Arakawa became serious. "What's the most serious injury you can heal?"

Nijika narrowed her eyes and thought carefully. "Hmm... I haven't tried. After all, I haven't had any major injuries. Even when we were blown around underground last time, everyone came back intact."

This reminded Shiko: this was supposed to be a dangerous wilderness, yet during this time, no one had suffered any serious injuries. Normally, being tied to a copper pillar and hit by rocks from dozens of meters away, surviving would be considered good; being launched inside a cannonball, and then the cannonball exploding, leaving the person inside with an intact body would be lucky. Yet, they hadn't been injured under such circumstances, not even a scratch. However, everyday bumps and scrapes would normally cause small wounds. They had always attributed this phenomenon to luck and Ryo's cushioning, but...

At dinner, Arakawa had a bit to drink and loudly recounted Marina's past embarrassing stories. However, she sadly found that only Kita and Nijika were laughing.

"What's wrong? Am I not telling it funny enough?" When one person's embarrassing story isn't funny enough, the most awkward person shifts from the one being told the joke to the one telling it. Marina covered her mouth and watched the awkward Arakawa.

"The three of them are always like this, don't mind them..." Nijika glanced at Shiko. She had originally thought Shiko would laugh too, but she seemed preoccupied now.

Is she still a bit shy? However, Nijika remembered that Shiko had quickly gotten along with them before.

After dinner, Shiko blocked Marina, who was about to head underground.

"Shiko-san? Is something wrong?" Marina sensed that Shiko was about to say something important.

Shiko opened her mouth, then finally spoke.

"Miss Marina, were you watching over us the whole time when we went out?"

Chapter 21: The Secret Room

The five girls had already left CiRCLE to explore the cave they had discovered. The vast CiRCLE suddenly felt empty. Marina turned around, returned to her room, picked up her bedding, and walked into the storage room.

The resources piled up in the storage room formed a maze. Some were originally part of CiRCLE, like various musical instruments and audio-visual materials, including Marina's own guitar. Another pile was prepared after their transmigration, including easy-to-store food, drinking water, and homemade medical supplies, mostly made by Shiko-san, to be used in emergencies. However, Marina's goal this time was not here.

Carrying her bedding, she skillfully navigated the narrow paths left between the mountains of supplies, walking all the way to the deepest part of the storage room. She nudged a brick on the wall with her elbow, and a secret door opened before her.

This secret door absolutely did not exist in the original CiRCLE. She was sure of it.

During an inspection of CiRCLE in the early stages of their transmigration, she had discovered this place as if guided.

She gently pushed the door open.

"Welcome back, Miss Marina Tsukihiro," an inorganic voice sounded. Marina nodded and walked in.

Behind the door was a dark space, but she knew every corner of it, so she didn't trip over anything. In a clearing, she spread out her bedding.

The room was not large and had a simple structure. There was only a pendant light on the ceiling and a ventilation opening leading to an unknown place. Opposite the door Marina entered was a fish-tank-like structure. There were no fish inside, only about half a tank of glowing golden liquid. This was the current energy source for CiRCLE, the final destination for the spoils brought back by the hunting party. Marina confirmed again, certain that even if the current situation continued, the remaining energy would be enough to keep CiRCLE running normally for at least another week. She looked to her right; beside the bedding, enough dry food and drinking water for Marina to use for a month had been stored, and a temporary convenience area was prepared in the corner.

The wall on her left was covered with old-fashioned television screens, only five of which were lit, displaying the perspectives of the five members of the hunting party. In front of the screens stood a control console. This console was different from ordinary ones: a pipe extended from it, connecting it to the energy source. All the buttons and knobs were arranged in modules. All modules were detachable and rectangular, unlike the screen + keyboard structure of old flip phones. They could input Arabic numerals and English letters, both uppercase and lowercase. A string of characters on the screen specified the benefits provided by the modules, and modules with knobs could also adjust the intensity of the benefits. Marina, with the help of the built-in AI, C.C., had spent a long time exploring and had partially mastered the pattern of the characters. The summarized rules were recorded in a notebook on the right side of the control console, which was full. During the day, she either had to focus on the safety of the five on their outings or handle miscellaneous matters outside the secret room. Only at night, when everyone else was asleep, did she have time to explore her own abilities.

That's right, the benefits that CiRCLE could provide were far more than the slight boosts shown on the panel. However, the more benefits activated, the faster the energy was consumed. Therefore, most of the time, Marina only activated the basic bonuses. Even so, Marina had set up special bonus modules for various possible special situations.

"Shall we proceed with last night's settings?" the AI confirmed with Marina.

"Let me check one last time," Marina said, examining the control console.

Marina

Skills: Electric Guitar Technique Lv8, Livehouse Operation Lv9, Baking Technique Lv8, [Attribute Boost] Lv3, [Imaginary Field] Lv3, [Shockproof] Lv3...

It was quiet outside now, and there were no wandering monsters. The five were walking with ease, and Marina was temporarily free. She once again confirmed CiRCLE's status through the control console. The [Imaginary Field]'s function was to share the damage taken by the five. CiRCLE's walls would be used to bear the damage. Large amounts of damage taken by the five would be transferred to CiRCLE according to the ratio set by Marina. Most of the time, this was enough. CiRCLE also had its own [Shockproof] ability, which was damage immunity. If they encountered a blow that could not be withstood at all, even by the entire house, then the damage taken by the [Imaginary Field] would be directed to Marina's main body. Fortunately, such a thing had never happened.

The group had reached the cave entrance.

"Just like we said before, Ryo will scout the inside first, I'll provide light once we're in, and Shiko will make marks with fluorescent powder. Everyone be careful," Nijika-san reminded them one last time.

Marina remembered the scan she had performed on the cave entrance using CiRCLE's abilities yesterday. Unlike the results of scanning monsters, the situation inside the cave was completely unknown. That was why she had been so opposed to the five exploring this cave. At this moment, a hint of regret welled up in her heart again.

(Shiko-san was right, if we want to find a way out, we have to go to places like this.) She took a deep breath, mustered all her attention, and slightly increased the [Reaction Specialization Boost] for the group. The specializations and the [Imaginary Field] were among her most frequently used modules.

The group entered the cave. Marina scanned again, but still found nothing.

She glanced at everyone's status; everything was normal.

Suddenly, the screen began to shake, dust obscured the vision, and the AI sounded an alarm: an enemy attack! Marina immediately placed her hands on those frequently used modules. At this moment, the girls had already seen the enemy's appearance.

"Small, armored, with ordinary mobility," the AI identified the enemy type. Marina quickly adjusted the panel boost ratio for the girls. Her total boost had a limit, and she could only change the ratio by adjusting it. Now, she converted the ratio into a mode specifically for dealing with this type of enemy.

The enemy was quickly eliminated, and no treasure spheres were produced. Marina scanned carefully, but found no similar objects. Although disappointed, she returned to her task and switched the boost ratio back to march mode.

She looked at the energy source on her right. It would be enough for a short time, but if she considered the extra consumption that might be caused by this exploration, it would be quite tight. If the monsters underground were like this one, she could only pray that the monsters that had been scared away would return quickly.

To alleviate her anxiety, she opened a bag of bread. It wasn't homemade, but rather chocolate rolls left by Shiko.

The rest of the journey was relatively uneventful. However, her intuition told her something was wrong, and her left hand remained on the [Imaginary Field] knob. When she saw Shiko-san's stone steps begin to collapse, her premonition was confirmed.

Chapter 22: Marina

For the next half minute, Marina operated the control console purely on muscle memory, busier than when she had to urgently adjust stage effects because no bands followed the schedule for a live performance. As the five tumbled down like a ball, she concentrated all her boosts on [Imaginary Field] and [Shockproof], constantly adjusting the ratio to find the optimal position. At the same time, she operated the [Consciousness Maintenance System] at a low level to ensure the girls' consciousness remained as clear as possible. An additional protective field was precisely applied to the parts of the five that received impact.

She saw Ryo-san's screen go black. It seemed she had fainted. Marina pressed her right hand, and an additional function of the [Consciousness Maintenance System] was activated, and Ryo-san's screen lit up again. At that time, the five had already fallen into a large space. If Ryo-san's ability were used, she could create a buffer in mid-air for everyone. But she had just woken up; could she react in time?

Marina's eyes flickered, and her right hand was already on the [Consciousness Projection] button.

However, before she could press it, Ryo-san had already struggled to pick up her bass and pluck the first note.

Marina was stunned and a slight smile appeared. At this moment, she noticed a warning pop up on the screen: the [Shine] value of the five was decreasing. Without time to think about the reason, Marina hit the [Firewall] button, and the warning immediately disappeared. This was a very energy-consuming boost, specifically designed to deal with such inexplicable situations.

Next, relying on Shiko-san's quick thinking, a copper pillar flew up and hit the stone wall. Even though she was prepared, Marina flinched in surprise. However, she didn't stand idle. While increasing everyone's physical stats, she also focused on maintaining Nijika-san's consciousness so that she could provide recovery support in time.

"Clang!" The moment the copper pillar collided with the stone wall, Marina, deep underground, heard the sound of the ground wall being impacted. She winced in pain, "Hiss—", but her eyes remained on the screen.

Except for Nijika-san, the screens of the other four went black. However, based on their status, they had no other abnormalities. She had to marvel at the power of the [Imaginary Field].

"Clang!" Another loud noise, and Marina almost jumped. At this moment, the copper pillar hit the stone wall again, deeply embedding itself in the rock. Marina watched as Nijika-san struggled to climb onto a nearby platform. Without waiting for her trembling legs to recover, she moved the others one by one and used her remaining strength to heal them.

They were safe for now. Marina let out a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. She reconfirmed everyone's status. Waking up was only a matter of time, and the [Shine] value had not decreased. Based on her guess, this [Shine] represented the upper limit of their abilities, and it couldn't go wrong. After confirming that the environmental anomaly had disappeared, she turned off the [Firewall] and glanced at the energy source. It had visibly decreased a little.

Then, all they had to do was wait for the girls to wake up. It was a good rest for both the five-person team and Marina.

"Little Shiko, you're suffocating Little Kita..." The light on the screen flickered, shining on Marina's speechless face.

"C.C., tell me, do I still have to manage things like this?"

The inorganic voice carried no emotion: "Please judge for yourself."

At this moment, Ichiri's soul drifted back into her body.

Marina stopped thinking. "C.C., explain."

"Please judge for yourself."

The easy times didn't last long. As the "grapevine" approached, Marina also returned to a tense state, activating the [Temporary Night Vision Device] at the right moment. Her palm pressed on the button for the heavily consumed [Energy Transmission Broadband], and she stared at the monster along with the other five, not blinking. When the "grapevine" finally moved away, she had just breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Gotou-san speak.

"I think we can hang under that thing and let it carry us up!"

Marina turned her head blankly, looking at Gotou-san in Shiko-san's eyes, Gotou-san in Nijika-san's eyes, Gotou-san in Ryo-san's eyes, and Gotou-san in Haku-san's eyes. No matter the perspective, she had a pure and innocent look, and she had seriously proposed that idea.

She once again confirmed the damage tolerance limit that CiRCLE could withstand.

Soon, Marina grew six more arms.

When Shiko-san stood on the liver and mentioned that she got inspiration from a science fiction novel, Marina seriously considered whether she should burn all the books in the lounge to ashes, even though she had bought many of them with the mindset of "I'll definitely be able to recommend them." Not to mention that CiRCLE's scan also detected a risk of so-called "filth infestation." She didn't know what that was, but to prevent the five from being contaminated too quickly, she also activated specialized protection against filth, and the rate at which energy was consumed would make anyone's heart ache.

As soon as the five decided to rest, Marina slammed the control panel and bolted outside.

Her target was the lounge, or more precisely, the magazines on military and aerospace inside.

"Why did I put these in the livehouse lounge back then?" Marina had long forgotten, but these things could still be useful now.

When she returned, she was fortunate to find that the five's first experiment had not yet begun. She immediately bent down and flipped through the books.

"Common structures of cannons... Ah, there really are." While muttering "Do magazines have everything?" she heavily pressed the [Deep Consciousness Interference] button. This module could be used when the girls needed hints from outside the game and it wasn't necessary for Marina to go online and play for them. Marina sent all the information about cannons from the magazine directly into the subconscious of Shiko-san, who was repeatedly experiencing cannon malfunctions.

Then, she immediately opened the aerospace magazine. "Composition of rockets... Common buffer devices... Buffer devices..."

"Do you know how much energy I burned to protect you from the explosion after this?" Marina gestured at the energy box, "Before you set off, the highest line was here!" The position she indicated was at least a palm's width higher than the current energy line.

Shiko felt a little embarrassed. A large part of the consumption was thanks to her.

But it turned out that Miss Marina had been here all along.