War's territory

Natsuo added Tristan as a new band member in the system and read his general info.

Name: Tristan of Blueweald

Gender: male

Age: 21

Height: 186 cm

System: Ice System

If Tristan was 186 cm tall, that made Natsuo the shortest member among the males, with his 182 cm. And to think that in his last band he was one of the tallest… He sighed, disconsolate.

Natsuo, Gregory and Olive were waiting for Tristan in the front courtyard. He said he had to take something before leaving.

Natsuo was already planning to make him try the bass during the trip to the border. He couldn’t wait to re-record all the songs saved with the bass too and, now that the band was complete, he could also start writing their original songs.

He opened the Rockstar System menu and went to SONGS. During the battle against Plague, he unlocked a new function, called PLAYLISTS: he could create new playlists and put two attributes to the playlist itself. In that way, if a song normally had a healing attribute, if he put that song in a playlist with speed and strength, as long as it was played from that playlist, the song would have taken the playlist’s attributes, instead of its own.

After some time, Tristan reached them in the courtyard holding a silver rod decorated with reliefs.

“Is that all you needed to take?” asked Olive.

Tristan nodded. “It’s the only thing my father ever bought me. I use it to fight.”

“Understood. I saw that you have the Ice System, how does it work?” asked Natsuo.

Tristan opened his right hand and a bluebell made of ice took form in his palm. He threw it in the air and it transformed into a little bird that flew around.

“I can do whatever I want with ice” he replied. “Maybe I feel it’s so congenial to me because it’s cold like my heart.”

The bird suddenly stopped moving and fell on the ground.

“That’s a cool system, literally” commented Natsuo.

Tristan seemed to be very strong; with him by their side, defeating the Vassal wouldn’t have been too difficult.

The group got into the carriage and Olive took the lead.

Natsuo sat in front of Tristan.

“Well, now that you’re officially a member of Rockstar Isekai, it’s time to show you what instrument you will play” he said.

He summoned a bass with his system and played something.

Tristan’s eyes glistened, excited.

“I like it!” he exclaimed.

Natsuo smirked proudly. “I knew it.”

Tristan immediately took the bass and started to strum with it. Everyone could tell he was having fun by the carefree smile depicted on his face.

“Now that you’re familiar with it, let’s start the first lesson” said Natsuo.

Tristan nodded, eager to know everything about his new instrument.

***

The group stopped at Blueweald’s branch of the Anti-Silence Unit and got all the information about the mission.

To find War, the red Vassal of Silence, they had to start from the border and purify the infected area until they found him, as they did with Plague. The only difference was that, this time, to speed up the operation, it was only the four of them.

From what the Unit knew, War rode a crimson red horse and fought with a frightening broadsword. They had to be careful, because he was said to be very bloody and violent in combat.

With regard to the red silent monsters, amoebas were small monsters identical to the white ones, focused on spreading the infection, while red humanoids were much more aggressive than white humanoids.

After packing their bags for the mission, they took the Anti-Silence Unit’s rails to go closer to the border and, at the fort where they stopped, the soldiers provided them with a suitable carriage to enter War’s territory.

Natsuo stared at the desolated land covered in a crimson dust that stretched before his gaze. It felt like watching an endless sea of blood. War’s territory was much more disturbing than Plague’s.

Olive trembled at the idea to enter that area.

“Just the sight of it is frightening, I can’t imagine traveling inside” she said.

“We’ll overcome this too” replied Natsuo.

“Right! As long as we’re together, we’re invincible” added Gregory.

“Y-Yes!” exclaimed Tristan, more to convince himself than anyone else.

He glanced at the red dust, lost in his own world. That view was frightening, but also magnificent. He wondered if he could reproduce that feeling through music.

The four of them got into the carriage and ventured into War’s territory. They proceeded with the usual strategy: Natsuo purified the infected areas with his music and they stopped at the closest abandoned forts they found to rest.

This time, Natsuo used the skill SPEAKERS, instead of playing the guitar all day long, and, thanks to that, he was less tired.

Not a long time after they entered the infected area, they came across a group of red silent monsters.

“Guys, get ready to fight!” said Natsuo.

He transformed his guitar into the scythe and stepped down the carriage. The other three got out and lined up alongside him.

A group of red humanoids were coming in their direction. Unlike white silent monsters, the red ones actively sought combat, because, as followers of War, they were more aggressive.

They were all coloured red. Instead of their heads they had studded balls and, and for limbs, they had sharp blades. From their chest and stomach stretched out what seemed to be spearheads and a round and serrated blade protruded from their back; it reminded Natsuo of a circular saw.

Tristan and Olive shivered at their sight.

“I want to run away, I’m not strong enough to defeat those monsters. Don’t count on me…” said Tristan in a depressed tone mixed with anxiety.

Gregory cracked his knuckles and grinned.

“On the contrary, I can’t wait to blow them out of the water.”