As for "MyGO" and all that, Miki Kashiwagi—or rather, Miki Kashiwagi from his past life—saw it most often as the coin-headed avatars constantly flooding the chat during League of Legends livestreams, followed closely by his good friend's enthusiastic recommendations.
He knew that Sakiko Toyokawa's family had fallen on hard times, that Tomori Takamatsu was a human black hole, that a long-term vegetarian diet made her a 16-year-old widow starved for affection, along with the chaotic Anon Chihaya and the stress-monster Riki Shiina. That was about it.
It wasn't until he laughed himself to death over a *ShaniMusu* derivative work and transmigrated into this world that he realized what a huge mistake it was not to have properly watched *MyGO* beforehand.
Of course, there was some good news. First, his name in this world was still Miki Kashiwagi; Miki Kashiwagi was the Japanese name given to him by his cheapskate old man in this world. When you're out and about, you forge your own identity. And his identity wasn't bad either: a Chinese international student at Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine. After completing his studies, he easily found a job in Tokyo, helping out at a small clinic opened by his senior apprentice in Tokyo.
His old man back home was part of the management of a well-known domestic medical corporation, with a salary so high that Miki Kashiwagi could live carefree for the rest of his life without ever working a day in Tokyo.
The second piece of good news was that he had a system.
The system settings were very simple: numerous skills—including culinary arts, medical knowledge, various musical instruments, and the like—could be quantified. Level 0 was a beginner, Level 10 was world-professional grade, and leveling up relied on repetition and the praise of others, with the latter taking precedence.
Take medical knowledge, for instance, which was Miki Kashiwagi's bread and butter. Backed by a *Nature* paper and his mentor's vigorous promotion within the industry, the Japanese medical community of this world now regarded him as a rising star, needing only a few years of tempering to leap through the dragon's gate. His current medical knowledge was at Level 7, while his mentor was at Level 8.
When he graduated from his mentorship, Miki Kashiwagi had genuinely kowtowed three loud times to his teacher.
Take various musical instruments as another example. Sakiko's piano was Level 7, semi-professional; Anon Chihaya's guitar during the *MyGO* era was Level 3—what more could you expect from a crash course? Tomori Takamatsu's singing skill was Level 6; that's just what a freak of nature looked like.
During his university years, Miki Kashiwagi had also practiced several high-level music-related skills: Level 6 string instruments, covering both violin and cello; Level 5 piano; Level 4 trumpet; and Level 4 singing.
It wasn't much, but it was enough to find a way to get close to the band girls and build a good relationship.
As for why he had to do this, it was related to another feature of the system.
Skills could be specialized. However, unlike levels where quantitative change led to qualitative change, specialization required a certain fortuitous opportunity, or rather, a series of quests. After meeting a certain hidden condition, a specialization could be unlocked. The type of specialization was related to the character's traits; although only one specialization could be active at a time, a user could possess multiple specializations and switch between them.
Since this was the world of *BanG Dream!*, the easiest specializations to unlock naturally had to do with the band girls.
Miki Kashiwagi himself already possessed a specialization.
While he was assisting his senior apprentice at the clinic, a crow's-nest-haired, black-haired high schooler frequently visited. After getting to know each other through repeated visits, the two often agreed to go out and hang around together. Later, after helping this guy escape from a Valentine's Day Shura-field, he actually unlocked the [Interpersonal Relationships] skill specialization!
[Nine-Boat Jumping]: Even when facing intricate relationships with the opposite sex, one must adhere to the principle of equality! Over a long timescale, the favorability of each of your female friends toward you will tend to average out and become equal.
Miki Kashiwagi's need for this specialization was like a German's need for jackfruit—nice to have, but it didn't really matter if it wasn't there.
Roughly equivalent to zero demand.
Coming back to his senses, the sun had already sunk more than half below the horizon, leaving less than a third of its arc visible.
It was six o'clock in the afternoon.
"Hasn't your guardian arrived yet, Sakiko-san?" Miki Kashiwagi stretched lazily, but once his brain caught up, he realized he might have asked a rather hurtful question to Sakiko.
Sure enough, Sakiko's face immediately darkened, and it took her a long time to squeeze out a sentence: "......He's not coming."
"Uh, then do you want me to take you to the hospital?" Sakiko had gone to the restroom three times in the past two hours, and Miki Kashiwagi was a bit worried about her health.
"Thank you for your concern, I'll be fine after resting a bit more." Hearing the word "hospital," Sakiko Toyokawa reacted immediately, forcing out a smile.
Miki Kashiwagi noticed that blood vessels were beginning to show in Sakiko's eyes.
Even a fool could see that malnutrition caused by a long-term lack of sufficient protein had broken down Sakiko's immune system. If this continued, let alone getting his hands on a specialization, Ave Mujica would die an early death, and the keyboardist would trigger a death rattle that carried away Miki Kashiwagi's medical career.
After much deliberation, Miki Kashiwagi decided to hit Sakiko Toyokawa with a heavy blow.
"Your family's fortunes have fallen, haven't they?"
!
Sakiko instantly raised her head, staring guardedly into Miki Kashiwagi's eyes.
*Soyo Nagasaki is still chasing me!*
"I've seen your name on Tsukinomori's roster."
"Your blouse is of decent fabric, but it hasn't been starched and washed in a long time. Ruining this garment with cheap laundry detergent—I feel bad for the clothes on your behalf."
"And also, your hand that was just resting on the desk," Miki Kashiwagi delivered the fatal blow. "I've also studied piano. The key width of a classical piano is about the same as the width between your fingers."
The last point was total nonsense. Miki Kashiwagi hadn't touched a classical piano worth hundreds of thousands of yuan in either of his lives; he had only ever played electronic keyboards.
Yet Sakiko Toyokawa, sweating profusely, had her nerves strung so tight she would react to the air itself. A casual bluff was all it took to draw her out.
"This is my personal privacy; please do not make random guesses." Sakiko Toyokawa secretly breathed a sigh of relief, though her expression remained as if facing a formidable enemy.
This newly arrived school doctor was merely Detective Conan rather than the Pinkerton detective hired by Soyo Nagasaki. As long as she talked things through with him properly and asked him to keep a secret, it would be fine.
"Indeed, this is your privacy, and I don't care what your family situation is like." Miki Kashiwagi stood up, slowly approaching Sakiko Toyokawa, who was sitting against the medical bed, his gaze pressing against her like a sharp knife. "However, I need someone to take you to see a doctor—anyone will do."
"Just think, if I leave you here alone, tomorrow's *Asahi Shimbun* headline will read: *A Haneoka female student dies due to the inaction of school doctor Miki Kashiwagi*—"
"My career would come to an abrupt end right there, Sakiko Toyokawa-san. By then, will you in the underworld feel sorrow for the abrupt halt of my life?"
"Two choices: you tell me where your home is, and I'll take you back; or second, I'll take you to the hospital, or you can stay at my place for a night—no need to worry, I won't be home tonight, and the door to every room can be locked from the inside."
*Ahhh, damn gravity is binding me so tightly I can't breathe.*
*No! You're no longer the weak Sakiko of the past; you cannot be blinded by transient desires!*
*But I feel really awful right now. The doctor's place definitely has free medicine, warm food, and a soft big bed...*
The weak little Saki seemed on the verge of winning her resurrection match and making a grand rebirth.