I, the System Creator Chapter 13

After all, there really wasn't any need for the System Network to set up an Administrator like this. If they wanted to tell us about the System Network's relevant information, they could have just set it up within the system itself—there was no need to establish an Administrator.

But this was just Ai's own curiosity... Regardless, this system had given her the power to save her sister and no longer fear the Black Organization, so Ai wouldn't be too wary or suspicious of it.

--It was purely curiosity.

And there was also a bit of a desire to thank the other party. When she first obtained the system, the Administrator had given her quite a bit of help, even if that guy had a terrible sense of humor and had created quite a bit of Dark History.

But Dark History aside, a thank-you was still necessary...

Administrator: "How should I put this... I'm the Administrator of this System Network. You could say the System Network itself is my system. Every day, I can choose one of your rewards as my own. That's basically it..."

Chu Chen didn't say everything. Maybe one day he'd reveal his identity as the System Creator, but not now.

Interacting with them as the Administrator for now wasn't bad... After all, who didn't have a few alt accounts in this world?

Haibara Ai: "...I feel like you're way more relaxed than we are. You just sit at home all day, do nothing, and just watch us chat in the System Network to claim five rewards!"

Yukino Yukinoshita: "...I used to think Saeko's cheat was terrifying enough, but now it looks like you, Administrator, are the real life winner with a cheat..."

Busujima Saeko: "...Compared to our systems, the Administrator's system gives way too many perks!"

Illya: "...I want to get stronger just by lying around too..."

Miyu: "...Same here!"

Everyone felt a mix of envy and resentment at that moment. They were all system holders, so why was their system so much better? If they could, they'd really want to cry together...

Chu Chen's mouth twitched hard. He felt like he'd accidentally crushed all of them.

But there was no helping it. He couldn't exactly say that as the System Creator, the System Network didn't give him any rewards at all.

For Chu Chen, as long as he didn't reveal his identity as the System Creator, even if Illya and Miyu found out that Chu Chen was the System Network Administrator, it didn't matter... After all, Chu Chen never planned to hide it deliberately from the start, but he also didn't plan to say it outright. If Illya and the others figured it out, fine; if not, he wouldn't bring it up.

Administrator: "Alright, no matter how much you envy me, it's useless. Besides, the tasks your Check-in System gives you are already simple enough. Illya, can you honestly say that most of your daily tasks aren't just walking around and exercising?"

Illya: "Uh..."

Administrator: "Ai, aside from drawing blood from that Shinigami Elementary School Student and messing with him every day, do you have any other check-in tasks that give you a headache?"

Haibara Ai: "Uh..."

Administrator: "Yukino, the most troublesome check-in task you've ever done was just writing a few words. It might take a bit of brainpower, but it's never beyond your ability... And that's only for a very small number of tasks..."

Yukino Yukinoshita: "Uh..."

Administrator: "I won't even go into Saeko and Miyu... I may have obtained your powers, but in my world, there's never been a need to use them. So I can support you anytime. Isn't it good to have an invisible helper like me?"

Haibara Ai: "You make a good point. I have nothing to say to that..."

Chapter 26: Chu Chen Admits It Hurts to Be Slapped in the Face by the System He Created

On the riverbank of Fuyuki City, a bright red bridge hung over the shore not far away. Faint lights crawled across it, slowly shifting with the passage of time—the headlights of moving vehicles.

On the riverbank, streetlights provided a limited source of light, enveloping the red-bricked shore.

Vaguely, five figures gathered on the bank, standing facing each other.

Tohsaka Rin first glanced at her watch, confirming there was still time, then turned her gaze to Illya and Miyu, who stood side by side ahead of her, before finally glancing at Chu Chen.

Although his presence was somewhat suspicious to them, now wasn't the time to doubt their own people.

Chu Chen glanced at the clock set up by the roadside. Seeing that time was almost up, he stopped overthinking things. After all, tonight would probably be a wasted trip anyway. They hadn't had time to let Illya and the others practice flying, and as for him personally retrieving that Caster Class Card...

Whether he went himself or let Illya and the others handle it, Chu Chen had no particular objections.

So he'd just see how things played out. If they could disengage, they'd leave.

If some butterfly effect occurred, then killing the enemy on the spot wouldn't be a bad thing either.

After all, this time Chu Chen had a brand-new Class Card in his pocket, perfect for testing its power.

"It's about time. Should we head into the Mirror World to deal with this Servant?"

"That's right. Miyu, Illya! Get ready!"

Tohsaka Rin nodded, pushing all the random thoughts out of her mind. No matter what, dealing with the Class Card was the priority. So far, Chu Chen hadn't done anything unusual—it was all just her subjective suspicion.

So instead of doubting an ally, it was better to focus on resolving the Class Card issue first.

"Yes! Sapphire!"

Miyu nodded lightly, looking at Sapphire beside her.

Illya quickly responded as well, then spoke to Ruby.

"Okay! Ruby, transform!"

"Understood! Lady Miyu!"

"Alright! Time to transform! Hehe!"

In an instant, blue and pink light began to shine. Miyu and Illya transformed into adorable Magical Girls in the blink of an eye. Watching their transformation process for the first time, Chu Chen couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

But unfortunately, under the cover of the light, he couldn't see a thing of their transformation process.

In Chu Chen's eyes, Miyu and Illya were just shrouded in light, and then they were already transformed.

What a shame. Otherwise, he could have enjoyed a little eye candy... Chu Chen clicked his tongue but said nothing.

This was just a slight feeling of regret in her heart; obviously, this kind of thing couldn't be said out loud.

The moment the clock struck midnight, Ruby and Sapphire activated the spell to connect into the Mirror World. In an instant, light burst forth, and after a dizzying sense of upheaval, Chu Chen and the others entered the Mirror World once again.

Then, what left Tohsaka Rin, Luvia, Ilyasviel, and Miyu utterly stunned was—

In the Mirror World, the sky wasn't covered by the night like a curved mirror.

Because a dense mass of purple objects was blotting out every inch of the sky.

Intricate purple geometric patterns seemed carved directly into the sky, one after another, neatly arranged in rows, filling the entire heavens.

In front of those precise purple geometric patterns, rings formed from purple light rays spun and intersected, as if trapping something within.

And at the center of those spinning, intersecting rings were purple misty spheres.

Anyone with trypophobia would find this scene utterly horrifying, while those in the know understood one thing clearly—these were all magic circles!

At the center of the magic circles covering the entire sky, a figure hovered in midair.

She wore a purple dress, draped in a bat-like hooded cloak. The hood concealed everything above her nose, but the lower half of her face still revealed her beautiful features. Holding a staff taller than a person, she floated motionless at the heart of the countless magic circles.

"Hey hey hey! This is just cheating... that many magic formations..."

Tohsaka Rin couldn't help but freak out. It was the first time she'd seen such an exaggerated sight. Even in all her years at the Clock Tower, she'd never witnessed anyone deploying so many spells on this scale...

But that was because the Servant manifested from the Class Card had been here so long. With Caster's Territory Creation ability, she'd long since turned this place into her own domain.

"Those spells... they don't belong to any existing magic system. They're probably long-lost Divine Era Magic!"

Sapphire's tone was also grave. The terror of Divine Era Magic was something modern magic couldn't compare to.

Divine Era magic in the modern age was mystery on par with True Magic itself...

The next moment, Caster suddenly spread her arms wide, her lips moving at a speed so fast it was nearly impossible to follow with the naked eye, letting out a sharp incantation.

The moment Caster's utterly unintelligible chant ended, mana erupted from her body like a volcanic explosion, surging into the magic circles in the sky.

In the dense array of magic circles, the pupil-like misty spheres rotated, instantly locking onto Chu Chen and the others on the ground. Like sniper rifles' targeting lasers, they shot down and landed on the earth.

Chu Chen broke out in a cold sweat. In the span of a snap, countless massive golems coalesced in front of him and the others.

What were they for? No brainer! Cannon fodder!

Since they couldn't hit that thing in the sky, they might as well use them as meat shields.

Tohsaka Rin and Luvia were stunned. This was the first time they'd seen Chu Chen take action.

"Ilyasviel, Miyu... you two hurry up and—"

Just as he was about to tell them to use Ruby and Sapphire's power to get out of here, both of their systems suddenly lit up.

[Ilyasviel / Miyu triggered event check-in: Defeat Caster together with Miyu / Ilyasviel]

[Check-in time limit: 10 minutes]

[Check-in reward: One random item, attribute, skill, Noble Phantasm, etc. from Caster]

"Tch—you two hurry up and fly up there to knock that woman down..."

Chu Chen felt his face sting from the slap his own system had dealt him...

Chapter 27: Haibara Ai: Ilyasviel Has Completely Lost It, Drag Her Out

After seeing their quest, Ilyasviel and Miyu fell silent for a moment, then felt a wave of complicated emotions.

Especially Ilyasviel. She felt like she was about to cry. Why did it have to be this kind of uncertain reward again!

Last time she got a Luck E, the time before that a height increase of 1 cm, and now...

She wasn't going to get some new form of torment again, was she... Ilyasviel felt a deep weariness.

"Hey! Wait! Ilyasviel and the others haven't learned how to fly! How are they supposed to get up there!"

After hearing Chu Chen's words, Tohsaka Rin and Luvia spoke up in unison. Even though retreating here pissed them off, Ilyasviel and the others hadn't learned flight at all! They'd need to master that before fighting the enemy.

Flight was an extremely difficult technique. After all, humans couldn't lift themselves into the air on their own.

The Kaleidoscope Staffs had the ability to let Ilyasviel and the others fly, but the amount of practice required was enormous. Tohsaka Rin and Luvia could use the staffs to fly, but even they had undergone rigorous training before they could fight in the air... Not everyone was like Nanoha, who became a Magical Girl for the first time and after just three or four battles could go toe-to-toe with Fate, who had studied magic since childhood.

But then again, people destined to be protagonists were rarely ordinary, so—

"I see! As long as I can fly, that's all that matters!"

Saying this, Ilyasviel's body actually began to float upward.

Even when faced with incoming magic cannons, Ilyasviel dodged them with surprising ease, leaving Tohsaka Rin dumbfounded.

Not just Tohsaka Rin, but even Miyu, Luvia, and Chu Chen were taken aback.

Miyu and Luvia were shocked that Ilyasviel could fly, while Chu Chen was amazed that she could dodge magic cannons so nimbly right after taking off. As expected of a protagonist... this kind of learning ability was just beyond words.

"Wait! How did you suddenly start flying?" Tohsaka Rin snapped out of it and asked in surprise.

"Huh? Is this really that impressive?"

Seeing how shocked Tohsaka Rin and the others were, Ilyasviel couldn't help asking while dodging magic cannons.

"Of course! High-level flight techniques aren't something just anyone can pull off! Hehe! I knew I picked the right person!" Ruby was also surprised, but at this moment, she was more proud than anything.

"Without a clear concept, it's hard enough just to float. How on earth does she do it..."

Sapphire was utterly baffled; she genuinely couldn't understand how Illya managed it.

Hearing this, Illya, unsure how to explain, simply spoke with a naive, longing expression.

"Even if you ask me why, well... Magical Girls are supposed to fly, aren't they?"

"What... a wonderfully reliable misunderstanding!" Even Tohsaka Rin and Luvia were left speechless by the absurdity.

"Damn it! We can't lose here either! Miyu! You get flying right now too!"

The competitive Luvia immediately pinned her hopes on Miyu, but—

"Humans... can't fly!"

Her wealth of knowledge, strong rationality, and personal maturity completely shackled Miyu's own perceptions.

It had to be admitted—in every sense, those books Emiya Shirou had shown Miyu were really quite useless!

"What... a hopelessly dreamless child..." Luvia was struck dumb once more.

Miyu and Illya were complete opposites—one overly naive, the other overly rational.

"Then Illya, I'll leave the Caster up there to you! Dodge her bombardment while attacking!"

For now, Chu Chen couldn't rely on Miyu, so he had to ask Illya to go on the offensive.

"Right!" Illya nodded firmly and shot toward Caster without a second thought.

At the same time, Ruby reminded Illya that, based on their observations, there was a magic reflection plane above Caster. If she struck that, the attack would likely be reflected back onto herself.

Watching Illya's figure charge toward Caster, a trace of unwillingness welled up in Miyu's heart.

For the first time, she felt that facing difficulties alone was something she simply couldn't handle.