Chu Chen Says It Really Hurts to Get Schooled by a System He Created! / Ai Haibara: Illya Has Gone Completely Crazy. Drag Her Out!

After all, there was really no need for the System Network to have an Administrator. If it wanted to tell them information related to the System Network, it could have simply set it up like the systems themselves. There was no need to establish an Administrator.

But this was only Ai's own curiosity... No matter what, this system had given her the power to revive her sister and freed her from having to fear the Black Organization. Ai would not be overly wary or suspicious of it.

—This was purely out of curiosity.

And partly because she wanted to thank the other party. When she had first obtained the system, the Administrator had given her quite a bit of help. Though this guy's bad taste was far too severe, creating quite a few Dark Histories.

But Dark Histories were Dark Histories. Thanks were still necessary...

Administrator: "How should I put it? I'm the Administrator of this System Network. You could say the System Network itself is my system. Every day, I can choose one item from among your rewards as my own reward. It's that simple..."

Chu Chen did not reveal everything. Perhaps one day, he would disclose his identity as the System Creator, but not now.

It was not bad to get along with them as the Administrator first... Anyone wandering the world had a few alternate accounts, right?

Haibara Ai: "...Why do I feel like you have it even easier than us? You can sit at home every day, wait around doing nothing, watch us chat in the System Network, and collect five rewards!"

Yukino Yukinoshita: "...I used to think Saeko's cheats were already terrifying. Now it seems that you, Administrator, are the real winner who has life on easy mode..."

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

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

Miyu: "...Same!"

At that moment, they all felt a mix of envy, jealousy, and resentment. They were all system holders, so why was his system so outstanding? If they could, they really wanted to huddle together and cry...

Chu Chen's mouth twitched hard. He felt as though he had unintentionally dealt a blow to every one of them.

But there was nothing he could do. Chu Chen could not exactly say that the System Network, being a system created by his own system, would not give him any rewards at all.

In any case, as long as he did not expose his identity as the System Creator, it did not matter even if Illya and Miyu discovered that Chu Chen himself was the System Network's Administrator... From the very beginning, Chu Chen had not planned to deliberately hide it, but he did not intend to say it outright either. If Illya and the others discovered it, fine. If they did not, Chu Chen would not bring it up himself.

Administrator: "Alright, there is no point being jealous. Besides, the tasks your Check-in Systems give you are already easy enough, aren't they? Illya, can you really say that most of your daily tasks cannot be completed just by walking around and getting some exercise?"

Illya: "Uh..."

Administrator: "Ai, besides drawing the Shinigami Elementary School Student's blood and messing with the Shinigami Elementary School Student, 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 probably just writing something. At most, it used up a few brain cells, but it was not beyond your capabilities, right? And those kinds of tasks are extremely rare..."

Yukino Yukinoshita: "Uh..."

Administrator: "I won't go through Saeko and Miyu one by one... Although I have gained your powers, there is no need for me to use them in my world. So I can support you at any time. Isn't having an invisible helper like me a good thing?"

Haibara Ai: "That makes so much sense that I have nothing to say..."

Chu Chen Said Getting Slapped in the Face by the System He Created Hurt a Lot!

On the riverbank in Fuyuki City, a completely crimson bridge stretched across the nearby river. Faint lights spread across it, slowly moving with the passage of time—those were the headlights of passing vehicles.

Along the riverbank, streetlamps provided limited illumination, casting their light over the red-brick pavement.

Faintly, five figures had gathered on the riverbank, standing opposite one another.

Tohsaka Rin first glanced at her watch and confirmed that they still had time. Only then did she turn her gaze toward Illya and Miyu, who stood side by side ahead of her, before glancing at Chu Chen.

Chu Chen's presence was somewhat suspicious to them, but now was not the time to suspect one of their own.

Chu Chen glanced at the clock set up beside the road. Seeing that the time was almost right, he had no interest in thinking about this and that anymore. Tonight would almost certainly end in failure anyway. After all, they had not had time beforehand to let Illya and Miyu practice so-called flight. Or should he personally retrieve that Caster Class Card?

Whether he went himself or let Illya and the others do it, Chu Chen did not have any particular preference.

They could act according to the situation when the time came. If they could retreat, then they would simply leave.

If some butterfly effect occurred, then killing the other party on the spot would not be a bad option either.

After all, Chu Chen had brand-new Class Cards in his pocket this time. They would be perfect for testing their power.

"The time is about right. Shouldn't we enter the Mirror World and deal with this Heroic Spirit...?"

"That is true. Miyu, Illya! Hurry up and get ready!"

Tohsaka Rin nodded and threw all those irrelevant thoughts to the back of her mind. No matter what, resolving the Class Card situation was the priority. So far, Chu Chen had not shown anything unusual. She had only been subjectively suspecting him.

Rather than standing here and doubting one of their own, they might as well deal with this Class Card first.

"Yes! Sapphire!"

Miyu nodded lightly and looked toward Sapphire beside her.

Illya immediately responded as well, then spoke to Ruby.

"Yeah! Ruby, transform!"

"Understood! Lady Miyu!"

"Okay, okay! Transformation time! Hehe!"

In an instant, blue and pink radiance flared up. Miyu and Illya transformed into adorable Magical Girls in the blink of an eye. Seeing their transformation process for the first time, Chu Chen could not help but have his eyes light up.

Unfortunately, with the light concealing them, he could not see their transformation process at all.

In Chu Chen's eyes, Miyu and Illya were merely covered by light, then transformed in an instant.

What a shame. Otherwise, he could have enjoyed some benefits... Chu Chen smacked his lips but said nothing.

He only felt a little regretful inside. Obviously, this was not something he could say aloud.

The moment the clock struck midnight, Ruby and Sapphire activated the magecraft that connected them to the Mirror World. Light burst forth, and after a dizzying sensation as though the world had turned upside down, Chu Chen and the others entered the Mirror World once more.

Then, Tohsaka Rin, Luvia, Illya, and Miyu were left dumbfounded by what they saw—

Within the Mirror World, the sky no longer showed the night curtain that seemed to be covered by an arc mirror.

Because dense purple objects had obscured everything in the sky.

Precise purple geometric patterns seemed to have been carved directly into the sky. One after another, they were arranged neatly in rows, covering the entire heavens.

Before those precise purple geometric patterns, rings formed from purple light seemed to enclose something within them as they continuously rotated and interwove.

At the center of each of those rotating, intersecting rings was a purple sphere of mist.

Anyone with trypophobia would feel their skin crawl at this sight. Those who knew what they were looking at, however, understood one thing clearly—these were all Magic Circles!

At the center of the Magic Circles that covered the entire sky, a figure floated in midair.

She wore a purple dress beneath a bat-like hooded cloak. The hood concealed everything above her nose, yet the lower half of her face still revealed her beautiful features. Holding a staff taller than a person, she hovered motionlessly amid the Magic Circles filling the sky.

"Hey, hey, hey! This is completely unfair... There are actually this many magecraft formations..."

Tohsaka Rin could not help but lose her mind. This was the first time she had seen something so outrageous. Even after all those years at the Clock Tower, she had never seen anyone deploy such an exaggerated amount of magecraft...

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

"This magecraft... It does not appear to belong to any existing magecraft system. It is likely Divine Era Magic that was lost long ago!"

Sapphire's tone was extremely solemn as well. The terror of Divine Era Magic was wholly incomparable to modern magecraft.

Magecraft from the Divine Era, in the modern age, possessed a Mystery that could stand alongside true Magic...

The next moment, Caster suddenly spread her arms. Her lips opened and closed at a speed so fast that the naked eye could barely follow, producing a shrill string of sounds.

The instant Caster's incomprehensible incantation ended, violent magical energy erupted from her like an exploding volcano and poured into the Magic Circles in the sky.

Within the densely packed Magic Circles, the misty spheres resembling pupils turned, instantly locking onto Chu Chen and the others on the ground. Like the aiming lines of countless sniper rifles, they shot downward and landed on the earth.

Cold sweat immediately poured down Chu Chen's forehead. With the snap of his fingers, countless enormous Golems condensed in front of him and the others.

What were they for? Obviously, to serve as cannon fodder!

Since they could not hit that thing in the sky, they could only use them as cannon fodder.

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

"Illya, Miyu... Hurry and..."

Just as he was about to tell them to use Ruby and Sapphire's power to leave this place, their systems suddenly lit up.

Ilyasviel/Miyu triggered an 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, or other reward from Caster Medea

"Damn—hurry up and fly up there and knock that woman down..."

Chu Chen felt as though the system he had created had slapped him painfully across the face...

Haibara Ai: Illya Has Completely Lost It, Drag Her Away!

After seeing their tasks, Illya and Miyu both fell silent, their emotions becoming complicated.

Illya in particular felt like she was about to cry. Why was it another uncertain reward?!

Last time, she had received Luck E. The time before that, she had gotten a one-centimeter height increase. And now...

Would she receive some new form of humiliation again...? Illya suddenly felt exhausted.

"Wait! Illya and Miyu have never learned how to fly. How are they supposed to fly?!"

After hearing Chu Chen's words, Tohsaka Rin and Luvia spoke up at the same time. Retreating directly would make them unhappy, but Illya and Miyu had never learned flight at all! No matter what, they needed to learn how to fly before fighting the enemy.

Flight was an extremely difficult technique. After all, humans could not fly using their own strength.

Although the Kaleidoscope Staff could allow Illya and the others to fly, the amount of practice required was enormous. Tohsaka Rin and Luvia could use the Kaleidoscope Staff to fly, but they had undergone strict training before reaching the point where they could fight in the air... Not everyone was like Nanoha, who could fight Fate, who had studied magic since childhood, to a draw after becoming a Magical Girl for the first time and going through only three or four battles.

However, people who could become protagonists were generally anything but ordinary, so—

"I see. As long as I can fly, that's enough!"

As she spoke, Illya's body actually began floating into the air.

Even when faced with incoming Magic Cannons, Illya could dodge them with remarkable ease, leaving Tohsaka Rin dumbfounded.

Not just Tohsaka Rin—even Miyu, Luvia, and Chu Chen were shocked.

Miyu and Luvia were shocked that Illya could fly, while Chu Chen was shocked that she had only just taken flight yet could already dodge Magic Cannons so nimbly. As expected of a protagonist... That level of comprehension left people speechless.

"Wait! How did you suddenly start flying?" Tohsaka Rin finally came to her senses and hurriedly asked in surprise.

"Hm? Is this very impressive?"

Seeing how shocked Tohsaka Rin and the others were, Illya could not help asking as she dodged the Magic Cannons.

"Of course it is! Advanced flight techniques are not something just anyone can master so casually! Hehe! I knew I had picked the right person!" Although Ruby was also shocked, she was more smug than anything right now.

"Without a clear concept, even floating is extremely difficult. Why...?"

Sapphire was utterly confused. She truly could not understand how Illya had managed it.

Hearing that, Illya, who did not know how to explain it, merely wore an innocent expression tinged with longing as she spoke.

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

"W-What a reliable misunderstanding..." Even Tohsaka Rin and Luvia were left speechless by that.

"Damn it! We cannot lose here either! Miyu! You fly right now too!"

Unwilling to be outdone, Luvia immediately pinned her hopes on Miyu, but—

"Humans... cannot fly!"

Her extensive knowledge, strong rationality, and maturity had completely restrained Miyu's own perception.

It had to be said that, in every sense, those books Emiya Shirou had made Miyu read were truly useless!

"W-What a dreamless child..." Luvia was struck speechless once again.

Miyu and Illya could practically be called two extremes—one was overly innocent, while the other was overly rational.

"Then Illya, I'll leave the Caster above to you! Avoid her bombardment while attacking her!"

Chu Chen could not place his hopes on Miyu for the time being, so he could only ask Illya to go up and attack.

"Okay!" Illya nodded heavily and flew toward Caster without another word.

At the same time, Ruby reminded Illya that, according to their observations, above Caster was a magical energy reflection plane. If she struck it with an attack, that attack would likely be reflected back at Illya.

Miyu watched Illya rush toward Caster, and a trace of unwillingness could not help rising in her heart.

This was the first time she had felt that, when facing difficulty, she could not solve it alone...