I, System Creator

Chu Chen said this without any psychological burden at all, completely forgetting that he was the one who started it all.

Ilyasviel: "What can I do! This is all the system's fault! It's the system that assigned me this mission!"

Administrator: "No! It's not the system's fault! It's Tokiomi's fault!"

Chapter 33 - Ai: Yukino, I treated you as a teammate, and you backstabbed me!

[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Noble Phantasm: Kiku-Ichimonji Norimune]

[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Noble Phantasm: Rule Breaker]

[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Primordial Material Warehouse: A]

[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Magic Resistance C]

[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Luck EX]

[Noble Phantasm: Kiku-Ichimonji Norimune, Noble Phantasm: Rule Breaker, Primordial Material Warehouse: A, Magic Resistance C beginning automatic enhancement!]

[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining EX-rank Noble Phantasm: Kiku-Ichimonji Norimune, EX-rank Noble Phantasm: Rule Breaker, EX-rank Primordial Material Warehouse, and EX-rank Magic Resistance]

Chu Chen quickly finished selecting all the rewards he needed.

Kiku-Ichimonji Norimune could serve as his everyday weapon from now on. After this Noble Phantasm's rank was raised to EX, whenever Chu Chen drew this weapon, his own attributes would all receive a boost.

Next was Rule Breaker. Although Miyu herself possessed this Noble Phantasm, making it unnecessary for Chu Chen to take it, Chu Chen's acquired armaments or skills would automatically come with rank enhancements. That was why he chose this one.

Between taking the original C-rank Noble Phantasm or the enhanced EX-rank version, needless to say, the latter was better!

EX-rank Rule Breaker could nullify all magecraft in the world, objects strengthened by magical energy, contracts based on magical power, or lifeforms born from its use... even... perhaps it could directly erase the Servants of the Mirror World.

This was just Chu Chen's speculation; he might need to test it later...

Then there was EX-rank Magic Resistance. For Chu Chen, this was also a fine ability. It could be said to have maxed out his magic defense stat—arguably the best among all the rewards Yukino had obtained.

Administrator: "Rewards.jpg"

With a show-off mentality, Chu Chen silently uploaded all his rewards into the network.

Haibara Ai: "So jealous! And you can even enhance the rank of the rewards you get. Administrator, you're definitely cheating!"

Yukino Yukinoshita: "Ai, forgive me for saying this, but aren't we cheating too..."

Haibara Ai: "Yukino, I treated you as a teammate, and you backstabbed me!"

Yukino Yukinoshita indicated that she hadn't forgotten when Ai had backstabbed her back then...

Busujima Saeko: "Speaking of which, Administrator, what exactly is that Primordial Material Warehouse..."

Administrator: "You'll have to ask Ai about that—I haven't even taken it out yet... This reward was one I took from Ai! I figured that compared to the other rewards, this one would be more useful to me, so I picked it."

After all, for Chu Chen, Random Ability Enhancement and Forensic Ability were completely useless. Random Ability Enhancement was handy, but Chu Chen's own abilities were already mostly maxed out; the only things left to improve were his attribute values.

As the saying goes, bite off more than you can chew. It was better to take these materials first. For Chu Chen, ability enhancements were a common reward; rather than taking those, it was wiser to stabilize his current abilities first.

Haibara Ai: "As for this... it's a collection of materials dropped from many Phantasmal Species of the Primordial Age. These materials seem completely unobtainable in the modern era—things like Dragon Fangs, Demon God Hearts, and the like—they're really valuable for research!"

As she spoke, Ai's eyes began to gleam. She had already developed quite a few interesting things from studying these materials.

At this, Chu Chen just chuckled lightly. Ai's role was basically set now; she would likely be a logistics support personnel.

If anyone in the System Network needed special items, they could basically go straight to Ai for help.

But speaking of which, Dragon Fangs, Demon God Hearts, and the like—weren't those all materials from FGO?

So the Primordial Material Warehouse was full of this stuff...

"Eh? Over on Alicia's side..." Suddenly, as if noticing something, Chu Chen's expression shifted slightly.

Through the Selection System's perspective, Chu Chen could see that Alicia had already woken up in a forest.

But why was she in a forest... After carefully examining Alicia's condition, Chu Chen understood.

Alicia should have died from being caught in Precia's experiment, but because the system had bound itself to Alicia and given her the Saint Graph of a Heroic Spirit for fusion, Alicia survived.

Now Alicia was in the form of a Servant. However, a Servant was ultimately a spiritual body, separate from her original physical body. This caused Alicia to appear not beside her own body, but on Earth where Takamachi Nanoha was.

Moreover... because Chu Chen shared the system's vision and perception, he could sense that someone was fighting there!

"Where is this..." Alicia looked around blankly.

Normally speaking, when the timeline synchronized, the system would automatically hand over the memories of these years to Alicia. This was equivalent to sending Alicia's consciousness to a future timeline, but she still retained the experiences in between. By swapping her consciousness to the future, she would also have the future self's memories.

But unfortunately, Alicia had died a few years ago. This meant that the memories from that intervening period were blank...

"Answering the Host: It is now twenty-six years later. Twenty-six years ago, due to the failure of an experiment by your mother, Precia Testarossa, a medium-scale Dimensional Tremor was triggered. At that time, you were caught up in it and died instantly. At that moment, you became this system's Host. The system automatically opened the Beginner's Gift Package, fused the newly acquired Heroic Spirit's Saint Graph with the Host, and brought the Host to this timeline. Thus, the Host was able to survive!"

Alicia tilted her head. She seemed to understand, but also seemed not to. However, there was one thing she could confirm.

"Mother's experiment failed... so what happened to Mother now? Do you know?"

Alicia only cared about her mother now, nothing else.

Just as Precia loved Alicia, Alicia also deeply loved her mother.

"This question is outside the scope of this system's answers... Please, Host, seek the answer yourself..."

Alicia couldn't help but pout, sweeping her gaze across her surroundings. But—

"Bam!"

In an instant, a series of deafening blasts rang out ahead. Subconsciously, Alicia looked forward.

[Ding! Choice has begun! Time to choose: 1 minute]

[Faced with the strange sounds ahead, you choose:]

[1. As the host of this system, how could you be a coward? Go investigate ahead immediately.]

[2. As the host of this system, it's only natural to lie low for a while. Leave this place first and find somewhere to rest.]

[Choice rewards: Choose 1: Mana Core scale +1]

[Choose 2: Physical fitness +1]

Chapter 34: Illya: I'm Afraid I'm a Fake Magical Girl...

My name is Takamachi Nanoha, and I'm an ordinary third-grade elementary school student.

One evening after school, wanting to get home early, my classmate and best friend Alisa took us on a shortcut—a very secluded path. That secluded path changed my ordinary life.

At that time, I heard someone calling for help. As a good student, I charged over without hesitation... Well, actually, I was a little hopeful too. Isn't that how it goes in some manga? The kind who rushes into incidents like this always ends up caught in some whirlwind of events, becoming the legendary protagonist.

That's right, exactly! From that moment, my life started playing out like a manga plot.

I met an injured ferret, Yuno. According to Yuno, he came from a different world, searching for something called the Ancient Legacy Jewel Seeds. But because his power was insufficient... well, that's only natural—he's just a ferret, after all. It's only reasonable he couldn't beat the monsters. So he had to ask me, someone with talent, a future protagonist, to accept the power of magic.

The moment I heard the word "magic," my heart started pounding. Finally, was I about to set foot on the path of the protagonist?

Then that ferret, Yuno, gave me a red gem and taught me the incantation to use magic.

I've always wanted to say this—the monster was standing right in front of me. Since ancient times, villains die from talking too much. Even though I'm the protagonist, isn't it a bit disrespectful to openly chant a transformation spell in front of the monster? And there's a good chance I'd get killed halfway through! But it seems my worries were unnecessary—after all, it's common knowledge that a Magical Girl's chant is never interrupted.

"I am the inheritor of the mission. Under the name of the contract, release your power. Wind dwells in the sky, stars dwell in the night sky. Unyielding courage dwells in my heart. Grasp the magic in your hand. Raising Heart, set up!"

What a stirring incantation! The moment my magic activated, even the sky was pierced by my magical power, and even the monster was scared back by it! Seeing that, I felt like I was the White Devil of this world! I don't think mere Earth can stop me anymore!

Of course, I'm still just a rookie mage now. No matter what, this isn't some invincible-style Magical Girl anime, so soon enough, I met the legendary protagonist's destined rival!

Golden twin-tails, a cute appearance, but for some reason, her face was always expressionless.

That girl is so pretty! Well, I've never actually told anyone this, but I'm a Blonde Enthusiast.

I inherited that completely from my mom—my mother, Takako Nanoha, is also a Blonde Enthusiast!

Soon enough, I was defeated by this rival, completely outmatched.

But I won't give up that easily! Unyielding courage—that's what it's all about, right?

This time! I will definitely become friends with that golden-haired girl—Fate!

If words don't work, then I'll just beat her up until she's ready to talk!

That's the Takamachi family way of making friends!

Alicia had just run out of the forest when she saw two girls locked in battle.

One was a little girl with orange hair, holding a long Staff in her hand.

The other was a little girl with golden twin-tails, holding a long axe-shaped Staff.

But now that she thought about it, didn't that golden twin-tail look really familiar?

Alicia tilted her head, her face full of curiosity.

Chu Chen couldn't help rolling his eyes. Haven't you realized yet that the little girl over there looks exactly like you?

That little girl is the younger sister your mom gave you... Chu Chen really wanted to spoil it now.

But after thinking it over, he decided not to. He could just go to the Nanoha World himself later!

At that moment, the battlefield between Nanoha and Fate grew increasingly intense.

Sensing its master's will, the Lightning Axe's black head began to flicker with golden electric light.

Fate remained silent, her figure turning into lightning itself. In half a breath, she crossed the long distance between her and Nanoha, appearing right in front of her in an instant, swinging her axe down fiercely!

The blade of light, condensed from lightning, howled toward Nanoha.

A flicker of panic appeared on Nanoha's face, but fortunately, Raising Heart had its own judgment.

"Protection!"

The lightning-edged blade slammed into the barrier with a deafening crash.

Nanoha frowned slightly, then quickly drove Raising Heart to fly into the sky.

But Fate was even faster than Nanoha. For a moment, Nanoha was thrown into utter disarray.

"Tsk, this is early-stage Nanoha... Early Nanoha is no match for Fate!"

"Please! Raising Heart!"

Releasing all the accumulated magical power at once, Nanoha violently knocked Fate back, then gripped Raising Heart tightly. Understanding Nanoha's intent, Raising Heart instantly shifted into shooting mode.

The next moment, a Magic Circle over three meters in diameter rapidly appeared beneath Nanoha's feet. Vast magical power gathered at the tip of Raising Heart, slowly condensing. A bombardment spell was unleashed in the blink of an eye.

"Divine—"

Fate saw Nanoha's bombardment magic, but instead of backing down, she met it with equal force.

"Lightning Axe!"

"Yes, sir!"

A massive magic circle instantly spread beneath Fate's feet as golden lightning began to converge.

"Thunder—"

Both of them tightened their grips on their Magi Devices, their magical power surging wildly within.

"—Buster!!!"

"—Smasher!!!"

The cherry-colored radiance and golden lightning erupted with astonishing might, their spells crashing into each other in an instant.

For a moment, their beams burst into a blinding flash of light.

Alicia watched the scene before her, a gleam of excitement flickering in her eyes.

So amazing! So amazing! So amazing!

There was no other thought left in Alicia's mind besides this.

Meanwhile, Chu Chen silently recorded the battle between Nanoha and Fate.

Mm! I'll show this footage to Illya and the others—let them see what a real Magical Girl looks like!

[Administrator has uploaded a video. All members, please download and receive it!]

[Haibara Ai has downloaded Video 1]