Xiao Ai: Yukino, I Thought We Were Teammates, but You Stabbed Me in the Back! / Illya: Maybe I'm a Fake Magical Girl...

Chu Chen said this without any psychological pressure at all, having completely forgotten that he was the real culprit.

Illyasviel: "What could I do?! It's all the system's fault! Why did the system assign me this kind of task?!"

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

Chapter 33: Ai: Yukino, I Treated You Like a Teammate, and You Stabbed Me in the Back!

Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Noble Phantasm: Kikuchi Ichimonji Norimune

Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Noble Phantasm: Rule Breaker

Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Age of Gods Material Storage: A

Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Magic Resistance C

Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Luck EX

Noble Phantasm: Kikuchi Ichimonji Norimune, Noble Phantasm: Rule Breaker, Age of Gods Material Storage: A, and Magic Resistance C are beginning automatic enhancement!

Congratulations, Host, for obtaining EX-rank Noble Phantasm: Kikuchi Ichimonji Norimune, EX-rank Noble Phantasm: Rule Breaker, EX-rank Age of Gods Material Storage, and EX-rank Magic Resistance

Chu Chen quickly selected all the rewards he needed.

Kikuchi Ichimonji Norimune could serve as one of his regular weapons in the future. After this Noble Phantasm had been raised to EX rank, simply taking it out would boost Chu Chen's own attributes.

Then there was Rule Breaker. Although Miyu already had this Noble Phantasm, meaning Chu Chen had no real need to take it, weapons and skills Chu Chen obtained came with automatic rank upgrades. That was why he chose this Noble Phantasm.

Was it better to take the original C-rank Noble Phantasm, or the upgraded EX-rank one? There was no need to say it—the latter was obviously better!

EX-rank Rule Breaker could dispel all magecraft in the world, objects enhanced by magical power, contracts based on magical power, or lifeforms born through magical power... Perhaps... it could even directly erase the Servants in the Mirror World.

That was only Chu Chen's guess. He might have to test it later...

Then there was EX-rank Magic Resistance. This was also a pretty good ability for Chu Chen. It could be said to have completely maxed out his magic resistance, and it was arguably the best of all the rewards Yukino had received.

Administrator: "Rewards.jpg"

Wanting to show off, Chu Chen silently posted all of his rewards in the network.

Ai Haibara: "Jealous! And you can even enhance the ranks of the rewards you obtain. Administrator, you really are cheating!"

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

Ai Haibara: "Yukino, I treated you like a teammate, and you stabbed me in the back!"

Yukino Yukinoshita said that she certainly had not forgotten how Ai had stabbed her in the back back then...

Saeko Busujima: "By the way, Administrator, what exactly is that Age of Gods Material Storage...?"

Administrator: "Ask Ai about that. I haven't even taken it out yet... I got this reward from Ai! Compared to the other rewards, I felt this one would be more useful to me, so I took it."

After all, random ability enhancement and detective skills were completely useless to Chu Chen. Random ability enhancement was useful, but most of Chu Chen's own abilities had already been upgraded to the highest level. The only thing that could still be enhanced was his attributes.

As the saying went, trying to bite off more than one could chew would only lead to trouble. He might as well take these materials first. Ability upgrades were fairly common rewards for Chu Chen anyway, so rather than taking those, it would be better to stabilize his current abilities first.

Ai Haibara: "This... is made up of all sorts of materials dropped by Phantasmal Species from the Age of Gods. It seems impossible to obtain these materials in the modern era. Things like Dragon Fangs and Barbaric God Hearts have tremendous research value!"

As she said this, Ai's eyes had already started shining. She had researched quite a few interesting things using those items.

Chu Chen merely chuckled. Ai's role had basically been decided now—she would probably become a logistics support specialist.

Whenever anyone in the system network needed special items, they could basically just ask Ai for help.

But then again, weren't Dragon Fangs and Barbaric God Hearts materials from FGO?

So the Age of Gods Material Storage was full of things like that...

"Huh? Over on Alicia's side..." Chu Chen's expression changed slightly as though he had suddenly noticed something.

Through the system's viewpoint, Chu Chen saw that Alicia had awakened in a forest.

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

Alicia should originally have been caught up in Precia's experiment and died. However, because the system had bound itself to Alicia and given her a Heroic Spirit Saint Graph to fuse with, Alicia had survived.

The current Alicia was in the form of a Heroic Spirit. However, Heroic Spirits were ultimately spiritual entities, separate from the bodies they had possessed while alive. This caused Alicia to appear not beside her own body, but on the Earth where Nanoha Takamachi was located.

And... because Chu Chen shared the system's perspective and senses, he could feel that someone was fighting over there!

"Where is this...?" Alicia looked around in confusion.

Normally, when the timelines synchronized, the system would automatically give Alicia the memories from all those years. It was equivalent to sending Alicia's consciousness into the future timeline. Yet Alicia would still retain the experiences in between; after replacing her consciousness with that of her future self, she would also have her future self's memories.

Unfortunately, Alicia had died years ago. That left the memories from that period completely blank...

"Answering Host: it is now twenty-six years later. Twenty-six years ago, your mother, Precia Testarossa's experiment failed, causing a medium-scale dimensional quake. You were caught up in it and died immediately. At that time, you became this system's Host. This system automatically opened the beginner's gift package, fused the most recently acquired Heroic Spirit Saint Graph with you, and brought you to this timeline. That is why you were able to survive!"

Alicia tilted her head. She seemed to understand, yet she also seemed not to understand. But there was one thing she could be sure of.

"Mom's experiment failed. Then how is Mom now? Do you know?"

Alicia only cared about her mother right now. She did not care about anything else.

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

"That question falls outside this system's range of answers... Please find the answer yourself..."

Alicia could not help pursing her lips as her gaze swept across the surroundings, but—

"Bang!"

In an instant, deafening blasts rang out from ahead. Instinctively, Alicia looked forward.

Ding! Selection has begun! Selection time: 1 minute

Faced with the strange sounds coming from ahead, you choose:

1. As this system's Host, how could you be cowardly? Immediately go ahead and investigate.

2. As this system's Host, naturally you should endure for now and enjoy peace later. Leave this place first and find somewhere to rest.

Selection rewards: Choice 1: Telekinesis Core Scale +1

Choice 2: Physical Fitness +1

Chapter 34: Illya: Am I Some Kind of Fake Magical Girl...?

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

One evening after school, because I wanted to get home earlier, my classmate and best friend Alisa deliberately led us along a shortcut. It was a very remote road, and that remote road changed my ordinary life.

At that time, I heard someone calling for help. As a good student, I rushed over without hesitation... Well! Actually, I had been looking forward to something like this too. Didn't some manga go exactly like this? You rushed into an incident, got swept into the whirlpool of some event, and then became the legendary protagonist.

That's right, just as expected! From that moment on, my life began unfolding like a manga plot.

I encountered the injured ferret, Yuuno. According to Yuuno, he had come from another world in search of some ancient relic called the Jewel Seeds. But because he lacked the power... that was perfectly normal, right? He was only a ferret, after all. Of course he could not beat monsters. So he had no choice but to ask me, someone with aptitude and a future protagonist, to accept the power of magic.

The instant I heard the word magic, my heart began pounding with excitement. Was I really about to embark on the protagonist's path?

Then Yuuno the ferret gave me a red jewel and taught me the incantation for using magic.

Actually, I had always wanted to say this: the monster was standing right in front of me. Since ancient times, villains had died from talking too much. I might be the protagonist, but was it not a little disrespectful to stand right in front of a monster and openly chant an incantation to transform? And what if I got killed halfway through the chant?! But it seemed my worries had been unnecessary. After all, it was common knowledge that magical girls' chants were never interrupted.

"I am the inheritor of my mission. In the name of our contract, release your power. The flowing wind dwells in the heavens, the stars dwell in the night sky, and unyielding courage dwells within my heart. Place magic in my hands. Raising Heart, start up!"

That chant felt so awesome! The moment my magic activated, even the sky was pierced by my magical power, and even the monster was frightened away by it! When I saw that, I felt like I was the White Devil of this world! A mere Earth could no longer stop me!

Of course, I was still only a rookie mage. This was not some invincible magical girl series, so before long, I encountered the legendary rival every protagonist needed!

Golden twin tails, an adorable appearance, but for some reason, she always wore an expressionless face.

This girl was so pretty! Well! I had never told anyone this, but I actually had a thing for blondes.

I had completely inherited that from my mother. My mother, Momoko Takamachi, also had a thing for blondes!

Very quickly, I was defeated by that rival. I was completely no match for her.

But I would not admit defeat that easily! This was what unyielding courage meant, right?

This time! I would definitely become friends with that blonde girl—Fate!

If talking did not work, then I would beat her up first, until she was willing to talk!

That was how the Takamachi family made friends!

The moment Alicia ran out of the forest, she saw two girls fighting.

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

The other was a little girl with blonde twin tails, holding a long battle-axe-shaped staff.

But then again, did that blonde twin-tailed girl not look rather familiar?!

Alicia tilted her head, her face full of curiosity.

Chu Chen could not help rolling his eyes. Had she still not realized that the little girl over there looked exactly like her?!

That little girl was the younger sister her mother had given her... Chu Chen really wanted to spoil it for her right now.

But after thinking about it, he decided to forget it. He could just make a trip to Nanoha's world later!

At this moment, Nanoha and Fate's battle grew increasingly intense.

Responding to its master's will, the tip of Bardiche's black shaft began flashing with golden lightning.

Fate remained silent. Her figure seemed to transform into lightning itself, crossing the long distance between herself and Nanoha in less than half a breath. She instantly flashed before Nanoha and swung down her battle axe with all her strength!

A blade of light formed from condensed electricity howled toward Nanoha.

A trace of panic could not help appearing on Nanoha's face, but fortunately, Raising Heart possessed the ability to make its own judgments.

"Protection!"

The lightning-covered blade of light slammed into the barrier, producing a thunderous boom.

Nanoha's brows furrowed slightly, and she quickly had Raising Heart carry her into the sky.

However, Fate was even faster than Nanoha. For a time, Nanoha was in an exceptionally miserable state.

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

"Please! Raising Heart!"

After releasing all the magical power she had built up in an instant and violently blasting Fate away, Nanoha tightened her grip on Raising Heart. Understanding Nanoha's feelings, Raising Heart instantly switched into Shooting Mode.

The next moment, a magic circle more than three meters in diameter rapidly appeared beneath Nanoha's feet. Vast magical power gathered at the tip of Raising Heart and gradually condensed as a bombardment spell was cast in an instant.

"Divine—"

When Fate saw Nanoha's bombardment spell, she was not afraid. Instead, she met it with the same kind of power.

"Bardiche!"

"Yes, sir!"

A massive magic circle instantly unfolded beneath Fate's feet as golden lightning began gathering.

"Thunder—"

The two girls simultaneously clenched their Devices, and magical power surged wildly within their bodies.

"—Buster!!!"

"—Smasher!!!"

Pink radiance and golden lightning erupted with astonishing force as their spells collided in an instant.

In that moment, their bombardments burst forth with dazzling brilliance.

Alicia watched the scene before her, excitement shining in her eyes.

Amazing! Amazing! Amazing!

There were no other thoughts left in Alicia's mind.

Chu Chen silently recorded the battle between Nanoha and Fate.

Yeah! He would show this scene to Illya and the others, so they could see what a magical girl really was!

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