Chapter 6: A Brave New World

Robert took a deep breath as he scrolled through the dizzying array of options now available to him through the system interface. He felt overwhelmed trying to comprehend the sheer scope of possibilities literally at his fingertips.

As the newly appointed administrator of the system in his world, he possessed unlimited access to modify and expand its features as he saw fit. But where to even begin?

Noticing his hesitation, Lara spoke up gently. "I know it's a lot to take in. But remember, you're not alone in this."

Robert nodded, bolstered by the reminder of his friends' support. An idea occurred to him.

"Claudius, can you please analyze the system parameters and provide suggestions on how to optimize and refine them?" he subvocalized to the AI assistant.

"Who is Claudius?" Lara asked. "Ah, he is an AI asiistent the system granted me". Rober answerd.

"Certainly!" Claudius responded via chat box. "By creating customizable user profiles, you can experiment with different ability configurations without disrupting your core avatar."

"Of course!" Robert said excitedly. "It's like crafting alternate characters in a game. Good thinking!"

He quickly set up a test profile, granting it amplified magical abilities. If anything went awry, his main avatar would remain untouched.

Lara looked impressed. "Very clever. It seems you have a natural talent for strategizing within system frameworks."

"I guess those RPGs paid off after all," Raj said with a grin.

Eager to experiment in a safe environment, Lara opened a portal to a desolate planet and the trio walked thru. "We are on planet Urk, it's resistance failed and its Urklings where decimated by the empire who left this planet in ruins. It is a place where we can experiment away from prying eyes."

Robert activated his powered-up mage profile, dubbed "Archmagus Maximus." Raw magical energy coursed through his veins, begging to be unleashed.

"This is incredible!" he shouted, conjuring a glowing orb that lit up like a miniature sun. He took aim at a remnant of a wall and let loose a sizzling bolt of electricity, piercing a hole through it.

Lara and Raj whooped excitedly at the display of power. "Dude, you're like Emperor Palpatine shooting lightning from your fingertips!" Raj exclaimed. "Can you do other elements too?"

They spent the next hour testing Robert's newfound mystical abilities - generating swirling vortexes, conjuring puppets and animating them to dance lively jigs, and even levitating Raj a few feet off the ground, much to his terrified delight.

But Robert soon realized that unleashing such unchecked power could be dangerous. When an errant fireball singed Raj's hair and nearly caused it to blaze, he decided to rein in with the abilities.

"My enthusiasm got the better of me," he admitted. "I think some restraint is needed until I better understand these powers."

Lara nodded in agreement. "Wise perspective. With great power comes great responsibility, as they say."

Robert tweaked the mage profile to be less overpowered. He also asked Claudius to develop safety protocols that would prevent any accidental damage and hitting allies. The AI quickly implemented fail safes to prevent mistakes.

Robert's earlier doubts faded away as he realized how in control he felt thanks to prudent preparation. With the AI's guidance and clever safety measures and new user profiles, he could explore the system's potential without endangering himself or others.

As the first glimmers of dawn rose over the horizon, the three companions agreed to continue Robert's training another day. There was still much to learn, but he now felt ready to embrace his role as administrator of this brave new world. The future was his to shape.

*****

Robert, Lara, and were invigorated by the successful experimentation with Robert's newfound abilities. Although Robert initially felt uneasy about his role as administrator of the System, he was starting to embrace the possibilities it presented.

Robert was deep in thought. "Claudius, do you think I could create a user profile for Raj and Lara, so they can access some of the System's capabilities?"

Lara's eyes lit up at the idea. "That would be amazing!" Raj also nodded enthusiastically.

" > It is possible" Claudius said and explained the process to do so.

Robert focused on the system interface, configuring two new user profiles modelled for his friends. He granted them each access to a basic inventory system and also amplified their natural talents - boosting Lara's stealth and magic and enhancing Raj's charisma and technological skills and giving him the conjuring ability to add.

After a quick tutorial on accessing their new interfaces, Lara and Raj eagerly tested out their new powers. Raj was delighted to be able to store stuff in his inventory, experimentally filling it with rocks while Lara marvelled at how easily she could now cloak herself from prying eyes.

As the day progressed, Robert noticed Raj frequently fiddling with a small metal gadget he had produced from his inventory. "What do you have there?" Robert asked.

"Oh this?" Raj replied. "It's an atmosphere monitor I whipped up using some conjured spare parts and my upgraded engineering abilities. I figured it could help detect any interdimensional or magical energy fluctuations."

Robert's eyes widened. "Brilliant idea! Being able to monitor the boundaries between worlds could really come in handy." He made a mental note to himself to continue finding ways to productively channel and enhance his friends' natural talents.

****

When the trio soon returned they found themselves passing by the convention center's crowded food court. The aroma of pizza, hot dogs, and funnel cake proved too tempting to resist after a long morning of experimentation.

As they sat down to eat, Lara frowned and leaned in close to Robert. "Those two men by the pretzel stand have been watching us very closely," she whispered.

Robert subtly glanced over and noticed two stern-looking men in dark suits conspicuously watching their table while pretending to chat. Their mannerisms clearly belied more than casual interest.

Activating analyse, Robert focused in on the suspicious duo. Details popped up identifying them as interdimensional mercenaries, likely on the hunt for Lara. He quickly explained the situation to Raj and Lara under his breath.

"Looks like mercenaries from the empire have tracked you down," Robert murmured. Lara nodded grimly, having expected her reprieve here wouldn't last forever.

Raj looked anxious. "What should we do? Should we confront them?" Robert considered their options. A fight here would draw unwanted attention and chaos.

"I have an idea," Robert whispered. He quickly used the system interface to add stelth abilitys to Raj and himself and said "We can use stealth skills to sneak away unnoticed. Lara, you go first and then Raj and I will finish eating and leave separately to throw them off. Let's use it only when we are out of sight."

After agreeing to the plan Lara swiftly walked away and after turning a corner out of view of the mercenaries she cloaked herself, turning invisible before slipping away. The mercenaries following her glanced around in confusion at her sudden disappearance but failed to detect her any where.

Raj did his best to act casual as they finished their meal under the watchful eyes of the returning menacing duo. Afterwards, Raj left first while Robert lingered to pay the bill.

Robert then took a roundabout route through the bustling crowds to discreetly exit from a different location. Once in the clear, he turnd invisible and went to meet up with Raj as they quickly made their way to the rendezvous point where Lara was waiting for them.

"Nice work you two!" Lara said, reappearing with a smile. Thanks to their quick thinking, they had managed to evade their Followers for now. But they knew the threat still lurked, ready to seize any opportunity to capture Lara.

Robert realized that the System provided more than just abilities - with his upgraded Administrator access, he could potentially manipulate entire environments. An ambitious idea began to form.

****

The two mercenaries stalked through the dense convention crowds. "Napa, I found her" said the mercenary holding a wicked looking laser rifle. "boratz, you always win thiz bett'z" answered Napa who was carrying two matching laser pistols. "Let's not loos her this time" said boratz as they turned to follow her, keeping the demon girl Lara in their sights. They watched as she slipped into a dim service hallway away from the bustle.

"We've gotz her cornered now", Napa grinned as they quickened their pace, eager to finally complete their mission.

Bursting through the doors, they saw Lara startled by the noise turning around as she saw them approaching. nervously she turnd to run the end of the corridor and go thru a door. As they reached the door, they found it locked and forced it open finding Lara standing glued to the wall at the far end of the dead-end room. Napa, The shorter mercenary raised his weapon. "End of the line, demonspawn."

"Why are you doing this?" Lara cried out, "why?" The mercenaries blinked in confusion. "It's our job, and we like the pay" answered Boratz, shrugging. The wall behind Lara started to shimmer and Boratz shouted to Napa "She is using her skill to open a portal".

"Shoot". Boratz cried as the two mercenaries opened fire at Lara hoping to stop her before she managed to escape. The portal flickered and disappeared and Lara fall to the ground like a rag doll.

They stood there Stunned for a moment. "I did not expectz oure firstz job to go thiz way" said Napa, "We planned to take her alive for interrogation. Oh well, our first kill, fills nice to remove scum from the universe" Boratz answered. "Butz now how will we find the lightning mage? We mezzed up" said Napa. "Well, half the bounty is big enough" promised Boratz.

As they went into the room to inspect the body, they found it fading away leaving only empty space. A voice rang out behind them - "Worked like a charm!"

Whirling around, they saw the door was now shut and asystem window saying:

" > Time freeze of pocket dimension initiated."

"Well done my friend!" came Lara's voice from behind Robert. "Your illusion clone worked perfectly to lure them into our trap."

As Robert turned to face Lara his eyes widened as he saw both his friends frozen in time. He reached with his hand to toch Raj but stopped abruptly as he did not know if it might hurt his friend. He went back to the populated area to confirm. Everything was frozen in time. The people, all the stuff and even the watter in the fountain outside. Birds were stuck unmoving in the air.

"Hi there" a voice startled Robert from behind, making him jump.

"There, there. No reason to be startled". Said a man in a black suit wearing dark sun glasses.

"Who are you and are you responsible to the time frees?" Robert asked with caution.

"You can find all of that by yourself, can't you?" the stranger said.

Robert used analyze on the figure and got a lot of question marks as a reply.

"Actualy I cant, and I suspect that you alredy know this" Robert remarked.

"Oh? Did you try to ask your AI?" asked the man in black.

"Oh" was Roberts reply as he consulted with Claudius.

" > The man in black as you referred to him is a agent of the main system. As you can see he stopped time to contact you. My guess is that its your time to go through the system assessment." Was Claudius's answer.

"And what is the system assessment"? asked Robert.

" > But certainly…"

Was Claudius's answered

" > It is a way to discern how powerful of a system lord you are bound to be."