A knot of anxiety formed in the pit of Roberts stomach as he contemplated the implications of this delusion in which an unknown system seemed to be somehow embedding itself in his mind. Though he still believed this must be a hallucination rather than an actual system, the potential impact of such an intense delusion could disrupt his long-awaited Comic Con experience.

He anxiously muttered aloud repeatedly, asking "Are you there?" and "What do you mean, install?" as he desperately tried to verbally communicate with the supposed SYSTEM. But his efforts were met only with silence, as if speaking into a void. Frustrated, he raised his voice, demanding answers, but the mysterious interface did not respond or even acknowledge his questions. After several long minutes of futile one-sided conversation, Robert gave up, realizing he could not reason with or control something that refused to interact.

Robert realized he had no choice but to wait and see what happened next. Was this some elaborate prank that the universe is forcing on him? had his love of science fiction and gaming lured him into this high-tech delusion?

His friend Raj exited the bathroom and immediately noticed something was off. "You okay, man? You look like you've seen a ghost."

After a short deliberation, Rob decided that at this stage it would not be worthwhile for him to admit the problem since Raj would immediately stop the visit to the conference and replied "I just had a really crazy nightmare," he said evasively. "I guess the con excitement stirred up my imagination." a popup notification box suddenly appeared right in front of Rob's eyes, nearly causing him to trip. it read: "New skill unlocked - Deception +10 XP." He flinched involuntarily, startled by the abrupt appearance.

Raj gave him a strange look, noticing his visible reaction. Robert quickly tried to cover his flinch by joking that he got "jump scared" imagining he saw a cockroach behind Raj.

Raj laughed nervously, and slowly turned around to check if there was anything there, seeming to accept the explanation readily enough. He told Robert to take a deep breath and enjoy the panels ahead.

When Robert opened the door to go out, immediately a new message appeared, "+15 XP for opening the door to the hall" - he flinched as the message popped up right after touching the door handle.

He continued his journey down the corridor with trepidation when a new message popped up immediately after he said "good morning" to a passerby, "+20 XP for polite greeting to a passerby", it made him jump bit.

When he reached the elevator and pressed the button he jumped again when a message appeared, "+5 XP for pressing an elevator button", and he was startled again when a new message appeared, "+5 XP for waiting patiently for the elevator" - this message emerged just as the elevator doors opened, causing Robert to hesitate before entering.

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The barrage of disruptive popup messages kept appearing unrelentingly before Robert's eyes, obscuring his vision and distracting him.

"Raj, I'm feeling dizzy, I need to stop for a moment," Robert said when they got out of the elevator, using the excuse to buy himself time to try willing the messages away.

Raj's forehead creased in concern. "Do you want to go back to the room?"

"No, I just need a few moments for it to pass," Robert replied. He focused inward, directing his thoughts at the supposed SYSTEM: Go away! I don't want you here! Please, just leave me alone!

As a lifetime gamer familiar with RPGs and LITRPG fiction, a lightbulb went off in Robert's mind - could he control this supposed "SYSTEM" interface with his thoughts like the characters in those stories? The protagonists in his favorite books often learned to manipulate the game like systems using their will and focus.

Robert wondered - if he directed his concentration, could he potentially influence the delusional induced interface projecting before his eyes? It was worth attempting before this strange hallucination consumed his long-awaited Comic Con experience.

Shutting his eyes tightly, thinking to himself': 'It's all in the mind, it's all in the mind', Robert centered his mind and intention and thought inward: 'Go away, stupid messages! Leave me be! Minimize! Close window!' He pictured the notifications disappearing from view. When he slowly opened his eyes, To his immense relief, the disruptive popups had indeed vanished. So, through sheer mental effort, he did seem to wield some ability to dismiss the interface... at least temporarily.

This "SYSTEM" had to be a stress-induced delusion...right? Some form of "Comic Con Syndrome" triggered by the culmination of a dream decades in the making finally being realized? Or was it deeper - a mental break of some kind?

Robert decided immersing himself in enjoying Comic Con took priority over unraveling this temporary madness. But a corner in his mind remained uneasy, worried that if left unchecked, this delusion could consume him.

With determination, Robert proceeded to the hotel dining room with Raj, intent on focusing wholly on the Comic Con experience itself, pushing the strange light and messages from his awareness.

As they entered the bustling hotel dining room, a diverse array of languages filled the air. A new type of message popped up in front of his eyes, auto translate level up, after you reached 1000 XP automatic translation reached level two. He couldn't get used to the pop-ups and they still Continued to startle him. He closed the window and noticed a group of mothers seated nearby, chatting amiably in Russian as they tended to their babbling infants. Concentrating, he was surprised to find he could comprehend their conversation - they were discussing techniques to help their babies burp.

Glancing down, Robert spotted three toddlers playing on a blanket by their mothers' feet. Though initially babbling, Robert suddenly understood one toddler say "Time to cry, I'm hungry!" The second toddler replied "Don't believe them, first they feed you then they eat you - look!" The toddlers gazed up as one mother finished nursing her infant and cooed " You eat so beautifully? Who is mommy's sweetie? you are so sweet I want to gobble you up!"

Distracted by attempting to parse this bizarre new comprehension, Robert stumbled over a chair. Raj grabbed his arm steading him, looking concerned. "You sure you're okay, man?"

"Yeah, let's just get some food, I'm starving". Robert said hastily, heading for the buffet line.