The night rain was slightly chill, tapping against the awning with hollow, mechanical clicks.
Ivette slowly opened her eyes, only for her vision to be immediately occupied by a massive holographic projection—a half-naked virtual beauty licked her lips with programmed seductiveness as holographic particles flowed around her waist, forming flashing ad copy: "Tired of reality's coldness? Craving hotter touches? Seventh Heaven, equipped with the latest spirit synchronization technology, makes every caress real enough to make you tremble! Coordinates: Blackwater District, 47.9. Experience invited!"
Ivette's pupils contracted slightly. She stared at the ad for a few moments before turning to examine her surroundings.
This was a dark alley soaked by rain, stretching endlessly in both directions beneath the night sky. The towering building facades were covered in matte alloy panels, their etched magic guide circuits flowing with dim blue, indigo, and crimson neon light, outlining the entire structures.
Discarded gear-shaped magic guide components, dusty pipe joints, broken flexible screens, and foul-smelling household garbage were piled against the walls in the corners. A prosthetic hand with exposed alloy joints had been stuck into the trash heap as some sort of grim joke, as though a mechanical lifeform were about to crawl out of the filth.
"Is this... the Blackwater District before the apocalypse?" Ivette murmured, brushing the damp silver hair stuck to her shoulder behind her back with slender fingers.
Just as she was considering what to do next, a familiar yet astonished voice rang out behind her. "Teacher, where is this? How did we suddenly get here?"
Ivette spun around and saw Rosaline, dressed in adventuring gear, standing behind her.
Her clothes were soaked by the rain, and her golden hair clung to her cheeks, but her eyes shone brightly. Like a fawn that had wandered into the future, she curiously examined this bizarre new world.
"How did you get in?" Ivette asked in surprise.
"I saw you sleeping directly on the ground, Teacher, so I wanted to put something underneath you. But the moment I touched you, I started getting sleepy..."
I see. Only those who come into contact with me can enter the dream. That only further confirms the special connection between Dream Mist and me... Ivette mused.
The rain grew heavier, forcing the two of them toward the alley entrance. Passersby gradually began appearing ahead. Compared to the pedestrians' fashionable modern clothing, Ivette's white dress was far too conspicuous, almost inevitably drawing direct stares.
"What do you feel when you look at these passersby?" Ivette suddenly asked after they had walked for a while.
"Huh?" Rosaline froze slightly, then thought for a moment. "They're very curious about us, but also a little... ill-intentioned."
"No... I mean, when you look at them, do their bodies appear strange in any way? Semi-transparent, perhaps, or blurry?"
"No."
"I understand."
"In Teacher's eyes, do they look transparent and blurry?"
"Mm."
"Wow! Does that mean Teacher can see through their true nature at a glance?"
"...Perhaps."
A few minutes later, when they emerged from the alley, Ivette had two ID cards in her hand.
"Teacher, this really is a dream, right?" Rosaline asked nervously.
Ivette gave a slight nod, signaling for her not to worry.
Although she had never lived in the world before the apocalypse, there was one thing she was certain of from reading the novels and books that had been left behind: one could not live here without identification.
And what if they had no IDs?
Ivette's answer was entrapment.
So, in order to find suitable targets, the two of them deliberately wandered around for a few extra rounds before leaving the alley. Eventually, they encountered three young men with ill intentions.
Dressed in rebellious punk outfits, the three young men's eyes went wide upon seeing the two stunning girls. They surrounded them and immediately tried to tug at their clothes, so impatient they could barely contain themselves. Before they could even touch them, however, Ivette killed them as casually as she would clear out aberrations, and their identification documents fell into her hands with ease.
Naturally, this gave Rosaline quite a fright. She did not know much about such matters and had little idea what terrifying fate awaited them if they were surrounded by those three young men. She only knew that her teacher's killing movements had been far too swift and decisive. Before she could react, azure wind had turned into blades and pierced through the three men's chests, blood pouring out in torrents.
Rosaline was the one who handled burning the bodies afterward. They truly were a first-rate duo of vicious criminals.
"So, do we have identities now?" Perhaps because this was a dream, or perhaps because she had seen too many nauseating scenes while killing aberrations, Rosaline adjusted remarkably quickly to the bloody murder at close range and had nearly recovered at once.
"No, there's still one more thing to do." As she spoke, Ivette walked over to a machine by the roadside.
It was a public citizen service terminal capable of handling most matters in one place. She placed her finger on its touchpad and connected the Furnace Ring on her hand to a sensor slot. Soon, with the aid of the Magic Guide Terminal, she began hacking into the police system and altering the ID information.
This was no small challenge for Ivette. The post-apocalyptic world had no need for knowledge related to Rune Hacker, so although she had studied it, it had merely been an extra accomplishment. She had never practiced it in real situations, yet today it had unexpectedly found a use.
"Fortunately, the police system in this area is quite lax. As the poorest district in Ish City, Blackwater District probably has no budget for this sort of maintenance?"
Over ten minutes later, Ivette returned to Rosaline's side while making her guess and handed her an ID card.
Rosaline lowered her head and found that both the photo and information on the card had changed. It now showed the adorable face of a blonde girl as the ID photo, while the name read "Rosaline Lochvia."
Correspondingly, Ivette's name on her ID had naturally become "Ivette Shien."
The reason for switching their names was that it was now the year 2124, only one year before the original owner took part in the Metamorphosis Project. Ivette suspected that her pre-apocalypse self might also appear in this dream, with a registered orphanage identity and under the scrutiny of Black Tower Pharmaceuticals. This slight alteration could prevent some trouble.
Rosaline naturally did not know this. In the Kingdom of Eton, changing one's surname only happened after marriage, so her expression immediately turned a little shy—though in truth, she did not even understand what marriage was.
After tampering with the ID cards, Ivette did not forget to try stealing all the savings of the three unlucky men.
But the bank's firewall was not something a novice hacker armed with only theoretical knowledge could challenge. After giving it some thought, she could only list some of their online digital assets for sale, such as cryptocurrency, gambling platform chips, and various virtual game accounts.
After two or three hours of work, she had earned only a little over 6,000 credits, barely enough to stay in a budget hotel for a month.
So little. Those three paupers really were poor—it was no wonder they lived in Blackwater District... After working for so long, Ivette was somewhat dissatisfied.
She had also wanted to list the three paupers' real estate for sale, but that could easily alert people who knew them and cause the altered identities to be discovered sooner.
So I can only make do for now. Once I have money, I can use gray-market channels to buy new identities... she quietly planned.
By the time night had fully fallen, they finally found a cheap hotel. Rainwater dripped from their hair, and Ivette's white dress clung damply to her body, making the powerful and elegant Witch appear unusually bedraggled.
But even so, as a reliable teacher, Ivette patiently conducted a thorough inspection before Rosaline used the bathroom. Only after confirming that there were no hidden recording devices did she let her go inside.
After Ivette had washed up as well, she came out to find Rosaline standing by the window, gazing longingly toward the distant Central District.
Ivette calmly walked up behind her.
The window was not actually clean. A thin film of grease covered its surface, refracting the city's light pollution and turning the neon lights and holographic ads outside blurry and distorted.
Yet Rosaline still watched with great fascination. After all, for someone from a civilization at a medieval level of development, everything she had encountered today was far too advanced. Even when she had first entered the Land of Finale, the shock had been nowhere near as great as it was at this moment.
"Teacher, is this the kingdom of the gods?" After a long while, Ivette heard Rosaline sigh in a dreamy tone.
"No. But if it is, then it belongs to an 'evil god.'"
"That's true too, hehe." Rosaline continued staring out the window, as though she would not grow tired even after watching for an entire day and night.
"Do you want to go take a look?"
"I do!"
"Get some rest first. Tomorrow, I'll take you out for a walk."
"Okay!"
Filled with boundless yearning for the beauty of Origin Civilization, Rosaline excitedly lay down on the bed, then, unsurprisingly, spent the entire night unable to sleep.
Before you continue