Chapter 302: The City and the Natives
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 302: The City and the Natives
"Xiao... Xiao Han? She... she went in first?"
"Yang Yuehan? Yes, she suddenly showed up here yesterday and fell into a deep sleep. I was notified immediately. I have to say, that girl is even more of a magnet for trouble than you lot," Lina explained from the side.
For a moment, the gathered students didn't know how to feel. Just moments ago, they had been complaining that she was too cowardly to join their adventure, and now... she had actually beaten them to it.
"Alright, stop dazing off. Students, don't forget why you've gathered here. But before we begin, I must warn you: the dream world is dangerous. Anything eerie or grotesque can happen there. You could even die."
"Since you're so concerned about the Sleeping Curse, you should already know about the case of the 'sleeping death.' Even though it has only happened at the Holy Angel Academy so far, that doesn't mean it's restricted to them. You are all top students of the Witch Academy’s freshman class. To be honest, after indulging this madness of yours, I’m not even sure I’ll be able to keep my job."
"Teacher Lina..."
"It’s fine. Even if I lose my position as Grade Director, I’m still your counselor. Do what you feel you must. As for the rest, I’ll handle the negotiations with the Dean." Lina patted Tan Han on the head. This was the first time she had seen Tan Han so well-behaved; perhaps she only showed this vulnerable side when she felt truly guilty.
"Are you ready?" With a wave of her hand, Lina plucked a Nightmare out of the unconscious person before them. "This is the physical manifestation of the Sleeping Curse. Your goal is to completely wipe these things out. In my estimation, these are the culprits behind the incident. However, be warned: according to my tests, a curse of this level isn't enough to kill someone. That means there is another unknown anomaly causing the deaths. You must stay alert. This is no joke, understood?"
"Understood!" the students shouted in unison, nodding firmly.
"Very well. Come forward and make contact with the curse. If anyone is having second thoughts, back out now. This is your last chance. I’m not forcing your hand here. Truth be told, the Witch Academy doesn't need a bunch of little girls to save it."
"Fine... it seems you've all made up your minds..."
* * *
"Ruins... nothing but ruins. What on earth happened here? These ruins have been weathered for ages. In some places, the plants grow taller than the rubble; in others, not a single blade of grass can be found."
After spending a night in the dream, we resumed our exploration. Unfortunately, since this was a dream, although I still had my storage equipment, it was completely useless—nothing more than a decorative accessory.
If I had my flying broom, our exploration wouldn't be going this slowly.
Sister Bai seemed to know a flight spell, but as for having her carry me while she flew... I had to refuse.
Being cradled while flying through the sky was just too embarrassing. More importantly, flying in the open was too conspicuous. What if we attracted enemies?
"Wait! Sister Bai, what’s that?" I suddenly whispered, alerting her.
The thing I saw was perfectly camouflaged against the surrounding ruins. If it hadn't moved, I might have missed it entirely. It was a creature roughly the size of a car.
"Careful, it might be a monster." Sister Bai immediately went on high alert, instinctively shielding me behind her.
"It’s not a Nightmare... and not a Dream Demon either. Are there other monsters here?" I was curious about this sudden arrival. After all, the Dean had told me there were many types of dream creatures, and that even beings like the Fool's Dream were quite common.
As we drew closer, the monster noticed us. It had been using its hooves to root through the rubble, but it suddenly turned its head toward us, looking as if it were curious about what we were.
"Its aggression is low... it doesn't look like a predator that eats large creatures like humans," Sister Bai quickly assessed. "But we should still be careful."
"It’s fine. We have magic," I added. "The transcendent energy in its body is low and evenly distributed. It’s not a major threat. Still... I didn't expect to run into such a docile monster."
"Better safe than sorry. Let's kill it," Bai Yu said, her blade manifesting in her hand once more.
"Okay."
But in the next instant, Sister Bai’s strike missed completely. The blade passed straight through the monster’s body without the slightest resistance. The momentum of the heavy swing nearly threw Bai Yu off balance, but she stabilized herself with a quick, fluid motion.
"What?" This was the first time I had seen Bai Yu look so shocked during a fight.
The monster, seemingly startled, "bolted" away at high speed.
"Xiao Han... you saw that, right?" Bai Yu turned to look at me.
"Yeah." I nodded.
Sister Bai’s blade had clearly struck the creature’s torso, but the hit had passed through it as if it were an illusion. There was no wound; the creature had simply been spooked.
"The dream! Right... we might be separated from that thing by a layer of the dream. That monster is part of reality!"
"But aren't the dream and reality..."
"Isn't the Fool's Village Secret Realm exactly like this? The dream and reality are superimposed. No wonder the environment didn't look like a dream construct to me. This place is reality!"
"But Xiao Han, have you thought about this? If that monster is reality and we are in a dream, then these ruins are also reality..." Bai Yu picked up a stone. "What about this stone? Is it reality or a dream?"
"That..."
I looked at the stone in Sister Bai’s hand. It was undoubtedly part of the environment. If the dream and reality were separate, we shouldn't have been able to pick it up. So, was the stone a dream construct?
Yet, according to my Spirit Vision, everything here had the material foundation of reality, rather than being a pure dream construct...
"I... I don't know. Maybe the dream is invading reality, or maybe..."
"Alright, Xiao Han, no need to overthink it. Dreams are too mysterious; we don't need to understand everything. We just need to accept it."
"Yeah..." I nodded, trying to shake the thought. Dreams were indeed beyond my current level of understanding.
As we continued forward and explored more of the area, we encountered more of those monsters. However, we were like outsiders looking in, unable to touch them.
"Is that... a city?"
I looked at the faint silhouette in the distance. It looked like a city built atop the ruins. Under the morning sun, the city appeared exceptionally dilapidated. As we drew closer, its appearance became clearer. The stone bricks of the outer walls were mottled and crumbling, bearing the heavy scars of time and weathering.
"There are... people here?"
I spoke in disbelief. Even Sister Bai looked stunned. This development was simply too... extraordinary.
The closer we got to the city, the fewer monsters we saw. It seemed the local ecology had established a zone of deterrence; the creatures didn't dare approach the city.
"Sister Bai, should we go take a look?" I asked. Since there were signs of intelligent life, we had to investigate.
"Yes, of course. I just hope they don't treat us like monsters."
"Sister Bai, do you think they are in reality or the dream? If they're in reality, they should only be able to see us, not touch us. Oh, wait—no, the real concern is communication!"
"You're right. That is a very important issue." Sister Bai nodded. If we couldn't even communicate, we couldn't make any further contact.
Even if they couldn't hurt us.
Just as we were about to move closer to the city, both Sister Bai and I sensed something approaching.
When they emerged from the ruins, we saw a squad of... people? They were wearing strangely designed outer armor.
"Sister Bai, they really are human," I whispered.
"Who goes there!" The leader of the group immediately went on high alert, leveling a long spear at us. They looked ready to attack at the slightest provocation.
But what surprised us even more was that they were speaking the Common Language!
"Don't be nervous. We aren't bad people," I explained, offering what I hoped was a gentle smile.
"Hmm? This is outside the city walls. Your clothes... they don't look like... Wait, are you Outsiders?"
"Huh? Outsiders?" I blinked at the term. From his tone, it sounded like... they had seen people like us before?
It made sense. If the Nightmares were pulling people into this "world," they were bound to have run into them. That explained why they weren't surprised.
"You mean people who aren't from our world, whom we can't touch? Is that you?"
"That’s right. Do you encounter many Outsiders like us?"
"I don't know, and I won't answer that. I won't reveal anything until I confirm you are actually Outsiders."
"And how do you plan to test that?" I looked at the five-man squad. They seemed to be a patrol.
"Simple. We just try to touch you. If we can't, then we don't need to be so guarded."
"Fair enough..."
"Xiao Han, let me." Sister Bai pulled me behind her and stepped forward.
Under tense observation from both sides, they confirmed our identity.
The soldiers visibly relaxed. It seemed they had been even more nervous than we were.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Outsiders. Have you come seeking entry to our Ninglan New City?"
"Ninglan New City? That giant city ahead?" Bai Yu asked.
"Yes. That is our final home, the Ninglan New City built upon the ruins." The soldier sounded instinctively proud as he spoke.
"By the way, I didn't catch your name. Are you a soldier of this city?"
"My name isn't important; we likely won't cross paths again. But I am a squad leader within the Ninglan City Defense. Now that your identities are confirmed, if you wish to enter the city, I can take you to see our Commander. Matters involving Outsiders are significant; we cannot make decisions on our own. I hope you understand."
"I see. That’s fine, we’ll cooperate," I said with a wave of my hand. Their attitude toward Outsiders was already quite good. Facing such an anomaly, the fact that they hadn't immediately tried to hunt us down was a plus.
Of course, it was also possible they had tried that before and learned the hard way that they couldn't imprison or suppress Outsiders.
"Thank you for your cooperation. Please follow us. Also, please refrain from any provocative actions to avoid unnecessary trouble."
"Understood. I’m very well-behaved. We’re just looking for a place to rest. We’re new here and need to learn about the area. Could you give us an introduction?" I asked.
It was crucial to gather information from them. This was their territory, after all. Even if they couldn't touch us, who knew if they had some kind of trump card? We had to remain vigilant in the face of the unknown, even if the natives were currently showing us a fair amount of goodwill.
Perhaps inside this Ninglan New City, we would find the other unlucky souls who had been dragged in by the Nightmares.
"An introduction? You mean about our history? I only know the basics; I’ve never studied it in detail. Hey, do any of you know the history?" the squad leader asked his team, looking a bit embarrassed.
They quickly shook their heads, indicating they weren't familiar with it either.
"It’s fine, just a general idea. For example... how long has Ninglan New City existed? What happened in your history that turned the world into these apocalyptic ruins?"
"That stuff... I don't really get it. Maybe over a thousand years? As for what happened... I’m not really sure."
"Over a thousand years... that’s a vague timeline." It seemed I had run into some historical illiterates. "By the way, didn't you have history classes as kids?"
"History classes? Why would we have those?"
"Alright, never mind. But you've been developing here for over a thousand years—has it always been like this?"
A thousand years! In my previous world, the technological explosion from steam to the modern era took only a few centuries. They had built a city on ruins and developed for a millennium; they couldn't have just stood still the whole time...
Or was this the result of interference from a ruling class? After all, who could resist the temptation of being a big fish in a small, stagnant pond?
"Yeah, it’s always been like this. What else would you expect? We don't want this life to be disrupted."
"I see..."
Lack of ambition. That was my impression of them. Content with the status quo—a common sentiment for many ordinary people. There didn't seem to be anything inherently wrong with it.
"So, has your technology developed at all?"
"Technology? Developing technology..."
"Yeah. A thousand years of development and no breakthroughs?"
"What do technological breakthroughs have to do with me? As long as what we have works, it’s fine."
"Okay..." I stopped asking pointless questions. If technology was locked and there was no desire for progress, then they must have developed... transcendent magic?
My gaze fell upon their strange armor. I could sense fluctuations of transcendent energy and rune rituals on it. The technique was somewhat similar to alchemy... but also very different. It felt like a very "wild" branch of development, as if an alchemy apprentice had accidentally put all their points into the wrong skill tree.
So... is this how they survived in these ruins?
The standard-issue spears they carried seemed to use the same technology as the armor.
After all, I was an introductory alchemy apprentice myself. Even if I had only tried brewing potions, I hadn't studied runes for nothing.