-18- Cyber Mage

The next morning, before dawn, Yvette was awakened by someone calling her. She groggily opened her eyes to see her student sitting on the carpet, leaning over the edge of the bed with dark circles under her eyes, watching her intently like an adorable little blonde ghost.

“Good morning, teacher,” Rosaline said.

“…Since when have you been sitting here?” Yvette asked.

“Around four o’clock,” Rosaline replied.

“Up that early?”

“…I couldn’t sleep.”

“Remember, no more leaning over my bed,” Yvette warned.

“…Okay.” Realizing she might have been unwelcome, Rosaline whined softly like a small, wronged puppy.

No matter how tired she felt, the thought of exploring this breathtaking “Ancient Divine Kingdom” filled Rosaline’s heart with excitement.

She eagerly brought the teacher the clothes that had already dried, but then the doorbell rang.

Opening the door, Rosaline’s breath caught—standing silently in the narrow hallway was a life-sized automaton lady, her porcelain-white skin glowing faintly. The spherical joints clicked softly as she bowed, holding two boxes in her hands.

“Welcome to Sky Express. This is your delivery, photo signed. Wishing you a pleasant day. Goodbye,” the automaton said, handing over the items before departing, leaving Rosaline stunned in place.

“Teach-teach-teacher…!!” Rosaline stammered in amazement. “There was an automaton just now! It gave me something! How can that automaton talk?”

“That was the clothing I ordered online; I told you about it last night. The automaton is a ‘mechanical doll,’ a kind of mage-engineered mechanical creation. It looks human but has no soul—just a lifeless imitation of a person.”

“That’s incredible, just like something out of a fairy tale…”

After the teacher’s explanation, Rosaline clicked her tongue in awe, closed the door, and opened the boxes. Inside were the outfits she had chosen the night before: a simple black-and-white set for the teacher, and a blue-and-white youthful style for herself.

“Let’s go,” Yvette said after changing.

“Okay!”

Soon, guided by Yvette, Rosaline stepped outside the inn and took a deep breath. The street wasn’t very clean—gum stuck to the ground and strange flyers scattered about, walls covered with exaggerated graffiti and suspicious stains accompanied by unpleasant odors.

But Rosaline felt nothing of the sort; having seen far dirtier streets in the count’s domain, this was nothing.

Her eyes sparkled only with curiosity for the unknown world, even the aroma of fried food from a nearby breakfast stall seemed especially tempting.

“Teacher, where are we going next?” Rosaline asked eagerly after breakfast, in a full tourist mindset.

“We’ll visit a few places around here first to find ways to make money. If you feel tired, you can rest back at the room… Later, I’ll take you to the city center—that’s where ‘home’ is for us,” Yvette said.

With experience, Yvette’s current understanding of the Dream Mist was simply “survival”—doing nothing and avoiding accidental death until the dream collapses on its own. To survive well, the immediate task was to earn money. Once they had funds, they could access safer identity ID cards, shedding suspicion of violent crimes and illegal police system intrusions—which were true, unfortunately.

So besides ordering clothes online last night, Yvette scoured local online forums in Ish City, seeking gray areas, and eventually purchased the locations of several “underground markets” in the Blackwater District on some anonymous channels, planning to explore them today for possible work.

Once the money problem was solved, taking her apprentice to the city center for fun would be no issue. She could even buy some needed items, hoping to bring them into reality when the dream ended.

“No need, teacher, I’m really not tired at all,” Rosaline said immediately.

Yvette glanced at the still-prominent dark circles beneath her eyes and nodded softly.

…

The street where Yvette and Rosaline stayed was called Pixel Street. The name sounded interesting, but it actually stemmed from the local street office’s unique interpretation of “macroeconomics of extra income distribution,” resulting in the holographic ads here always appearing blurrier than elsewhere, hence the name.

About five kilometers along this street was the “Landfill Black Market,” an underground trading post built beneath a waste station, converted from an air-raid shelter. Many illicit trades occurred here, making outsiders unwelcome without a trusted introducer—no one got in without one.

As newcomers, Yvette and Rosaline couldn’t find locals willing to vouch for them, but Yvette was determined to try anyway.

…

Soon, stepping off a bus with a strange odor, they arrived at the outskirts of the Blackwater District, where barren lands stretched into the distance. One fenced area piled garbage mountains high—their destination.

Two burly men guarded the landfill: one with short hair, the other bald, both nearly two meters tall with cybernetic arm modifications, imposing and formidable.

The bald giant immediately approached as Yvette and Rosaline neared, coldly scolding, “Kids, this isn’t a place for you! Go home now!”

Clearly, their fresh, clean clothes and youthful appearances made the guards think they were lost tourists.

Yvette said nothing, expressionless, lifting her head to meet the bald man’s gaze. When his impatience peaked, she snapped her fingers crisply.

In the next moment, four enormous red rune circles appeared around her, each containing a fierce fire dragon that emerged and intertwined above her head, making her seem like a descending flame angel—majestic and awe-inspiring.

“Cyber Mage?!” The unexpected display instantly sobered the bald man, who stepped back several paces, his short-haired companion’s expression darkening as well.

This was the most dangerous group within all gray zones of the Origin Civilization, also known as “Rune Hackers.”

“What do you want?” The bald man regained composure, stepping back ten meters, warily asking.

Though his mechanical arms looked intimidating, they were only basic models—stronger but lacking advanced functions. He did not want to provoke a Cyber Mage.

“We want to do some business here. Hmm, without a guarantor,” Yvette said flatly after dispelling the magic.

Surprisingly mundane. The two guards exchanged glances—this gray market only offered small-scale trades, mostly used by local lower-class folk. Why would a grand Cyber Mage bother with such low returns?

“Uh… honorable Miss Mage, please wait a moment. We can’t decide this here; we need to notify our boss first…”

Yvette nodded slightly, lifting her chin to signal them to hurry.