At this moment, a blue fluorescent glow turned into scattered streaks of starlight and merged into the shops on both sides. Blue stars flickered inside the windows, then quickly dimmed.
A burst of white mist rose from the chimneys of the houses.
Bang!
Viktor pushed the door open and walked out. White mist clung to his body as he stepped out of the shop.
"This is the first 'Dream City' I created, Sealed Garden."
"The people you see right now are not truly living beings in the real sense."
Seeing Viktor appear and hearing his detailed explanation, everyone finally let out a breath of relief.
After all, in the real world, if such a bustling city really existed, with so many inhabitants, yet none of the residents of the royal capital knew anything about it, that would be unimaginably absurd.
But when they thought about it more carefully, they still felt that something about this place was deeply unsettling.
Could it be that these so-called people were actually created through magic?
Everyone present was stunned, staring at the residents walking around, speechless for a moment.
At this time, Principal Rachel spoke up, "Please wait a moment, Chief Professor Viktor."
"I can understand how extraordinary this place is, but our goal should be to assess the students, not to make things even more realistic, shouldn't it?"
Hearing the principal's question, the others felt it made a lot of sense and nodded in agreement.
"And as I said, I don't see how this city is suitable for student assessments at all."
Viktor smiled faintly and replied to Rachel with elegance, "The assessment has already begun, Principal Rachel."
"What?"
Rachel was a little confused.
Everyone else looked at each other. Hearing Viktor say this, they were completely dumbfounded.
"Haven't you noticed yet?"
At that moment, a cry of alarm came from the crowd, drawing everyone's attention.
"The students!? Where did all the students go?"
It was as if everyone suddenly woke up from a dream. They turned around and searched everywhere for the students, but in this vast space, there was no sign of them at all.
Only some members of the press stood there in a daze, holding their magic crystals, not knowing what to do.
The adults immediately frowned. They didn't even know what kind of danger might be hidden in this place called a "dungeon," waiting for their children.
With his hands in his pockets, Viktor said calmly, "I said, the assessment has already begun."
"Next, you will see something that interests you."
The surrounding space once again cracked apart like shattered mirrors, but the fragments quickly reassembled, and everything returned to normal.
Countless people stood in place, as if their positions had been reset.
Everyone seemed to return to the starting point, and the scene of children playing on the streets began repeating itself.
The surrounding space cracked apart again, then the fragments of nothingness returned and filled everything back in.
Even the passersby returned to the beginning, and the children playing on the streets started repeating their actions once more.
While everyone was still confused, someone suddenly raised a finger and pointed forward.
"Look! Isn't that Her Highness the Princess?"
Everyone followed the direction of the finger and saw Aurelian, with her silver hair, walking toward them.
Claudia saw Aurelian as well.
This caught them completely off guard, but Aurelian seemed not to see them at all. Full of curiosity, she looked around and explored her surroundings.
She walked straight through the crowd, like a gentle breeze passing through everyone's bodies.
Claudia once again felt the exact same sensation as before.
Looking at the scene before them, everyone froze in place like statues, their bodies stiff, their minds racing.
Watching Aurelian pass straight through the Empress, realization dawned on them.
Could it be that... the Aurelian before them had already completely blended into the city?
And in the next moment, they saw it.
A passerby rushed out anxiously from nearby, slammed against a shop, and shouted loudly, "Excuse me, is there anyone, anyone who can help me?"
She ran around seeking help from the people around her, her eyes unfocused, cold sweat covering her forehead, her lips trembling slightly.
But the passersby acted as if they couldn't see her at all, completely ignoring her.
Aurelian frowned slightly, seeming dissatisfied with the people around her, and then walked over.
"Please don't panic. What's wrong? Maybe I can help you?"
The moment the woman saw Aurelian, it was as if she had grabbed onto a lifeline. She tightly clutched Aurelian's clothes and shouted urgently, "Miss, please help me!"
"I need herbs from outside the town to treat my child. She's almost not going to make it."
Aurelian quickly comforted her, "What kind of herbs do you need? I can help you find them."
Calmed by her words, the woman gradually steadied herself and began explaining, "I need Pink Ridge Flower."
"Only outside the town does this pink flower grow. It gives off a strange fragrance."
"But please be very careful. Wherever it grows, there are always monsters nearby."
Aurelian listened calmly, then said solemnly, "Please don't worry, ma'am."
"I will bring it back for you."
After saying that, she turned and headed out of the town.
The people who watched the entire process were completely stunned.
From start to finish, Aurelian only interacted with that woman, as if she couldn't see them, the observers standing there watching everything, at all.
One professor, puzzled, suddenly spoke up, "Just now… Her Highness Aurelian, she was…"
That's right. Aurelian had communicated with the people in this city.
It was as if she had completely merged into this world, into this city itself.
Under the shocked and bewildered gazes of countless people, Viktor's calm voice sounded from the side.
"What do you think a dungeon is?"
"Just a simple challenge, repeated over and over again?"
Everyone present nodded, because that was exactly what they had thought from the very beginning.
In their impression, a dungeon was supposed to be a simple training space without danger.
That was why it had been so popular.
Some people had even exaggerated it as the leading invention of the Empire's new era, a great achievement that transcended time.
With his hands in his pockets, Viktor said calmly, "The dungeon, as I see it, should be this."
"Different from the real world, yet something people can immerse themselves in."
"Here, everyone can become the protagonist of this world."
Clearly, this was a fictional world, yet human emotions would still emerge within this very real space.
Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness would all be brought into it, treating this illusion-like world as reality.
Viktor looked at the world before him. The sound of wind gradually rose, completely scattering everyone's thoughts.
The air grew hot, and at some unknown point, the ground beneath their feet had become as solid as reality itself.
"Yes, freedom."
"This is the true dungeon world."