She had been scared at first, but after some time, Alba could only accept her current situation. She decided to lie flat and take it easy, since she was still alive, so she might as well keep the music playing and keep dancing.
"Open Simulator. Let me see how much progress I have accumulated."
She pulled open the interface at the top right, ignored the main quest related to the Lord as usual, and focused first on one of the side quests.
This value was nothing special. It was one of the earliest side quests in Simulator, requiring the collection of recognition from one hundred thousand people, and it was obviously extremely difficult, so Alba never expected to complete it.
What she did not expect was that when she pretended to be Lynna as a Saintess and used Holy Light to remove curses and heal injured civilians, their recognition actually counted toward her.
First, Alba's own Holy Light truly could dispel curses and restore injuries. Just mastering an effective Holy Light already put her far ahead of hundreds of other candidate Saintess Companion.
Of course, it was not only because of her personal healing. No matter how effective Holy Light was, she could only treat the most severe cases targeted by the Lord, and she could not heal thousands or tens of thousands by herself.
The key point was Raina's power as a big spender. Every operation was followed by a group of mages forming a special effects team, while Alba's own effect was just releasing light.
Yet each time, they could still create dozens of flashy effects, plus three-dimensional surround sound with a choir singing hymns. If it went on for a few minutes, they could even build a stage with lights, music, and accompaniment on the spot, or rather, an altar.
There were even large groups of professional actors playing injured people. Some were truly wounded, but at the time, the air was filled with misted high-grade healing potions, combined with Holy Light effects, so when the light came down, hundreds or thousands of people stood up like harvested grain.
This was not exaggerated, because there was more than one big spender like Lynna in this competition. Several others did the same, and often the glow of money was more useful than Holy Light, which even shocked Alba.
If two big spenders happened to appear in the same place and compete for the same group's support, it would trigger a round of mutual spending battles. Watching this, Alba could not help wondering whether they were competing to be Saintess or rival idol groups.
But there was no need to think too much about it. She was not the one who wanted to be Saintess anyway, just an outsourced stand-in, and for now, Alba only wanted to help Raina become Saintess and then rely on the Lord to live an easy life.
As long as Simulator and that holy book did not cause trouble, living as a slacker for life sounded fine.
"This reward should be obtainable soon, as long as the situation ferments a bit more. But should I even claim it?"
While hesitating, Alba suspected that the reward from Simulator might turn into a hot potato. Still, she decided to wait and see, since the previous reward, that early-stage accessory, had been quite useful.
After waiting for a long time, the last few dozen people still did not add to the count, and Alba was almost out of snacks. She then thought about what Elvin had said earlier about new Abyss Church arrivals.
It seemed that this day had not been simulated yet, so she decided to do some post-meal exercise.
"Simulator, activate."
After activating Simulator, Alba packed all the gear she needed into the Ring given by Lynna. This included disguise items using Magic and ropes for escape.
Then, with practiced ease, she opened a stealth Magic item the moment she slipped out of the window and quietly left the manor.
All the items were sponsored by the big spender Raina, with excellent concealment and stealth effects. Combined with the fact that Raina never imagined Alba would sneak out on her own, the escape went very smoothly.
"Let me see. I remember those Church of Holy Light were around this area in the last few simulations."
"This time, the small goal is to confirm the exact location of their base and identify high-level members."
After setting her objective, she took out a simple map she had drawn from simulation experience from Ring. Narrowing her eyes, Alba continued activating the Magic item.
She also pulled out the hammer she was most comfortable using and silently slipped into a dark alley. This was the slum area outside Cathedral City, where tangled alleys and haphazard buildings made it a favored nest for many Abyss Church.
Sleeping drugs, lime powder, grappling hooks, poisoned darts, copper coins thrown to draw attention. These methods did not feel like something a Saintess should know, but Alba was using them more and more smoothly.
Do not ask how she learned them. Humans could unleash endless potential in desperate situations, and after passing through countless alleys and pushing open a hidden wall, she attracted the attention of a dazed giant monster over three meters tall.
"Do not make a sound. Just die."
Before the monster could react, Alba rushed forward like a player who had speedrun this countless times. With the help of fully funded Magic items, she raised her weak human physique to the level of directly fighting a Black Iron Rank.
Her hammer was also coated with a thick layer of Holy Light.
"Gah!"
The monster's head burst open like a watermelon shard. Not only the impact, but also its protective and regenerative Magic and strange rituals were completely burned away by the Holy Light on the hammer.
With its brain destroyed, the monster collapsed immediately. Alba had already killed this thing no fewer than five times in simulations, each time faster and more skilled.
Alba's Holy Light was not just for healing. It had little lethality against ordinary people, but against certain powers from Abyss, it was completely incompatible.
As long as there was a reaction and one side was strong enough, it would naturally overwhelm the other. In practice, as long as there was enough Holy Light, she could almost ignore the strange buffs on most Abyss Church members, and one blow to the head would usually kill them.
Combined with the fact that Alba herself had almost no detectable Magic, a proper Saintess was being played like an assassin.
"This hammer conducts Holy Light really well. I have not even seen a Magic Staff or ritual tool with better efficiency for transmitting Holy Light. That is pretty strange."
Swinging the hammer, Alba could only sigh in admiration. The beginner equipment provided by System was of surprisingly good quality, and more importantly, it suited her well.
Especially when smashing heads, it was almost always a guaranteed hit. She wondered why she never realized she had talent for batting before.
Ahead was one of the entrances to this Abyss Church base, with interconnected underground passages. Alpha already knew exactly when patrols passed and how many people were present.
After scoring another triple kill, including a Black Iron Rank, Alba had reached quite deep inside, almost close to the true core of the base.
"It feels like playing a souls game. Fragile body, but relying on tricks and Holy Light buffs for one-hit kills. It is just ahead."
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Alba noticed her hand becoming unstable, and her body began to twitch like a bad signal. A Rift even started to appear.
"What is going on? Have I been discovered?"
She immediately looked around, but then the window at the top right popped up automatically.
"Unstable factor detected." "Emergency termination of this simulation in progress. Returning…"
"Crack."
After flashes of electricity and spasms, she opened her eyes and found herself still lying on the sofa in the manor. She almost choked, because there was still a half-chewed snack in her mouth.
"Cough, cough. Water!"
After a flurry of movement, she grabbed the remaining fizzy drink and gulped it down. Only then did Alba feel alive again, narrowly escaping disaster only to almost die from a small snack.
Patting her chest, she opened the top right of Simulator.
"The simulation function just opened not long ago and it is already shut down again."
"What exactly is this unstable factor? Or did some god-level big shot interfere again?"
Just like last time, the only ones capable of doing this were god-level beings. For example, those two who seemed to be watching her for unknown reasons.
Elsewhere, Elvin held a steel sword, her face cold, and activated Battle Aura to cut down the Abyss Cultists in front of her. Before she could strike, his body suddenly exploded and was divided by Rend into countless chunks, then rapidly shredded into minced flesh.
"What is going on!"
Elvin immediately suspected some bizarre method of the Abyss Cultists. She raised her cloak and shield to cover most of her Clone body, protected herself with Battle Aura, and retreated.
Screams and explosions rang out one after another. When Elvin looked up, shock appeared on her face.
Because in front of her, dozens of Abyss Cultists were now literally gone, leaving nothing behind.