No matter what, she had reached this point and had no other choice. Before this, she had only been dying over and over, with the only difference being the method. Following this route might at least give her a chance to live.
By connecting with Elvin, she gained a guardian knight who protected the saintess, which should ensure her safety for a while. That was what Alba thought at first, though she remained uneasy. At this stage, she could only take things one step at a time.
"Sigh… impersonating a saintess. This simulator really makes me do ridiculous things."
"By the way, where is my Second Phase reward, simulator?"
Only then did Alba remember. She hurriedly called out in her mind, recalling that the reward for barely completing the stage of meeting up with Elvin had been "Past Holy Light Seed." This allowed her to use a strange power called Holy Light, which gave her the courage to pretend to be a saintess.
If there were better rewards, then even if she were exposed one day, she might still survive. With that expectation, the simulator's task panel actually displayed the Second Phase reward.
"Reward: a very sturdy hammer." "Description: As you can see, this is a long-handled hammer. Its only special feature is that it is very sturdy, and its only use is to hit whatever you want to hit."
"…That's it?"
The somewhat heavy hammer landed in Alba's hands. It felt comfortable to hold, but she sensed nothing else. She looked up subconsciously.
The simulator logo showed no change at all, as if it were dead. She waved the hammer a couple of times, and it really seemed to be just a sturdy object, with a metallic feel and no obvious material.
"Hey, what is that?"
Elvin had clearly seen this and walked over with a cold expression, questioning her directly. She had not noticed this long-handled object before and became wary. Taking it, she examined it carefully and squeezed it, finding no reaction.
The shape resembled an old-fashioned long-handled hammer. Elvin had seen something similar long ago in a corner of an old Dawn church, used by devout nuns to strike the bell around six in the morning. Looking back at Alba's nervous face, Elvin felt she had made a fuss over nothing and tossed the hammer back.
"How stupid of me… seriously, is the one called Alba from the Ventris family really this clueless?"
From Alba's face, Elvin could only see an untainted beauty, a kind of pure and simple mind. She did not understand why the other did not carry the Ventris surname, but she did not want to deal with noble family matters, so she did not ask.
"I will give you five more minutes. Then we leave immediately."
Elvin turned and walked away, but then heard a voice from behind. "Um… it looks like your left leg is injured."
"I know a bit of medical knowledge. Should I take a look?"
She turned back to see Alba suddenly flustered again. Elvin frowned slightly, wondering if this person was a bit strange.
Dawn's Holy Light was clearly weaker in both damage and healing when compared with the other branches of Holy Light. Even so, Elvin held a different feeling toward this light. It could not make things better out of nowhere, nor could it clear every obstacle in front of you.
What it could do was light a lamp in the dark and offer help when things were at their worst. That alone gave it meaning. When it came to cleaning the filthy wounds and vicious curses left behind by those damned cultists, it worked very well, and Elvin did need to recover to face possible danger.
So she reluctantly agreed, even though she had no idea why even this annoying Saintess could possess such light. Still, having it was better than having nothing. "All right."
Light spread from the hands, and the problem was dealt with. About a minute later, Alba lifted her hand, meeting Elvin's stunned look and the movement returning to her left leg. There was no need to ask if it was really better, because her own body made the answer very clear.
And that was exactly why the shock hit so hard. Had the other girl even been using Holy Light for a full minute? The wound that had nearly reached the bone, held down before only by Battle Aura, along with the vicious Magic and curses on top of it, was completely gone without even a scar.
It was not just the surface injury. Even deeper inside, old fatigue and hidden damage from years of training vanished as well, leaving her feeling almost reborn. "Why not stand up and walk a bit? Trust me, it is really healed!"
Alba had a bit of confidence in her Holy Light Magic, since she had relied on this trick countless times in the Simulator to survive. The whole minute had only been because she checked back and forth several times, and she did not even use the bandages or disinfectant she had prepared. The level of repair could only make her marvel at how powerful Otherworld's Magic was.
"How much Magic did you use?" Elvin asked this out of habit, since with the strength of Dawn-Aligned Holy Light Magic, healing that level of cursed wound should have consumed a lot of Magic.
That was no ordinary injury. The stabbing weapon, the poison on it, and the user's own curses and dark Magic stacked together would mean almost certain death for a normal person. Normally, such wounds required days or even a month of rest, and restoring someone to a state healthier than before at such a fine level was no small feat at the Black Iron tier.
She was shocked by what she had seen, but still asked the question. Then she received an even more confusing answer, as the White-Haired Girl spoke with a very innocent look. "What Magic? I do not have that. I only have Holy Light."
Alba answered honestly. The first-stage reward had given her the power to use Holy Light, but she had never really felt anything like Magic, and she was still just an ordinary person. Using Holy Light too much only made her a little dizzy, and resting for a while was enough.
After answering, she only saw Elvin looking at her with an increasingly strange expression. Had she said something wrong, or revealed something she should not have? She was impersonating a Saintess, after all, and the thought of being dragged into a crowd and burned on a cross made her nervous.
"…" "No Magic… at all."
Elvin's gaze grew complicated. Pure Holy Light without Magic sounded like saying a cart could run without fuel as long as you whipped the horse harder. Without Magic, how was she even releasing Holy Light?
Was she some secret child of Goddess? Did Holy Light belong to her family, where calling out a few times was enough? "Wait."
Elvin suddenly realized something else. Using Holy Light was never as simple as ordinary Magic, and there was a very strict process involved. Priests and members of the Lord's faith who could wield Holy Light had to pray beforehand, hold sincere faith, and recite miracles from the scriptures.
Often there had to be offerings, lambs, milk, or mead, and higher-level rituals required holy relics or sacred locations at specific times, sometimes even a full choir. Even the Church of Holy Light admitted that Holy Light was not human power, but a ray of light summoned from God of Light through devout prayer.
In other words, Holy Light was not an element, but a divine miracle itself. The spells used were imitations of the deeds of God of Light in myth, and Holy Light Magic was never a human invention, but a copy of miracles. Many mages across The Continent had studied Holy Light for years and found nothing, which only supported this idea.
Put simply, believers had to be examined, gain permission to use Holy Light, and then follow a full set of prayer and offering procedures each time, with approval passed up to God of Light before the power was granted. Yet just now, Elvin clearly remembered that this girl had done none of that. She only raised her hand, released the light, and finished the job.
And she had not used any Magic at all. At such close range, Elvin could tell she was not lying. There were truly no signs of cultivated Magic in her body.
Alba felt uneasy under Elvin's stare and did not dare speak, forcing out a stiff smile. Helping someone heal should not be a crime, right? Worse, the Simulator could not be used until the next designated location, leaving her unsure what to do.
"…Since my injury is healed, we will continue." After saying this, Elvin calmly stood up, slung her pack over her back, and walked off. Alba did not understand, but she followed obediently.
"Oh, and next time you use Holy Light, hold this and say a few lines. Anything will do, just do not be that foolish." "Huh?"
A book was pushed into her hands, and Alba tilted her head as she looked at it. What was this supposed to be? The Radiant Sacred Chronicle The First Chapter of the Sun