After the simulation’s reward settlement ended, Tina regained consciousness in reality.
Opening her eyes, it was still the same familiar ceiling—no different from when she first crossed over.
Outside the window, rain was still falling, and the clock on the wall was frozen at the exact moment she entered the simulation.
From this, she realized that the time spent inside the simulation didn’t affect the real world. Spending a long time in the simulation wouldn’t make her starve to death in reality.
Then why can’t I just go directly to the next simulation?
Tina discovered a blind spot.
Speedrunning through all the simulations to become a fully realized witch—wouldn’t that be wonderful?
【No, activating a simulation requires a huge amount of magic power. The last one just finished and completely drained your reserves.】 The system cut off Tina’s hopeful thought.
“What?! Why are you so useless? Give me some power!”
【…Dear, I have a suggestion that can help you quickly start the next simulation.】
“Oh? Tell me more.”
【Go back to the Keliweier Kingdom, find Princess Lia now, and get her to give you half the kingdom’s Crystal Mines, then you can enter the next simulation.】
“But weren’t all those experiences simulations? How could she possibly know me in reality?”
【What if she does?】 The system’s tone was loaded with meaning.
“Better not…”
Tina didn’t dare think about it. If they didn’t know each other at all, boldly demanding half the kingdom’s Crystal Mines from the king would likely end very badly.
But if they did know each other, daring to approach them would end even worse.
All in all, this plan was the worst of the worst, and she shouldn’t approach Lia unless absolutely necessary.
“By the way, I should be able to move around now, right?”
Tina slowly sat up on the bed. Her body, long confined by illness, was still very weak and couldn’t be pushed too hard.
“It hurts so much… I still need to rest for a while.”
“Creak—”
The door opened, and the handmaiden bringing the meal was stunned to see Tina sitting up.
“Oh my, is this a ghost?”
But then she recovered quickly, covering her mouth, “No, no, madam, you’ve finally woken up! I’ll inform my master at once.” She placed the tray on the table and hurried out of the room.
“Master?”
Tina remembered why she was staying in this mansion. When she first crossed over, she had saved a girl.
That girl happened to be the daughter of a minor noble family on the fringes of society. Later, in gratitude, her family offered Tina a room when she was homeless and wandering.
That was this place.
It was worth noting that during the long days Tina lay sick in bed, this family had taken care of her.
As a passing stranger, she should be deeply thankful to them.
Soon after, a middle-aged man wearing glasses, exuding refinement, strode in.
Tina could tell he was happier than she was to see her able to move around freely.
“Yiren, how is your health? Are you still feeling as bad as before?” The man’s delight was obvious.
“I can move for now, but I’m not fully recovered.”
Tina still needed to continue the simulations to cure her illness completely.
But at least for the next year or so, she could experience a genuine otherworldly life without any goals, no need to play a role that wasn’t hers, no complicated social ties.
Just be herself.
“That’s wonderful! But…”
The man’s joy was soon overshadowed by another emotion of equal weight—sadness and anxiety.
“I wanted Vanessa to come see you too, but unfortunately, she’s missing.”
“Missing?”
Tina’s heart skipped a beat. If she wasn’t mistaken, Vanessa was this man’s daughter, the young lady of the household.
Vanessa going missing at such a time obviously meant she had gone off somewhere to help.
Whether out of morality or kindness, Tina had to help.
“May I ask, how long has Miss Vanessa been missing? Where did she disappear? Was it reported?”
Seeing Tina so concerned about his daughter, the man’s mood brightened instantly, his expression changing faster than flipping a book.
“She disappeared at a corner off the main road, probably abducted. The city’s Investigation Bureau has launched a search, but after a full day, there’s still no clue.”
“I see. Leave it to me. I’ll find Miss Vanessa.”
Tina patted her chest, confident that if it was a simple abduction, she could track the kidnappers by the scent on Vanessa’s belongings.
But given her current condition, acting alone might be dangerous; if she met strong enemies, she’d likely be in trouble.
Better find a helper.
***
After dinner, Tina began moving her body, stiff as if made of machinery.
She planned to take a walk around the city to get familiar with this place called Valencia Kingdom.
“Keliweier has the Elven Tavern, so what will this place have? I’m looking forward to it.”
A trip to investigate the kingdom, but in reality, to investigate the area.
Tina opened her umbrella, put on her veil, and went out to the city’s main street.
Despite the rainy night, the crowds lining both sides of the road didn’t thin out. No wonder Vanessa’s disappearance had gone unnoticed; vanishing in such a crowd was easy.
Passing by an alley, Tina vaguely heard sounds of a fight inside.
Someone was taking a beating, unable to resist.
“Let’s see what’s going on.”
She put away her umbrella and stepped into the alley.
A few ragged thugs were assaulting a blonde girl curled up in the corner.
“What do you think you’re doing? A bunch of men bullying a girl—have you no shame?”
“Oh, look, dinner’s come to us. So skinny, one punch and you’ll be crying for days, haha!”
The thugs immediately turned their attention from the girl to Tina, clenching their fists and charging at her.
“Ugh, boring beyond words…”
Just as Tina prepared to act, the blonde girl suddenly stood up from the corner and with one sword slash cut off the arm of the lead thug.
“?”
Everyone was stunned; all they could hear were the thug’s agonized screams.
“No good, run!”
The remaining thugs dropped their companion without hesitation and fled without looking back.
“Huh? You bunch of cowards!” The man on the ground grabbed at his missing arm and dragged himself toward the wall.
“Who are you? You have such strength but just took beatings silently—are you even human?”
“Wait! I was wrong, don’t—”
A crisp sword ring echoed at the alley’s entrance. One stroke, and the world fell silent.
“Eh?” Tina didn’t know what had happened.
She just felt the person before her was very dangerous, with extremely high combat power—maybe the next strike would be for her.
But the blonde girl simply threw down her sword and curled up in the corner again, drenched in the rain, silent.
“Ah?”
What was going on?
Tina had read countless novels with over-the-top scenes, but she had never seen anything like this.
As a witness, it was hard to imagine a girl who was just being beaten in the corner suddenly killing everyone around her, then calmly going back to curl up as if nothing happened.
Such behavior was far too bizarre; for a moment, she wondered if this world was even normal.