12 Magic

At last, after a series of doubts and thoughts that struck Lyrica's mind, she and the voice finally reached a compromise.

Lyrica will stay in Alteria and do what she and the voice had agreed on–to make Alteria the world she desired. And by proving to the voice that Lyrica is following through with their agreement without any retort, the voice will grant her wish to bring Erika into Alteria.

"All right. Now that's all settled, let's move on and talk about the thing that will help you achieve your goal." Said the voice. "The ability to do wonders and mysteries that the people of Earth only see as mere illusions and work of fiction. Of course, I'm talking about magic."

Magic is the general term for magic abilities or spells that are naturally possessed or created by an individual in Alteria. As the voice stated, magic allows one to do many incredible things like setting up a bunch of sticks ablaze, molding certain materials to many shapes and forms, and even summoning someone from another world.

"Much like the games in your world, utilizing magic requires a power source, a fuel. And that power source is called Mana."

"I figured." Lyrica nonchalantly replied.

Lyrica knew about it. After all, having the required mana to use skills is the general concept of a lot of games, just like the role-playing game she played with Erika back then.

"Mana is present both in nature and within an individual. Without it, casting magic is simply impossible."

"Let's say that a person used all their mana, how does one replenish it?" Lyrica inquired. "Do they use mana potions, or can it regenerate by itself over time?"

"You're both correct."

Following the voice's answer, Lyrica was told that an individual's mana can regenerate by itself over time, or they can also use mana potions to fill the gap quickly. However, not everyone can just drink mana potions just because they either want or need to.

"Putting mana potions aside, a person can replenish their mana naturally using Mana Threads."

"Mana threads? That's something I've never heard before."

In Alteria, it's common knowledge that mana threads exist within every living being. Mana threads appear like blood vessels located throughout the whole body of living beings like humans. It can store and allow mana to travel in any part of the body when needed for casting magic. Among all other functions, the mana threads' main purpose is to replenish mana.

"There are two ways mana threads use simultaneously to do the deed."

"Simultaneously?"

"That's right."

Mana threads can convert the life force of an individual, as well as absorb the mana essence in nature to refill the depleted mana of a person.

"However, mana threads' regenerative trait is such a slow process that it could take a long time to fully replenish it."

"That pretty much is the reason why mana potions exist, don't they?"

"Yes." The voice replied in agreement. "But mana potions are not the only solution in that matter."

Lyrica's eyes shot up. "Is that so?"

"The Alterians call this other method as Mana Burst."

Mana burst is when the mana threads would start absorbing mana essence as well as converting the life force of an individual to mana at an exponential rate. Triggering mana burst requires strong willpower to stimulate the mana threads within.

"Mana burst can be a convenient way to regenerate mana fast, especially if you can't afford mana potions, but it comes with a risk." The voice stated. "For that reason, people only ever use it in desperate times or life-threatening situations."

"I see..."

Lyrica kept the voice's words in mind.

"Moving on, you may be asking yourself, how exactly can magic help you achieve your goal?"

"That's right."

Lyrica had been wondering ever since the voice started talking about magic. How exactly is magic going to help Lyrica in the first place? Lyrica is a human from Earth, she's not born in Alteria. That said, Lyrica can't do or use magic.

That's what she thought.

"Lyrica, do you remember when I said I can change reality for you?"

"Huh? I do."

"You came from a world where magic isn't considered a real thing, a hoax." The voice mouthed, following Lyrica's reply. "But in Alteria, magic is a big part of its reality."

"Oh..."

"The moment you stood in this world, the reality of Earth already became irrelevant. In other words..."

"... I'm now bound with Alteria's reality?"

Yes, Lyrica is now in the world of Alteria. Lyrica is now one of its people. And so, just like the people of Alteria who can utilize magic, Lyrica can now perform magic herself.

"So I can use magic now?"

"Indeed! You already used it before, it's just that you used it subconsciously."

Similar to how certain species were able to adapt by evolving and mutating according to their environment, Lyrica's body slowly adapted to the reality of Alteria.

"Right now, the mana threads that exist in every living being, have already manifested inside your body."

"Seriously?"

Lyrica started inspecting every part of her body. From the top of her head to her face. To her shoulders and her arms, and then to her feet.

"Everything seems normal to me though?"

Lyrica gave a puzzled look into the sky.

From what Lyrica can see, there were no apparent changes in her physical appearance. She doesn't feel any changes inside her body either.

"Of course, you are." The voice replied. "Mana threads are something that people cannot see nor feel. However, mana is the thing that most people can feel flowing inside their bodies, especially when one possesses a vast amount of it."

"Really?" Lyrica followed in a rather doubtful tone.

"Now that you know about magic, mana threads, and how they convert mana to utilize magic, let's talk about your magical ability and how you can use them."

Said the voice towards Lyrica.

"But before anything else, do you feel anything strange on top of your head? Perhaps something disappeared out of your view?"

"Huh...?"

If anything, the fact that Lyrica can hear the voice inside her head is a strange thing. That's what she initially thought. But as she pondered about what the voice said, Lyrica soon realized what was amiss.

"The hologram disappeared... Hm?" Lyrica had her hands around her head, seemingly looking for something until she let out a gasp. "Where's my headphone?!"

Lyrica looked around her, thinking that it might have fallen off somewhere without her noticing. But she cannot see it anywhere.

"What's going on? I was certain I had my headphones with me until now!"

"Wrong." The voice answered after clicking her tongue. "The thing you call headphones was in your bag back on Earth. You never wore it nor bring it with you since you came here."

"What?" Lyrica blinked emotionlessly. "I had my headphones in my head until now, I'm sure of it. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to hear the strange words that came out of it."

It was then Lyrica had a thought.

What if the voice were saying the truth? What if her precious headphone were actually inside her school bag all this time and was left behind on Earth?

"If that's the case, then what is it that felt and looked identically the same as my wireless headphones?"

"It's your magic."