Suddenly craving for fish meat, Lyrica decided her next destination to be on the certain river the voice spoke about while making her way to the forest.
Despite knowing that a pack of Goblins is stalking her from behind the trees, Lyrica threads the path without fear.
On the way, the voice noticed one of the Goblins turning around, seemingly trying to get back to where they came from. Most probably their nest.
The voice is aware that Goblins aren't smart. But at the same time, they're not fools, either. She had a thought that while they were stalking Lyrica, they're actually trying to measure if they can take on the girl with all eight of them.
The pack had been stalking the girl from behind until now, looking for the right time to strike. But after realizing that the girl have already caught wind of their presence, as well as witnessing the carefree attitude Lyrica is showing despite knowing the danger behind her, the Goblins have concluded that the girl has the strength to take them on.
That conclusion made the monsters realized that their current number isn't enough to prey on Lyrica. And so, they have decided to bring more of their fellow Goblins to increase their probability of success.
'I'm certain Lyrica also noticed that one Goblin making a u-turn to call more of them.' The voice spoke in her thoughts. 'But even so, I can't help but feel a bit worried about how she acts. About how she kept moving forward without giving a damn about them.'
Perhaps gaining an ability and strength which surpasses that of a normal human being made Lyrica become self-assured? Perhaps her self-confidence has gone so out of proportion that she believes she can take on any hurdles that will come her way?
'But that's very unlikely of someone like Lyrica who avoids trouble whenever she can.' The voice thought. 'If anything, Lyrica is probably thinking of a way to fight and kill the Goblins one by one.'
The voice strongly believed that is more likely the case. Because devising a plan and executing them carefully is Lyrica's way of dealing with troublesome things.
The voice recalls the moment Lyrica completed her first quest.
'You once showed me how clever you are after defeating the mob of Slimes back in the flower field. That pretty much tells me you can handle things well on your own. But before I go, I want to see you use your head once more, Lyrica.'
"This one looks good."
Meanwhile, a tiny rock that is almost the size of the Treant fruits Lyrica ate earlier caught her eyes.
She picks up the rock.
"It doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary." Said the voice. "It's just a piece of rock with a sharp edge on one side. What's so good about it?"
"It's a good rock."
The voice waited for Lyrica to say something else, but instead the girl kept silent.
"Aren't you supposed to say something else?"
Lyrica ignored the voice as she picked up some more tiny rocks. She hid them in her side pockets and makes her way to the river once again.
Gleam!
"Oh?"
Right then, a small glimpse of light from the corner of her eyes distracted Lyrica's attention. She looks at the source. A glowing piece of crystal, tinted in blue, reflected on Lyrica's pupils.
"Is that..."
"It's a Mana Crystal."
Lyrica recalled the voice mentioning the word Mana Crystals before, but the voice never had a chance to disclose anything about it, as she was occupied telling Lyrica something else about the forest.
Now that she heard and sees one at the same time, it prompted Lyrica to ask the voice a thing or two about them.
"You once said that mana exists in nature and within an individual." Said Lyrica. "But if the Mana Threads is what allows our bodies to store mana within, then what allows Mana Essence to permeate the environment?"
"I don't think it's a good time to explain it, but I'll do it anyway."
Firstly, the voice explains that a Mana Crystal is the crystallization of mana which is found mostly in places where people barely visits. After that, she told Lyrica that mana is able to exist and be utilized thanks to the Mana Threads which exists in all living things.
"How Mana Crystals are formed is as simple as how Mana Threads converts life force into mana. The keyword here is "Living.""
"Living...?" Lyrica looks at the beaming crystal whilst thinking. "Wait, are you saying that Alteria is a living planet?"
Lyrica couldn't be more right. The voice praised her for her quick thinking.
Like Lyrica said, Alteria is a living planet. It has its own life, just like any living thing found in the said planet. With this fact, Mana Threads were able to exist within Alteria itself.
"For a living planet like Alteria, Mana Threads have a different name. It's called the "World Threads.""
World Threads convert Alteria's own life force into what is known by Alterians as Mana Essence, which occasionally solidifies into Mana Crystals. Much like the Mana Threads inside an individual's body, World Threads cannot be seen by the naked eye. But it's a known fact that they exist all around the world.
"Let us exercise your problem-solving skills, shall we?" The voice uttered. "The World Threads spread around the world, but Mana Crystals can only be found where people rarely visits. Why is that?"
Lyrica crossed her arms together while looking at the Mana Crystal, thinking.
"Isn't it because an area condensed with people are absorbing the Mana Essence around the environment?"
"Precisely. Mana and World Threads functions the same, but Alteria is only one single celestial entity."
Even if Mana Threads can absorb Mana Essence so slowly, if a lot of people were to gather in one place, a condensed area like a village or a city will become like a mana vacuum machine.
"So a lot of people together can overpower the World Threads, eh?" Lyrica spoke to herself.
"Putting these threads aside, Mana Crystals are harvested and sold for a high price for two main reasons."
One of the reasons is that they are the main ingredient in making Mana Potions, which are used most often by adventurers. And the other reason is that Mana Crystals are used as a power source for Magic Tools.
"On Earth, a lot of things, if not all of it, are powered with electricity. In Alteria, however, things are being operated using Mana Crystals."
"What's a Magic Tool?" Lyrica asked.
"Magic tools are invented by the people who first learned how to utilize Mana Crystals to power certain equipments."
Magic Tools can be as simple as a lamp, or sharp and deadly as a sword. Other times it could be as glittering and eye-catching like rings and necklaces.
"Mana Crystals have a lot of uses, huh?"
Lyrica pulls the piece of Mana Crystal sticking from the ground. Her eyes wandered around every nook and corner of solidified mana.
"It's as big as a 16oz coffee cup."
Not only that, Lyrica can also feel the weight as she proceeded to play with it.
"Say, how much do you think this chunk of mana would sell?"
"Let's see..." The voice turned silent, seemingly doing an upraising with the crystal in Lyrica's hand. "This is only a guess, but that crystal should probably sell for about a gold or two."
"Gold? Alteria uses gold as a currency?"
Gold, silver, and copper are the currencies of Alteria. However, the worth of Alterian currency is ridiculously lower compared to its Earth counterpart.
"To make things a little easy to understand, a copper coin is worth one peso in your country, a piece of silver coin is equal to a hundred pesos, while a gold coin worth only ten thousand pesos."
"So low!" Said Lyrica with a sour face. "A gold coin's supposed to be around 100k in my country. I wouldn't be surprised if this world has some economic issues."
Growwwwll~~!
"More than anything, it seems that your stomach is the one having its own issues."
Following the voice's remark, Lyrica declares her body is calling for fish meat.
"Worry not, your next destination is just right around the corner!"
"Seriously?"
"Listen carefully."
Lyrica follows the voice's instruction without retort. During that time, the sound of running water is slowly becomes audible through her ears.
"It's faint, but I can hear it."
With the mana crystal in her grasp, Lyrica starts running forward. Upon getting closer, the sound of running water becomes progressively more audible.
Before long, her movement slows down. Her feet eventually stopped.
"This is it..." Lyrica gasps for air.
"Indeed." The voice answered. "This is the Snake River."