Reincarnation of the Gun Swap Goddess [Volume 1]

Confluence

  *Well... This is interesting.*

As Jisha continued her dash through the forest, the layout of the terrain piqued her curiosity. To a new player, there was nothing substantially different from the forest thus far, but to trained eyes, a clear path seemed to be carved through the air.

To her, everything from the towering tree limbs to the shrubs on the ground seemed to be pointing in a single direction.

*A mana anomaly this early in the game? Does this mean that mana triangulation is already possible?*

Mana triangulation came in several forms; the one currently present was a type of navigation. In the future, it would be discovered that "mana" was an omnipresent substance in Synergy. Like quantum fields, it was one of the fundamental fabrics of this virtual world.

*And it'll remain virtual for quite a while.*

Since it was a fundamental fabric of the universe, clumps of it could form all sorts of phenomena like how atoms could bond and form molecules.

Before the true nature of mana was discovered, these phenomena were referred to as "mana anomalies", and they came in a myriad of forms.

The one she was witnessing now must have been something akin to a "life force", as all plant life seemed to be expectantly facing an energy source.

This was a highly unusual discovery; in other words, it was akin to "life force" for a front runner!

*I can't *not* check it out now.*

Jisha sprinted towards this newfound discovery.

*Navigation tools... Are still in check.*

Her map seemed to be intact - a good sign.

Mana abnormalities in the atmosphere, sometimes known as "subsystems", could sometimes alter the state of being of physical objects. When venturing into one, it was of utmost importance that one's health and sanity were still in check.

Jisha was always aware of the state of her body; she didn't need to focus to confirm that she was still completely fine.

In addition to this, Tier 0 players could not truly interact with mana, so any "mana storms" could not affect her anyway.

The next step was to check navigational options. If maps, compasses, or other navigational tools were altered, one should immediately leave the area unless there was a 100% chance they knew what they were doing.

Sometimes, the space within a subsystem didn't follow the laws of physics of the outside world. It was possible to become trapped in one, as sometimes one's sense of direction, or even the very concept of direction itself, became distorted.

Fortunately, it didn't seem like this "mana anomaly" was the home of such a "subsystem". And even if it was, Jisha was confident that she could still make her way around an early-game subsystem without any tool assistance.

But the farther she traveled towards what seemed to be the center of this anomaly, the more something seemed off.

*Ugh, I can't exactly tell what's going on, though...*

It was just a gut feeling. Since she was currently Tier 0, she shouldn't be able to detect any mana in the atmosphere. But the strange feeling wouldn't subside.

Everything still looked... relatively normal. The biome was the same. The forest was still quite simple to traverse through; the trees and shrubbery weren't out of the ordinary for a level ~10 area. Monsters' attack patterns were still geared towards absolute beginners.