Gabby tilted her head, her ethereal eyes shimmering with cosmic curiosity. "So, this Earth place you keep mentioning… I have to admit, it sounds a bit… strange. You talk about cars, the internet, and, what was it? Starbucks?"

Gavrin chuckled, leaning forward as they walked through the village. "Yeah, Earth was… well, it was different. Cars were like metal boxes that moved really fast, taking us wherever we needed to go. The internet was this massive network connecting people all over the world. You could talk to anyone, anywhere, at any time, and have almost all the knowledge in the world at your fingertips. And Starbucks? Just one of many places to get coffee, but it had its own kind of magic."

Gabby gave him a puzzled look, her brow furrowing slightly. "So, you had all these things to connect people and to move around quickly, but… why did people still seem so stressed and disconnected?"

"That’s the weird part," Gavrin sighed, glancing at the bustling street of Schoolville as they passed by the café. "We had all these tools to make life easier, but they came with their own set of problems. Everyone was always rushing, always wanting more. Sometimes, it felt like the more connected we were, the lonelier we became. People spent more time staring at screens than talking face-to-face. It’s a bit like Schoolville now but with less magic and more distractions."

Gabby crossed her arms, her expression thoughtful. "It seems complicated, this Earth of yours. Full of contradictions." She paused, her eyes narrowing as if she was piecing together a puzzle. "Which reminds me of something… Why are there two Elenas in this town? One who works at the Adventurer's Guild and this new one helping Raj at the store. How does that make sense?"

Gavrin chuckled, scratching his head. "Ah, I was wondering when you’d bring that up. It’s actually not uncommon for people to share names. See, back on Earth, names weren’t unique. You could have a thousand people named 'John' or 'Emily,' and most of the time, they weren’t even related. It’s the same here in this world. The Elena at the Guild and the one working with Raj just happen to share a name, that’s all."

Gabby stared at him, her cosmic gaze piercing through his words. "That’s… inefficient. How do you keep track of who’s who? I mean, what if I need to summon an 'Elena'? How do you know which one to expect?" Her eyes gleamed, reflecting the seriousness of a celestial entity grappling with human idiosyncrasies.

He couldn’t help but laugh. "It is a bit chaotic, I’ll give you that. But humans are pretty good at figuring things out through context. If I’m talking about ‘Elena at the Guild,’ you know I mean the one who greets adventurers. If I say ‘Raj’s Elena,’ you know it's the one helping out at the store. Sometimes, we use nicknames or titles to make it clearer."

"Still seems messy," she muttered, her eyes narrowing. "In the void, names are singular, representing the essence of being. Having two entities share the same name... it’s like overlapping two stars and expecting them not to collide." She sighed, crossing her arms as if dismissing a system she deemed far too chaotic.

Gavrin nodded, recognizing the difference in perspective. "You’re not wrong. From your point of view, it probably seems like unnecessary confusion. But that’s part of what makes human interactions interesting. It adds a bit of randomness, a bit of confusion, but also the need for creativity. It’s just how we’ve always managed things."

Gabby smirked, though the skepticism remained in her eyes. "So, it's not the most efficient way of organizing, but it's… endearing in its own chaotic way. This Earth of yours, and this world now, they’re both full of quirks and complications, aren’t they?"

"Yeah," Gavrin admitted, smiling as they approached the town square. "It’s what makes life colorful and unpredictable. Sure, it’s messy, but sometimes, the mess leads to the best stories and the strongest connections."

Gabby rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide her amusement. "I suppose.

Gabby walked beside Gavrin, her movements as fluid as shadows cast in the moonlight. She had her arms crossed, her expression both curious and calculating. “You know, Gav Gav,” she began, her voice lilting with mischief, “you could remake many of the items from your old world here. You just have to use magic.”

Gavrin glanced at her, a flicker of nostalgia crossing his face. "I’ve thought about that, believe me. I miss a lot of things from Earth, especially the internet. But… won’t the Lightning come again if we try to bring those things back? We still don’t know why certain items were targeted. Some of it makes no sense. Why guns? Why electronics? They don’t seem connected, at least not in an obvious way."

Gabby gave a nonchalant shrug, her eyes glinting with cosmic mystery. "The Lightning is unpredictable, true. But maybe you’re overthinking it. Perhaps there's a reason beyond what you can perceive. Or maybe it’s just chaos—an echo of the cosmic will." She paused, looking up at him. "Why don’t you describe these items to me, Gav Gav? Tell me what made them so special in your world."

Gavrin sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets as they continued to walk. "Alright, let’s start with computers. They were these... well, they were basically machines that processed information incredibly fast. At their core, they used circuits made from silicon—a kind of mineral that could conduct electricity in very specific ways."

He gestured with his hands, as if he were holding a computer in front of him. "You had a motherboard, which was this flat board full of pathways and connectors, linking various components together. There was the CPU—the central processing unit—often referred to as the ‘brain’ of the computer. Then there was RAM, which handled short-term memory, and storage devices like hard drives, which held all the data long-term. All of this was powered by electricity, which flowed through the circuits, creating an intricate dance of ones and zeros—binary code—that translated into information, calculations, programs, and everything you see on a screen."

Gabby tilted her head, her eyes narrowing slightly. "So, it was a magical box of knowledge and calculations, bound by the movement of energy through circuits?" She pondered this for a moment. "Magic could replicate some of that. You could use mana pathways in place of silicon circuits, and enchanted crystals could store information like your... what did you call it? A hard drive?"

"Yeah," Gavrin replied, nodding. "But it’s not just about the hardware. The software—the programs and the internet—were what made computers truly remarkable. The internet was like a global web connecting every computer in the world. You could access knowledge, communicate instantly with people on the other side of the planet, watch videos, read books, play games… it was an endless sea of information. It wasn’t magic, but it felt like it."

Gabby raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "A web connecting minds and knowledge… like a network of thoughts and ideas? That does sound a bit magical." She paused, a faint smile playing on her lips. "You could replicate that, you know. Not exactly, but you could create a network using enchanted items or crystals as nodes. With enough mana, you could relay messages, store information. It wouldn't be the same, but it could serve a similar purpose."

Gabby raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "A web connecting minds and knowledge… like a network of thoughts and ideas? That does sound a bit magical." She paused, a faint smile playing on her lips. "You could replicate that, you know. Not exactly, but you could create a network using enchanted items or crystals as nodes. With enough mana, you could relay messages, store information. It wouldn't be the same, but it could serve a similar purpose."

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Gavrin’s eyes widened a bit. “You think that could actually work? I mean, using mana to create an information network?”

"Why not?" Gabby said with a playful shrug. "Magic is about bending reality to your will. What you described—information flowing through pathways, being stored and recalled—that's not too far off from how some spells work, like message spells or magical archives. The challenge would be creating stable mana pathways that mimic the circuits and connections of your computers."

Gavrin nodded, his mind racing with possibilities. “It’s an interesting idea. I just can’t help but wonder why the Lightning destroyed all the computers in the first place. I mean, sure, they were tech-heavy, but why single out electronics and guns? It's like the Lightning picked them off on purpose.”

Gabby’s gaze turned distant, her eyes flickering with cosmic light as if she was peering into the past. "Hmm... perhaps it wasn’t so much about the devices themselves," she mused, "but about what they represented—or rather, what they became when they entered this world.”

“What do you mean?” Gavrin asked, frowning slightly.

Gabby focused on him, a glint of realization in her eyes. “Think about it, Gav Gav. Everything here is influenced by mana, right? When the world shifted and the system came into place, the natural mana of this world would have reacted to anything foreign, especially something as intricate as a computer."

She paced a bit, her thoughts aligning. “Imagine this: computers from your world were sophisticated constructs—complex sequences, almost like spells. When they came into contact with this world's mana, the mana would have tried to interpret them. To the system here, those machines would have appeared as powerful, chaotic spells because their circuits and electrical signals mimic mana pathways.”

Gavrin’s eyes widened in understanding. “So, you're saying that the mana here... saw computers as spells?”

Gabby nodded, her excitement building. “Exactly! The mana probably interpreted the electronic signals, binary codes, and data flows as a complex, active spell matrix. But because these ‘spells’ weren't constructed using magical principles—no proper mana channels, no containment runes—they went wild. The Lightning was a reaction to that, a protective mechanism from the system. It triggered a self-destruction sequence because the ‘spells’—your electronics—were unstable and posed a threat to the world’s mana balance.”

Gavrin ran a hand through his hair, taking in the revelation. “So, the Lightning wasn't just randomly destroying technology; it was targeting what it saw as rogue spells. It makes sense, in a twisted way. But guns...?”

Gabby raised a finger, her eyes gleaming. “Guns might fall under the same principle, just in a different way. Think of them as simplified, one-use offensive spells. The metal, the gunpowder, the mechanics—they're all aligned to produce a powerful burst of force, like a magical attack. The mana here probably tried to interpret that burst as spellcasting. And since they weren’t true spells made with mana constructs, the system identified them as dangerous anomalies. Tell me more about the materials used in their construction. I've noticed that not all materials behave the same in the presence of magic. Maybe you used something that was incompatible with the new magic rules."

Gavrin leaned back, his brow furrowed as he thought it over. "Well, modern guns are primarily made from high-grade metals. Steel for the barrel and frame, sometimes aluminum alloys for lighter components. The gunpowder inside bullets is a chemical mixture that burns rapidly, creating an explosion to propel the bullet forward. The bullet itself is usually made of lead, sometimes coated in copper or other metals for various effects."

Gabby’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Steel, aluminum, lead... all of these materials have different properties when exposed to mana. In their raw forms, they're generally non-magical, but steel and lead can resist mana infusion to an extent. That resistance might have contributed to the chaos. The system likely didn’t recognize these constructs as compatible with magical laws."

“Resistance?" Gavrin tilted his head, intrigued. "You mean like how certain materials resist electricity back on Earth? They’re bad conductors?"

"Yes, in a way," Gabby continued. "Some materials act like magical insulators—they don't allow mana to flow through them easily, which disrupts the balance of spells or magical constructs. Steel can hold enchantments, but only if it’s processed correctly, purified and inscribed with runes. And gunpowder… well, that's practically an explosive magical catalyst if mana interacts with it in the wrong way."

Gavrin nodded, his mind already racing. "So when the Lightning hit, the mana interacted with these metals and chemicals in unpredictable ways. It's almost like the guns became unstable spells on the verge of explosion, and the system wiped them out to protect itself. But what about the other electronics—computers, phones, and things that didn't have the same explosive potential as guns?”

Gabby folded her arms, pondering for a moment. “Computers and electronics are made of a mix of metals, silicon, plastics, and other complex components. Silicon, for example, is used in circuits. It’s a conductor of electricity, but it's also a bit of a blank slate when it comes to mana—it has no inherent magical affinity. The intricate wiring and data pathways inside a computer might have looked like a spell matrix to the system. And without any magical framework to contain them, the mana interaction went haywire."

Gavrin rubbed his temples, piecing the puzzle together. "So, computers and guns were like rogue spells built from materials that didn't naturally harmonize with magic. The system treated them like unstable magic, triggering a self-destruct mechanism. The Lightning was a failsafe to prevent uncontrolled magical catastrophes.”

“Exactly,” Gabby agreed, a hint of pride in her voice. "You mentioned plastic as well. Plastics are mostly organic compounds, synthetic polymers. They’re almost entirely mana-resistant. When the system tried to interpret the plastic components, it likely couldn’t—seeing them as blockages or voids in an otherwise magical framework."

"Void spots," Gavrin murmured, nodding as he started to grasp the concept. "If mana flowed through a computer’s circuitry and hit a piece of plastic, it would be like encountering a dead end. That could cause all sorts of issues, from energy feedback to catastrophic failure. So, to the system, these electronics were magical constructs with inherent flaws."

Gabby’s eyes sparkled with excitement. "Yes, that's it! The system had to protect the world’s magical equilibrium. Your technology became a liability, a spell gone rogue. The Lightning was like an immune response, purging the threat."

Gavrin sat back, his eyes distant as he mulled over the implications. “So if we wanted to recreate technology here, we’d have to use materials that the system can recognize and interpret as part of a magical construct. Metals that hold mana, crystals for data storage, possibly natural materials that can facilitate mana flow. And no plastics... or at least, no pure, synthetic plastics."

"Correct," Gabby said with a nod. "Mana needs to be able to flow freely through the components, to recognize them as a cohesive spell structure. Think of it like designing a magic spell in physical form. Every part needs to serve a function, and every material needs to work with mana rather than against it."

Gavrin’s mind raced with possibilities. "So, I could theoretically rebuild a gun, but I’d have to enchant the metal, possibly use mana-infused crystals for the mechanisms, and create some form of magical ignition instead of gunpowder. It wouldn't be the same, but it might achieve a similar effect."

Gabby smirked. "Yes, you could create mana-based weapons. They might look different, behave differently, but the core idea could be replicated with the right magical constructs. Think of your firearms as spell-launchers rather than bullet-launchers. They’d use crystals, runes, and mana channels to generate their force. That way, the system would see them as legitimate magic items, not as abominations."

Gavrin leaned forward, energized by the idea. “And for computers? We could use enchanted crystals to store information. Mana circuits could relay data like electrical pathways did. We’d have to design it as a magical network—something that the system can recognize as a spell rather than an alien device.”

"Exactly," Gabby affirmed. "You won't be rebuilding computers as they were on Earth. Instead, you'll be creating new magical constructs that perform similar functions. A network of linked mana crystals, each enchanted to store and transmit information, could replicate a crude version of what you called the ‘internet.’ With the right enchantments, those crystals could relay messages, access stored knowledge, even create a magical version of your databases."

Gavrin nodded slowly, his mind envisioning the intricate web of possibilities. "It would be an entirely new form of technology—magitech. We could build communication devices, storage units, even computing mechanisms, but all of them based on mana. The system would accept them because they follow the magical rules of this world."

Gabby leaned back, satisfaction gleaming in her eyes. "Exactly, Gav Gav. Your old world's technology doesn't need to stay buried. It just needs to be reborn through magic. You have the knowledge to shape it, and now you understand the rules you must play by. So, what do you say? Ready to start bending the fabric of reality to bring back some of your old world?"

Gavrin grinned, a spark of excitement lighting up his face. "Hell yes, I am. Let’s start designing a mana network—and maybe some magical weapons while we’re at it. We’re about to bring the wonders of technology back, but this time... it’s going to be all magic."