"Nina, how do they activate abilities if they don't use mana circuits?"
Eren asked while smoking his Sativa stick. He made a mental note to get an ashtray because Nina was giving him the stares for occasionally dropping the ash on the table.
"There is no specific way to activate the abilities, Erni. the activation either gets imprinted on your consciousness or you define them on your own."
Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard that. He didn't understand what Nina meant by defining the ability's activation. So Nina expounded further:
"I don't know why you are asking about abilities when you are only E-Rank, Erni. I suggest you don't focus on these things as they would waste your time. There are some lunatic rankers out there who actively pursue these things and neglect their ranking practices.
Abilities are granted naturally when you have reached a certain point in your ranking journey and the way of the elements. So it makes zero sense that you pursue something that is bound to come to you if you just focus on your path as a ranker."
Eren shook his head when Nina thought that he was trying to waste his time pursuing advanced forms of magic. He clarified:
"It's not that I want to delve into the whole thing, Nina. I'm asking because I want to know how that mutant mana beast had so much advantage over it."
A realization dawned on Nina. She understood that he was asking because of the close call he had with the beasts in Besanc. The one that gave him the shakes.
'That must have been one hell of a mutant beast.'
Nina thought to herself before continuing:
"Alright, Erni. I don't want to be vague about it. But it'd be difficult for me to define the abilities in a particular way. They can vary greatly depending on the rankers' elemental nature, their habits, and their proficiencies. Some abilities would turn out to be so crude that you'd rather use spells instead of them. There are times when rankers awaken with such terrifying power that they can dominate all their peers.
In general, high-ranking entities don't share their experiences with other rankers. Because it would be of no use to others. Plus, sharing about how their abilities get triggered is like allowing your opponents to have a trump card on you."
Nina saw that Eren was beginning to show disappointment on his face. So she sighed and thought of sharing her experience.
"Alright. I'll share my experience with you.
Hehe! I was called talented for gaining the ability in my C-Rank. You have seen me performing healing magic with the snap of my fingers. That's what my ability is. It had become my inherent spell first.
An ability needs a trigger for its intended effect to manifest. If the way to activate them is not imprinted on your consciousness, then the only thing you can do is make a conscious effort to define that trigger.
The same thing had happened to me. I had to make conscious efforts to trigger my healing ability with the snap."
Nina finished another glass of wine after staying there. She felt it was boring to continue discussing the topic, especially when "good things" were planned ahead in the evening. But she decided to satiate Eren's curiosity for the moment, lest he become distracted when it was show-time.
"Abilities can be triggered in many ways. Sometimes just thinking about them is enough. In some cases, just mentioning a word, like its name, is enough to trigger it. Often, a simple gesture would be all it takes to activate your ability.
A snap of fingers in my case. Even simply raising a hand in a certain way would allow the ranker to tap into their abilities if they have defined their activation that way."
Nina's explanation until this point immediately reminded Eren of Eliza's hand gestures. He had seen her raising her hand in a lotus fashion to cast her Enderflames so many times in his nightmares now. He couldn't forget how a single action was all it took for Eliza to cast her flames. It was as easy as breathing to her.
Eren processed all the information Nina had given him and cross-referenced it with his experiences. He had another question he wanted to ask:
"Nina, can low ranked entities never have access to the inherent spells or abilities?"
Nina chuckled lightly at his question before answering:
"Don't feel despair, silly. A ranker's journey gets tougher the further they progress on it. Everything will eventually come to you. I'd say you are doing pretty well considering you were rankless before joining LA.
But there are always exceptions to every rule. Sadly, ordinary rankers cannot compete with the prodigies of their generation. People who are struck by epiphany might get lucky and accomplish everything they can when they are in the state of epiphany. Something that would normally take you years to achieve with sheer diligence and hard work.
The world is not fair, Erni. You just have to figure out how to make effective use of the opportunities you have. Even the unluckiest of rankers would have the days they could use to get further ahead than their past selves."
Eren nodded when he heard Nina try to cheer him up thinking he was just traumatized by the danger he faced during his mission. He smiled lightly and held her hand that was resting on the table before replying:
"Don't worry about me, Nina. I'll not waste my time trying to obtain something that isn't meant for me yet. I was just curious. That's all."
Eren said while caressing Nina's hand. Next, he drew another drag from his cigarette and asked another question he had been thinking about ever since he received marks for the Sins series.
"Nina, do you know anything about ranking entities using foreign mana?"
Nina had a surprised expression on her face when Eren asked that question. She wasn't sure how to answer the question. But she had understood that he was having these doubts for a while now. So she sighed and responded:
"What do you know about the source of the existing mana, Erni?"
