"How does using foreign mana affect you?"
Eren asked as he swung Nina round on the tune. The latter gracefully returned to her previous position after completing the spin. She replied as she followed Eren's lead again.
"First of all, pulling something like that can't be done by normal methods. As a second consequence, using foreign mana without any pre-arrangement would cause your mana core to burst. Rankers would die if they used foreign mana without knowing what they were doing.
The third hurdle in using foreign mana is one of the biggest reasons why nobody shouldn't try heretic methods like those. Foreign mana is imprinted with the will of its respective world, and so it should place a heavy burden on the user's consciousness. The effects of the foreign mana would progressively affect the rankers as they used more and more of it.
I don't know much about this field either. Just consider that it would be problematic for the ranker when the burden exceeds a certain limit."
'So that's why the Seven Sins series requires you to rank up and strengthen one's soul before another mark is bestowed upon. I need more information about these things but I won't get it from Nina. Alephee is in slumber. And I can't count on Layla.'
Eren kept on dancing with Nina while talking with her on random topics. He would often joke with her or throw cheesy lines at her to keep her from getting annoyed with him. His hands were also starting to get active. They were brushing over Nina's breasts and derriere. He was trying to make it look natural to maintain his gentlemanly demeanour. But Nina knew him better.
Eren asked the Master ranker another question after some time while trying his best to lead her.
"Nina, what would be the advantages of using foreign mana then? Using foreign mana comes with many risks, but I'm sure their benefits will balance them out if not outweigh them altogether. Otherwise, it makes no sense that the rankers of any era partake in these activities."
Nina nodded and responded while not missing a beat in her steps:
"Before you understand the benefits, I want to know how much you know about spells and their origins. Tell me how you would categorize spells and their origins."
Eren and Nina's bodies were almost sticking to each other now. It had stopped becoming a Waltz and now they were more focused on feeling each other out.
Eren took his time to answer.
"There are various schools of spells present on the continent of Anfang that have been said to come from various places. Each school has its own way of employing mana circuits, spoken or non-silent incantations, somatic actions, material components, and focus components to produce different forms of spells.
The language we employ in the spells' incantation only indicates that they originated from a distinct place somewhere. The history of the continent of Anfang has been blurred for a while now. So it's difficult to track the exact source. But it is safe to assume that some spells did not originate from here.
But we don't have to find the source to categorize the spells. The same spell effect can be obtained in a variety of ways. The most appropriate way to categorize the spells would not be by the school they come from. It is better to consider the effects the spells produce to classify them."
As he spoke, Eren placed his left hand on Nina's right buttock. The latter maintained a knowing smile on her face and nudged him to continue– both with his actions and his speech.
"The rankers consider a few main categories of spells as their go-to spells while the cultists have their own way of looking at this thing. For example, most of the rankers' spells fall under conjuration, transmutation, divination, evocation, illusion, or enchantment types.
There are other types of spells like binding magic, ritual magic, and necromancy. But they are either banned or limited in their applications. Binding magic for example has been limited to making binding contracts.
Wait a minute. Are you saying that employing foreign mana gives you the ability to branch out from the main forms of magic?"
After Eren asked Nina, his left hand stopped grabbing Nina's left bun. The latter didn't like that he was processing her hints in his mind and ignoring the current tasks at hand. But she replied anyway.
"That's right. Usage of foreign mana has been said to birth novel forms of magic. The manifestation of that magic would be extremely personal. So we wouldn't always be able to fit it into the categories we know of.
This would be one of the biggest advantages of using foreign mana. Known forms of magic can be countered with known solutions. But how would you counter something on the spot if you don't know what kind of form or effects it would have?"
Eren nodded and decided to ask a few brief questions before dropping the subject completely before the background music had finished. He then focused on his time with Nina as another romantic music started playing in the background.
The butcher now had basic information about everything that had happened to him. He had come to know that somehow he had received two Sins marks. He decided it was paramount for him to understand them before he could use them.
Eren doubted that the nightmares he was having were all solely due to Eliza's soul sense affecting his soul. He guessed that it could also be connected to him receiving Sins marks. Especially when he received two Sins series marks at once.
Eren thought that Eliza had done it merely to keep him under her leash. Unbeknownst to him though, Eliza was equally surprised by the way that ceremony had ended.
'No point thinking about what that old monster is planning. I'll find out about it eventually. Meanwhile, I need to find a way to activate my second mark as soon as possible. I need to come up with my plans. There won't be more Ivors I could count on every time I found myself in a mess.'
Eren was having a whirlpool of thought in his head when he heard Nina's slightly irritated voice.
"Erni, stop thinking about these things now. I've already told you enough. Now… live in the present, mister."
Eren was snapped back to reality after Nina's mild warning. No matter how cosy he was with the Master ranker, he didn't want to offend her in any way after all. He smiled and used his mana sense to control the array's spectral projection.
The illumination of the surroundings suddenly got a bit dimmer as the music in the backdrop changed to something soothing. The gentle breeze carried notes of white musk and ombre rose.
Nina was pulled into Eren's embrace soon after she experienced the subtle changes in the surroundings. She rested her head on his chest as they stood there enjoying each other's warmth for a moment.
Things were about to get heated from this point on.
AN: Volume 01 of VEH featured spells using different languages in their incantations. A lot of doubts that the readers might have regarding the same should be put to rest with these chapters.
Plus, these chapters serve as a basis for Eren to use his Sins series marks. The entire dating scene has been used to lower the negative impact of having an extended info dump. Eren and Nina's time together would be penned down in the next couple of chapters. ;)
