"Adding will and intent to spells, huh?"
Eren was a bit confused by Alephee's words. It was the first time he had heard of mana with intent. Thus, he asked Alephee to elaborate further.
Alephee used the same spell she had used before and pulled Eren into a domain in which time had almost completely stopped. For some reason, she seemed to be in control of the domain she had cast this time.
This was a precaution she had taken against Anfang's continent-spanning array. She knew that this was the right time for Eren to know about these things. Thus, she decided to explain to him with examples.
"The rankers of Anfang know that there are grades of mana. They defined these grades as F to S ranks. The mana grades were harnessed by rankers of that grade. Thus, the ranking statuses of Novice to Sage ranks were defined.
However, ranks are not the only scale on which mana can be distinguished. There exists a different type of mana that comes with intent at its core.
The life and death elements can be considered non-elemental mana with one's will and intent as the main focus. The intent is integrated into such a type of mana by the World's Will itself."
Eren started to understand what Alephee was saying when she started describing things in layman's terms. He was immediately reminded of his Sin Series Abilities. Alephee smiled and confirmed his doubts.
"That's right. Your Sin Series Abilities. You know they use otherworldly mana, right? Why can't you use those Abilities using this world's mana? Have you ever had this question?
The Sin Series Abilities are bizarre and grant you extraordinary powers the likes of which the regular ranker of Anfang has never seen. That's because they are fueled by a different type of mana. A tier higher than regular mana.
The mana that you summon and use for your Sin Series Abilities contains intent of their own. The emotions of wrath and lust are intentions. Thus, those who are affected by mana get affected by anger or lust."
Eren was allowed to move inside the time-element domain by Alephee. He scratched his light stubble with his right hand before nodding. He took out a Sativa Stick from his storage and lit it up. Processing various thoughts in his mind, he asked his next question.
"Let's put aside the topic of the life and death element mana for a while. What is the difference between a will and an intent? And if one's intent can get imbued into a spell, can it also get integrated into the mana itself?"
Asking this, he took a long drag from his Sativa Stick. The smoke he released soon afterward stayed around his nose and didn't disappear because of the time-element domain. He had to step back from his previous position to clear his vision of the smoke while waiting for the homunculus' answer.
Alephee kept track of the continent-spanning array's reaction to the talk they had.
"Intent is simply an unwavering will, devoid of doubts. For example, a ranker might want to get a certain resource for themselves. That would be their will. When they decide that nothing can stop them from having that resource, we call it intent.
A will is merely an expression of what you desire. The intent is the amount of effort you are ready to put into achieving that goal. A person's intent gets stronger or weaker depending on how they cultivate it within themselves.
A stronger intent is born when you develop self-confidence in yourself. When you defend, your intent has to be 'I won't let them harm me.' That's a stronger intent than the mere 'I am angry at them for hurting me' or the will that says 'I don't want to get hurt.'
When you attack, your self-confidence needs to scream 'I will kill them'. When you are protecting someone, your intent has to be 'I won't let them die.'
At the pinnacle of having unwavering intent, you don't need things like a mana core, mana circuits, mana sense, artifacts, potions, or even a mortal vessel to cast intent-based magic. When you learn to cultivate unwavering intent within you, magic happens just the way you want it without ever needing to control it.
That's what lies beyond acquiring an Ability. An Ability is when a spell stops being a spell. An unwavering intent is when the magic really starts looking like magic– logic-defying and beyond belief."
Eren was fascinated by the fact that he still had so many things to learn about the foundation of being a ranker even after technically living two lifetimes. He felt that he would need to live another life to cultivate a stronger intent.
"I never heard of this way of casting magic. Can I cast it - intent-based magic? How beneficial would it be for me if I invested my time in this field as well?"
Eren asked while taking a drag out of his Sativa Stick. He felt the effects of the smoke filling his lungs and calming him. Thus, he managed to keep an open mind about the newly discovered field. He was indeed shocked by this new perspective on casting magic. However, he didn't let it overwhelm him.
"This concept is not as novel as you think it is, Eren. It's more like you haven't fully realized how familiar you are with it ever since you started your ranking journey as a Novice.
A ranker's will is involved in their spell when they cast their normal spells. It's just that most rankers do it subconsciously. Or the spell's mnemonics take care of that part for them by integrating their mana sense into them. Your mana sense is also a representative of your will or your intent after all.
Casting a spell with intent-based magic occurs when a ranker consciously integrates their will into the spell. The difference between an intentional and an unintentional action can be tremendous.
They say that there would be at least 100 ways to achieve something you want if there were not 10000. A person who is willing to rise above normalcy will eventually succeed in their endeavors.
A stronger intent can bring out the same benefits as you can get with the precise mana control that you are currently training for. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
