Eren started thinking about Alephee's question and came up with something that was based on what he had learned so far about intent-based magic.
"It means a spell cast regularly will pale in comparison when it is cast with stronger intent. It will allow rankers to get more out of any spell than their rudimentary capabilities."
Alephee nodded at Eren's explanation before adding up.
"That's right. If the rankers know how to integrate their spells with their intent and the intent is strong enough, a Novice ranker would be able to defeat an Adept ranker or higher. Things might not be as easy as I'm making them out to be. It is not easy to cultivate a strong intent in the first place. But I guess you get the gist of what I'm saying."
Eren nodded at Alephee after some time. He felt that she shouldn't have told him about this. That's because his desire to learn intent-based magic was getting to him. However, he already had his hands full gaining absolute control over his mana circuits. As such, he didn't have time to chase another mythical unicorn.
Alephee chuckled when she sensed what Eren was thinking about. She shook her head in denial before adding up.
"Don't get so downhearted, Eren. Mana sense is not the only representation of one's intent. There's a better way to cast intent-based magic. You must learn to integrate your soul sense into spells.
The mana sense and soul sense both serve as carriers for the ranker's intent. It comes down to which one is a better carrier. Strong intent would not be useful by itself if you didn't have a reliable carrier available for it. If you choose to consciously integrate your mana sense into your spells, you will need the aid of special artifacts.
You can compare a mana sense to a surface of almost stagnant water that partially reflects your intention. On the other hand, a soul sense is like a clear mirror that reflects your intent as it is. Since you have already awakened your soul sense, things will become really easy for you."
Eren's eyes lit up when he heard he could use his soul sense for something other than frightening and intimidating his opponents. But Alephee's next words dampened his excitement.
"Don't become too greedy. I recommend that you focus on your current training. Your mana control is only beginning to show some real progress.
Could you have imagined taking down an Expert ranker so easily without such precise mana control to back you up? The Blink spell that you use alone would have created a lot of problems for you had you used it like regular people. It was thanks to that precise control that you were able to kill these opponents so effortlessly. So it would be foolish for you to halt the process now."
Eren wanted to argue that Goro's soul injury as well as the fact that he had two classes were also contributing factors to his victory against a C-ranker. The necromancer wasn't prepared for someone who could do summoning and close combat battles both. It did not allow Goro to show off his strengths against Eren. Eren, on the other hand, managed to bring all of his talents to the table with the combat style he had adopted against Goro.
However, he had to admit that his excellent mana control allowed him to cast spells quickly and effortlessly while keeping his mana consumption in check. His usage of the Blink Spell alone had been refined to perfection for him by his mana control. That's why he didn't disturb Alephee and let her speak without interruption.
"It is not the right time for you to start training in this field. You'd need a strong soul sense for you to see tangible benefits in using intent-based magic. I'd say break into the B-Rank first before you start investing your time and efforts in intent-based magic.
What you can do instead to get started in the field is imbue your weapon attacks with your intent. Weapon-based attacks are easier to integrate one's intent into. This will provide an additional edge to your weapon-based attacks while not derailing you from your current progress toward having complete mana control."
Eren raised his eyebrows once again when he listened to Alephee's suggestion. He took out his Rigour Mortis and traced over the runic inscriptions it had with his fingers before asking another question.
"Hmm. That's a reasonable way to start. But what did you mean by unique artifacts earlier? Will I need those unique artifacts for me to integrate my intent into them?"
Alephee answered his query right away.
"There's indeed a separate category of artifacts that are based on intent-based magic. Such weapons are called Hex artifacts in some worlds. The ones who use them are called Hexers. And the magic that gets cast using such artifacts is known as Hex magic.
Of course, Hex magic and Hexers don't exist in Anfang. That's because nobody takes an effort to learn how to integrate their intent into their spells here."
Eren found it strange that such a vast field of magic was left unexplored by the rankers of Anfang. He didn't think that even the cultists practiced intent-based magic. Or at least not the ones he had come across.
'I think there's something wrong with intent-based magic!'
Eren quickly deduced a possibility for why the rankers of Anfang could be so disinterested in the field of intent-based magic. Alephee confirmed his suspicions right away.
"There are indeed some adverse effects of using Hex magic, Eren. But you don't need to worry about them for now. Especially when you limit intent-based magic to weapon-based attacks.
So these things shouldn't stop you from getting acquainted with intent-driven magic. You don't need any Hex artifacts either. Your soul sense alone is enough for you to dabble with this type of magic through your regular weapons.
Imbue your soul sense with absolute certainty and strong intent. And coat your weapons with it before casting a weapon-based spell. This simple practice is enough for you to get started.
Later on, you can train your soul sense to develop stronger intent. By the time you break into B-Rank, you'll be proficient at using intent-based magic through your weapons."
