Intent, Medium, Gesture, Will!

“Manifestation cannot occur without intent.”

Miles read out loud.

“Intent is the start and the end of every skill. By intention to move the energy into designated points, different skills can be manifested.”

This was the building block of arts created by humans. Energy, although formless, had to flow through a system to create the required spell. Before humans could use energy willingly, they would use premoves to steer the energy that required points, but starting from Form-Rank, humans were able to move energy at will, thus intending to create a skill.

In the old stories, different power systems used similar forms. In the Stamina branch, for example, Warriors use premoves to move the energy into points required to unleash the attack. In the Chakra system, a certain hand sign is needed to focus the chakra into the intent, then by using the following moves, spells can be created. Thus, the intent is the start of everything.

Medium is the second step of manifestation. In Mana Branch, Magicians mostly use wands or staffs to bring out or better control their spells. Warriors who are using Stamina System, and Qi Practitioners who are using Qi use weapons as a medium.

Mediums are generally used to focus the energy, empower the spell depending on the medium and increase the accuracy.

Gestures were the third step of the creation of spells. In almost all systems, gestures would, in one form or another, appear. Magicians would swing their wands in certain charms, Chakra practitioners use hand seals to move the energy, and in another branch, there are hand signs called Mudras that help them to move the mantra to required points to create the spell.

The human system didn’t have gestures, but moving energy through the body was a type of this step. Without moving the energy, skills couldn’t be used. When Miles first learned Moon Essence, he had to do the premoves to execute the skill, but later when he learned how to move energy, all he had to do was lead the energy into required positions to create the skill.

It didn’t mean the energy was flowing in the body. The notion of the body having pathways for energy was a little figment of imagination. After all, in some techniques, energy had to move in circles or other similar shapes, and in some spells, energy would be molded in strange shapes. It was illogical for the body to have pathways in all sorts of shapes. Although Energy would be stored in the body, and when molded it would stem from seed, the molding would appear outside of the body.

Gestures didn’t have to be a small signal, in the Soul Power branch, practitioners would use chants to bring out the effects of the spell. Chants helped practitioners to move soul power into location, and the move would form. In most cases, spells could be formed without reading all the chants, but reading the full text would empower the attack.

Chanters were using something similar, but Miles wasn’t that familiar with their techniques. All he knew was that they would read verses from their holy scriptures to create the attacks. The Chanter he met when he was battling with Moth-Lady was using chants to bend his fire powers despite not awakening energy yet.

The last step was Will. Although Will and Intent sounded the same and indeed had the same usage, there are some distinctions. Manifestation started and ended with intent, but Will was also the key point of skills.

When intended, energy flowed to the medium, and through the gestures, spells would be born. The spell that formed could only be unleashed fully through the will. Will was the endpoint of the skills.

Will could appear in many forms. Although in most cases it would be chanting the name of the spell, it wasn’t necessary. Almost in all power systems, the chanting of spell names would be redundant when practitioners advanced in strength. Saying or shouting the spell name was only a way to bring out the will, and after mastered, it wouldn’t be necessary anymore.

After mastered, as long as the user willed, the attack would manifest, but until that point, saying the technique name out loud or shouting them would help the practitioners to manifest their spells more easily.

This four-step cycle was key to creating everything through energy. The Human Energy system was the same. The energy needed to move into designated places by intent, then through mediums had to be gestured, and by willing it, it had to be unleashed.

After Miles finished reading, he had a newfound respect for humans who had created those stories. Pre-invasion Earth didn’t have any energy system, yet there were still many different forms of stories close to the current energy system. It really boggled Miles’s mind.

Miles closed the documents and pictures about old stories and four steps of manifestation and opened the four arts he practiced. Each of them had skills that could be used in each rank. Although they were created after the monster invasion and were only tested for two to three decades, they were the best arts the world could offer.

The first Art Miles practiced was Cross Family’s Sacred Art, Royal Blood. Although Malcolm’s grandfather claimed that it was an old art from Arthur's time, Miles found it hard to believe. It was true that the premoves of the Art didn’t require any skill, and Art later derived from there, it still sounded exaggerated.

Although he later gave up on practicing this art because of Mercer, he once again started to exercise it after they started to get along once again. The five forms of skill in the first level of the art could only be used with premoves before, but now, Miles could lead the energy and execute them without wasted movements.

The second Art Miles practiced was Moon Essence. It was a stolen art of the Strankov Family, and Miles found it in an unimportant family member’s wristwatch. Later he discovered it was stolen, so Miles couldn’t really show it to anyone, but he still practiced the first level and learned the first step skills.

Third Art, Exaltedness of the Creator was the strangest one. It wasn’t a human art, to begin with, yet the monster who gave it to him thought that it suited Miles. He practiced it before and enjoyed the benefits of the first tier. Unlike others, this art didn’t have any skills for the first step, and Miles could only use it to temporarily strengthen himself. But now that he was in Form-Rank, he could practice the second step.

And the last art was Seven Finger Death Punch. Miles found this in Alien’s AI necklace and somehow changed its form to practicable for humans. He already mastered the first step and was able to use the Five Claw skill. It was one of the skills in the first step, strengthening hands, turning them into claws before the attack. Although in the first tier it wasn’t as strong as the alien had used, it was still stronger than any other attack skill Miles had.