Veronica hesitated.
Marcus seemed to be very comfortable around her. He spoke his thoughts and asked her things like they were already friends.
And all of this was strange to Veronica.
It wasn't as if she hadn't experienced people wanting to befriend her or approach her for other benefits.
As a direct descendant of a sitting Duke, a child of El Salvador, she would be approached, receive letters, and gifts from people she couldn't care to remember.
But none of them was as sincere or as piquing as Marcus's.
It was almost as if he had known her for a while.
This was how Veronica felt around him.
Could it be that he had been stalking me without my knowledge?
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she shook it off. The probability of that being the case was almost non-existent.
Looking at him as he waited, Veronica finally decided to indulge him some more.
Let's treat it as some charity work. Educating the ignorant.
"What would you like to know?" She asked.
"What exactly is Intent?"
"Hmm… from what I was taught, it is a manifestation of a greater form of Will. The ability to force the laws of reality to bend somewhat to your will. There are different forms of Intent, different levels to it, but even the weakest of Intents is enough to cause great trouble."
She paused to organize her thoughts, and Marcus waited patiently, still smiling at her.
It was almost as if he didn't realize what expression he was making.
"But Intent is extremely rare. It is very hard to come across individuals who have achieved the realm of Intent."
In this world of ours, at least. She added in her head. Veronica thought that if Marcus didn't know about the worlds, then there was no point in telling him about them in this conversation.
"Even reaching the realm of Evocation is very difficult. Mainly because externalization of mental energy is a great chasm to scale. And even when that has been scaled, it is very difficult and problematic to grow it. Without one's mental energy growing, there's no chance of ever reaching the realm of Intent.
And if you're wondering what the difference between Intent and Evocation is, the latter can, at best, be a projection of will. Compared to Intent that bends laws, Evocation can at most show its face."
As Marcus listened, he started to realize something.
He was able to externalize his mental energy, though it wasn't completely under his control; his [Lord With A Will] was a form of mental energy.
Moreover, it had been growing, albeit slowly when compared to the rest of his stats. And apart from making it to Level 2, the only other time it showed signs of fast improvement was when he spent time in Daze Mountain's forest.
If it is as difficult as Veronica said, why then did it not feel that way to him?
Obviously, the abominable system had changed his life completely and made the impossible possible, but he didn't just realize how much it had made things possible for him.
Or rather, he was just realizing another favor it gave him.
Then Evocation should be easy for me to achieve, right?
He wanted to ask Veronica this question, but he decided to keep his tongue.
Better yet, instead of focusing on that, Marcus thought that it would be better to ask about how one could come to successfully perform a Graded Technique.
Since Intent was just an accumulation of mental energy that can be manifested…
or so he thought.
"Ve–Ron," Marcus quickly corrected himself before he could completely slip up.
But it seemed like Veronica didn't catch on to that. Rather, she was once again shaken by his familiarity with her.
He's calling me by my name now; what happened to my young master title?
Her brows scrunched up slightly.
Is he perhaps… gay? No, that can't be. Lily said that people like that are easy to know. Their mannerisms and tastes.
"How did you know that I was practicing a Graded Technique?" Marcus asked.
"Because you kept on sticking to forms. The way you were breathing, the way you swing your sword, there's no point in doing all of that if that wasn't what you were trying to do."
"I see." He rubbed his cheek. "Then how does one come about successfully performing a Graded Technique?"
Upon hearing this question, Veronica gave up on assuming that Marcus knew anything.
You were trying to do that without the basics and not knowing anything about how? Who does that? Did you think you were some kind of genius!?
As a matter of fact, where did you even get a Graded Technique from?
His father… Veronica answered herself.
Nepotism sure is a good skill to have in the bag.
Her thoughts were expressed through her eyes as she eyed Marcus, forgetting that she possessed this skill too.
"What?" Marcus asked when he saw the look she gave him.
"It depends on the grade of the technique. Generally, there are four grades of techniques. Low, Mid, High, and Dao. But High-grade and Dao-grade techniques are extinct. Mid-grade techniques are rare to find here, and even Low-grade techniques suffer the same. However, they can be found here and there.
Within each grade, stronger techniques can exist. It is hard to rank them, mainly because it depends on the wielder's comprehension. So, which one do you have?"
She asked, almost mockingly.
"I don't know; how can one tell?"
Veronica sighed and dropped her head slightly.
Marcus chuckled at her frustration.
"Forget it. It doesn't really matter. Graded Techniques can be known by their threshold. The barrier for entry is minimal with Low-grade techniques. You might only have to understand Resonance and then the nature of the technique.
For Mid grades, they can range from Synchronization to Evocation; in this case, the nature of the technique would determine which is stronger. As for High grades… that wouldn't even matter; you'll need Intent."
Veronica avoided speaking about the Dao grade, and Marcus didn't ask because his thoughts were occupied.
His Seven Desolate Swords was considered a High-grade technique?
Why then was it so cheap on the system's interface?
Either this grading structure was off, or the system had its own grading structure.
More importantly, would he require Intent before he would be able to use the Seven Desolate Swords properly?
That would explain his inability to perform the first move.
Marcus started to feel like he only knew how to bite off more than he could chew.
There wasn't enough time to start building his will. He barely had two months left. How much would it grow in two months?
He frowned and fell deep into his thoughts.
After what felt like minutes, he finally asked. "What exactly is this 'nature' of the techniques that you mentioned?"
At least you know how to ask the right questions. Veronica thought after being tired of waiting.
"Rather than giving a general definition, let me help this last time. After this, no more questions; I'm starting to get tired."
She pointed at him, expressing her seriousness.
Marcus nodded solemnly.
He had already reaped a lot of benefits from her. Whether she stopped here or not, he would be grateful.
Veronica got up to her feet.
"Think about the technique you've been trying to perform. Don't think about its forms and movements; rather, think about the thoughts it's trying to convey. What does its name convey in your heart? When you chant its name, what does it resonate with in you? It will be okay if it doesn't inspire anything that you can relate to; you can learn to be inspired by it."
As she spoke, Marcus listened to her attentively, to the point where he didn't know when he closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.
Deeper than he had ever gone.
Seven Desolate Swords… First move: Ashes That Remember…
The name Seven Desolate Swords inspired a feeling of destruction in Marcus's heart; it had always done so. However, that didn't inspire anything in his mind.
And then, Ashes That Remember.
Marcus chose to forget about the name of the technique in its entirety and focus on the name of the first move.
He repeated its name several times till he lost count.
What were Ashes?
Remnants of what had been burnt. Dark flakes born from ruins. Fickle enough to be blown and carried away by the wind, regardless of what their original forms were.
It was the end result of a form of destruction. It was a type of desolation.
Marcus didn't know this, but he had entered a process of comprehension.
Veronica nodded; she was hoping that this would happen. Just so he would let her be. She didn't want to teach him anything again.
She was tired.
"Let's go." She whispered and silently left the training grounds.
…
What ashes do I have in my life, where have they settled in my heart?
Marcus wondered.
Ashes?
He had many.
His siblings who had segregated and abandoned him. His loss of respect that came with his family's title.
The shame he and his siblings had to endure after their father passed away.
All of this, to Marcus, counted as Ashes.
They counted as desolation to him.
They were nothing but old memories, nowhere to be found, and only spoken about like fabled stories.
Just like ashes, they were remnants. Just like ashes, they were blown around by the wind.
Just like ashes… this is my desolation… this is my Ashes That Remembers!
…
A unique aura suddenly engulfed Marcus, causing no ripples or disturbance.
Unless one was near, they wouldn't be able to sense this aura.
And then suddenly, his system interface pulled up.
…
[Unprecedented Oddity (Lv0)]: A title that defies categorization. Something in you refuses to process the same way others do.
When the weight of what you've encountered becomes too much for ordinary comprehension to hold, this title activates on its own terms, forcing understanding through regardless.
Effect: At an unknown threshold, grants a burst of accelerated and deepened comprehension of skills, situations, systems, or truths the user has been exposed to but not yet fully processed. Cannot be triggered manually. Cannot be suppressed once triggered.
Threshold: Unknown.
Duration: 10 seconds - 2 minutes.
Cooldown: 60 days.]
…
With the activation of this title, understanding flowed into Marcus's mind like a waterfall.
Exactly what the first move of the Seven Desolate Swords required.
And then, in no time, he comprehended it and even began showing signs of beginning the second move, only for a thought to cross his mind.
Wait, I need Intent to be able to do the first move. With this feeling flowing through my mind, I feel like I can understand Synchronization and Evocation if I ponder upon them.
As soon as those thoughts came, the direction of his comprehension changed.
Elation filled his heart, but it soon came to a stop as that feeling quickly began to vanish.
"No!"
Marcus cried out; he had just stepped upon Evocation and began understanding it.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes and saw why the feeling vanished.