Chapter 241: Intent

Intent was the manifestation of emotions. 

And most of the high ranked hunters couldn't form an intent since they were lacking conviction. But if they do, to have an Intent enchanted in a weapon could cut anything without much of an effort. 

But to have intent alone was already beyond imagination by other hunters. But if one could use both energy and mana together with the Intent, the result was extraordinarily powerful. 

Roy doesn't know anyone who could do it. He had been teaching Ned to materialize intent and make it physically available through energy. But he didn't expect that Ned could combine both energy and mana into his emotions. 

The result. 

To Roy's fiery eyes, it was marvelous. Emerald green on a light. It has been only days but Ned already formed an Intent. 

Roy smiled. 

His plan worked. 

Now, how would he explain it to Ned that he was only making things up?

Yet, Roy smiled. 

His plan worked. 

So he needed to savor the moment, he needed to guide Ned to his newly found power. Perhaps, play with Ned for the time being. Until his head cooled off.

Still, Roy smiled. 

His plan worked. 

It seemed that anger was Ned's manifestation of Intent. Then cooling him off would lose the Intent. So he must play the part. Assume the villain in Ned's eyes. 

Fight now, explain later. So he dashed toward Ned with his mouth bashing his Master he didn't even know. 

"No!" Ned cried seeing Roy with a smile reaching his ears. 

[Ned.]

[You are losing focus.]

[Perhaps, try to cool off—]

ICE's voice vanished inside Ned's head. 

Everything in his head went quiet. Like someone blocked her voice away from Ned. Like someone, aside from Roy, was savoring the moment. 

Ned hasn't realized this as his mind was focused on his Master being transitioned in his head killing innocent people. Killing innocent families, killing innocent kids.

It was real after all. Ned's emotions weren't fabricated by his brains, they weren't illusions, his emotions were real. 

So he dashed, meeting Roy in the middle of the stream. 

Ned's fiery green Butterfly, against Roy's fiery red blade. 

To compensate for Roy's speed, Ned turned on Overclock as instinct told him. 

Now, it wasn't just the blade in the fire. Even Ned was oozing with white steam. 

And to compensate for Ned's increase in strength, Silk Road shifted in form. It mimicked Ned's hunter clothing in black, but it was thicker than before. It was more of chainmail in the purest form than a leather. Also, unbeknownst to Ned, Silk Road was absorbing the mana he was letting out. 

The only remaining human part that could be seen in Roy was his eyes. Now bulging as he saw Ned changed in appearance. 

Roy was strong, but he ain't a machine. So he was at his limit. With all the energy and mana he was spending. He knew he was at his limit. 

His smile faded. 

But still, his plan worked. 

Two months might be more than enough for Ned to train and pass Hunter's exam. 

But Ned was a kid, well his body was, so he thought he must be at his limit as well. 

This wasn't training at all. This was already a spar. Where the master and apprentice fought so that the master would gauge the apprentice's knowledge if he understood the learnings. 

So they fought. 

Roy checked his footing upon evading Ned's almost a blur attacks. It was a blur, but not vanishing. 

To guide Ned's trance, Roy used the fourth form of the Vanishing Stance where the blade vanishes. 

Roy had mastered the Stance even before he became a beast. So the transition from the first form to the second to the third was like a walk in an even stone pavement. His hands blurred at first then vanished. The same way as to how he vanished the blade the first time he showed it to Ned. But this time, it was faster. Roy trusted Ned. He trusted Ned with his unknown power. He trusted he could block his attack. 

Unknown to Roy, Ned had caught how he performed the fourth form of the Vanishing Stance. 

Ned smiled. 

This time, he came up with a plan. 

Just like that, Ned's mind snapped back to reality, back to how he could well maintain his emotions. He formed a plan. He wanted to push Roy, he wanted to witness in front of him how he performs the Vanishing Stance. 

Ned smiled. 

The plan already worked. 

Ned blocked the attack searing from his left. 

Both blades met in the air. The only sparks were green light in liquid form and red light from Roy's blade. 

Roy gasped. 

His plan was over. 

Now he realized that Ned's blade was also in Vanishing Stance mode. But not in the fourth form. Not just on the fourth form. But—

Ned smiled. 

His plan worked. 

The oozing of green light Butterfly went straight to Roy. It was a common attack. No extravagance, no added flare, no added surprise. Just, one, simple thrust of the Butterfly.

Then it vanished. 

The Butterfly vanished just as how Roy vanished his Fireblade. 

Ned smiled. 

"Lier," Ned said after the fiery green Butterfly appeared beside Roy's burned cheeks. 

A tiny cut under his cheekbone appeared. He was still human with the red blood forming beads over the cut. 

"Why?" Roy asked. 

"The Fourth Form of the Vanishing Stance." 

Ned canceled Overclock, his display went neutral in blue, the oozing steam evaporated, Silk Road went back to its normal hunter clothing form, and then the Butterfly shook. 

The fiery greenish fire coiling around the broken Butterfly disappeared. It was back to its former dead, and cold piece of magical blade. 

Ned pulled the Butterfly away from Roy's cheeks and said: "It's a fluke."

"Tell me." 

Roy took a step back as he retracted the mana from his blade. 

"Intent is emotion materialized through energy. The stronger the emotion, the stronger the Intent."

He nodded "And then?" 

"I said the Fourth Form is a fluke because it's a lie." Ned stopped. With a thought, he withdrew the Butterfly back to his ring. "You said to train without using mana. And you lied. You needed mana to use the Fourth Form of the Vanishing Stance. You needed mana to vanish the blade."

Roy and Ned smiled at the same time. 

They both knew, their plans worked.