Beyond The System
Chapter 150: Intent and Control

“Well… moving on,” I muttered. My Inner Force was still flowing smoothly enough that I didn’t bother worrying. I could always rebuild them later.

I shifted focus. There was something else I wanted to test.

Back when I’d formed my Grand Channel, I’d noticed the energy had grown denser. That change had slowed down cultivation time and made forming a core significantly harder. But it seemed like the Grand Channel itself had caused it.

Another unique benefit of the foundation the others seemed to lack. Maybe there was more that I hadn't noticed from the circuits and root too.

I shelved the thought and turned to the skill Vel had taught me.

I gathered energy into my palm, visualizing the shape she'd used. A tall, rectangular barrier. To me intent wasn’t some foreign concept, but it still caught me off guard that Inner Force could respond to it as well.

Unless Griffith had been messing with Vel, but that didn’t seem likely.

I did my best to push aside any thoughts of forming a Spiritual Object like my needles. I didn’t want a weapon. I wanted protection. Something thin but strong. Something that would pull from everything circulating in my hand.

Then I pushed.

And it worked.

That was... probably the first time I’d ever gotten a skill right on the first try.

I let the focus go, hand dropping. The barrier lingered for just a moment longer, then vanished.

Huh.

Wyrem, how much do you know about intent? I asked silently.

You’ve come to the right place, Peter, he answered with his usual smugness. It’s your wish, your desire.

Yeah?

Yes!

I think that’s all you’re getting from the wise Dragon-worm, Peter, Luna muttered, glowing faintly green.

You called me a dragon, Wyrem said, softer than usual, almost touched. A student truly knows how to honor their master.

He was still terrible at sarcasm, but then again, who wasn’t?

I let the two of them ramble and returned to the experiment.

I’d seen bigger shields before like Griffith’s, and those ambushers back with the second prince. Shields that covered the whole front of the body. But what about full-body defense. And beyond that… what were the actual limits of intent?

From what I could tell, I still needed control to keep the shield stable. The second I dropped focus, the thing collapsed. But why didn’t I need that same conscious effort with other skills? Was I doing it subconsciously?

Too many questions.

With Spiritual Objects, I had to micromanage every detail. The shape of a needle, the spin, groves, and with the pebbles it was the same. So how could intent fit into that?

I turned my palm upward and summoned energy again, this time picturing the needle. Its exact form. Its spin. But without the usual effort I put in with control. Only intent, like with the barrier.

I pushed the energy out like before. Something did form, but it wasn’t what I’d envisioned. And I could tell, immediately, it wasn’t really tethered to me like usual, nothing I could launch anyway.

Instead, it looked like a membrane, not so different from the barrier I’d just made. A thin, conical layer stretching from my palm, spinning slowly in place. No threat. Just form.

You could call it a failure. It was nothing like my actual technique, the one that if pushed to its limits, could kill from dozens of meters away.

But still, I stared, wide-eyed. My heart raced.

Because what floated in front of me wasn’t a shard of ice.

It was something else, a semi-transparent, not liquid, not solid. More like gel. Thick and slow-moving. A water-thing that wasn’t quite water.

“Why?” The word slipped out without thought.

I turned back toward the group.

It looked like both Channel Opening groups were done. No one was touching Thea or Ironscribe anymore, but everyone still had their eyes closed.

I could ask more questions later. Even if I pestered the commander now, hearing too much from someone else might only muddy things.

Instead, I turned inward again and sent a new clear intention toward the swirling goo in my palm.

Protection.

Instantly, it solidified and froze in place. I felt the strain hit me immediately. This version demanded more. More precision. More focus. It demanded control.

So far, the base form of Water Force, just water, barely needed any effort. Just summoning the energy would create it.

The next stage, which I was only beginning to understand, required only intent. And the third form, the hardened one, demanded control.

That seemed to be the structure. The basics, at least.

Past that, it seemed to all lie on a spectrum.

But now I had a new question. What influence could intent have over skills that already relied heavily on control?

Oh. Something clicked.

A recent memory surfaced.

“Shatter,” I whispered.

The hardened icicle shattered instantly, dissolving into glimmering particles before disappearing into nothing.

Next, I conjured a Spiritual Object like I normally would. This time, I shaped a small pearl with an empty center. A think and fragile hollow bullet. Not exactly the most intimidating creation.

This one wasn’t bound to my skin like the others. Instead, I linked it with a thin thread of Internal Force, just enough for me to launch it and retain some control.

Down that line, I sent another pulse of energy, not to reshape or reinforce it, but to saturate it with intent.

The force flowed through smoothly, landing in the core of the bullet.

“Explode,” I murmured.

Poof.

A soft cloud of frost-dust burst from the pearl’s center, dispersing just like Drake’s blinding pellets.

“Cool.”

Yeah, that was neat, Luna agreed with a tone of awed delight. How’d you do it?

Oh. Uh... I just kinda thought about it, and it happened, I said. It just sort of happened on its own. Not sure why.

Hmm, she said, thoughtful. Actually, that kinda sounds like my transformation. I don’t know if it’s intent or whatever, but I don’t need to overthink it. I just think back to the memories and move.

Force is truly mysterious in nature, Wyrem added, his tone thick with reverence. It can be shaped by beings of every kind, yet it seems to carry a will of its own. Even when dyed with your essence, it can still act outside of you.

…

…

If you knew that, Luna snapped, why didn’t you say it?!

Who said I knew that? Wyrem shot back, full of righteous indignation. I just figured it out now! With Peter's experiments.

You sounded so sure and then began— I started.

LECTURING! Luna finished for me.

Peter, Wyrem said with the smug patience of someone about to drop ancient wisdom, you must learn to speak like a sage. When your words sound wise, your students will think you’re all-knowing.

1. I. WON’T!

I tuned them out again and filed Wyrem’s advice away for later. I wasn’t above faking intelligence. Let’s be honest, I kind of did it all the time...

“Hey.”

“AH!” I nearly jumped out of my skin. Even with enhanced senses and Spirit Sense, which I still didn’t fully understand, I had to actually pay attention to use them.

“Geez, man. Sorry,” Trevor chuckled. "What you up to?"

I turned to him, seeing his group moving toward some palms. Probably off to help Marcus shape materials.

“Just messing around,” I said. “You?”

“Just got up…”

We fell into silence for a bit. It hit harder now, how distant we’d become. Talking with him wasn’t as easy as it used to be. But I still tried.

“Sooo... how do I make an ice boat?”

He shrugged. “No idea, man. I guess... maybe build a container underneath the wood first? Keep it all compact?”

“I thought you knew?” I raised a brow. “Didn’t you read about it?”

“Yeah, I read about it,” he said, stepping up beside me. “Not like we had much nature to experience firsthand.”

“True. I mean, my reaction to the stars—”

“I know, right?!” Trevor cut in, louder than necessary. “That was the only good thing about… well, everything before.”

“Now this.” I swept my hand toward the horizon. The ocean glittered in the sun. "Clean, clear, endless. What else could we ask for?”

“Wonder if there’s anything crazy down there,” he mused, eyes narrowing at the waves.

It felt good connecting on something again. The sheer alien strangeness of this world compared to back home… At least we both understood that.

“Heard you’ve made progress,” I said, bumping his shoulder. “Guess you might actually catch up to me soon.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but someone cut in from nearby.

“Rffr. How am I supposed to concentrate with you and blondie yapping?”

“Rffr?” I echoed, trying to mimic the sound of pure frustration.

Velea shot me a sharp glare.

“Sorry,” I said quickly. Then something behind her caught my eye. “Looks like your sister’s up. You should probably go talk to her. She’s in one of her fun moods.”

“Fun mood?”

“Just go.” I could guess what happened. Thea had probably resisted for a while, but Lyra’s spell was strong, even with just her system. I couldn’t imagine what it would’ve been like with Precursor Energy layered in.

She scampered off without another word, and I turned back to Trevor.

“Oh—yeah. Marcus has been helping out,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “He taught me the stuff you showed him. Before, I really struggled with all this cultivation stuff, but now…”

He looked out across the ocean, a small, almost disbelieving smile tugging at his face. “He said I’m getting faster.”

I returned the smile and clapped him on the back. “Knowing my luck, you’re probably some hidden prodigy.”

“I just wanted to help,” he said, quieter now. “It sucked feeling useless for so long. Weak. Then you—”

I cut him off. “You’re not useless. None of us are. Who else here would’ve known something as dumb but weirdly helpful as how to make an ice boat? And like you said,” I gestured at him, “you improved. Got faster. That’s what matters.”

He smirked. “Much faster, so careful, I might pass you up soon.”

I shrugged. “We’re both still behind everyone else. All those system users? They’re gonna be miles ahead when they learn everything I can offer.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” He groaned. “I’ve had enough trouble fighting one dog. I don’t even want to think about what you’d do with a system.”

“Not interested.”

“No?”

“Well… maybe a little,” I admitted. “But I doubt I’d have come this far if I’d started with one.”

“Sure, but with the—”

“Peter!” Marcus’s voice called from across the beach. “Let’s start figuring this out!”

“Let’s go,” I said, nudging Trevor forward with me. “I could use someone with an actual brain over there.”

Trevor laughed. “I’m telling him you said that.”

“Jerk.”

We walked together, still laughing, and for just a moment, we caught something rare. A piece of our old lives.