A/N: Yes, An Extra Chapter because this is ch.200 and we made 3M views! It has been and it still is a great memorable journey for me.
Thank you for all the support and let's keep going. *don't forget patreon*
~~~~~~~~~~
What is Shadow Magic one might wonder!
Shadow Magic is an obscure but powerful form of magic. It was first harnessed by Azra Nightwielder, who was the first to discover that shadow was not simply an absence of light, but a reflection of possible worlds created by forces in conflict. Shadows can be produced by mundane forces such as light hitting a rock, or by more powerful forces such as nations at war. Shadow Magic involves the manipulation of shadows to affect the forces creating it.
In this way, Shadow Magic rivals even the power of the Elder Scrolls themselves, having the power to potentially change the past, present, and future through the manipulation of shadow.
With Shadow Magic, Shadows could be absorbed to strengthen one's self, or could be molded into physical forms, such as weapons. Shadow Magic could also be used to visit other realms, to assist alternative versions of yourself and request their aid. Shadow Mages are also capable of draining the life force and health from their foes.
And if that is not enough for you, then I don't know what else is?
"... Do you understand now?"
"Hooman, meanie!"
Nope, totally nothing.
I forced Nefertiti to take her Child Form to train her on sensing magic but the process is rather… how do I describe this? It is like swallowing an egg through the nose.
"Jon, who is that girl?" Nurina asked.
"Nefertiti!"
"Help me! Hooman is a meanie!"
"Jon, when did you start to abuse kids?"
"Like... never."
Nurina didn't even listen and pushed me to the side then carried Nefertiti in her arms.
"Come here cutie, bad Jon was bullying you? I can beat bad Jon a hundred time for you. Just call me Mama!"
Oh boy…
Her motherly instincts are activated again! This is not good.
"Don't beat Hooman."
Nefertiti stuck up for me. I knew she won't sell me.
She even transformed back to her normal form and hid behind me.
"Wha! Wait! I still haven't had enough… To see such a cute child… with cat ears and a tail! Oblivion take me, I could almost understand why Jon like fluffy stuff!"
"How on Nirn can anyone resist fluffy things?"
"Just let me have one more look at her." Nurina looked at me with pitiful expressions.
"Just no touching or acting creepy, Nefertiti is sensitive."
"Fine!"
As she replied, I turned around trying to reach for Nefertiti who was behind me… was!
I can't seem to find her though.
"Where did she go?"
I looked around but I didn't see her anywhere.
"Did she go into stealth again?" Nurina asked.
"No, I feel her, she is pretty close… way too close actually."
It was a strange feeling but… It is actually strange. I moved around but she was still close.
"She is not in your pants, isn't she?" Nurina said in a mocking tone.
"No, she prefers hoods, my pants is where my dragon is."
*Swoosh*
"You kiss your mama with that mouth?"
I just avoided a death blow in case if you are wondering what the 'swoosh' was.
"JUST KIDDING, GODDAMMIT! HOLD IT, WOMAN!"
There was a book resting deep in the wall behind me in case if you are wondering about what made the 'swoosh' too.
Still, we were unable to find Nefertiti even with that strange feeling of her being very close.
{HOOMAN!}
"... And now I am hearing her voice in my head!"
"... Okay, this is weird!"
I started moving around the room and Scanning the area with magic and so did Nurina.
"Nefertiti, where are you? Can my voice reach you?"
{Hooman! It is scary!}
Shit! Something is wrong.
I started searching faster with an agitated feeling but…
{STOP MOVING AROUND!}
… I was yelled at by Nefertiti's voice.
"Okay."
"What's wrong?"
"She told me not to move."
"Why?"
"I don't know… hey, why are you looking at my butt?"
While I was answering Nurina, she averted her eyes and looked behind me.
"Not your butt you dolt. Look over there!"
What she pointed at was actually my own shadow… which was having some black smoke coming from it.
I felt a familiar feeling from the aura that black smoke and didn't feel threatened at all.
A second later, a small black figure popped out from my Shadow and as you can't guess, Nefertiti.
"This is new!" Nurina was taken aback.
"HOOMAN! DON'T LEAVE ME!" Nefertiti meowed and jumped right to my face.
This was the way she hugs people so I hugged her back… on my face.
"Okay, calm down. What was that just now?"
Her answers were a series of meows which I started translating for Nurina.
"It seemed that she 'fell' in my shadow once she tried to hide from you behind me."
"Fell?"
"She said so…"
It was a new matter to discuss. No one falls in shadows unless it is…
""A Shadow Magic!""
We looked at each other.
"But… why now of all times?"
"Yes, I mean we just started researching it."
"It can't be just a coincidence."
Just like she said, it can hardly be this easy for Nefertiti to use Shadow Magic just as we started researching it.
'System… can you review my activity log since the moment we started researching?'
<Confirmed!>
The system started to calculate it and showed me the results.
There was a lot of useless stuff like how many times I breathed and how many steps I walked from Nurina's place to my laboratory under the Company's building.
'Hmmm… then exclude everything except my interactions with Nefertiti and my magic activity.'
<Confirmed!>
Another shorter screen appeared. Let's see…
"Could it be because I patted her like a hundred times all they over to this place?" I asked Nurina.
Her gaze was piercing as ever.
"Nope… definitely not that one. Hmmm! Oh, I guess it is because I supplied her with a lot of Magicka so she can be able to manipulate it."
After a bit of argument, we decided that this is the right guess. Even though Nefertiti can sense magic, she barely had any Magicka and that's why I supplied her with mine.
According to Nurina, with my strong Magicka inside Nefertiti, she couldn't control it fully and when she decided to hide behind me using the normal stealth technique she imitated from me, she accidentally activated a greater magic which she could meld into my shadow with.
"But that's not logical, how can she just use magic like that? Even Spriggans and Vampires need to cast it as spells." I questioned.
"It's actually pretty logical. Logic doesn't really apply that well with Shadow Magic and your cat has gone through a lot of weird events by simply following you around."
"So you are saying that me using logic to try and teach her magic is…"
"Pretty much useless."
I see.
"Just make sure that she builds up enough Magicka for herself and to practice any Shadow Technique she arrives to on her own. Teaching her is useless but inspiring her may work."
Nurina gave me a lot of ideas.
I may be knowledgeable but I am a horrible teacher. That's why I admire Nurina.
"We have a lot of new stuff to do together now."
I patted Nefertiti who didn't seem to be happy about it.
"Why the long face? Magic is fun."
"Humph! Hooman is bad."
And she just keeps going.
Her personality is getting weird lately.
After convincing her for some time, she changed into the Child Form again and I showed her around the lab.
"Here, Alina prepared some clothes for you."
"Clothes are annoying."
"Just put whatever you like on, you can't keep going around in that oversized black shirt of mine."
Else she would kill people with just her cuteness.
Until now, she only wore a black shirt of mine that was actually pretty much big for her. She, however, loved it very much and looked super cute in it, her left shoulder was exposed and her arms were not even coming out from the sleeves. It was devilishly cute I tell you.
Before we leave the Moonblade Clan, Alina acted all motherly and packed all her clothes which she wore when she was a child and told me to give them for Nefertiti. Such an action is indeed something a caring girl like Alina would do on her own.
Eventually, Nefertiti chose a black dress.
Nurina kicked me out so that she can dress Nefertiti on her own. I was a bit worried and refused to leave but my secretary came in.
"The guest has arrived, Boss."
"Oh, he is here!"
"Who is here?" Nurina asked.
"Master Alchemist Nurelion."
Nurina raised her brows and blinked a few times.
"How did you manage to make someone like that come to visit you?"
"... Maybe by helping him achieve one of his life's great goals then leave some question marks behind to attract his interest."
"Kid… you know what! I don't even want to know. A High Elf Master Alchemist? His kind can be counted on the fingers of one hand."
Nurina had too much on her mind already so I left her.
Still, I am the one who is going to deal with an ill-tempered High Elf elderly and try to gain his favor.