61 C61 Shadows

*Bonus Chapter!*

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As of this chapter, the patreòn is 16 chapters ahead at chapter 77. Today is my day off of writing so no chapters on patreòn tonight.

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Tom didn't go to sleep until he finished the book on shadow manipulation. It explained the ability to control one's shadow and use it in battle.

There are two drawbacks to shadow manipulation. One, Tom won't be able to control any shadows but his own. Two, his shadow can't leave him, ever. He is the one casting his shadow, so how could it ever leave his side?

Although those two things make shadow manipulation seem less appealing, there are still a few things he can do with his shadow. First, he can stretch and morph his shadow into anything. Of course, there's a limit on length and size depending on how big your shadow is at the moment.

Second, Tom would be able to bind someone with his shadow. Similar to Shikimaru from Naruto, Tom would have to stretch his shadow into the targets. His shadow would then bind the target's shadow, which would cause the target to be bound as well. Though the target must be weaker than Tom in physical strength, or else they would be able to break the shadow's grip.

Another level of shadow binding is the ability to control the target's body while bound. In order to do this, Tom would have to be considerably stronger than the target. Not only would he need enough power to bind them, but he would also need enough to control their body.

Third, similar to the shadow binding, Tom would be able to move his shadow into the shadow of an object. In doing so he could move an object by binding its shadow and pulling it towards him. This is a good skill for stealing.

Fourth, with enough practice, Tom could attack with his shadow as well. He would have to morph his shadow into a weapon and attack the target's shadow. Any attacks against the target's shadow would appear on their body. Slash the shadow's wrist with enough force and the hand of the target would be severed at the wrist. This is the highest level of shadow manipulation and would take time to learn.

Though Tom wants nothing more than to start working on this, he can't just start controlling his shadow. The mystic arts are performed by taking power from external sources. To control shadows, Tom has to draw power from the shadow dimension.

The problem with this is Tom doesn't know if there's a ruler of the shadow dimension. If there is a ruler and he starts taking energy from their dimension, who knows what the consequences could be. Although it's not the same as linking himself to the dimension, as the Ancient One did to the dark dimension, intruding on the property of a cosmic being isn't something Tom wants to do.

'The book says that the shadow dimension has no ruler, but who knows how old this book is. It's best to be careful and ask the Ancient One about this.' Tom thought as he drained his magic before bed.

Speaking of linking himself to the shadow dimension. The book says that if he were to link himself to it, which no known sorcerer has ever done, other powers should become available to him. This is from a more theorized section of the book but Tom agrees with it. If he were to link himself to the shadow dimension, he should gain far more control over shadows.

'I'll make that my goal, but it probably won't happen for a while.' Tom thought as he tucked himself into bed.

The next day, Tom ended up sleeping in. He stayed up way later than he wanted, but the book he found was far too interesting for him to wait until the morning.

After going through his usual morning training, Tom went to look for the Ancient One. He found her overlooking the training of some Novices.

"Hey, Teacher!" Tom calls as he walks beside her. "Have you finished with everything from yesterday?"

"Yes, just a pesky demon that was trying to break through to our dimension." She says casually as if it was nothing.

"Huh? Was it hard to deal with?" Tom asked curiously.

"No, I just needed to find out what type of demon it was. After I knew what it was, dealing with it was fairly simple." The Ancient One replies with a wave of her hand.

"Oh, that's good. Do you have time before we go to the sanctums? I found what I'm going to study next but I have some questions." Tom says.

"Already coming to me for questions I see. Follow me." She says and they go to her private quarters.

"Ask away." She says as they take a seat across from one another.

"Well, I found this book on shadow manipulation. In order to start practicing, I have to draw energy from the shadow dimension. The book says that it has no ruler, but things can change as time passes. I would rather not find myself on the bad side of some sort of cosmic being." Tom says and the Ancient One nods as he speaks.

"It's good that you came to me before doing anything rash. I'm not sure of the state of the shadow dimension though. There's far too many dimensions for me to keep track of them all." She says and Tom's face drops in disappointment. "Though that doesn't mean you can't find out on your own."

"How?" Tom asks as his disappointment morphs into curiosity.

"Do you remember your trip through the dimensions on our first meeting?" The Ancient One asks.

"Oh, yeah. Do you mean that I should go to the shadow dimension in my astral form?" Tom replies with a slightly worried expression.

Other than that time when he first met the Ancient One, Tom has never been to another dimension. Even during that time, she was in the driver's seat and Tom was only along for the ride.

"Yes, but I'll be accompanying you. This will be your first time willingly traveling to another dimension, so I'll tag along to make sure nothing goes wrong." As she says this Tom's worried expression eased considerably.

"Thanks, Teacher." Tom says wholeheartedly. "Should we go to the shadow dimension first or go look for my relic?" Tom asks excitedly.

"Let's get you a relic first. It's what we planned for today anyway. If finding your relic takes too long, then we'll simply head to the shadow dimension tomorrow." She says and Tom agrees easily.

"Where to first?" Tom asks.

"Well, there are some relics stored away here in Kamar-Taj, so we'll start here and work our way through the New York, London, and Hong Kong Sanctums." The Ancient One says and leads Tom out of the room.

'I hope I get something good!' Tom thought as he follows closely behind the Ancient One.