Whispers of Metal: The Forge of the One Mage

I hope you enjoy the chapter, try to add more interactions between the MC and the SU characters and also put different points of view, you know, leave comments and power stones

It was one of those rare moments when I found myself outside my lab (basement), far from my ethically dubious experiments, such as cloning certain "animals" or extreme genetic modification. I walked through the streets of Beach City, lost in thoughts about my various projects and research.

I had made significant progress in my biological research. But, as always, nothing is perfect. One of the problems I recently discovered was with the mice I modified. At first glance, everything seemed fine, but their cells could no longer adapt to environmental changes. This means that if I expose them to conditions like —cold, for example— they won't adapt. Only mice with a pre-existing genetic advantage, like thicker fur, would survive. Is that evolution? Well, yes... and no. (The short answer: that's part of it, but not the whole story. Evolution is much more complex than just selecting pre-existing traits.) This doesn't help me with what I want to do; if I used this, I'd get stuck in terms of biological potential.

Anyway, I'm working on it, and it's complicated.

In other news, I obtained DNA samples from other people and living beings, more research material. Did you know that the genetic difference between a chimpanzee and a human is only about 1% in our world? Well, now you know. A quick internet search in this world also showed the same thing. 

Here's the interesting part: comparing my DNA with that of about fifty people (I think I'll be stealing samples from the hospital more often). I discovered that although I share 98.986% of my genes with humans from this world, they're organized slightly differently. This doesn't make them special or better, just an interesting fact. The remaining genes are what intrigued me the most.

The strangest part is that humans in this world don't seem to experience the "uncanny valley." You know, that uncomfortable feeling when something looks almost human but not quite. Here, as long as something is humanoid enough, they accept it as human. (An orc in the street? For them, it would just be another type of human. Not that they're dumb, but it's like they lack a sense that we have.) Though it makes sense since these humans grew up with gems, that ability would have been more of a disadvantage than anything else.

It's interesting to see how you can arrive at a similar result by taking different paths (though the difference is small; like I said, what separates chimpanzees from humans is just 1% of DNA).

Anyway, I felt like I needed to rest my mind today. I sat near the beach and watched the waves, letting the sound of the water and the sea breeze clear my complicated thoughts. "A bit of peace never hurts." But of course, as if fate was tempted by my tranquility, I sensed a presence nearby.

I sighed. The presence radiated curiosity. "Right, I can now feel the emotions of nearby living beings. It's totally involuntary, though seeing thoughts requires conscious effort." My perception allowed me to identify that it wasn't fully sapient, but had enough intelligence for some complex thoughts. I looked toward where the sensation came from, and there it was: a pink lion.

Light pink mane, with a body of a more intense but not garish pink, its pupil-less eyes glowed with a soft pink light. It looked at me with curiosity until it decided I wasn't interesting and slowly walked away.

"That was weird," I said as I turned back to the sea.

...

The day that Adrian, Connie, and I got trapped still lingered in my mind. I knew Adrian had "magic," but I had no idea how versatile his abilities were. One of these days, I'll have to ask him to train with me, though I don't think Pearl will like it for some reason I can't quite grasp.

This week had been a whirlwind. Fencing training with Pearl, going on some missions, that time in the inverted pyramid still makes me dizzy just thinking about it, helping Amethyst with the underground arena fights in Beach City. I barely had time for myself. But that didn't really bother me.

Even Garnet, during one of my training sessions with Pearl, told me I was improving faster than before, though she said I needed to work on my posture—ugh, let's not remember that.

But as I trained, something distracted me. It wasn't something physical, it was mental. It was Adrian. I hadn't seen much of him this week, only brief moments. He always seemed so... distant, lost in his thoughts and experiments. I knew he liked being busy with his things, but sometimes it bothered me that he didn't tell me much. "A little mystery is fine, but not too much!" I pouted, puffing out my cheeks as I thought about it.

Nora continued with her thoughts.

Finally, I got myself a pet—a magical pink lion! Though the girls didn't want me to keep it after that mission in the desert, they let me because it's somewhat obedient, and I've been training it these past few days.

Now that it's more obedient, I plan to introduce my friends to my new pet.

First, Sadie and Lars—their reaction was exactly what I expected: "It's amazing, Nora! Where did you find it?" Sadie said with clear excitement, while Lars had fainted. "Um, Sadie, do you think Lars will be okay?" I asked as I looked at Lars on the floor.

"Yeah, he'll be fine," she said, leaving the lion aside and helping Lars sit in a chair while he was still unconscious.

Next, I introduced the lion to Kiki and Jenny, who were quite surprised. Jenny tried to pet the lion, but it didn't let her.

"Haha," Kiki chuckled quietly at her sister.

I also introduced the lion to my dad, who almost fainted, but I managed to calm him down and convince him that the lion is a good pet.

I also want to show Adrian. What will he say? How will he react to the lion?

In my thoughts, my concern for Adrian resurfaced. I looked for him at his house, doing Adrian things, but when I went, he wasn't there. A bit discouraged, I headed back home, but on the way, I saw him at the beach, sitting by the sea, watching the waves. I don't know why, but my chest felt lighter seeing him. He looked so peaceful, so with the lion by my side, we quietly approached. I sat beside him in silence, and the lion followed my lead.

"You've missed some interesting things this week, like this guy," I said calmly, but I couldn't keep my tone calm for long before it turned cheerful as I pointed to the lion.

He just looked at it for a moment and then back at me, raising a hand with a thumbs-up gesture. "That's it? Such a lack of enthusiasm," I said, trying to be serious, but it didn't come out that way. Adrian just let out a soft laugh with his eyes closed.

Nora felt a bit embarrassed by this, and her cheeks started to blush.

He didn't respond immediately. His eyes remained closed as he stopped laughing. Finally, he spoke, with that calm tone he always uses. "I've been busy. Too busy, maybe, but don't worry, I won't be so busy soon."

I didn't know what to say for a moment. I wanted to ask what he was doing, what was keeping him so absorbed. But something held me back. (What if I don't want to know the answer?). "Heh, you better not be, mister," I said half-jokingly, half-seriously, to which he simply played along, "Yes, mom."

For a moment, my mind froze. "W-what did you just call me?" I asked, but he just smiled and turned his gaze back to the sea.