TomVanDyke
So towards the start, we learnt that the more natural essence you get, the worse your magic. Hes been enjoying a tonne all this while, has his magic been decreasing, or is there something I've forgotten, again, that allows him to train both without hurting the other?
I can't say too much about this since it involves spoilers, but there are some strong hints in the past few dozen chapters. Specifically, remember that Arran spent quite a bit of time in the shadow world, with shadow essence not just permeating his body but also nourishing him. Next, consider what happened to his control of (shadow) magic after that, what the state of his body was when he emerged, and whether the rate of his strength increases has changed since he returned to his previous peak. That should give you some idea of which way he currently leans in the magical/natural balance. Of course, all of this also points toward an interesting question: what would happen if someone's magical or natural affinity was taken to the extreme?
Thanks for the chapter author! Just my opinion, but maybe you should not do the ETA's for the chapters until you feel comfortable writing on a steady schedule again. Most of the readers here have experienced bumps in the updates before so we don't mind waiting a week or even more for a chapter, but putting unnecessary expectations that you won't be able to meet loads more pressure on yourself as well as giving readers false hope. As long as the quality doesn't drop I don't mind 1 chapter/week! Thanks again for the chapter and hope everything's going well!