The Smiling Death

Chapter 456: Devouring Sphere Aquired

A full week passed after Amon returned to Arcadia Academy.

The peaceful days continued quietly, yet for Amon, every single day was packed with intense training and nonstop effort.

From morning until late night, he spent most of his time either inside the training grounds, library, or meditation rooms while trying to improve himself as quickly as possible.

Now that he had finally reached Master Rank, Amon could clearly feel how much broader the path ahead of him had become.

The amount of mana he could control while using magic spell had increased tremendously compared to before, and even his physical abilities had become sharper and stronger.

His senses improved. His reflexes became faster. Even his mana while using darkness element itself felt denser and heavier.

Yet despite all that.

Amon was still unsatisfied.

Because after seeing powerful beings like Kazriel, Vetaal, Alistair, Queen Celestia, and even high-ranking demons...

He knew very well that he was still weak.

Far too weak.

And because of that. He trained obsessively. During the last week, he spent countless hours learning Master Rank magic while also polishing his swordsmanship relentlessly.

His control over the Third Form — Black Reaper’s Dance had improved steadily, though he still had not mastered it completely.

Meanwhile, Seraphina continued helping him almost every day whenever she had free time.

Whether it was correcting his mana flow, helping him stabilize magic circles, or simply quietly observing him while reading nearby–

She always stayed around him calmly.

And honestly...

Amon had already gotten used to her presence beside him.

Today, inside one of the isolated Academy training grounds.

Amon stood near the center while sweat covered parts of his body. He currently wore a sleeveless black training shirt along with dark pants and boots.

His messy black hair stuck slightly to his forehead due to sweat while faint traces of darkness mana moved around him slowly.

Several broken stone targets could already be seen scattered around the field from his previous training.

Meanwhile, Seraphina sat quietly nearby beneath the shade of a tree while reading a magic theory book.

Today she wore a black long-sleeved sweater along with white trousers, while her long golden hair remained tied in a loose ponytail behind her.

However despite reading. Her golden eyes occasionally moved toward Amon while watching him train.

At that moment Amon slowly exhaled. His black eyes sharpened with focus.

"Alright..." He was ready.

He today felt different. Because after struggling with it for nearly a week.

He was finally very close to fully learning Devouring Sphere.

Amon slowly raised his right hand forward.

Dark mana immediately began gathering around his palm.

Unlike before this time his mana flow remained calm.

It was lot steady and controlled. Thin black lines slowly formed in the air above his hand.

One ring.

Then another.

Then a third.

The floating magic circle began rotating slowly above his palm while strange void-like symbols spun around its center continuously.

Darkness mana compressed rapidly.

The air itself started becoming heavier.

Even Seraphina slowly lowered her book slightly while observing him more carefully now.

Amon narrowed his eyes. He could feel it.

The structure was stable.

His mana wasn’t collapsing anymore.

Then at the center of the magic circle. A small black sphere slowly formed.

Dense darkness twisted around it violently while nearby mana particles visibly started getting pulled toward the orb.

The ground beneath Amon darkened slightly.

A grin slowly spread across his face.

Ding~

[Spell– Devouring Sphere Aquired]

"...I finally did it."

For the first time, the spell had fully formed successfully.

The Devouring Sphere floated above his palm ominously while distorted darkness swirled around it continuously.

Even Seraphina’s golden eyes widened slightly.

A faint smile appeared on her face.

"You succeeded."

Amon looked incredibly excited.

"Hehe... this feels amazing."

The mana pressure coming from the sphere was far greater than he expected.

The spell honestly felt dangerous. Then Amon slowly turned toward one of the reinforced stone targets standing at the far end of the training ground.

"Let’s test this."

His eyes sharpened immediately.

He thrust his hand forward.

[Devouring Sphere]

WHOOM!

The black sphere shot forward at incredible speed while leaving dark trails behind it.

The surrounding mana visibly distorted as the orb flew through the air.

Then a loud sound came.

BOOOOM!!

A massive explosion erupted the moment it struck the target.

Darkness exploded violently outward while black shockwaves spread across the training field.

Dust and debris scattered everywhere.

Several nearby stone targets cracked apart instantly from the impact alone.

The ground itself became corrupted black near the explosion site.

Amon’s eyes widened slightly.

"...Woah."

Even he had not expected that much destructive power.

When the dust slowly cleared. The original target was completely gone.

Nothing remained except broken rubble and blackened ground.

A slow grin spread across Amon’s face.

"Hahaha... this spell is awesome."

Nearby, Seraphina closed her book quietly before standing up.

Then she walked toward him calmly.

"The destructive power is strong....stronger than usual Master Rank spells."

Amon nodded immediately.

"And it absorbs nearby mana too. I could feel it pulling energy while forming."

Seraphina looked toward the damaged ground.

"The mana corruption effect remained as well."

Indeed the area struck by the spell still radiated faint darkness mana.

Amon honestly looked extremely satisfied right now.

After struggling with unstable mana circles, explosions, and failed attempts for days.

Finally succeeding felt incredibly rewarding.

Seraphina quietly looked at his excited face before smiling faintly.

"You worked hard."

Amon scratched his cheek proudly.

"Hehe~ of course."

Then his eyes lit up again.

"Now let’s move to the next spell."

Seraphina blinked once.

"...Already?"

"Of course already."

Amon pointed dramatically toward the sky.

"I am motivated today.

Seraphina quietly stared at him for several seconds before sighing softly. Honestly, she already expected this reaction.

Soon afterward.

The two moved toward another side of the training field. This time Amon opened the spell book toward another page.

Grave of Eternal Night.

The new spell that he was going to learn now.