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"Will you eat the cores?" asked Benladann.

"Yeah, unless you want them for Cultivation Potions?" I asked.

"Oh no, go ahead. I was just wondering what you would get this time around, seeing how you can acquire power from the Mana Cores you eat…" said Benladann.

"I see. So you were thinking the same as me, I wonder if I can get her element affinity. But I remember eating other elements of mana cores before and I didn't get the magic itself. Sometimes certain spells would emerge, but nothing too crazy." I said

"I see… Though, isn't death similar to Phantom? Maybe you could get it!" said Benladann.

"Hehe, I really hope so," I said, as I quickly engulfed the Mana Cores and crunched them with my sharp fangs, swallowing them.

The assimilation was immediate.

FLASH!

<Mana Cores consumed successfully>

<Your stats have increased>

<You learned the following Skills>

[Phantom Magic: Level 1]

[Dark Shadow Domain]

[Phantasmal Possession]

[Phantasmal Soul Enslavement]

[Tyranny of the Crazed Phantom Warlock]

…

Only five skills…

But one of them is very important, and the other four don't look bad at all either!

I got Phantom Magic!

I felt it… deep within my Death/Null Mana Core… it evolved, the death within easily assimilated and copied this phantom magic essence and it generated it.

Impressive.

And the other Skills were not so bad either. However, what's important is the Phantom Magic Skill.

This Magic… many could think it is merely just a lesser version of Death Magic.

But if it has its own Attribute recognized by the Laws of the World, then it clearly has enough merit to be its own element.

Phantom Magic relates to all things related to phantasmal essences, souls, and all of that. It can also be related to death through this connection.

And thanks to the memories I got from this woman, I know how to conjure the best spells she used from the get-go.

Phantom Magic is not a lesser version of death magic at all.

In fact, both complement each other quite amazingly well!

What is this? It truly feels as if Death Magic suddenly became more "complete" with the addition of Phantom Magic.

So great…

Although my stats didn't go up as much as I could have wanted! But well, I am Rank 4 now…

The other Mana Cores still received a great boost.

After that, what was left were the corpses, which I decided to save inside my Inventory indefinitely.

"Well, I did get Phantom Magic… it feels like I got the other half of death magic. This is pretty amazing." I said.

"Indeed, your presence just became with phantasmal too!" said Benladann.

"T-That much?! Wait, let's see…"

I slowly reduced my aura to normal and stable levels.

"Phew, that should be more than enough now." I sighed.

"Hehe, I really don't mind your aura anyways. Now, what do we do?" wondered Benladann.

"Hm, I was thinking of taking you for a ride," I said.

"A ride?" she asked.

"Yeah, we haven't had one in a while. Let's go to the skies and beyond for a few hours just to pass the time and clean up our minds." I said.

"Drake… But are you sure? What if they see us?" she asked.

"They won't, don't worry. I am prepared. I got Illusion Magic now, with it and a lot of Mana, we can camouflage ourselves even better. I have already used it over Fuyu, and she can't possibly be more invisible now." I said.

"Oooh… Fine then, let's do that." She said.

I quickly transformed into my dragon form. But it was not the dragon form I was currently in.

Each time I evolve my appearance changes too much, and I fear that such a thing creates a disconnection between Benladann and my true dragon form.

But who said I cannot take my previous forms?

<Answer: It is completely possible to take the appearance of all previous Dragon Form Evolutions through Body Transformation without any reduction of stats>

Heh, then let's take the form of an Adult Ice Dragon, the one which Benladann met me, and the one she's most familiar with as well.

POOF!

I quickly exploded into cold smoke, as I transformed into my classic ice dragon form.

Hahh, feels good.

It doesn't feel as if I was forcing myself to take it… It feels right at home.

"Oooh! That form…!"

"It really feels like my original form to be honest… Hop in, let's hit the skies." I said.

"Alright! It has really been a while…"

Benladann felt nostalgic and so did I, she jumped with her great strength and agility over my back, as Fuyu opened the gates.

"Alright you two lovebirds, don't take too long… And Drake, make sure to not be seen by anyone." Said Fuyu.

"Yeah, I am already covered by several layers of Illusion Magic, don't worry about it, Fuyu," I said.

"Very well… Have fun."

FLAAAAAASSSH!

I flapped my wings as I flew into the skies.

The breeze was nice…

"Uwaaah! The sky is so vast… We are atop the clouds!" said Benladann.

"Indeed! All of this world is so beautiful, isn't it? The vast skies, the white clouds, the snowy fields down there… the mountains…" I muttered.

"Yeah! It is our world… We belong here." Said Benladann.

"I feel the same…"

How foolish of me to think that I still belonged to Earth…

As I flapped my wings and flew higher and higher into the vastness of the skies, I felt like the skies were the place where I belonged.

"So pretty…" said Benladann.

The sun before us greeted us, a bright light illuminating our endless path towards wherever we wanted to go.

Unbound, and free.

Yeah, this is where I belong.

I flew faster and faster, as Benladann tightly gripped her legs and arms around my back, she was strong enough to withstand the breeze, but I still made a small barrier using Wind Magic around her, so she could feel comfortable.

FLAAAAASSH!

We flew wherever we wanted, without a care of the world or anything else.

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