Benjamin had originally had little interest in their argument.
This penny-pinching over contributions held little appeal for him.
He had been about to gather his thoughts and consider how to efficiently process these fresh Lava Giant specimens.
But suddenly, a trace of strangeness appeared on his face.
He sensed that the Talisman Seal deep within his dantian, used to gather Mortal Aura, had somehow begun to pulse faintly.
He immediately focused his mind, sending his mental power deep into his dantian to carefully perceive the Talisman Seal.
Benjamin quickly discovered with delight that the surface of the Talisman Seal had truly collected some thin traces of Mortal Aura!
How... is that possible? Benjamin felt an unprecedented shock.
He had long suspected that Mortal Aura originated from the interaction between the intense emotional fluctuations of living beings and the concept of "society."
On the Eloria Plane, it was energy found almost everywhere.
But among wizards—especially within orthodox Wizard Civilization—Mortal Aura was exceedingly rare, almost nonexistent.
Wizards' daily interactions were filled with rational rules and cold data.
They did not anger easily, did not become deeply entangled in emotion, and did not pursue the warmth of worldly affections.
Thus, he had almost never managed to gather any Mortal Aura from wizards.
Subconsciously, he turned his gaze toward the several wizards beside him, still arguing until their faces were red, then spread out his mental power to sense the auras of the other scattered wizards in the distance who were tallying their spoils.
Though those wizards were all doing their utmost to keep their faces calm, their emotional fluctuations appeared clearly before his perception system, which was extraordinarily sensitive to emotions.
There was anger, resentment, greed, cunning, and even a trace of repression born from suppressed selfish desire.
In that instant, enlightenment dawned