Since he was at Noren Academy No. 13, Benjamin was in no hurry to immediately return to his remote Noren Plane 147.
On one hand, he needed to wait for the Expeditionary Force Command's follow-up handling of that intelligence and a possible summons. On the other, the chance to study under Mentor Clark again was exceedingly rare.
In the days that followed, he kept a close watch for any messages that might come from the command while remaining in Mentor Clark's vast, intricate laboratory as a senior assistant, handling all manner of precise experimental data and material preprocessing.
Of course, that terrifying memory of being erased in an instant still lingered in his mind.
It was no exaggeration to say that, as one of the few people who had truly experienced the sensation of death, Benjamin found that his fear of death had not diminished at all. Instead, it had grown.
Moreover, Benjamin still did not know the exact value of the Substitute Doll he had used earlier.
After all, he had yet to pay Mentor Clark for that Substitute Doll.
This was the norm in the Wizard World.
Wizards who revered equivalent exchange kept clear accounts even with their closest relatives, mentors, and disciples when resources this precious were involved.
A mentor could provide protection, knowledge, and opportunities. They could even, like Clark, advance a life-saving item first.
But the corresponding price had to be borne by the student.
There could be discounts, but the price could never be waived.
Previously, Benjamin had not actually used the item. At its core, it had merely been unused insurance, so there had been no need to consider such issues.
But now, he could no longer pretend not to know.
During a break between experiments, he casually probed Mentor Clark, who was