Review (Part 1)

The moment the accident occurred, the entire laboratory was sealed off to prevent harmful substances from spreading outside.

According to the safety manual, the instructors outside should have rushed over at once, but Benjamin did not dare entrust his life to that.

If he did not want to be reduced to ashes in the machine's explosion, he had better find a way to stop it from breaking down further as soon as possible.

While the other apprentices panicked, unable to get out of the way in time, and even some wizards fumbled about for an emergency shutdown solution, Benjamin moved!

He shot out from behind the load-bearing pillar, so fast he was like an afterimage, and rushed toward the separator shrieking with alarms!

Corrosive dust still hung thick in the air. Seeing him charge into the danger, the surrounding apprentices cried out in alarm.

Yet the gray dust, enough to make flesh sizzle, vanished into nothing the instant it touched the Adamantine film covering Benjamin's skin, as though it had struck an invisible wall. It could not harm him at all!

Ignoring the eyes around him, Benjamin swiftly approached the separator, his gaze locked onto the several key rune nodes he had sensed.

He pressed together the fingers of his right hand, and a thread of elemental energy condensed at his fingertips from externally released spiritual power.

With swift, precise movements, he tapped the first node!

Hum...

The rune node gave a soft sound, and a surge of uncontrolled energy instantly discharged from it, once again guided away by the Adamantine film on Benjamin's hand.

Benjamin did not pause. Following the rehearsals he had calculated countless times in his mind, he tapped several more key nodes in succession!

With every node he tapped, the separator's alarm grew a little weaker, and the chaotic energy fluctuations settled a little more.

In the blink of an eye, Benjamin flashed through the dangerous area like a butterfly flitting among flowers.

When he tapped the final key node...

Smack!

The separator's alarm cut off abruptly, and the out-of-control energy flow was completely channeled away and calmed.

The corrosive dust hanging in the air also lost its source and was quickly neutralized by the public laboratory's emergency treatment system.

The crisis was over!

Benjamin stood beside the separator, breathing lightly, with a trace of lingering fear in his eyes.

The people present were briefly stunned, then burst into cheers. Only when several unlucky apprentices could not help crying out in pain did the others come to their senses and begin checking their corroded wounds.

Amy clung tightly behind the load-bearing pillar, her face still somewhat pale.

As she looked at Benjamin, her eyes held not only fright, but also astonished disbelief!

She had long thought Benjamin was highly gifted, but in that crisis just now, he had displayed qualities far surpassing theirs.

My judgment really was good. Getting on his good side this early was such a bargain!

Amid Amy's secret delight, the laboratory doors were kicked open violently, and a group of fully armed wizards stormed in with a host of silver-white magic puppets.

The magic puppets swiftly swarmed toward the injured Wizard Apprentices, working in pairs to carry them quickly out of the laboratory.

Even apprentices with relatively light injuries were arranged to leave with a magic puppet after being examined by the wizards.

Watching the rapidly dwindling number of apprentices around him and the wizards gradually closing in on him, Benjamin suddenly sighed and obediently raised both hands.

"Don't worry, I'll cooperate completely!"

It seemed these wizards had come not only to deal with this accident, but also to deal with an accident like him while they were at it.

The wizards paused slightly at his words, exchanging surprised glances before quietly taking Benjamin away amid the chaos.

On the way under escort, Benjamin instead felt relieved.

The second shoe had finally dropped!

Deep within Noren Academy, in an unknown secret chamber.

There were no unnecessary decorations inside, only cold metal walls and flooring, along with a massive light screen floating at the center and emitting a faint glow.

The screen was playing the accident that had occurred not long ago in the Alchemy Workshop's public laboratory area—the elemental dust separator malfunction, the apprentices' panic, and... the entire process of a figure rushing into the danger zone and calming the crisis at astonishing speed.

Several figures shrouded in broad wizard robes stood or sat quietly before the screen.

Their faces were hidden by the shadows of their robes, making their features impossible to discern, but the powerful spiritual power fluctuations radiating from them showed that they were at least Level Four official wizards.

The screen was paused on the image of Benjamin leaving with the wizards from the enforcement squad.

A series of assessment data had popped up beside it, displaying the energy fluctuations during the accident, the dust concentration, and the reaction scores of every apprentice.

"Number Three, slow to react. Only began retreating two seconds after the warning. Points deducted."

"Number Five, excessively panicked. Interfered with others' retreat. Points deducted."

"Number One, reacted swiftly, gave a timely warning, and handled the situation decisively. Points added."

One deep voice after another announced the scores for each apprentice's performance during the crisis.

Their evaluations were calm and objective, devoid of any emotion, as though they were merely analyzing a complex equation.

The screen switched again, freezing on the fleeting golden gleam over Benjamin's body when he charged into the corrosive dust zone.

Beside the assessment data, a conspicuous label flashed: [Abnormal Reaction].

"It was this apprentice," one voice said with a trace of interest. "He was the one who submitted that... 'White Iron-based Isolation Material'?"

A somewhat balding figure nodded, his back turned to the others. He asked in a deep voice, "What were the results of the review on him?"

"The soul examination has been completed," a voice answered calmly. "I compared the record of his soul when he first enrolled, the record before he applied the special material, and the record after he applied it. No abnormalities were found. The essence of his soul is quite clear, with no signs of parasitism by another creature or soul replacement."

"His network of interpersonal relationships was also investigated in detail," another voice continued. "Whether before or after enrollment, his social interactions have been extremely simple. In his home territory, he was a quiet, reticent child. After enrolling, aside from apprentices from his school and several peers who enrolled at the same time, he has had no deep contact with any unknown or suspicious entities. Everyone he did come into contact with was reviewed as well, and their records are clean."

"His subconscious and mind have also been examined. There are no signs of alteration by anyone."

"His cognition was tested just now. There are no signs of distortion..."

A string of test results came from the surrounding wizards. At last, they all turned their eyes in unison toward the balding wizard who had spoken first.