Benjamin had just fully awakened from that profound, mystical state of law resonance, his consciousness still somewhat adrift, when Clark's familiar voice reached his ears.
"Right now, you owe me thirty billion low-grade Military Merit."
Benjamin blinked, taking half a beat before he came back to himself.
He had just withdrawn his true form. The Ring of Truth in his Spirit Sea still carried a residual scorching heat, while more than a dozen golden threads of law slowly flowed along its surface like rings of molten gold that had yet to cool.
Only then did that number begin echoing through his mind.
Thirty billion... huh?
Seeing Benjamin's bewildered expression, Clark's face did not change in the slightest. He still wore that eternally indifferent look.
"Your actions just now amounted to using the overflow from my law structure to acquire a great deal of knowledge." His tone remained even. "According to the wizard principle of equivalent exchange, I calculated your gains... the complete structures of more than a dozen laws, plus the initial construction of a Law Solidification Domain. Converted into low-grade Military Merit, it comes to roughly thirty billion. I already waived the remainder for you."
Benjamin opened his mouth, then closed it again.
He could not deny it.
During those few minutes, he had indeed passively absorbed the law knowledge overflowing from Clark. The rings of golden law threads coiling through his Spirit Sea could not lie, and neither could the fact that the Ring of Truth had been forcibly wound into gold.
More importantly, Benjamin knew perfectly well that Clark had already estimated the figure on the low side.
For a Level 5 Wizard to directly fill more than a dozen laws at once, reaching the point where he could advance to Level 6 at any time—an opportunity