Since he was at Nolun No.13 Academy, Jeming was in no hurry to immediately return to his remote Nolun No.147 Plane.

On one hand, he needed to wait for the Expeditionary Army Command to follow up on that information and possibly summon him; on the other hand, the opportunity to learn from Professor Clark again was extremely rare.

In the days that followed, he closely monitored any message that might come from the Command while calmly staying in Professor Clark’s large and complex laboratory, acting as a high-level assistant, handling various precise experimental data and material pre-processing tasks.

Of course, the terrifying memory that was instantly erased was constantly lingering in his mind.

It’s no exaggeration to say, as one of the few who truly experienced the sensation of death, Jeming found that his fear of death not only did not diminish but increased.

Additionally, regarding the Death Replacement Doll he consumed earlier, Jeming still doesn’t know its specific value.

After all, he hasn’t paid Professor Clark for this Death Replacement Doll yet.

This is normal in the Wizard World.

Wizards who advocate equivalent exchange, even among closest mentors and students, always clearly account for such precious resources.

A mentor can offer protection, knowledge, and opportunities, can even front a life-saving item like Clark did.

But the corresponding cost must be borne by the student.

Discounts can be given, but costs cannot be waived.

Previously, because Jeming hadn’t definitively used this item, it was essentially just unused insurance, so these issues did not need to be considered.

But now, he could no longer pretend not to know.

During a break between experiments, he casually hinted to Professor Clark, who was fine-tuning a complex energy focusing array:

"Professor, do you have any stock of... Death Replacement Dolls left? Or perhaps know where to find similar life-saving items?"

Without looking up, Clark focused on the rune engraving in his hand, answering indifferently, "The last one I had was used on you. If you want to purchase one, I can contact my mentor on your behalf; he occasionally takes such orders."

Jeming’s heart leapt with joy, but before he could speak, Clark added, "However, I should warn you, these items are extremely expensive."

"How expensive?" Jeming instinctively touched his terminal.

Inside, his savings from recent years lay accumulated, relying on the "Self-Stabilizing Field Regulation Protocol" technology; Jeming felt it should be substantial enough.

Clark finally stopped his work, glanced at him, and didn’t quote a figure directly, simply said, "There’s a public price in the high-level military merits exchange area of the Magic Net; you should check for yourself. Your access should be sufficient."

Jeming’s heart sank.

The high-level military merits area?

The items there are all genuine hard currency.

Immediately, he connected to the Magic Net through his mind, verified his access, and entered the area he seldom ventured into.

After a search, he indeed found the entry for "Death Replacement Doll (Standard Alchemy/Destiny Science Composite Product)".

Just one look at the long string of zeros following it made Jeming feel his heart skip a beat.

One hundred billion high-level military merits!

He quickly calculated in his mind; based on the unofficial floating exchange rate, this was roughly equivalent to one trillion regular military merits!

Moreover, high-level merits represent not only numbers but also access to adjusted preparation time and rare resources!

This price...

Even with his entire fortune, Jeming feared he couldn’t afford one.

What’s more despairing is the clear notation below the entry: Reserve level: Extremely low (needs reservation, production cycle measured in hundreds of years).

Jeming gasped sharply, looking at Professor Clark with a grim face: "Professor... this... even selling me wouldn’t be enough to buy one..." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Professor Clark remained unperturbed, resumed engraving with his tools, his tone steady: "No worries, it’s just some debt. Considering your potential, you can repay it slowly; a wizard’s life is long."

Jeming’s mouth twitched; this debt was not just "some", it was astronomical!

Previously, he could mock Senior Sister Viola for being saddled with debt and turned into a workhorse, but now he had become one too...

Jeming, unwilling to give up, started searching for other rare items or magic scrolls with similar death-avoidance or resurrection effects.

The results were even more disheartening.

Anything related to "Cause and Effect Reversal," "Soul Anchoring," "Instant Death Avoidance," etc., had prices that were exorbitant beyond belief, and most came with extremely stringent usage restrictions or side effects.

In comparison, the Death Replacement Doll was almost the most cost-effective and offered the least side effects.

"Forget it..." Jeming completely gave up on the idea of acquiring another life-saving artifact in the short term, "With these resources, it would be more practical to focus on improving my abilities."

Even if he had the money, investing it in knowledge and resources for himself would unquestionably be more worthwhile.

At the same time, he was inwardly amazed by the terrifying earning potential of high-tier alchemy, especially for alchemists involved in the field of destiny.

A Seventh Level Alchemist capable of stably producing Death Replacement Dolls, their wealth accumulation speed and channels are probably scarier than many Eighth Level Combat Wizards who aren’t skilled at business.

"Wait..." Jeming suddenly froze, looking at Professor Clark, "The pinnacle of Alchemy, combined with Destiny Science knowledge... Professor, isn’t this the path you are on?"

When Professor Clark advances to the Seventh Level, wouldn’t that mean...

His eyes lit up, half-joking and half-expectantly, he said, "Professor! You must work hard and advance quickly! Can I get an ’insider price’ Death Replacement Doll in the future? It’s all up to you!"

Upon hearing this, Clark finally raised his head.

He let out a cold laugh, pointed to the mountain of experimental data Record Crystals beside him with the rune engraving pen in his hand, "Want to hitch a ride? Fine. First pay off a bit of your debt—immediately, go analyze and process all seventeen sets of energy dispersion wave data from the third workbench today! If not completed, don’t expect to leave the lab tonight."

"Yes! Professor! I guarantee to complete the task!" Jeming immediately put away his joking attitude, eagerly rushed to the third workbench, beginning his first laborious task in his life’s "debt repayment" journey.

Time went by during such a fulfilling research assistant life for two months.

Just as Jeming was getting used to such a routine life, even starting to redesign his Talisman Witchcraft Artifact and Black Giant, news arrived about that Plane.

However, the latest update on that mystical Plane did not come from the official announcement of the Expeditionary Army Command.

It was because...

Viola had returned.