BOOM!! Suddenly, a deafening explosion erupted.
The thick wooden door of the laboratory seemed to have been struck by an invisible giant hammer, instantly shattering into countless fragments that shot outward.
Immediately after, what was even more terrifying: the wall of the laboratory facing the street collapsed from the intense impact.
Masonry flew horizontally, smoke and dust billowed into the sky, most of the laboratory's roof caved in, and violent air waves mixed with debris and wood chips blasted towards him.
Karl reacted quickly, instinctively stepping back at the moment of the explosion.
At the same time, he raised his arms to protect his head and face, narrowly avoiding being buried under the rubble.
The scorching air current, smoke, and dust almost made it impossible to open his eyes.
"Triss! Triss!" He waved his arms to dispel the dust in front of him, shouting anxiously.
The smoke and dust cleared, and the scene before him was shocking.
The laboratory, once neat and mysterious, was now a ruin: broken beams and pillars, shattered bottles and jars, and burnt books scattered everywhere.
In the center of the ruins, a hemispherical blue magical shield flickered stubbornly.
Under the shield, Triss stood intact.
Her long fiery red hair was a bit disheveled, and her face looked frightened and dazed as she surveyed the chaos around her.
Karl keenly noticed that the magical shield protecting Triss was extremely unstable.
Its light flickered erratically, sometimes solid, sometimes almost transparent, as if it could collapse at any moment.
"Triss! Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Karl quickly moved through the debris towards the shield and asked urgently.
Triss breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Karl, dismissed the crumbling shield, and shook her head.
"I'm fine... But... this is so strange." She frowned, her face full of confusion.
"I was just practicing fireball techniques daily. There was no problem with the spellcasting or the magical guidance."
"But the magic in the laboratory suddenly became extremely chaotic and manic, and the spell structure instantly lost control, causing this powerful explosion..."
"It felt like... like it was being disrupted by a large amount of dimetrium!"
Hearing the words "dimetrium," Karl was stunned for a moment, then an extremely awkward expression appeared on his face.
He subconsciously raised his hand to his forehead, his gaze wandering, too embarrassed to look at Triss.
He quietly and sheepishly turned his head, looking towards the corner of the laboratory.
And indeed, the box of dimetrium gifted by Foltest was securely placed there.
He knew dimetrium affected sorcerers, but he never expected its interference effect to still be so strong from a distance of over twenty meters.
Moreover, he hadn't expected Triss to be practicing spells in the laboratory.
Because when Triss had previously studied Arzu's spells, she had been in a remote suburb.
"Uh... Triss."
"I think... the reason for the spell instability might... have something to do with me." Karl cleared his throat dryly, his tone apologetic.
He raised his hand and pointed to an inconspicuous corner: "In that box... it's dimetrium."
Triss followed his direction, first looking surprised, then a wave of anger rose in her green eyes.
She glared at Karl, her chest heaving slightly, wanting to say something reproachful.
But seeing Karl's genuine embarrassment and apology, she held back the words that were about to leave her lips.
In the end, she simply clenched her fist and lightly, but with force, punched Karl in the chest.
Then she crossed her arms, turned her head, and fumed silently.
In her opinion, although Karl was physically strong, his knowledge of sorcerers and magic was limited.
He most likely didn't know that dimetrium could interfere with magic, nor did he know its range or specific effects.
The destruction of the laboratory this time was more of an unforeseen accident, and he couldn't be fully blamed.
Karl looked at Triss's puffed-up face, feeling a little guilty.
At this moment, he naturally didn't dare to take the initiative to go in, but he did have an assessment of the power of dimetrium.
Although he still underestimated it... But admitting it now would be like adding fuel to the fire.
To change the subject and truly understand the characteristics of this stuff,
Karl cautiously asked: "Triss, this dimetrium... how strong is its effect on you sorcerers?"
Although Triss was still angry, she rolled her eyes when she heard Karl's question.
She sighed softly and explained: "Dimetrium... hmm, for us, it's like a poison."
"Generally speaking, within a range of thirty meters, spells can become very unstable, and the error rate increases significantly."
"However, sorcerers of our level can still barely cast spells."
She pointed to the surrounding ruins: "But if the distance shortens to within ten meters, like now, the interference intensifies dramatically. Only two or three out of ten spellcasting attempts might succeed."
"Moreover, enduring the magical backlash from a failed spell is very dangerous!"
Triss paused, her tone becoming more serious: "If you get closer, say within a few meters, almost no sorcerer can successfully channel magic. Trying to force it would only lead to catastrophic consequences."
"And there would also be severe physical discomfort—dizziness and nausea at the mild end; if locked in dimetrium shackles..."
At this point, Triss shivered.
"No matter how powerful the sorcerer, they would become weaker than an ordinary person and be completely subdued."
"At least, that's how it is as far as I know."
After her explanation, Triss suddenly remembered a key question.
She turned her head and looked at Karl suspiciously: "By the way, why do you suddenly have so much dimetrium?"
"You're still learning the basics of magic; this stuff isn't good for you. Aren't you just asking for trouble?"
Before Karl could figure out how to answer, Triss's expression changed, as if she had realized something.
She looked at Karl's slightly unnatural expression and immediately understood.
Nine times out of ten, it was because Keira's attempt to control him with mental spells earlier had spurred him on,
making him desperately want to find a way to counter spells.
She raised her hand and gently pressed her slender index finger to Karl's lips, stopping him from explaining what he was about to say.
A flicker of clarity and complexity passed through her eyes: "Alright, no need to say more... I've guessed."
At that moment, two low coughs, choked by smoke, came from the entrance to the ruins.
They turned their heads and saw Fercart and Keira.
One by one, looking somewhat bewildered, they stepped over the collapsed masonry and entered the laboratory that had become a ruin.
Such drastic magical fluctuations and explosions would naturally have alerted the other two royal advisors who were also in the Temple District.
Fercart looked around, both surprised and even more puzzled.