The Way to Make a Philosopher's Stone

Ivan's excitement slowly died down as he listened to Nicolas Flamel.

He knew very well that this master alchemist was not wrong. He had only mastered the basics of inscribing runes on mithril, and was still a long way from being able to use them freely in battle.

With that in mind, Ivan calmed down and picked up another piece of mithril to practice.

… .

Early the next morning, after breakfast, Ivan sat in the book-lined room in high spirits.

However, instead of explaining it directly, Nicolas asked, "What do you think the Philosopher's Stone is?"

"A very powerful alchemical substance?" Ivan asked hesitantly. His knowledge of the Philosopher's Stone came from reading about it in books, and he had no real knowledge of it.

"That's one way to put it, but it's also a huge source of magic, and if its user can master a certain method, they will be able to channel this vast amount of magic to achieve their goals. The well-known Popping Stone to Gold, the Elixir of Life, and so on are all results of magical use…" Niko-Lume went on.

"It's like trying to do magic in a different way," Ivan muttered, rubbing his chin.

"That's right. I should have told you that in the end, magic and alchemy are both derived from the use of magic…" Nicolas nodded, then proceeded to explain to Ivan.

"The difference between the two is that one relies entirely on its own magic, while the other can choose an external force."

Yvonne was thoughtful for a moment, but she soon understood the meaning of Nicolas Flamel's words.

Alchemy was the same as wands, charms, and gestures, and its purpose was to channel magic, while the Philosopher's Stone could be used as another source of magic.

However, if one possessed magic, why would they deliberately create a stone? Just to increase their own magic?

Nicolas Flamel had been watching Ivan's face, and he could read Ivan's mind.

"The magic of an ordinary wizard is extremely limited, and not everyone is gifted, having several times the magic of an adult wizard at such a young age."

"So it is common for some alchemists to resort to outside help in order to master higher levels of magic.

The Philosopher's Stone is the perfect choice, as it is usually imbued with an incalculable amount of magic, and can be used to perform feats of magic such as turning stone into gold, if the caster is skilled in alchemy."

"How am I supposed to make one?" Ivan asked quickly.

Nicolas Flamel did not try to hide anything and quickly explained the steps and materials needed to make the stone.

The core ingredient was a rough stone used to store magic, which was extremely rare and could not be found on the market.

Raw stone? Ivan frowned. He had seen this material in the system's instructions on how to make a stone.

However, due to his lack of skill in alchemy, he did not prepare these materials in advance, and he did not expect the raw stones to be so rare…

If even a master alchemist like Nicolas Flamel cherished it, it would be difficult for him to obtain it.

Seeing the troubled look on Ivan's face, Nicolas Flamel smiled, took a silver-white stone about half the size of his palm from his drawer, placed it on the table, and said, "As it happens, I have a stone here for you."

"Thank you, teacher…" Yvonne stood up gratefully and bowed solemnly.

Although he and Nicolas Flamel were master and disciple, they had only known each other for less than half a year, yet the other party was willing to teach him without asking for anything in return, and even gave him such a valuable magical material as a gift. This kindness was beyond description.

Nicolas Flamel dismissed Ivan's concern with a wave of his hand. The stone was of no further use to him, and it would be better to leave it in Ivan's possession than to leave it there to grow ash.

"Also, you'd better not celebrate too soon. In addition to gathering the required materials, you'll need to master enchantment thoroughly and find a place where there's plenty of magic and set up an Alchemy Array to channel it. I won't be able to help you this time," Nicolas Flamel said sternly.

Ivan nodded. As a self-reliant man, he never expected Nicolas Flamel to help him with the construction of the stone.

However, Ivan was slightly puzzled. What kind of place was considered rich in magic?

In response to Yvonne's question, Nicolas-Leroy pondered for a moment, then said, "Perhaps you could look in Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts?!" exclaimed Ivan.

"That's right! The school has been running smoothly for over a thousand years, and presumably it has a magical storage room that absorbs the magic that is escaping around the school to power the castle," explained Nicolas Flamel.

Yvonne's eyes lit up. She had always wondered how Hogwarts, with its ever-changing secret passages and staircases, solved the problem of magic supply.

If it was as Nicolas Flamel had guessed, then the amount of magic that had been stored in the castle for over a thousand years must have been enormous.

As long as the excess magic was not overused, it should not affect the castle's operation.

This meant that Dumbledore would most likely allow him to use the Chamber of Magic to create a Philosopher's Stone.

Ivan was relieved to hear this, but he was also worried that Dumbledore might not know where the Chamber of Magic was.

Hogwarts was, after all, so mysterious that even the Headmaster knew very little about it.

Of course, there is also the possibility that Dumbledore knew something that he did not want to share with him, or that the professor died at the beginning of the school year, which would be troublesome.

Ivan did not show the slight unease he felt. As Nicolas Flamel had said, he would have to solve these problems himself…

After a quick lunch, Ivan did not rest for a moment. He continued to learn from Nicolas Flamel about the Alchemy Arrays that were needed to create the Philosopher's Stone, and worked overtime in the middle of the night to practise enchantment as usual.

There were only two days left until school officially started, so he had to master all the relevant alchemy knowledge…