Ancient Alchemy Is Actually Quite Scientific (3000+) / There's a Chance of Encountering Elemental Spirits During Transmutation (3000+)

"As I mentioned before, the pattern in the book is a transmutation circle. Little Prophet, your next task is to inscribe this pattern from the book onto the alchemy table without any discrepancies."

As expected, Nicolas Flamel's task for Luna Lovegood was to create a transmutation circle.

The so-called alchemy array is an indispensable array diagram in ancient alchemy.

Based on the perfect circle pattern that represents the cycle of all forces, ancient alchemists could create alchemical items by drawing magical patterns composed of different lines in the perfect circle and infusing them with corresponding elements and magic.

The construction of the entire transmutation array, apart from the most basic perfect circle outline, varies greatly in terms of the magical runes and symbols inside, depending on the item being transmuted and the elements used in the transmutation.

Honestly, every time Nicolas Flamel brought up a transmutation circle to explain something, Harry always felt a strange sense of familiarity, and at the same time, he couldn't help but think of a certain masterpiece from his past life...

However, despite being out of place, Harry must admit that the theories of ancient alchemy are indeed a logically consistent system of power in this strange world where 'fantasy + technology' are rampant.

It's far more scientific than the modern wizarding system that 'distorts reality with magic'.

Everything in the universe is made up of the first primordial matter, and the first primordial matter, which is the foundation, when combined with two of the four properties of 'cold, hot, dry, and wet', will form the corresponding elements.

Moist heat becomes wind, damp cold becomes water, cold dryness becomes soil, hot dryness becomes flour... no, it becomes fire.

Contradictory properties cannot form elements. For example, hot and cold cancel each other out and cannot give rise to new elements.

In Harry's view, these properties of 'hot, cold, dry, and wet', as well as the four elements of 'wind, water, earth, and fire', are actually the reaction conditions and important intermediate products in chemical reactions; and the entire ancient alchemical system is actually the process by which the primary substance undergoes a series of reactions to ultimately produce new products.

To complete this process, alchemists of ordinary birth needed to use a large number of tools and instruments and carry out a series of complex reactions, which eventually developed into the prototype of modern chemistry; while alchemists of wizarding origin could use magic to take shortcuts and stuff some important 'reaction processes' into the transmutation circle.

What Luna Lovegood needs to do now is to completely inscribe the transmutation diagram from the book onto the alchemy table...

According to Nicolas Flamel, this is already one of the simplest transmutation arrays, involving only the single element of water, and its function is simply to compress the Eye of the Basilisk as a whole.

However, after understanding her mission, Luna Lovegood did not immediately take action. Instead, she stared wide-eyed at Nicolas Flamel, seemingly quite puzzled.

"To inscribe the transmutation circle on the alchemy table... what tools do I need?"

Nicolas Flamel prepared an extremely extravagant pure gold alchemy table, and it was clear that using an ordinary pen would not be enough to inscribe a transmutation circle on it.

"Ha, I knew the little Prophet would be clever~" Nicolas Flamel smiled kindly, and casually placed an irregularly shaped dark red gem into Luna Lovegood's hand. "You can use the Sorcerer's Stone to draw. The pointed part can be used as a paintbrush, and the flat part can be used to erase marks. However, you must remember that because you cannot introduce impurities during the drawing process, you cannot use rulers or compasses for assistance. But every straight line and arc must still be very precise, and the overall proportions must be absolutely accurate!"

"Okay, I'll give it a try."

Luna Lovegood nodded seriously. She held the Sorcerer's Stone in her hand and gently scratched the alchemy table below with the pointed end. A clear mark appeared on the pure gold alchemy table.

The edges of the mark were extremely smooth, without a single burr, as if it had not been carved on, but rather lines left in advance when the alchemy table was being made.

When Luna Lovegood changed the angle of the Sorcerer's Stone and ran its flat side across the mark, the scratches disappeared quickly, as if the Sorcerer's Stone in her hand were a magical eraser.

"That's the wonder of the Sorcerer's Stone," Nicolas Flamel explained to Harry with a smile. "Gold is the purest and most stable substance in ancient alchemy. Therefore, it is best to refine it on a pure gold alchemy table to ensure that no other impurities are introduced. In addition to turning lead into gold, the Sorcerer's Stone can also change the shape of gold at will, making it the most suitable item for drawing transmutation circles."

"It is indeed very convenient, but without the aid of tools, it is not an easy task for Luna Lovegood to draw perfectly straight lines and curves."

Harry glanced over and saw that Luna Lovegood was already struggling with her work; she had already revised the outline of the circle countless times.

Harry actually felt that Nicolas Flamel should have let him take this step.

In his previous life, he was a forensic doctor, and operating a scalpel was commonplace for him. His accuracy was definitely better than Luna Lovegood's; at least when drawing a straight line, his hand would never shake.

"Doctor, I know... perhaps you would be better suited to do this step, but it's a necessary training for the little Prophet." Nicolas Flamel seemed to read Harry's mind, murmuring as she watched Luna Lovegood working hard. "Your hands are indeed very steady, but you didn't have the little Prophet's keen observational eyes back then. Even though your vision was enhanced later due to the influence of the water element, there is still a significant difference between you and the little Prophet."

Nicolas Flamel turned his head, his hand trembling as he tapped Harry's forehead. "Doctor, although you seem somewhat emotional because of the Obscurus, you are fundamentally a rational person. The runes of ancient alchemy are incredibly diverse, often requiring a flash of inspiration to achieve their purpose. In this respect, the little Prophet is somewhat better than you."

"Indeed, when it comes to ingenious ideas, I can't compare to Luna Lovegood."

Harry smiled calmly. Although he had been outshone, he didn't mind at all. On the contrary, he was very happy that Luna Lovegood was recognized by Nicolas Flamel.

The grotesque magical runes in the alchemical array can actually be considered as certain reaction conditions in ancient alchemy, and the process of inscribing them is equivalent to determining the specifics of all the reactions from 'raw materials to finished product'.

However, unlike general chemistry, ancient alchemy sometimes produced bizarre transformations, such as the well-known transformation of mercury into gold.

If it were truly necessary to draw such a transmutation circle, Harry certainly couldn't complete it, because he simply didn't believe that a reaction could exist that could transform pure mercury into pure gold.

Unless this so-called mercury is actually a gold amalgam with dissolved gold inside, it would be impossible to separate the gold inside by evaporating the mercury.

Therefore, Harry is actually limited by this kind of 'scientific' thinking.

But Luna Lovegood was different.

This girl is naturally gifted with all sorts of unique ways of thinking. She might become convinced of something that others would never believe, even within the time it takes to eat a meal.

Therefore, as long as she is convinced that 'pure mercury can really be transformed into pure gold,' she might eventually come up with a transmutation diagram to transform mercury into gold.

Therefore, from this perspective, Luna Lovegood is indeed more suited to be an ancient alchemist Harry, because what is needed to create those alchemical items with various special functions is precisely her unparalleled ingenuity.

"It seems the little Prophet will have a long time before he succeeds. Doctor, you should also start studying that Eye of the Basilisk. Manipulate the water element to confirm the structure of the eyeball, and try to reactivate it with magic."

Seeing that Luna Lovegood seemed to be making slow progress, Nicolas Flamel wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he assigned Harry a task as well.

"Yes, teacher." Harry nodded seriously and carefully probed his magic, combined with water elemental power, into the Eye of the Basilisk.

Many magical materials and items, including the Eye of the Basilisk, are actually 'alive'. Of course, 'alive' here does not mean that they still have life, but that they still retain magic power mixed with different elements within them.

The Voice of Magic that Harry could always hear actually came from this.

Unicorn and phoenix tail feathers can be used as wand cores, so theoretically, as long as Harry can understand the structure of the Eye of the Basilisk, he can use his own magic to replace the Basilisk's magic, thereby triggering the Basilisk's unique Petrifying Gaze.

This process doesn't require much technical skill; all you need to do is be extremely careful.

The main component of the eyeball is water. If Harry manipulates this water carefully, it will eventually help Harry trace the magical circuitry inside the Eye of the Basilisk.

Just as blood flows in blood vessels, the magic of Fantastic Beasts also needs a network-like system similar to blood vessels to flow; this is the magic circuit.

There is a magical circuit in the Eye of the Basilisk. When the Basilisk's magic fills the entire circuit, its Death/ Petrifying Gaze will be activated, thus achieving the terrifying effect of killing anyone it stares at.

It took him a long time to finally sense the existence of the magic circuit, and the next step was to slowly inject magic into it.

He had to be extremely careful during this process because the Eye of the Basilisk's magic circuitry was very fragile. If Harry injected too much magic at once, it could easily cause the magic circuitry to be completely damaged.

In that case, it might cause a terrible accident similar to a wand breaking and backfiring.

However, if he outputs too little magic, he simply cannot fill the entire circuit, let alone trigger any Petrifying Gaze.

At this point, Harry's task was essentially the same as Luna Lovegood's: repeated attempts and failures.

This is also the most tedious and exhausting process in the entire process of forging.

(The image in the P. S. is just a quick post to reserve space. I've been quite busy lately, and my work on the image has been delayed. Please forgive me.)

Chapter 350: There is a chance of encountering elemental spirits when the alchemy is completed (3000+ words)

Since the start of this alchemy, Harry and Luna Lovegood have been completely absorbed in their work, neglecting to eat or sleep.

When hungry, he would leave the lab bench and grab a quick bite; when sleepy, he would simply find a corner to take a nap; and he rarely even went to the toilet.

But what they experienced was, in Nicolas Flamel's words, perfectly normal.

"Ancient alchemy is not simply about solidifying spells, but about creating new things from nothing. Therefore, the duration of an alchemical process is often difficult to determine. What you have done this time is only the simplest condensation and inlay. The more complex alchemy processes in the future will require far more time and effort than you can imagine. That's when you will truly experience working without sleep."

Honestly, after spending time in Nicolas Flamel's alchemy lab, Harry really felt that the Potions Class program at the Severus Snape was nothing.

While brewing Potions can sometimes take dozens of days, that usually involves pre-processing certain herbs. As long as the Cauldron is kept warm and equipped with some small functions like automatic stirring, it's not a big problem even if someone isn't constantly watching over it.

Otherwise, if he were to be boiled in a pot of Veritaserum for a month, would Snape still be able to attend classes?

However, ancient alchemy was different. Many of the procedures involved were not only lengthy, but also required alchemists to maintain a high level of concentration at all times, without even the slightest slackening.

It's said that if alchemists didn't possess the Sorcerer's Stone like Nicolas Flamel, they might very well end up not only failing to create anything during their alchemy attempts, but also dying as a result.

So, do you now understand why Nicolas Flamel valued Harry and Luna Lovegood so much?

Ancient alchemy is an extremely difficult art to pass down. Although Nicolas Flamel didn't actually experience the era when ancient alchemists were active, based on his understanding, alchemists and their direct disciples were mostly taught through a single lineage... because it was simply impossible to find so many successors.

Therefore, in order to pass on alchemical memories, alchemists will absolutely cherish their disciples like precious gems... the kind of people who would fight to the death if anyone dared to harm their apprentice!

Time slipped away amidst the agonizing failures and attempts, until finally, when Harry felt utterly exhausted, the magic he unleashed completely illuminated the entire magical circuitry of the Eye of the Basilisk!

The Eye of the Basilisk's pupils suddenly contracted, and a faint, almost invisible ray of light shot out from its needle-like pupils!

"It worked!" Harry snapped back to attention.

Although he didn't see it clearly, he was certain that the Eye of the Basilisk had just released a beam of light that only dissipated completely after hitting the wall inside the room.

"I'm done here too." On the other side, Luna Lovegood, who was already disheveled and had bloodshot eyes, had just finished the last stroke.

On the previously smooth and flat pure gold alchemy table, there now appears an alchemy array consisting of nested circles.

Whether it's an arc or a straight line, every connection and turn is perfect.

"It's a beautiful painting, Luna Lovegood... are you alright?!"

Harry, who had come closer, wanted to praise Luna Lovegood, but she suddenly swayed and fell straight into Harry's arms, startling him so much that he quickly caught her.

"It's nothing, I'm just a little tired..."

Luna Lovegood's voice was filled with exhaustion. Harry looked at her face, which was so close to his own, and saw that her eyelids were drooping with sleep. He couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.

"Doctor, it's not time to relax yet. You still have more steps to complete," Nicolas Flamel reminded him. "Now that the little Prophet has drawn the transmutation circle, you need to begin transmuting the Eye of the Basilisk. You need to condense and compress it to a size suitable for embedding, while also ensuring its overall structure is not damaged, understand?"

"I know!" Harry nodded seriously, then roused himself and placed the Eye of the Basilisk he had been studying for who knows how long, in the center of the transmutation circle.

"Now begin to infuse magic into the transmutation circle. Make sure the magic guides the water element's movement at all times, and eventually covers every rune of the transmutation circle."

Reminded by Nicolas Flamel, Harry immediately began to continuously pour water and magic into the transmutation circle, precisely controlling the balance between the two forces.

This step was no challenge for him at all. After the previous training with the Eye of the Basilisk, whose magical circuits were as complex as capillaries, Harry now looked at the transmutation circle Luna Lovegood had drawn and felt that each magical rune was as clear as the aorta in the human body.

Of course, the amount of magic power required for the entire transmutation circle was absolutely at the level of an aorta. Harry felt like his body was a faucet that had been turned on completely, with magic power flowing out like tap water.

"Doctor, your magic still seems a bit strained... That's true, it's different now than before, you're only thirteen after all." Seeing that Harry seemed to be running out of steam, Nicolas Flamel gripped the Sorcerer's Stone that she had placed on the alchemy table, as if ready to assist Harry at any moment.

The Harry that Nicolas Flamel encountered before was a powerful wizard who had grown up, experienced countless battles, and whose body was filled with magic honed through countless trials; while the Harry of today, although he still possesses many powers such as water elemental and Obscurus, and has even had more adventures than his former self, cannot change the fact that he is only a thirteen-year-old boy.

His magic hadn't been honed through much combat, so it was indeed difficult for him to fully withstand an alchemical attack.

However, Harry remained undeterred. "It's okay, I'm sure I can do it."

"Hmm..." At this moment, Luna Lovegood seemed too tired to stand, so she simply leaned her whole body against Harry's back and fell asleep with her eyes closed.

"Is she asleep? Good... By the time she wakes up, I'll definitely have succeeded!"

Harry smiled slightly, not only unaffected by the situation, but also increasing his magic output once again.

The more burdens you carry on your back, the less you should let them crush you; instead, you must carry them forward together!

Whoosh~

As Harry's magic nearly dried up, the entire transmutation circle was finally filled with a pale blue aura, and in a hazy mist of light and shadow, the transmutation circle before Harry's eyes seemed to transform into a shimmering lake.

A graceful figure with a long tail suddenly leaped out from the center of the alchemy array, creating a puff of illusory water.

It was an extremely beautiful Merpeople girl. After swimming around the transmutation circle once, she gave Harry a stunning smile. Her figure then became ethereal, turning into specks of blue light and falling back into the transmutation circle.

The Eye of the Basilisk, now placed at the center of the transmutation array, had been compressed into a perfectly sized, crystal-clear orange gem.

The gem is round in shape, with the Basilisk's dark orange eye base and tightly closed vertical pupil in the center.

"It worked... But what was that just now?"

Harry finally felt relieved when he held the gem in his hand, but a sense of doubt immediately arose.

What's the deal with that Merpeople -looking girl who appeared earlier?

"That's the water spirit Undine, one of the elemental spirits," Nicolas Flamel explained. "Elemental spirits are special beings without souls; you can think of them as the embodiment of elements. They often live in environments corresponding to their element, and when a certain element is highly pure and concentrated, it may be possible to summon them. The fact that Undine was able to appear means that the water Elemental Power you just gathered has satisfied the elemental spirits."

"I see. Then this forging seems quite successful." Harry asked with a smile, "Teacher, have you ever seen any other elemental spirits?"

"No, and even with the water sprite Undine, I've only seen her twice in my life. Once just now, and the other time..." Nicolas Flamel paused slightly, but a sharp crack suddenly came from his neck, "... that was decades ago, and it was also because of you."

"Decades ago..." Harry's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this, and he unconsciously turned to look at Luna Lovegood, who was fast asleep behind him.

"The little Prophet will absolutely go all out for you," Nicolas Flamel murmured, unconcerned that her neck was twisted into a pretzel. "She put in even more effort when she was crafting this ring, but she finally succeeded."

"Hmm..." Harry responded softly, his gaze towards Luna Lovegood seemingly filled with endless reminiscence.

Once upon a time, in a similar alchemy laboratory, a young girl, now grown up, worked day and night to draw transmutation diagrams, all in order to create a magical artifact capable of suppressing the Obscurus.