A month had passed since Icarus began his deep dive into alchemy and the application of the knowledge which he has acquired.
Another class had begun.
"Morning Wizard Quorinel'. Icarus said with a smile as he had arrived early and waited patiently for his teacher.
"Morning young Icarus".
"I heard you have been excellent in your practices, that is good". The wizard muttered.
"Today's lesson will be on How Alchemic Techniques Functions". Quorinel told his student.
Icarus began writing.
"Alchemists do not "cast spells" they perform structured processes based on law, formula & intent".
Quorinel rubbed his beard and waved his wand unto the board.
"The first step in Alchemy is Understanding. Alchemists must comprehend the structure & nature of what they intend to change because knowledge is Power. Ignorance is Failure".
"So number one is Understanding". Quorinel added as he wrote it unto the board.
Icarus continued writing and sat upright to listen.
Quorinel continued his teaching.
"Number two is Symbols and Circles".
"Runes, alchemical circles, sigils or scripts act as the equations of transformation. They define the rules, stabilize magical energy, direct the reaction and more intricate symbols lead to complex effects."
"Now to the third one. Catalysts and Materials".
"Catalysts & Materials include ingredients metals, blood, crystals or Philosopher's Stone serve as the fuel for reactions.
Cheap materials lead to simple transmutations and rare catalysts lead to advanced transmutations".
"The fourth is Energy Source". Quorinel said out loud and looked at his student who appeared to be absolutely invested in the lesson. He was filled with pride and continued teaching.
"Alchemy requires an Energy Source, every reaction must be powered by one of the following: Life-force / stamina, Ambient mana / leyline energy, Philosopher's Stone energy, Sacrifice / Equivalent Exchange, No energy means no alchemy".
Icarus listened attentively and wrote down the lessons.
"The fifth one is Formula Invocation ". Quorinel yelled out.
"This means the practitioner activates the reaction through: incantation, gesture/hand sign, ritual control, mental command (advanced users) and advanced alchemists are capable of igniting reactions instantly."
"Now for the last one". Quorinel sat on his desk, ready to drop his final lesson.
"Transmutation Output. The final result. Weapons, homunculus, powerful beams, healing effects etc. Alchemy manifests according to: Knowledge plus Symbols plus Formula plus Material plus Energy plus Will".
"In simple terms, the more perfect the equation, the more perfect the result". Quorinel finalized his lesson.
"Thank you Wizard Quorinel today's class was educational as always." Icarus praised his teacher as he left his seat and approached him.
"You're welcome young Icarus." Quorinel told the boy as he tapped his shoulder and sent him to his duties.
Icarus heads to the library hiding behind a shelf he touches the walls, attempting to locate something.
"Yes". Icarus whispered to himself.
He inscribed key runes into the wall as he fell through it.
"It doesn't matter how many times the vault changes location but i always find it". Icarus said as he took out his bag underneath his shirt.
The vault was a carefully hidden library of banned and restricted books of alchemical learning. It contained knowledge going back to the war.
Icarus searched through the scrolls and books, seeking for information on the one thing that sat on his mind above any other… the Philosopher's Stone.
After searching the countless shelves of the hidden library, an hour had passed and the young alchemist came across a book hidden between two books on potion mixing. On it's cover read the words;
"The History and Study of The Philosopher's Stone".
Icarus lifted the book and cleaned it with a piece of clothing. He drew the book closer to check something that caught his attention.
"The author's name, it's completely scratched off".
"That would explain why literally nothing exists on the stone. I suspect high powers erased everything on the subject". Icarus uttered to himself as he sat on the ground, he leaned on the shelf.
"Interesting".
Icarus quickly returned to his room to avoid suspicions and spent the next three weeks extensively studying it's contents and practicing.
He attended his classes with the wizard Quorinel as usual, continued his practicals with the other wizards and helped around the village whenever he could.
He finally felt the time was right to put his newly acquired knowledge into practice.
Icarus snuck out at night with the book in hand. He snuck into the forest using a cloaking orb, a magical artifact he brought from his village.
He flipped the pages to the section where large words read THE MAGNUM OPUS: THE CREATION OF THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE.
The first stage required him to have Prima Materia, the primitive formless base of all matter, in the book it was stated that alchemists used earth, water and ambient mana as this.
Mixing raw mana with the other ingredients would impossible and this a shard of gemstone was the logical alternative.
He added a pint of his own blood, 140cl of water and a piece of broken earth into a specially crafted glass flask within a golden frame and placed in an Athanor, a small powerful furnace used to maintain uniform heat. The ingredients would melt together for two weeks forming the founding of Magnum Opus.
He had taken the Athanor from the laboratories and since more than enough were available, suspicion was nonexistent.
He would check on his carefully cloaked and hidden project every night and day as the two weeks flew by.
During the two weeks, exactly as the book stated the material went through four transformations.
Nigredo — The Blackening: The material decayed into dead matter, entering a state of dissolution and corruption.
Albedo — Purification: The substance began to grey as impurities were removed and the matter was refined.
Citrinitas — The Yellowing: After purification, the material turned yellow. During this stage, the alchemist must channeled leyline energy, the magical energy that flowed along sacred lines throughout the planet and into the athanor, allowing the crystallization process to begin.
Rubedo — The Reddening: The crystallization reaches completion, the material reddened, and the Philosopher's Stone was yielded.
Icarus covered himself with a coat refined by the arcane and specially designed for alchemical experimentation. He also wore two gauntlets and googles.
Using his right hand he pulls up the door of athanor, steam and smoke released at the same time. He coughed for a brief period and lowered his left hand into the furnace.
Using the gauntlet to protect his hand, he removed the burning hot vase, holding it up from it's golden frame and carefully placing it unto the ground.
He waited for ten minutes for it to cool, then bent over and used his left palm to crush the glass vase, as he unclenched his fist, rays of crimson escaped and shined on his face.
He took off his googles and to his satisfaction, suprise and amusement he had done what no other alchemist attempted to do in over a hundred years.
He immediately let out a wide smile for in the palm of his hands, layed the very potential for greatness.