It took an entire night before Ivan was able to complete the modifications to the Alchemy Array, and some time later, he was able to transfer all of the required materials to the research lab.
"It's exactly four o'clock in the morning. There are three to four hours left. There should still be time…" Ivan muttered to himself as he glanced at the clock wearily after a long night.
The professors and students of Hogwarts were probably still asleep at this hour, and even if they had temporarily cut off the castle's magic in the process of making the stone, it would not have made much of an impact.
Of course, normally speaking, the removal of excess magic would not interfere with the normal operation of the castle, and the timing was specifically chosen in the early hours of the morning just in case.
However, Ivan's original plan was to inform the Headmaster, Dumbledore, before using the castle's magic to create the Philosopher's Stone.
However, in the first two months of the school year, the Headmaster of Hogwarts seemed to have disappeared without a trace, and neither McGonagall nor Snape knew where Dumbledore had gone.
This disturbed Ivan, and he was forced to prepare for the worst, choosing to create the stone first.
After all, he was the only one who could fight against Voldemort!
With that in mind, Ivan took out the Book of Hieroglyphs and placed the mithril, sulfur, mercury, and other alchemical materials according to its description.
"Now all that's left is the blood of magic…" Ivan said, taking a deep breath and slicing his wrist open with his wand. Blood poured out of the wound and onto the huge Alchemy Array.
As if it had a mind of its own, the viscous liquid flowed slowly along the magical lines.
By the time the blood had completely soaked through the runes, Ivan's face was ashen, but his eyes were shining brightly. He was only one step away from success!
Ivan did not immediately activate the array. Instead, he cautiously waved his wand and set up a magical barrier, then activated all the protective rings he had brought with him. Ten layers of magical barriers instantly appeared around him.
With this protection, he would have time to set up even if Lord Voldemort decided to make trouble.
"I don't think we've missed anything…" Ivan said, looking around to make sure he had everything he needed before he dropped to one knee and placed his hands on the floor.
Buzz~
With the infusion of magic, the golden inscriptions on the ground lit up and quickly outlined a magical five-star array. However, due to the blood-soaked environment, the faint blue glow had been replaced by blood-red.
Those who did not know better would think that this was some sort of evil-summoning ritual…
Ivan cursed under his breath as he cast these thoughts aside and focused on the task at hand. He could sense a vast amount of magic gathering around him, far more than he could ever have imagined!
It was magic tens of thousands of times greater than his own, surging like a tidal wave, sending chills down Ivan's spine.
However, now that everything was in place and there was no turning back, Ivan gritted his teeth and forced the magic out.
The next moment, the entire research lab shook, and the magical lamps around them flickered. An indescribable pressure, centered on the Alchemy Array, quickly spread in all directions…
Crack…
The magical barrier surrounding the formation was soon covered in cracks. It lasted for about two seconds before it burst.
Cold sweat broke out on Ivan's forehead, but he did not dare to be distracted. He tried his best to bind the thousand years of magic stored in the castle to the Alchemy Array, otherwise, the uncontrolled magic would destroy everything around him in an instant!
The blood-red light grew stronger, a sign of the surge of magic. Ivan tried to recall how he had felt when channeling the magic in the past, carefully controlling it as planned.
Not long after, the alchemy materials in the array seemed to be supported by an invisible hand. They slowly floated in the air and were quickly ground into thick mist-like dust that was absorbed by the Origin Stone in the middle of the array…
The stone, which was originally silver-white and about half the size of a palm, had grown significantly larger and was as transparent as a gem.
However, such purity was quickly corrupted by blood.
The magic of the array, along with the blood that had been spilled earlier, seemed to be drawn by some force into the stone.
About twenty minutes later, the scarlet light dimmed and faded away. The stone had changed completely. It was now a deep red colour with a faint magical glow.
Seeing that the ritual was a success, Ivan's tense mind finally relaxed. It was not easy for him to control such a large amount of magic, and he had lost a lot of blood.
Even so, Ivan did not forget to move to pick up the stone as the system notification sounded.
[A new legend has been born!]
Ivan opened the system column and saw that the title "Alchemist" had indeed been added to the title column, which rewarded him with one Legendary Point.
[Magical Item: Philosopher's Stone]
Magic: 8961
[Description: This is the greatest creation of alchemy, but to a true master alchemist, possessing it is only the beginning…]
"Nearly nine thousand years of wizarding magic…" Ivan gasped, holding the stone in his hand.
He had previously assumed that Hogwarts would not have much magic stored up over the course of a thousand years, as it was meant to supply the castle on a daily basis.
He did not expect that the little bit of magic that remained would far exceed his expectations.
Ivan was not surprised by the system's description of the Philosopher's Stone. Nicolas Flamel had said that the stone was a large source of magic, and that the key was to harness its power.
The Book of Hieroglyphs, for example, recorded an Alchemy Array that could convert large amounts of magic into pure force.
If the power of the Sorcerer's Stone was extracted in one go, it would be equivalent to the combined power of thousands of elite wizards. The power released would probably be able to destroy a city or even several cities in an instant!
Of course, this was under the premise that the caster had strong magical control and superb alchemy skills. Otherwise, the caster would be torn apart by the violent magic before it could be released…