"Professor, we've found it."
Upon returning to the Magic Research Institute, Lucas reported good news.
"The primordial substance?"
Lucas nodded, "In Ireland, we discovered an ancient site guarded by powerful magic. We sent many curse-breakers to dismantle it, but there was no primordial substance, only a signal reflection caused by the guarding magic."
"Similarly, in Germany, we found an unregistered wizarding school, long abandoned, yet still protected by potent magic."
"Eventually, we had to dispatch a team to the bottom of the North Sea. There lies an underwater ruin inhabited by a tribe of merpeople, fiercely protective of their realm. However, we discovered that their sacred relic, an object of worship, was the primordial substance."
As they walked towards the Spell Research Group, Lucas continued, "It was a multicolored pearl, embedded in the crown of the mer-king. Acquiring it required considerable effort."
"The pearl possesses miraculous powers; it grants the mer-king formidable magic. Note that ordinary merpeople lack significant magical power, capable only of instinctual magic triggered by sound. Yet, the mer-king could conjure storms and tsunamis and control a gigantic sea monster with it."
"A sea monster?" Murphy pondered, "The North Sea Leviathan? Kraken?"
"We're unsure if it's that particular one, but it was indeed colossal," Lucas said.
"How did you manage to obtain the primordial substance?"
"We negotiated with the merpeople, who refused to part with the pearl under any circumstances. Initially contemplating an attack, we hesitated, fearing it might spark a war with the mer-kingdom. Upon further investigation, we learned that the aging mer-king had two heirs, both harboring rebellious thoughts. Through negotiations, we persuaded the elder prince. In exchange for our support in his ascension, he agreed to hand over the pearl."
"With our aid, the elder prince staged a coup, killing the mer-king. However, he reneged on our deal, attempting to eliminate us, which forced us to end his life. Fortunately, the younger prince was more reasonable. After we presented the heads of his father and brother, he immediately surrendered the pearl."
Reaching the Spell Research Group, they saw a ping-pong ball-sized jewel on a pedestal, surrounded by various instruments.
Murphy used a spell to reveal the primordial substance, confirming the jewel was indeed the core material for creating a philosopher's stone.
"What have you discovered?" Murphy approached Holden, who was in charge of testing and analyzing the primordial substance.
"It's indeed a pearl, its myriad colors resulting from a mix of substances within. These substances stem from the core of the pearl, containing a special high-energy material."
Holden showed Murphy a sectional image, "The pearl consists of three layers. The outermost is similar to ordinary pearls, its colors mostly deriving from this layer. The middle layer acts as a reflective and buffering material, reflecting most energy radiation back into the core layer, which contains the primordial substance itself. Surprisingly, it appears to be liquid. According to our tests, it resembles... blood."
Murphy was taken aback, "What?"
"We were surprised too, but it closely resembles blood. We even detected what seemed to be living blood cells."
"And this thing does not adhere to the law of conservation of energy," Holden continued. "The mer-king could use it to cast magic, and our tests confirmed its energy level slightly decreases after spell casting but quickly recovers, as if an unknown energy pump is constantly supplying it with power."
"However, this energy regeneration seems to have a limit. If powerful spells are cast repeatedly, the energy level drops more, and the recovery slows down. We speculate there might be a threshold; if energy released in a short time exceeds that threshold, it might not recover."
"Because of this phenomenon, we've speculated on the scarcity of such a substance."
"It's likely the blood of an extremely powerful creature—consistent with our understanding that most magical energy sources are biological."
"Clearly, such powerful beings are extinct, and due to its high energy level, the magic contained in its blood would normally decay rapidly. However, with energy regeneration, if the decay rate is controlled—say, by encasing it in a magical reflective substance like this pearl, making the decay rate lower than the regeneration rate, it can be preserved."
"Given the low natural probability of such protective mechanisms and the rarity of such high-energy creatures, this world's primordial substance should be exceedingly rare."
The notion of "divine blood" forced Murphy to think of deities.
"So, the so-called primordial substance is actually divine blood? If a drop of a god's blood can create an item like a philosopher's stone, how powerful are gods?"
"How much of the blood is there? Can it be extracted for analysis?" Murphy inquired.
"It's not exactly a drop, about two milliliters, but that's still a stretch for analysis," Holden replied. "And, breaking the outer protective layer might cause the primordial substance to decay rapidly. It's best to immediately make a philosopher's stone if any is left, then study the residue."
Murphy nodded, "Alright, I'll call the maker right now."
Half a minute later, Snape, clad in a bathrobe, was brought to the institute.
The latter gritted his teeth, "Murphy, could you possibly give me a heads-up next time there's an emergency?"
"You said it's an emergency, who has the time to notify? No worries, you look quite handsome in a bathrobe."
What about next time I'm taking a shower?
And can I ever use the bathroom again?
To consider the emotions of a middle-aged single man, Murphy generously gave Snape half a minute to change before showing him the primordial substance, "I've found the primordial substance you wanted. How soon can I see a philosopher's stone?"
"Is this the primordial substance?" Snape was astonished and used a spell to confirm, then asked, "How did you get it?"
Lucas, standing nearby, briefly explained.
Snape, meeting Lucas for the first time, felt an inexplicable familiarity but couldn't pinpoint the reason.
However, the primordial substance captured most of his attention, and he didn't dwell on it.
Snape had thoroughly researched the making of the philosopher's stone, "Give me a day."
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