Noel had left a small circular gap at the center of the magic circle—just the right size to place the magic stone.
Once the magic stone was placed, the circle would activate. Holding the stone carefully, Noel placed it in the center, moving slowly to avoid any accidents due to the stone's instability.
As soon as it was set down, the magic stone merged with the circle, its purple glow pulsing softly.
The etched lines of the circle began to glow, red intertwining with green, and soon a pale yellow flame flickered to life at the center. The green rings flashed, and the flame shifted from pale yellow to a deeper orange.
It seemed the circle was a success. The temperature was more than enough for smelting, and this was excellent news for Noel.
Under the heat of the flame, the raw materials in the vessel turned into a molten, lava-like iron.
Noel double-checked the alchemy manual and confirmed that everything seemed to match.
But once it cooled, Noel was stunned. While the product looked mostly correct, there was a layer of black, tar-like material on the iron.
What is this? It didn't match the manual at all. Had he made a mistake? He had followed the steps exactly, yet the result was different.
This troubled him deeply. For an alchemist, if you couldn't achieve the ideal result, all your effort was wasted.
Had he missed a step? Or was there an error in the manual? But this was the manual his master had given him, so that was unlikely.
Maybe the manual only covered the refining step but missed out on preparation stages, leading to these impurities.
Wait, the manual also has a section on impurity extraction, Noel remembered. He had read that section repeatedly, yet it hadn't come to mind during the process.
It was his oversight, but at least it wasn't fatal and didn't cause extra losses. In fact, it became a valuable lesson.
When Noel tried to remove his alchemical product from the vessel, he found it stuck fast. Using tongs, he tried to pry it loose, applying more force.
Gradually, the product began to shift, but in the process, a small hole formed at the bottom of the vessel. His first alchemy experiment ended in failure.
And he had broken a vessel, too. Thankfully, the lab was well-stocked with spares. It's just one vessel, surely Master won't scold me for it, Noel thought anxiously.
He didn't dwell on it for long and began his second experiment. The previous magic circle had oxidized after use, leaving faint burn marks.
He would need to draw a new one. Thanks to his first attempt, he was more confident, and this time, the circle was drawn even better—and the results reflected that.
This time, he would remove impurities first to avoid the black residue.
For an alchemist, producing flawed materials was a disgrace. Merchants wouldn't want to sell such goods, and customers wouldn't want to buy them, leaving the alchemist with losses.
If this happened repeatedly, it was the alchemist alone who suffered, with no one else to shoulder the consequences.
Being an alchemist was not easy. You paid for your own materials, and if equipment broke, you bore the cost.
A skilled alchemist could earn a lot, while a poor one would lose just as much.
Even the best alchemists failed sometimes, and the worst sometimes succeeded. It all came down to success rate.
It was a process of practice and familiarity. The more skilled you became, the fewer mistakes you made.
Without practice, and with incomplete notes, failure was almost guaranteed.
Even if you didn't fail completely, the product would fall short of the desired quality.
Noel began by adding some potions for a basic purification process, following the manual closely. There were minor issues along the way, but he resolved them.
Using tongs, he placed the purified material at the center of the magic circle. The intense flames turned the black lump red, slowly melting it down to a liquid state.
After cooling, there was no black residue this time. By all standards, this counted as a success, though the appearance… left much to be desired.
Its shape was crude, and appearance mattered in the market. If Noel himself couldn't stand to look at it, how could he expect anyone else to accept it?
He prepared to try again, but his materials were running low, and the magic stone was nearly depleted. The once bright, glowing stone had lost its luster, its color darkened.
It should still be enough for one more experiment, he estimated, though he would only know for sure after trying.
Practice was the only path to truth. You couldn't rely on guesses; only actual results could prove anything.
Noel repeated the process once more. With the experience of the first two attempts, this round went smoothly.
"After two tries, I'm getting the hang of this level of alchemy." Noel said, a spark of excitement in his eyes.
Now, only the final shaping step remained. Success or failure would hinge on this moment.
Don't alchemists have molds for shaping? Ideally, he wanted the product in bars or ingots.
Back when he was in the alleyways, he had seen shady underground deals where gold bars or ingots were used as currency for illicit trades.
Those transactions were definitely illegal, only circulating in the underground networks of the city.
But Master once said that alchemists could use spiritual energy to guide alchemy, Noel recalled. Could I use my imagination to shape the molten iron into blocks?
It was worth trying. Spiritual energy was essentially magical power, wasn't it? Noel hadn't awakened any magic, but there was still some residual power in the magic stone.
Gripping the stone tightly, Noel visualized the molten iron solidifying into neat blocks. The iron moved in irregular, fluid motions, gradually clumping together.
Now, just imagine it cooling… In his mind, Noel kept repeating the thought, visualizing the cooling process.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. The sudden disturbance shattered his concentration, causing the shaping process to fail.
Looking at the misshapen, incomplete lump of iron before him, Noel felt a wave of disappointment. It could have worked, but it didn't. Was my focus still too weak?
There was another knock. Could Master be back? Noel decided to set the experiment aside and answer the door. If his master could guide him directly, it would help him improve even faster.
When Noel opened the door, it wasn't his master standing there, but a stranger—an elderly man.
Perhaps… an old friend of Master's?