Albert was sitting in the corner of the library, holding his chin with one hand and casually flipping through the catalog order of the Fengya Wizard Clothing Store with the other hand, trying to choose a suitable Christmas gift.
Originally, he planned to make an amulet for Nia himself, but after reading several books on alchemy, he temporarily gave up the idea.
Albert found that his original idea was unrealistic. Although wizards could cast spells on objects and give them some magical properties, the magic on the objects usually could not last too long and would disappear with the passage of time.
In Albert's opinion, it would be more meaningful to buy Nia a scarf than to make an amulet that would soon become ineffective as a birthday gift.
Creating a powerful and durable magic item is no easy task.
First, some items that carry magic power are used as raw materials. During the entire manufacturing process, those raw materials need to be cast. After the work is completed, there is also a process of casting a spell on the finished product. Whether the caster is powerful enough and has good skills in using magic will determine whether the magic item is powerful and durable enough.
In ancient times, wizards would also carve some runes on magic items to further enhance the effect of magic. However, there are very few wizards who can do this nowadays, and most of the ancient skills that have been left behind have been lost.
Using this complex and tedious process, the resulting magic item is usually powerful and durable.
Of course, some places call for alchemical items.
To be honest, the British wizarding community doesn't pay much attention to alchemy.
The concept of alchemy originally originated from the area of ancient Greece and ancient Egypt and was introduced to Western Europe in the 12th century.
Early wizards had a very vague concept of alchemy and didn't even know what it was.
Albert read the famous "Emerald Record" in ancient Egypt in the library, but he couldn't understand what it meant. The first sentence of the book translated means:
As it is above, so it is below; thus the miracle of Taiyi is accomplished.
The second sentence is: All things are originally Taiyi, and are created from Taiyi through differentiation...
After forcing himself to finish reading and memorizing it, Albert closed the Jade Record and put it back on the bookshelf. Ancient books are usually full of complex and profound concepts that are difficult to understand.
After reading the two sentences in The Emerald Record, Albert's only understanding was whether it was talking about the universe or something like that. He really didn't think about the meaning of the book. Maybe one day when he learned alchemy, he might suddenly realize it.
Anyway, early alchemy involved multiple fields.
There's the exploration of the mysteries of magic, the form of matter, and early cosmology. In short, a bunch of things are integrated into the theory of alchemy.
Later alchemy became obsessed with refining metals, which is why some metalsmiths were later dubbed alchemists, although they might prefer to call themselves metalworkers.
After several centuries of development, alchemy, after the research of great alchemists such as Albert, Thomas von Aquinas, Roger Bacon, Arnold von Villanova, etc., laid the foundation for the concept of material transformation.
Raymond Slule even proposed the hypothesis of the philosopher's stone based on the theory of "understanding, decomposition, and reconstruction".
This hypothesis was completed by Nico Mele.
Through the Philosopher's Stone, also known as the Sorcerer's Stone, the early idea of completing the transformation by adding "seeds" to the "transformation" was realized, and the elixir of life was successfully created, and any metal could be turned into pure gold.
Nicomel, who created the Philosopher's Stone, is therefore regarded as the ancestor of European alchemy. He stands at the pinnacle of alchemy and looks down on all alchemists.
However, after generations of continuation, the concept of material transformation eventually leaned towards potions.
Although metal craftsmen were also given the title of alchemists, this group of people obviously did not have that kind of awareness, and the branch of alchemy fell into mysticism.
After all, making magic items is what metal craftsmen often do. They are good at using magic to process metal and create some magic props with hidden magical powers.
Fairies are the best among them. They are good at using fairy magic to make pure silver products. That thing in this world is similar to the mithril in the magic world.
However, after some time, the goblin's technique of forging pure silver was lost, and only a small number of goblin craftsmen could forge goblin iron.
After the profession of metal craftsman gradually disappeared, alchemy completely moved towards mysticism. However, most alchemists did not recognize that items that were simply cast with spells could be called alchemical items.
However, there are some guys who call it modern alchemy, and the book "Simple Alchemy" that Albert once read is one of them.
After learning more about alchemy, Albert had a new idea about making amulets. He needed to find a bunch of magical materials with protective meanings and put them together to make amulets. The amulets made in this way would greatly strengthen the protective magic that Albert would eventually release on the amulets.
For example, the magical guardian tree or yew tree, the garnet known as the stone of life and the stone of protection... Using eihwaz, a rune symbol of protection and defense, in combination with other runes can strengthen the protective power of the amulet.
Unfortunately, although the idea was good, the reality was cruel. Albert needed more knowledge to help him complete this structure, and he himself had little knowledge of runes, which were ancient magic words.
The records about ancient magic runes are more about interpretation and understanding, but do not involve deeper things. Perhaps Dumbledore has done some research on these things, but there are very few wizards today who really know how to use them.
Albert put the idea of making an amulet as a gift behind him. In fact, he already had a more suitable option, and it was almost ready.
A griffin, the symbol of Gryffindor.
This was the inspiration that Albert came up with while practicing basic motion magic. He used wood, gears and magic to create a moving griffin.
What got him started was the model of the dragon for the Goblet of Fire, a life-size, wielding model.
That’s right. Ever since he had acquired several levels of economics-related skills, all kinds of fancy ideas began to emerge in Albert’s mind, such as selling models of various magical creatures in the future, perhaps making a fortune or something.
After all, he could find someone to cooperate with, set up a company or something, and then invest and provide relevant technology himself.
In order to carve the griffin, Albert went to the spiral staircase in the principal's office on the third floor, observed a griffin statue for a long time, and took several photos from all angles.
He also upgraded his carving skill to a higher level, and used the wood from the guardian tree provided by Hagrid to piece together a griffin. Basic movement magic could even make it flap its wings. As for whether it could fly, that was of course impossible at the moment.
As for the future, Albert believes that he can do it and perfect it thoroughly. After all, he has the panel, how can he not be confident!
As for who to cooperate with, Albert even has a candidate in mind, such as some unlucky guy who has been squeezed out by others.