A breeze blew by, carrying with it a faint scent of flowers.
The girl took a sip of the fruit tea in the cup, looking at the flowers blooming in the courtyard, with a faint smile on her lips.
Rather than a place to work, this is more like a new home that belongs to just the two of them.
Isobel withdrew her gaze from the flower garden, sat back at the desk by the window, picked up the envelope on the table, and carefully read the letter from Professor Bathsheda Baburin. Professor Mo Wen gave her a lot of useful suggestions and ideas in the letter.
"Sure enough, taking the first step is always the hardest." Isobel murmured.
When she picked up the feather pen and prepared to continue her work, light footsteps suddenly sounded in the study, causing her to raise her eyebrows slightly and look up at the bookcase next to her.
A few seconds later, the bookcase suddenly moved to the side, revealing a secret door hidden behind it, and a familiar figure walked out of the hidden room.
"Why are you here?" Isobel asked in surprise.
During the day, Albert usually stayed at home with his family and would not come to Hogsmeade. Now that he was here, it was obvious that he had something else to do.
"Well, I just received a letter from Mr. Serra." Albert took out a piece of letter paper from the pocket of his casual pants and briefly described the contents of the letter to Isobel: "We are going to Egypt to attend the International Alchemy Conference the day after tomorrow."
"Are you planning to participate in the competition, or just go to exchange alchemy experiences with others?" Isobel has done research on the International Alchemy Congress, which is more like an academic conference where alchemists get together to exchange research results.
As for the so-called Cairo International Alchemy Conference Pioneering Contribution Gold Award, it is to select the most valuable achievement from the wizards participating in this academic conference.
"Since I'm participating, it would be best if I could win an award."
Albert was very satisfied with the task reward given by Barnabus Finkley's Gold Medal for Excellent Spellcasting. The former Voldemort spellcasting skills were gone, replaced by AA spellcasting skills.
However, what made Albert a little dissatisfied was that Voldemort's spell-casting technique, which had been upgraded to level 3, was not inherited. The new skill directly became level zero, and he had to spend experience to upgrade the skill again. You know, it takes a lot of experience to upgrade the skill from 2 to 3.
The rewards for international competition missions are usually not too bad, and Albert certainly wants to fight for himself. Maybe the rewards for the missions he gets will bring him unexpected surprises.
"So what kind of work are you going to submit?" Isobel was a little curious about this. She knew that Albert was very good at alchemy and had made a lot of interesting things.
Albert subconsciously glanced at the package in his left hand, smiled and shook his head, saying: "I haven't thought about what to take to the competition. Mandrake wine is the most suitable result I think at the moment."
That was the magic wine brewed by Albert using the skill "Basic Knowledge of Mandrake". It is said that the effect of this wine is very good.
I have to say that "Basic Knowledge about Mandrake" is really a treasure trove, and it basically arranges everything about Mandrake very clearly.
Sometimes Albert even wanted to learn a similar skill. It would be even better if he could learn some basic knowledge about unicorns. He was sure that the unicorn, which was full of treasures, would be an extraordinary fortune if it could be used properly.
You know, the unicorn's horn, tail hair and blood alone have many uses.
"Can mandrake be used to make wine?" Isobel was surprised. Of course she knew what mandrake was.
"Yes, fresh mandrake roots can be used to make wine, but the process is a bit complicated. As for its effect, you will never imagine it." Albert gave Isobel a meaningful smile.
Noticing the smile on Albert's face, Isobel stopped asking questions and changed the subject, "Actually, I'm more curious about what's in the package you're holding?"
"What are you talking about?" Albert handed the package to Isobel and said mysteriously, "This contains the dreams of countless people."
"The dream of countless people?" Isobel looked at the package in front of her and asked tentatively, "Can I open it and take a look?"
"Take it apart."
Isobel opened the package and found a sealed metal box inside. Apart from some patterns, there was not a single crack in the box.
"It is very well guarded. M. Flamel sent it to you?"
Isobel had seen similar things before, and her intuition told her that there must be something good inside.
"This is a safety measure," Albert explained with a smile. "It is set so that only I can open it. Forcing the box open will destroy the contents."
As he spoke, Albert pressed his thumb somewhere on the box. There was a slight click, and the box opened without warning. Inside was a bottle of potion as pure as a ruby.
"What is this?" Isobel couldn't help asking.
"A potion that can delay aging." Albert handed the potion to Isobel.
"Delay aging?" Isobel stared at Albert in disbelief, as if she wanted to confirm whether he was lying. Her palm involuntarily grasped the potion in her hand. At this moment, she suddenly understood why Albert said that this was the dream of countless people.
"Probably... okay." Albert took out another bottle of powder from the box, as well as a lot of parchment, on which were detailed instructions for making the potion.
"Is this what you discussed with Mr. Nicol at that time?" There was a slight tremor in Isobel's voice. She seemed to pull out the cork and drink the potion in one gulp.
No woman can resist the temptation of delaying aging.
"Well, the teacher helped me complete it preliminarily. However, the method he chose is a little different from what I originally imagined." Albert stared at the red powder in his hand. This thing is actually a catalyst, somewhat similar to the effect of the Philosopher's Stone.
Apparently this practice was inspired by the elixir of life.
Albert knew that as long as he mastered the method of making this potion, he could improve and perfect it by upgrading his skills.
This is the advantage that the panel skills bring to him.
However, since many of Albert's alchemy skills were upgraded through panel skills, his theoretical alchemy level was very high, but his actual alchemy level was not very high. He could master the alchemy on the skill panel relatively quickly, but he could not make very advanced items.
"Mandra root is actually one of the ingredients for the elixir of life. Through complex potion craftsmanship, it can be turned into a potion that delays aging."
As he spoke, Albert shook the stack of parchments in his hand, and handed them to Isobel with shining eyes with a smile.
The latter took the parchment with trembling hands and read its contents greedily.
However, Isobel was confused, she could understand every word but she was still confused.
"It's normal that you don't understand it without certain theoretical knowledge of alchemy." Albert looked at Isobel's lost expression and comforted her softly, "Your expectations are too high. Without long-term research and improvement, the effect of this thing will definitely be different from what you think."
"You don't want to take it to the competition, do you?" Isobel obviously disagreed with Albert's decision, although if she took it to the competition, she would definitely win the Gold Award for Pioneering Contributions at the Cairo International Alchemy Conference.
but…
It's not worth it.
Just a broken prize.
It's not worth it for Albert to leak the recipe for delaying aging.
Once the drug to slow down aging is discovered, God knows what will happen.
"No." Albert shook his head and said to Isobel with a smile, "Come with me. The things in the laboratory will definitely bring you unexpected surprises."
"What is it?" Isobel demanded. "Mandrae?"
"Can you guess what its effect is? If you guess it, then you can use the bottle," Albert said with a smile.
"I don't know." Isobel stared at Albert for a while and couldn't help curling her lips. Albert's brain occlusion technique was getting stronger and stronger. As long as Albert didn't want to, it was difficult for others to see what he was thinking.
However, Isobel was not in a hurry. She knew that with Albert's talent in alchemy and potions, he would definitely be able to improve a more perfect potion to delay aging.
The two walked towards the laboratory. The house-elves had already moved all the glass winemaking utensils over, and the liquid inside had turned into rose red.
Well, it has to do with the rose petals that are added during the making of Mandrake wine.
"Is wine also a form of alchemy?" Isobel asked in confusion.
"This isn't really wine, it's more like a potion, but it doesn't need to be brewed like a potion. But I asked Mr. Serra, and he said it could be considered as such. The scope of alchemy is very broad, and the boundaries are very vague. Some potions are actually made through alchemy, so it's not wrong to say it's alchemy. I remember that pharmacists are actually called other names: brewers or pharmacists."
"What is its effect?" Isobel demanded.
"No more guessing?" Albert smiled and put his face close to her ear, whispering, "This wine is good for fertility and has a certain aphrodisiac effect. Do you want to try it? Sera has already tested it and it's safe to drink. There are no obvious side effects."
"Test?" Isobel frowned slightly when she heard the word.
"After several animal tests, we asked humans to test it." Albert noticed Isobel's frown and reached out to smooth her brows. He said softly, "As long as the price is right, there are many poor wizards who are willing to help pharmacists test potions. According to the feedback from the tests, this wine is indeed effective. It is said to taste sweet, a bit like sweet wine, which is probably related to the honey added at the end."
He picked up a paper cup and poured some wine from it. A faint fragrance immediately spread. Albert dipped his finger in the wine, licked it on the tip of his tongue, and his eyes lit up. He didn't expect that after adding so many things, the taste was actually quite good.
Isobel also followed Albert's example and dipped her fingertips in it, and found that this stuff had nothing to do with alcohol at all. It was a bit like fruit juice and didn't have much of a wine taste.
However, there is no way there is no alcohol in it. It is even higher than beer, it is just covered up.
"What else are you going to do?" Isobel stared at the mandrake wine in the bottle for a moment, then moved towards Albert who was weighing something, with a little confusion on her face.
"I'm going to try to make an ointment." Albert took out a notebook from his pocket and handed it to Isobel, which recorded the manufacturing method.
Name: Flying ointment
Materials needed: 200 grams of beeswax, 20 grams of **, 10 grams of Billywig stings, 25 grams of mandrake root powder, 30 grams of lavender extract, and 15 grams of buttercup.
Production process…
"What is this thing used for?" Isobel discovered that there were two formulas for the ointment, and the methods of use were also different.
Looking at the instructions for using the flying ointment, Isobel raised her eyebrows slightly. She felt that this was not a serious thing.
"Flying ointment can make people relax physically and mentally, and enjoy the feeling of floating in the air." Albert was melting beeswax and said to Isobel, "If you adjust the formula, you can make people fly directly."
"Fly?" Isobel was a little confused.
"Literally," Albert explained. "But the danger is that it's uncontrollable and there's a risk of falling directly from mid-air."
Isobel suddenly didn't know what to say.
"Okay, do you want to give it a try?"
Albert put the flying ointment into a small bottle and winked at Isobel. "It will surely impress you."
As if to verify the effect of the flight ointment, Albert applied the flight ointment on the back of his hand and felt it carefully. Apart from being a little cold, he seemed to feel nothing.
Albert asked Isobel to help him apply the medicine on his left arm, and it finally worked. He waved his arm in the air a few times and said to Isobel, "My arm has indeed become lighter. It seems that something has helped to offset the gravity. Well, you can understand it as a person floating on the water."
Although the effect was mediocre, Albert still felt that this potion had good potential. He spent some time finding the flying ointment on the skill panel and invested some experience into it to upgrade the skill.
By adjusting the raw materials and manufacturing process, Albert quickly recreated an improved version of the flight ointment, which felt particularly relaxing when applied on the arms.
The effect of the other version is more obvious. Once it is applied to the surface of an object, it will be like casting a spell similar to a levitation spell on the object. Albert suspects that if this thing is further developed, it may be possible to combine it with broom technology to create a magic version of an airship.
He quickly found Isobel, shared his new discovery with her, and successfully made the chair in the study float in the air.
"I think this stuff is more reliable than Mandrake wine," Isobel commented.
"Okay, don't worry about that for now. Come here and help me apply this stuff." Albert stuffed another bottle of flying ointment into Isobel's hand and took her hand to the master bedroom.
"You don't want to... Why don't we wait until tonight?" Isobel understood what Albert meant and said with a slightly flushed cheek.
“I think there is no difference between day and night.”