Chapter 359

"Teacher, we found it."

As soon as he returned to the Magic Research Institute, Lucas reported a piece of good news.

"Prime Matter?"

Lucas nodded. "The one in Ireland is an ancient ruin with very powerful protective magic. We sent many curse-breakers to unlock it, but there was no Prime Matter in it. It was just signal reflection caused by the protective magic."

"The one in Germany is about the same. It's an unregistered wizarding school that has been abandoned, but there are still some powerful magic."

"Later, we had to send people to sneak into the bottom of the North Sea. That is also an underwater ruin, and a tribe of merpeople lives there. They are very difficult to deal with, but we found that a treasure they worship in their tribe is Prime Matter."

As they were talking, they walked toward the Spell Research Group. Lucas continued: "That is a colorful pearl, embedded in the crown of the Merking. To get it, we spent quite a bit of effort."

"That pearl has very magical abilities. It can grant the Merking powerful magic—you must know that ordinary merpeople don't have very strong magic power. At best, they can use some special magic triggered by sound. But the Merking can use that pearl to trigger storms and tsunamis, and can also use it to control a very huge sea monster."

"Sea monster?" Murphy thought for a moment. "Kraken?"

"I don't know if it's that one, but it is indeed very huge." Lucas said.

"Then how did you get the Prime Matter?"

"We negotiated with the merpeople, but they wouldn't give up the pearl no matter what. We originally wanted to launch an attack to grab it, but were worried about causing a war with the Merkingdom. Later, after we investigated, we found that the Merking had two heirs. The Merking was already old but still refused to abdicate, and both princes already had thoughts of rebellion. After negotiation, we convinced the eldest prince that if we helped him ascend to the throne, he would give us the pearl."

"With our help, the eldest prince launched a rebellion and killed the Merking, but he went back on his word and tried to kill us out of his own overestimation. So we had to kill him. Fortunately, the second prince was more reasonable. After we sent his father's and brother's heads over, he immediately gave us the pearl."

As they were talking, they had already arrived at the Spell Research Group. A pearl the size of a ping-pong ball was placed on a base, surrounded by a pile of instruments.

Murphy released the Prime Matter manifestation and confirmed that the pearl was the core material that could be used to make the Sorcerer's Stone.

"How is it? Any discoveries?" Murphy came to Haldane's side, who was responsible for testing and analyzing the Prime Matter.

"This is indeed a pearl. Its complex colors originate from the various material components mixed in it, and the production of these substances is all due to a special high-energy substance at the very core of the pearl."

Haldane showed Murphy a cross-section. "This pearl is divided into three layers. The outermost layer is not much different from ordinary pearls, and most of its colors also come from here. The middle layer is a reflection and buffer substance, which can reflect most of the energy radiation from the core layer back. The core layer is the body of the Prime Matter. What is surprising is: it seems to be liquid, and according to some of our test results, it seems to be... a drop of blood."

Murphy was stunned. "What?"

"We were also surprised, but it is indeed very similar to blood. We even scanned and found suspected living blood cells."

"And this thing does not obey the law of conservation of energy." Haldane said. "The Merking could use it to release magic, and we also tested it. After using it to release some spells, its energy level dropped slightly, but it could recover quickly, as if there was an energy pump existing somewhere unknown, continuously providing it with energy."

"However, this energy regeneration also seems to have a limit. If strong spells are released multiple times, its energy level drops more, and it recovers slower. We speculate that there may be a threshold. Once the energy released in a short time is greater than that threshold, it may not be able to recover."

"Because of this phenomenon, we also made some guesses about the scarcity of this kind of thing."

"It may be the blood of an extremely powerful creature—this is also consistent with our current understanding that most of our magic energy is biological."

"Obviously, that kind of powerful creature has gone extinct, and because of its extremely high energy level, the magic power contained in its blood should decay rapidly in a normal environment. However, because it has the effect of energy regeneration, as long as the decay rate is controlled—for example, by using this kind of magic reflection substance like a pearl to protect it, so that its decay rate is lower than the regeneration rate, it can be preserved."

"But obviously, in the natural environment, the possibility of producing a protection mechanism similar to this pearl is very low. Plus, such a high-energy creature, its existence must also be scarce, so this kind of Prime Matter should be very, very rare in this world."

Extremely powerful magical creature, and it has "gone extinct." This thing had to make Murphy think of "gods."

So, the so-called Prime Matter is actually divine blood?

If a drop of divine blood can make a prop like the Sorcerer's Stone, then how strong is a god?

"How much of that blood is there? Can it be taken out for analysis?" Murphy asked.

"It's not really a drop, about two milliliters, but it's still very reluctant to use it for analysis." Haldane said. "And, rashly breaking the protective layer outside may cause the Prime Matter to decay rapidly. It is best to make the Sorcerer's Stone immediately after taking it out, and then conduct research if there is any remaining."

Murphy nodded. "Good, I'll call the maker now."

Half a minute later, Snape was brought to the institute in his pajamas.

The latter gritted his teeth. "Murphy, can you notify me in advance next time there is an emergency?"

"You said it was an emergency, so there was no time to notify. It doesn't matter, you look quite handsome in your pajamas."

What the hell am I supposed to do next time I take a bath?

And can I still go to the bathroom in the future?

To take care of the emotions of a single middle-aged man, Murphy generously gave Snape half a minute to change his clothes, and then pointed the Prime Matter to him. "I found the Prime Matter you wanted for you. How long will it take for me to see the Sorcerer's Stone?"

"This is Prime Matter?" Snape was very surprised, also used a Prime Matter manifestation to confirm it, and then asked: "How did you get it?"

Lucas was standing on the side and explained simply.

It was the first time Snape had seen Lucas, and he always felt that this person made him feel inexplicably familiar, but he couldn't figure out the reason no matter what.

However, the Prime Matter attracted most of his attention, and he didn't think much about it.

Snape had already studied the production of the Sorcerer's Stone very clearly. "Give me a day."

(End of chapter)