Gotta say.
Nicolas Flamel's exclamation was really loud; it startled the Tree-Protecting Leprechaun who was about to fall to the ground, causing the little guy to panic and dive into a drawer.
"What do you mean? I didn't kill anyone... not many, anyway." Ian was slightly stunned for a few seconds, and after coming to his senses, he vaguely understood why Nicolas Flamel reacted that way.
"Are you saying that crafting the Philosopher's Stone requires killing? Like how Voldemort creates the Soul Artifact?" To be honest, Ian had never been exposed to the creation process of the Philosopher's Stone.
The library at Hogwarts didn't have it, nor did the additional alchemy books he found himself. This kind of creation at the pinnacle of alchemy was almost impossible to be documented in books.
The reason this knowledge is so precious is mainly because it is often monopolized by individuals, and even if documented, it holds virtually no significance for most alchemy learners.
Of course.
An alchemist like Ian is not worried about being unable to learn. As long as he has enough time, once he elevates his alchemy level, all difficulties will cease to be obstacles. If Voldemort hadn't consumed Nicolas Flamel's Philosopher's Stone, he originally planned to do some reverse analysis and research with it.
Having unexpectedly gathered quite a number of Philosopher's Stones in the Misty Illusion Realm, Ian initially planned to conduct his own research. His decision to bring it up just now was sparked by Nicolas Flamel's presence.
It wasn't entirely to start a conversation.
After all, Nicolas Flamel is someone who genuinely created the Philosopher's Stone, and with his guidance, Ian could save himself a lot of time and trouble in reverse engineering research.
"Where did you get so many Philosopher's Stones from... Even though they don't retain much magic power like mine, I can't imagine such things could be casually found everywhere, right?" Nicolas Flamel didn't immediately respond to Ian's question but was deeply puzzled by the origin of the Philosopher's Stones.
Over the years, there's been no news of any country being wiped out.
"A good friend gave them to me?"
Ian blinked, attempting to bluff his way through.
However, Nicolas Flamel, of course, couldn't believe such nonsense. He helplessly patted his forehead, "Why haven't I met such good friends?"
The little wizard's words were filled with loopholes, and Nicolas Flamel felt at a loss, not knowing how to deceive himself. He completely couldn't fathom how the little wizard could have such great fortune to obtain so many Philosopher's Stones.
"Perhaps your emotional intelligence isn't as high as mine, and you don't have as many good friends as I do." Ian earnestly responded, as explaining the origin of these Philosopher's Stones was overly complicated.
"..."
Nicolas Flamel remained silent for a while before speaking with a peculiar expression, outlining his guess, "It seems true that rumors about your love for digging up others' ancestral graves are accurate."
"Previously, Albus privately warned me not to hide things in my own grave, and I didn't believe him. But now it seems Albus was too conservative with his warning."
Speaking of.
Nicolas Flamel picked up the Philosopher's Stones dumped on the table by Ian, his tone full of emotion, "I suppose you must have dug up an extraordinary ancient wizard."
Clearly, in Nicolas Flamel's view, he couldn't see any point in his several hundred years of life that could have yielded so many Philosopher's Stones.
Precisely because of this.
He followed a logical train of thought and found an excuse for Ian that even Ian hadn't thought of. Upon hearing this, the little wizard immediately nodded like a chick pecking at grains.
"Yes, exactly, that's right, I discovered an ancient witch tomb." Ian thought this explanation was not only reasonable but couldn't be considered dishonest.
The High Tower is buried within the Misty Illusion Realm, so why not consider it an ancient tomb? He didn't mind being regarded by Nicolas Flamel as some grave-digging fanatic.
After all.
He rather liked such a title. Compared to titles like Skywalker, Black Demon King, White Demon, the name Grave-Digging Demon certainly carried more intimidation.
No matter how bold, brave individuals may hesitate at the weight of their own ancestral graves before daring to provoke someone bearing the title Grave-Digging Demon.
"Is that really the case?"
Nicolas Flamel saw Ian's confident expression, first stunned, then his expression became even stranger, with a feeling of wanting to say something but hesitating.
The little wizard quickly realized what the Alchemy Master wanted to ask.
He jumped ahead with a response.
"It's not Merlin's grave, I don't know whose grave it is. There are plenty of those Ancient Magic Runes inside." As Ian spoke, he immediately drew out the High Tower Magic Runes he had impressed in his memory.
Indeed.
Once the large swathes of magic runes were shown, Nicolas Flamel, who still harbored some disbelief, immediately had no doubt about the origin of Ian's Philosopher's Stones.
"I too had once acquired some of those Ancient Magic Runes, but due to the fragmentary nature of my findings, I never managed to decipher their meaning and power."
Nicolas Flamel, with just a glance, promptly put on his glasses. His expression was unexpectedly fascinated, as if he had found a treasure, and he carefully cradled Ian's impression copies.