Nicolas Flamel's aged voice echoed within the doorway; he clearly knew who the visitor was, so the door, without a handle, slowly opened to both sides.
Inside was an oval-shaped room, incredibly spacious, with a bright, sun-like floating light source providing twenty-four-hour illumination to the entire room.
Not only that.
Ian saw clouds on the ceiling, saw birds that seemed real; this place had evidently been transformed into an environment akin to nature.
Only the surrounding walls, the various tools on the ground, and the tables indicated that this really was indoors, otherwise it would easily cause misconceptions.
"Is there a problem with the alchemy?" Nicolas Flamel did not look up; he was at a workbench fiddling with a machine that looked extraordinarily intricate.
It was somewhat similar to a Time Converter, but there were many differences; the sparse sand inside made Ian feel a sense of familiarity, but his gaze was soon drawn to another Alchemy Creation on the long table.
It was an Earth.
It appeared to be only slightly larger than a basketball in size, yet everything it should have was there. As Ian approached, he also noticed many tiny dots moving on the "planet." Nicolas Flamel pushed a magnifying glass towards Ian, smiling, and continued to immerse himself in the curious apparatus he held.
Ian grabbed the magnifying glass and moved in closer to see, his face instantly showing a few signs of shock. Those dense little dots seemed to be animals living on the "Earth".
Even the sea was the same.
Birds, reptiles, large mammals—animals you would find on the real Earth could be found on this "Earth," even small but lifelike Fantastic Beasts.
"This is simply an unbelievable masterpiece!" Ian's understanding of alchemy was profound; because of this, he could more clearly comprehend how extraordinary such a creation was.
"Ultimately not real life, only looks like life." Nicolas Flamel was not being modest; his tone carried a sense of regret. Evidently, he was lamenting that he hadn't accomplished what all alchemists yearn to touch—the Creator's dominion.
"You are nearly perfect in your imitation of the Creator." Ian even saw primitive humans on the "Earth," living in tribal groups.
Hunting, cooking, breeding—everything was there.
"Imitation is ultimately just imitation."
Nicolas Flamel stopped his repair work, looked up at the distant Little Wizard, "It's your first time coming to me; you must have run into considerable trouble?"
He again inquired about Ian's request for help.
"Mm-hmm."
Ian thought it wouldn't be good to immediately talk about undead skeletons, Black Phoenix, and Biological Alchemy, so he planned to start with something not so dark.
"Clink~Clink~"
The Little Wizard poured out the pile of Magic Stones he obtained in the Misty Illusion Realm; when faced with a Black-robed Skeleton in the Forbidden Forest earlier, the Tree-Protecting Leprechaun that he instinctively placed into his Money Bag was also emptied out, still sound asleep.
The little fellow woke suddenly and prepared to be on guard.
However.
The previously sluggish Nicolas Flamel suddenly became more agile than a young man, jumped off his stool, rushed over, and pushed aside the poor Tree-protecting Leprechaun.
"Merlin's beard! So many Magic Stones!"
Nicolas Flamel's tone was filled with horror.
"How many people were killed for this? Nearly all of Europe?!"
Ian had not yet responded.
The Alchemy Master looked up at the Little Wizard before him.
His eyes were filled with terror.