Noah's path had taken him across nearly every wing of the castle.
The Alchemy Tower became his second home.
Glass tubes bubbled with glowing liquids. Brass instruments ticked softly while magical elements floated in suspended jars along the walls.
Over the year Noah mastered dozens of alchemical techniques.
• Potion distillation• Transmutation formulas• Magical compound creation
He even prestiged his earlier studies.
Returning to Zoopathy, Noah refined his control over animals to an entirely new level.
Now creatures didn't just listen to him.
They trusted him.
Ravens perched on his shoulders when he walked through the courtyards. Foxes followed him along forest paths outside the castle. Once, during a snowstorm, a massive black wolf sat beside him quietly while he studied.
But Noah's most powerful creation came late one winter night.
Inside his lab he combined glowing dust from a meteor fragment with distilled dragonroot extract.
The mixture formed a swirling liquid inside a glass sphere.
He held it up to the candlelight.
A Philosopher's Catalyst.
A rare alchemical focus capable of amplifying nearly any magical process.
Noah smiled.
"Now we're talking."