"Reality is rarely so simple. If it was I would not care about it but it's not. Turning every problem you encounter into such an extreme narrowness is merely a fast way to create tragedy. Enough about that however. It's late and I intend to get started on your lessons first thing tomorrow." he said ending that conversation there.
I let it happen as I had no intention of arguing with him over that phrase. As I said I merely understood the basic idea behind it. By no means did that imply I agreed with it. -
I was unapologetically selfish. I would always put my own interests and the interests of my people first. I shook my head to chase away these thoughts and entered the room prepared for me. I set my suitcase at the end of the bed and slipped into my sleeping attire. I went through my nightly refinement before tucking in to rest. My sleep was light and fitful as all the strange noises and magical presences in the house unsettled me from lack of familiarity. Thankfully I could function even with a little rest so I wasn't off in the morning.-
Flammel prepared a sumptuous breakfast of a variety of foods that I honestly couldn't even identify all of. He himself had a light easy breakfast since his body simply couldn't handle anything heavy or rich. He finished far before I did and merely marveled at my caloric intake.
"I truly have never seen anything quite like it. At least not in those without mixed heritages. By all reckoning your body simply shouldn't be able to handle such consumption but in reality not only is your body perfectly capable of it but it's even a necessity. Like how large or incredibly active animals require large amounts of food." He said with twinkling eyes.
I shrugged but didn't bother trying to explain how it worked. Frankly I barely even understood it myself. The physiques in the one piece world were to be honest, ridiculous. If it was merely a solid, simple and straightforward set of benefits then I could quantify it but the physique actively evolves the one with it based on how they train. Garp trained his fists almost exclusively so they were denser and harder than the rest of his body. I tempered the cells of my own body with electricity so my body was literally charged with energy at all times and my nerves fired faster than was natural by a lot.-
Not to such a degree that it was like the world was moving in slow motion for me constantly but it was starting to show signs of that exact phenomenon. Right now it was a matter of my mind not only fully registering whatever input I perceived but also reacting to it almost before it could finish. It was why I had told Moody before that unless he was faster than literal lightning he'd get hit with an attack before he could even draw his wand fully.-
It wasn't all good news though as with my body having been constantly exposed to refinement like it had I was needing more and more electricity to get even the smallest improvement. My cells were rapidly acclimating to electrical input and becoming effectively immunized to it's effects. As a result my level of electrical stimulation was spiking every refinement to a degree that would seriously hurt for any normal person. I was fairly certain that at the end of this road I'd need the full unbridled power of lightning to even elicit a reaction from my cells. At that point however my body would be superhero levels of durable and strong.-
Flammel didn't seem to mind my lack of comment on his observation. He smoothly pivoted to the real reason I was here, his lesson.
"For most alchemy is just a form of magic like any other. I agree with this sentiment to a degree. Like all magic alchemy has it's rules and uses well defined. What separates it from all other types of magic can be summarized in a single word, permanence. Where all other magic appears and leaves in a flash, with the notable exception of curses, alchemy creates a permanent effect. With that in mind we begin by understanding what these permanent effects are and what the end goal of all of them are." he said turning serious.
"Life, enchantment and material right?" I asked since I'd already done so preliminary reading on the topic.
He smiled and nodded "Quite so. Life alchemy is the field that is typically seen as the most evil as it's practitioners tend to create abominations of flesh. In truth the end goal of this field of alchemy is the creation of one of two things, the rebus or the omega. The first is a perfect composite of two opposites, a living contradiction. This makes it powerful, divine it could be considered. The second is the ultimate lifeform, a veritable perfect being with no flaws. Various magical beasts have been attributed to the field of life alchemy such as Centaurs, chimera and Acromantula." he said pausing to make sure I was following along.
"Enchantment goes without explanation as the most common form of alchemy. It is an art of permanently imbuing magics into objects. It also has no goal beyond the creation of the most powerful effects possible. The final branch of alchemy is the material branch, my own mastered field. It's final goal is the origin material, a theorized form of matter that was simultaneously every material in existence and more. In truth the philosophers stone I created is supposed to be but a few steps below this but even now I am woefully far from it's creation. In fairness it may not even be possible to create it without having the same theoretical conditions as the dawn of the universe." he said sternly.