Alchemist
鍊金術師 · Alchemist — The boundary between science and magic who transforms matter
The alchemist (鍊金術師) is an ancient and medieval scholarly profession pursuing both material transmutation and spiritual perfection. Originating in Alexandria, Egypt in the 3rd century BCE, refined in the Islamic world (8-13th c.), and spreading to Europe. The surface goals were finding the Philosopher's Stone (Lapis Philosophorum) to transmute base metals into gold and the elixir (immortality potion), but the essence was religious-philosophical practice pursuing the universe's secrets and the soul's purification. Newton and Robert Boyle, masters of early modern science, seriously studied alchemy, making it the direct ancestor of chemistry and pharmacy. Historical alchemists include Paracelsus, Nicolas Flamel, and Edward Kelley, and it's a staple motif in modern fantasy through Fullmetal Alchemist and Harry Potter's Hogwarts alchemy classes.