Fate Alchemist - A Regression Academy LitRPG

They stepped out into the hallway. It had a soft, patterned carpet and varnished wood walls, and lanterns hung from the ceiling, lighting the way. On all sides of the hallway, doors led to different suites. They were spaced very far apart.

"Have a pleasant evening!" the Mage boy in the lift-pod called, then shut the door. The pod descended back the way they came.

"Do you remember the room number?" Wulf asked.

"It was at the end of the hall, on a corner. Lots of windows," Kalee replied. She walked down the hallway, raised her hand to a door, then shook her head and kept going until she reached the next door down. Inhaling sharply, she knocked on it.

Almost immediately, the door clicked, then swung inward. Kalee's mother stood on the inside, wearing almost the same attire that she'd intercepted them by the Academy in—just a little fancier, with embroidery on the skirt, and a short shawl that hung from her shoulders.

"Ah, Kalee! I was thinking you wouldn't make it!" her mother called. "Come in, come in. Oh, and who's this? Is this a friend from the academy? Oh, dear boy, do I have a few warnings for you!" She laughed, then beckoned them into the room.

Wulf and Kalee exchanged a glance, and Kalee said, "Sorry."

They followed her mother into the apartment. At the front, there was a short hallway, where there was a rack for boots. At the moment, there were none on it, considering pangians, but being respectful, Wulf took off his boots and dropped them on the rack.

The inside of the apartment was much brighter. The inner walls were daubed with white plaster, and a spattering of abstract paintings hung from the walls. There was a main living room, a dining room, a kitchen, and off to the side, an assortment of bedrooms. The living room's outer corner boasted a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, providing a view of the city, and looking far out to the port and ocean.

There was a table at the center, where two middle-aged pangian men stood, talking to each other. They looked like brothers, though one was slender, and the other had put on a little weight. They both stood in front of a platter of crackers, baguette slices, and cheese dips, snacking and (as best Wulf could tell), talking politics.

In the kitchen, Kalee's mother darted around. She wasn't the chef; there were a few non-Ascendant maids who seemed to be doing most of the work.

Wulf hung back, unsure what to say, but Kalee's mother swept back into the room. "Take a seat, you two! Oh, Kalee, we have so much to catch up on! Say, say, how are your grades? You haven't been slacking, have you? You'd like a nice apartment like your Uncle, wouldn't you?"

"I…would like a meaningful life," Kalee said. "And maybe some peace, eventually."

Her mother was silent for a few seconds, then said, "My, that's a bit of a change. Last time, you said you wanted to be one of the greatest Artificers the world has ever seen! You wanted to be an artisan in Jungle City!"

Kalee's face went red. "Well, things change, Mom."

"I'd say. But money buys peace, you know that! Get your grades up—I'm sure you could do better—get yourself a cushy guild job, and you can have this, too. Come on, you two. Have a seat, and I'll find some snacks for the both of you. Dinner's coming up in a moment."

Kalee tightened her fists, and Wulf could practically feel the Field swirling around her, like she was thinking of using a spell Skill.

Whispering, Wulf said, "Remember, they haven't done anything yet. Not in this life. Give it time."

"I…yeah. Let's take a seat."

~ ~ ~

It hadn't been difficult for Gom Pyek to tear into the Ghirrar and transport himself to the city known as Centralis. At least, he had to pretend it wasn't difficult. The demon spirits, even if they had only just become strong enough to travel through the Ghirrar, had to pretend it was effortless. Effort meant they weren't strong enough.

He was a Khinneri, a lieutenant, and he'd lose his position if it was too difficult.

He'd arrived a few days ago. He'd scouted the place, found a suitable method of espionage, established himself.

But tonight, there was opportunity.

With his swirling black form perching atop a spire of the Centralis Academy, he looked over the city, and directed his attention to the distant port. Ambition flooded his form, surging through the misty channels of his body, travelling to the tips of his limbs.

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Gom Huteyn had given the orders to wipe the city clean off the map with the remnants that lurked in the depths, but Pyek had an opportunity, and he was compelled to use it. A demon could not feel otherwise. That would be akin to running from battle, running from a foe, and the very forces of the universe would not allow it.

This world was about to pass through a cluster of spheres. Three were poised to land in the ocean outside the city. Normally, it wouldn't break the defenses. The lesser hordes would drown, and the Fiends weren't intelligent enough to attack as one. The city defenses would hold.

But if Gom Pyek could…give the Fiends a controlling nudge, a guide, he could direct them into the city, and perhaps wipe out the academy.

Surely, by destroying the academy, he could wipe out the anomalies. Gom Huteyn would reward him for achieving his objectives faster than normal.

For his success, he might earn himself a patch of conquered land, as long as the harvest lasted. He could take servants and live as a Khinna. Or better yet, a Khin. Absolute power over a tiny fiefdom, to treat others however he pleased, to get a taste of what it was like to be giving the orders.

Pyek himself didn't have lips yet—his form hadn't gained enough shape for that—but the body he was occupying did. He smirked.

~ ~ ~

For dinner, Kalee's mother served herb-roasted chicken with a curry sauce, mixed vegetables, and flatbread.

As soon as she'd set the dishes on the dining room table, she served out a healthy helping to everyone, including Kalee—who she seemed to serve a double helping to. It was more than Wulf himself had eyes for.

"A taste of home," Kalee's mother pronounced. "I doubt you'd have gotten much of that here."

"Gula, the food you know from the Istalis colony is only a fraction of what you'll find in the far west," Uncle Cheenalu reminded her. "And we're closer to the far west than the Istalis colony was." He pointed over his shoulder at a shelf, where a hand-painted globe rested. It was covered in dust.

As Wulf had learned over the course of the evening, the colony of pangians in Istalis had travelled over from their homelands in the far west. Uncle Cheenalu was very proud that there was finally an Oronith from the far west, which happened to be the beast who stood in a hangar slot beside Silent Wraith, though neither Wulf nor Kalee mentioned that.

"Yes, well, this is still a taste of home," Kalee's mother insisted.

"It is better than a taste of home," Cheenalu countered. "See, my niece," he said to Kalee particularly. "With the proper application of hard work, all your efforts will pay off. Work hard enough, keep pulling yourself up, and some day, you may even reach the levels I have! Hah!"

"I'm sure she'll do better, Chee," said Kalee's father. "She is an Ascendant, after all."

"Not if none of you push her," Kalee's mother said. "Who's going to look after me when I'm old, hm? You couldn't give me any other children who were Ascendants, and they don't have the luck of Uncle Chee." She said it with a joking tone, but Wulf knew jokes like that always had a shred of truth to it.

"She wished I was her son," Kalee whispered to Wulf. They sat beside each other at the edge of the table.

Trying to diffuse the conversation, Wulf said, "This is wonderful, Ms. Chipa." In reality, the spices were somewhat duller than the far-west-style food they'd been served at the academy one night, but he just needed to get the heat off Kalee's back.

"So, Wulf?" Kalee's mother leaned forward on the table, peering between the centerpiece of fake flowers created by an artisan Artificer. "You look like a strong fellow. I'm sure you could find yourself a wonderful guild job. Perhaps an Ascendant manager? If you've made it to High-Copper already, you'll…definitely make it higher than Silver! What a wonderful husband you'd be." Cracking a smile, she added, "With that paycheck, that is." It was probably only a half joke.

"I aspire to be on the crew of an Oronith."

The room went silent.

Finally, Kalee's mother laughed. "What, with the demons attacking? You're signing up for death! In the demon war…well, the first demon war, crews only lasted a year, maybe two!"

Wulf smiled. "In an Oronith's cockpit, I can truly make a difference."

"Or you'll die, and leave my darling girl without anything," Kalee's mom said.

"I'd be with him," Kalee snapped. "If he's going down, then I'm dying too."

"What, as an Artificer?" Her mother laughed, then said, "Sorry, but you'll get smacked off the side of the 'Nith first chance."

Wulf reminded himself that they still thought she was an Artificer. After all, that was what she had been in her last life.

"If she even gets on a crew," Uncle Cheenalu said. "They wouldn't let a lowborn like her on a crew, not without anything special about her."

"You're our insurance, Kalee," her mother said. "You're what will give us a good life. You can't go throwing away your—"

"You already threw away my life!" Kalee snapped. She pushed her chair back and rose up to her feet, then stormed out of the dining room and marched back to the living room.

"We paid her tuition to the Istalis academy!" Kalee's mother grumbled. "And this is how she repays us? All our meagre family holdings down the drain…for a worthless daughter."

"You push her too hard, dear," Kalee's father whispered.

Wulf scowled and stood up, then looked directly at Kalee's mother. "She's already on a crew," he said. "We both are. You heard about Clegghold, didn't you? That was us." He breathed out, calming himself. "She'll make more of a difference than you ever wi—"

He cut himself off. In the distance, a rumble rolled over the city. A second later, a deep boom reverberated through the tower, sending vibrations through Wulf's stomach. Then all the windows shattered.

Wulf sprinted out to the living room. Kalee lay on the floor, her face slit by glass shards but otherwise unharmed. Her face was red, and eyes bleary. She'd probably been crying, but the sun was setting, and all the lanterns had been blown out. He couldn't see. Wulf helped her up, then ran to the brink of the window.

In the distance, beyond the port, and far out in the ocean, a tidal wave of water surged up. A column of steam rose from offshore.

He whispered, "Speak of the devil…"