Fate Alchemist - A Regression Academy LitRPG

In Wulf's last life, he'd met Dr. Arnau when he was in his mid-twenties. Back then, she'd just been Arnau. Her titles had been lost.

It had been a rainy morning in the middle of summer, and Wulf was just emerging from a long haul in a relatively minor dungeon, with Ján, Lisa, and Brin behind him. It'd opened recently, wasn't big enough for Oroniths, but was good enough for an aspiring party to gain a little bit of mana.

Though the sky was cloudy, the light was painfully bright after a few long weeks underground. Wulf shielded his eyes as he emerged. The cool rain felt good on his head and shoulders, almost like a shower—he hadn't had one of those in a while—and the fresh air was a welcome reprieve.

They walked down a mud and gravel road through the middle of a village. It had sprung up around the dungeon, and had grown significantly since Wulf and his friends had descended. (They were all Middle-Coppers, a tier too low for the dungeon, and they hadn't made it deep—descended was probably the wrong word.)

Dungeons were a rare occurrence. The massive ones were either lost, or all spoken for, but every so often, the Field would become agitated, and it would create a new dungeon. Nowadays, they didn't go unnoticed for long, and they usually got harvested so quickly that they'd never grow into an Oronith-sized dungeon.

Wulf realized he was contributing to the problem, but what other choice did he have? Don't hate the player, hate the game, that sort of thing. If he refused to work within the system, then someone else would, and he wouldn't get anything from the dungeon.

Though, it wasn't like any of their party benefitted much from the dungeon. They'd earned no new Marks, and only got enough mana to replenish what their Skills had used. The silver they'd found was nice, but they'd have to spend at least half of it on transport back to the city, and if they wanted to come back, they'd need an allowance for new gear.

It was all so…crushing.

He kept his head down as they walked through the city, and soon, he began to shiver. The rain didn't feel as good anymore, and the wind was picking up.

"We should find a place to rest!" Ján called, dodging a horse-drawn wagon. It trundled through a puddle, splashing them. "We can wait until tomorrow to find a wagon ride back to Isthá!"

Wulf sighed, then nodded. It'd eat into their loot, but this was useless anyway. May as well weather it out in an inn instead of getting stuck on the road, wheels trapped in the muck. Besides, no one knew when the next demon attack was going to be, and you didn't want to be stuck on the road when the demons came.

He didn't plan to spend the entire day in the inn's tavern. It'd just happened. There was no way out, except at the bottom of the glass. The sun set outside the lattice windows of the tavern, but inside, the warm glow of candles kept the gloom away. It was still raining, though, and pretty hard. They couldn't open windows to let the pipe-smoke out, and it was starting to get hazy inside. Wulf had a headache.

He placed another silver chunk down on the counter. Just one more mug, then he'd head up to their room. Ján, Brin, and Lisa had already turned in for the night.

Wulf rubbed his forehead. They didn't seem to see any problems with the way things were. They seemed satisfied with the life they were going to live. Thinking about it just made his headache worse.

The tavern keeper set another frothy mug down on the stone counter, then leaned over. "You alright, son?"

"I'm fine."

"This is your last one, then I'm cutting you off," the man said. "You've had enough."

"I…" He sighed. Always, there was that little spark, telling him to keep pushing forward, and it didn't really disappear. But tonight it was a little dimmer, a little number. "Alright. Thank you."

Wulf didn't touch the mug for a few minutes. The tavern's doors swung open, and a trio of Academy Ascendants marched in. They wore heavy coats over their uniforms, had rank badges that displayed Middle-Bronze tiers proudly. They were all a few years younger than him, and had probably just gotten out on summer break. Probably here to loot the dungeon, just the same as he and his friends.

When they all approached the bar, he was barely paying attention. He only saw them out the corner of his eye, hassling the innkeeper. Doing something, being not-very-nice—it was hazy, and not just because of the smoke.

So he punched them. He didn't have a golem with him, and he didn't have any stone to help. Nothing he could manipulate easily.

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The fight didn't last long, but he barely remembered it, and with all the alcohol, it didn't hurt so bad. But he did recall lying on the flagstone floor, an Academy Ascendant towering over him, pummeling him. His nose bled, his ribs ached, he wheezed. The tavern erupted in chaos. Most of the patrons were trying to get away from the fight, not join in.

Finally, a woman's voice cut through the noise. "Stop this at once!"

The tavern's door boomed open, and none other than Arnau marched in. At the time, Wulf didn't recognize her, and the Ascendants likely didn't either, but they saw her Gold-tier rank badge, and they backed off immediately.

She didn't wear her academy attire anymore, but instead, a simple robe and a cloak to shield herself from the rain. She dispersed the students, then made them pay the tavern keeper for the trouble.

A few minutes later, Wulf found himself sitting at a table with her, wiping his nose with a rag. A mug of freshwater sat in front of him.

"You know, I wasn't planning on talking to you," Dr. Arnau said, lifting her own mug. It was full of ale of some kind. "I was just stopping by for a drink."

She'd conveniently left out that she'd been exiled from Centralis, and was now here to live out her days in the shadow of the controversies around her research. Wulf was pretty sure he knew who was behind the controversies, but he hadn't back then.

"But then," she continued, "The bartender told me who you were."

"He knew?"

"You told him."

"Oh…" Wulf pinched the bridge of his nose tighter. "I don't remember that.

"Academy dropout, it seems. I accessed the Istalis Academy codex while you were laying on the floor, and it turns out your story is true." She set her mug down. "What happened?"

"Academy life wasn't for me."

"That's sure enough. You don't seem the type. But for a farmboy to make it to the Academy? You must've had some potential."

"Who are you?"

"That's not important right now," she said. "What's important is that I'm interested in you, and I'd hate to see someone like you waste your life. You could do so much more. Particularly of interest was that your 'willpower scores' were off the charts—at least, that was what they recorded at the dropout assessment."

"Doesn't do much good when the whole world is conspiring against you."

Dr. Arnau laughed softly. "Indeed, but you've got a choice. You don't have to be here right now. Do you like being a dead-end adventurer scrounging through dungeons just to earn enough silver to eat?"

"What if I do?"

"I know you don't." She leaned back in her chair. "I've gotten myself a job over here."

"Congratulations. A Gold can get a job anywhere."

"The Confederacy is putting together a new army," Arnau continued, unfazed. "A swift response team to tackle demon invasions, and I've been charged with looking for recruits. More than that, I need a personal apprentice." She kicked her granite briefcase. "And preferably a Pilot. You're everything I need."

"No I'm not."

"You could be. Make your choice." Shaking her head, Dr. Arnau stood up. "You could get yourself a golem. You could be in the cockpit of an Oronith in a few years, if you play your cards right. The world is changing, and you could get ahead of the curve."

Wulf said nothing, except sighed. The little spark in his gut burned a little brighter, begging him to do better.

Arnau hoisted up her briefcase, then leaned over the table. "You're not the only one who the Academy screwed over. But don't you want to try fighting these demons for real? All of them, not just the ones from the sky. You've got the chance, and you've got the potential. You want to see if it can go somewhere?"

Again, he said nothing.

"Meet me at the city gates tomorrow morning, hung over or not. I won't wait for you past noon."

~ ~ ~

Moisture gathered in the corners of Wulf's eyes as Dr. Arnau asked to help them. He didn't know how to take it. It was so unlike their first meeting in their last life, a little more dignified, but still marked by endless frustration.

"Are you alright, Mr. Hrothen?" Dr. Arnau asked. "You're awfully pale."

"I'm…I'm good," he said. "Just remembered something, is all."

"I know it feels hopeless," Dr. Arnau said. Her face darkened, and she sighed. "With Lord Umoch, most times it is. I should've known better, and I'm starting to despair myself. I don't want your times here to be cut short. If there's anything…" She shook her head. "Ah, who am I fooling? There's no hope."

"No," Wulf said. "I think I have an idea. There's a chance." He stepped back up the stairs, weaving between Kalee, Irmond, and Seith. "It might be dangerous, but you could help us."

"Wulf?" Kalee asked. "What are you doing?"

"What's the best way to gain mana and increase your tier quickly?" Wulf asked them.

"Oh, you can't be thinking about this…" Irmond muttered.

"I don't like where this is going," Kalee added.

"We need to get into the Academy's dungeon," Wulf said. "We need a good dungeon run, and early. And we need an excuse."

"Dr. Arnau can help us with that?" Seith asked.

Nodding, Wulf said, "I think she can."

"This sounds…like a terrible idea, and I don't even know what you're planning," Dr. Arnau said. "I'm not sure if we can."

Wulf sighed. "But there's a chance, and we can get away with this. Don't you want to fight these demons—and not just the kind that come from the skies—for real?"

"Funny," Dr. Arnau said. "I feel like I've heard that before."

"That's not important," Wulf said with a grin. "Do you want to help us beat Lord Umoch or not?"