Fate Alchemist - A Regression Academy LitRPG

The Lions' initiation task began on the third day. Conveniently, or inconveniently, however you chose to look at it, that was the night they planned on beginning their dungeon dive.

Convenient because it meant that Wulf and the others were with Prince Athllas. Convenient because it meant that they had to deliver a shipment of reema to a group of third-year Artificers who were practicing in the main hangar—which was exactly where they needed to be.

Inconvenient because Varl and two other Lions had come with them.

It was after dinner, the sun had set, and most students had returned to their dormitories. There was no curfew, but they still slunk through the hangar, slipping through the shadows between the Oronith berths, staying out of sight.

Their target, the Artificers, waited on the other side of the hangar, standing in front of a broad-shouldered Oronith. They were working on extra armour for it, crafting a heavy vambrace out of some kind of green crystal.

"That's them," Varl whispered, pointing across the hangar. "Your target—the three guys who are just standing there, staring at it."

The vambrace, of course, was massive. It towered above them, and the Artificers looked puzzled about it, like they hadn't thought something through properly. Wulf didn't know what the issue was, but he wasn't an Artificer. He was just here to do a job. No matter how distasteful, it was necessary.

On cue, Kalee struck up a conversation with Varl, asking him specifics, distracting him. Wulf turned to Irmond and whispered, "It's time. Arnau's gonna be going any time, now, and we need you to report back to us." They needed a reason to go down into the dungeons, after all, and Arnau was going to give it to them.

"Got it," Irmond replied in a hushed tone. Then, loud enough that everyone could hear, he hissed, "Academy guards." He pointed up at a distant walkway, where Wulf was pretty sure there were no guards. But Irmond just needed an excuse to get away. "I'll distract them and lead them off."

Before Varl or any of the Lions could protest, Irmond darted away. The group had no other Rangers—no one with as impressive senses or ranged perception. They couldn't immediately disprove him.

"Is he ever wrong about that sort of thing?" Prince Athllas asked softly.

"Not in my experience," Wulf said.

"He's going toward the dungeon."

Wulf crossed his arms and nodded slowly. He hadn't had a chance to try before, and they were running out of time. He needed to give Athllas as reason to join them in the dungeon. Softly, he said, "Hey, you think there'd be anything good in there? Like, I dunno, something you and Varl could use? Not just reema, but something stronger?"

Something you could use to get closer to him, Wulf thought, though he didn't say that aloud. Athllas wanted to get closer to Varl to help his father's alliance-building, no matter what it took. Wulf didn't know the deeper why yet, but he didn't really need that. He just needed to convince Athllas that there was something in the dungeon he could use.

"Probably."

"Like, what was it Dr. McGemild said? Don't eat anything in the dungeon. Half of it will make you hallucinate, and half of it will just kill you?"

"You'd better not be making anything up," Athllas whispered back. "More than just your association membership is on the line. There are others who stand to lose here too, and I can't afford dishonesty from anyone." He crossed his arms. "I will not tolerate it."

The way he said that sounded like he was suspecting something.

Wulf dipped his head, then said, "I'm aware. This is bigger than us both. I was just…wondering."

Varl glanced back suspiciously, breaking free from his conversation with Kalee, then hissed, "Just make the reema drop. Prove that you're going to work with us, prove that you can do it."

"Or he plans to sell us out to the guards," Athllas muttered.

"He wouldn't be stupid enough to sell us out on a first mission," Varl said. "Not enough dirt on us anyway."

"I don't plan on selling you out, my lord," Wulf said to Athllas specifically. "Now, hand me the reema, and we'll do it."

Varl reached inside his coat and casually withdrew two leather pouches. He tossed them over his shoulder. Wulf caught one, and Seith caught the other.

"Two Ruby Crowns. Don't settle for anything less—this is the best quality we could get," Varl insisted.

Wulf gave a dutiful nod, then glanced at Seith, and they set off across the hangar. They stepped out of the shadows, each holding a pouch, then approached the three artificers. They were all humans, and probably brothers, given how they all looked similar. Dark hair, slender, sunken eyes, and grease-stained uniforms.

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One of them turned to face them, and that was when Wulf said, "Varl sent us." He'd almost been hoping for a code word or phrase, but there was really no need for it. "Two pouches. Three Ruby Crowns."

Seith glanced at him skeptically.

"That's high," one of the brothers said.

"This is the best quality Varl has access to," Wulf said.

"Still high," the second brother said. "Two Rubies."

"Deal," Wulf said. Seith nodded in understanding.

The third brother reached into his pocket and produced two coins. They were carved from translucent red stone, and had a faint impression of a crown on their surface.

Wulf handed them a pouch, and so did Seith. He didn't let go of the pouch's neck until the brother held out the coins. At the same time, Wulf released the pouch and grabbed the coins, then motioned for Seith. She handed them her pouch too.

Immediately, they walked back to the nook where the rest of the Lions were hiding. Wulf handed the coins off to Varl, then wiped his hands on his pants. They felt a little dirty from holding the pouches, a little dry, but the feeling would fade. He'd done worse things in his time, and this wasn't going to last long.

He was going to bust these guys. Whatever Prince Athllas said, however mysterious the boy acted, Wulf knew what he was going for, and it wasn't being a reema dealer.

He folded his fingers together and said, "Does that work? We accomplished what—"

Before he could finish, Irmond burst back into the hangar at a sprint. He skittered to a halt in front of the alcove, panting, then said, "I tracked them. They went toward the dungeon entrance." A lie, as planned. "But when I got there, something happened. I don't know, but it looked like something…sprang up from the depths. Some kind of monster? Maybe a widowlob."

That was the story so far. But Irmond wasn't supposed to pause. Silently, Wulf begged him to go on.

"Dr. Arnau was there. It ambushed her and dragged her off into the depths."

At first, Wulf exhaled in relief, then glanced at Kalee.

"Not our concern," Varl said plainly. "Tell the faculty if you care so much."

Wulf and Kalee shared a glance, before Wulf finally said, "That's not how we work."

"You can't—"

"We did your job, didn't we?" Kalee asked. "Now it's time to do ours."

"We're going," Seith insisted.

Before Varl could say anything, they charged down the hall. Just Wulf, Kalee, Seith, and Irmond.

"Get to the Wraith!" Wulf shouted. Arnau wasn't truly in danger, but they had to act like it—and get in the dungeon before anyone else panicked and stopped them. "Irmond, I need you to get the gate between the hangar and the dungeon open."

"Got it!" he called, then broke off. Instead of taking the side hallway to Wraith's berth, he ran straight, then ascended a flight of stairs. There would be guards, but Irmond was good enough at evading them. Getting the gate open would be another trick altogether, but Irmond was the only one who wasn't necessary for the Oronith start-up process.

As they ran, Wulf glanced back. Varl and the two other Lions didn't move, but Athllas looked torn. He glanced between the Lions and Wulf, before finally whispering something to Varl. The dark elf nodded, and Athllas took off, sprinting after Wulf and the others. Varl still didn't move.

Wulf turned, took the branch of the hall that led to Wraith, and skidded to a halt in front of it. There were no workers so later at night, but there was still scaffolding all around it. They'd been making repairs after the battle in the harbour.

"Sorry, headmaster," Wulf muttered. "But you're going to have to put the scaffolding back up."

That said, Wraith wasn't the only Oronith in the hangar, and there were some other Oroniths—probably the ones deemed of greater importance to the Academy—that were under construction. Sparks flew from an operation on Wraith's partner, though Wulf couldn't say for sure what the Artificers were doing that would actually cause sparks.

It meant someone was going to see them sooner than later.

As well, Wraith hadn't been left unguarded. A few middle-aged Iron-tier Ascendants in academy guard uniforms—red gambesons and chainmail hauberks—milled about the bottom of the scaffolding. They weren't the most successful students, and they'd never make it on a crew themselves, but the academy could appoint them to more serious guarding tasks. At the moment, they leaned on a stack of barrels, smoking pipes and talking casually amongst themselves. They probably didn't expect anyone to steal an Oronith.

They'd obviously not been paying attention to the reports coming out of Istalis.

"Come on," Wulf said. "Catch them by surprise."

He sprinted forward toward the first flight of stairs, leveraging all his Marks and breezing past the guards. They spun toward him. Seith was second. She already had her climbing picks out and was ready to scale the outside of the Wraith.

Kalee was last, and the guards were in time to catch her, but she triggered a spell Skill. Without an Oronith's amplification, it created a small orange runic circle beneath them, slowing them, increasing gravity, and making them stumble.

"Climb!" Wulf called to Seith. "They're not as good at climbing as you!"

"Got it!" She jumped over the railing at the next landing, then hooked onto Wraith's leg and began climbing.

Wulf and Kalee sprinted up to the cockpit. They were about the same speed, given their Marks, but when it came to climbing stairs, Wulf was faster. He had more strength, too. Kalee's marks seemed to focus on speed and agility, less on raw strength.

The Irons, though, were average. They fell behind in seconds. They didn't have Grand Marks, compounded by early tier increases, and they probably didn't have as many regular Marks in general.

But just to make sure, as they ascended the scaffolding, Wulf disconnected segments behind him. He pulled out wooden pins, collapsing the stairs, forcing the guards to slow down and jump.

By the time he and Kalee reached Wraith's head and pulled open the cockpit hatch, the guards were still only halfway up.

As Wulf jumped through the hatch into the cockpit, he set down his storage pendant, opened it, and donned his golem. He had to be gentle with it, given the recent modifications, but with its time-altering properties, it would've seemed like he donned his golem in a flash. When he emerged, he ran up to the control apparatus. "We can't wait long. You ready to get moving?"

Kalee nodded. "I'm ready."

"Hold on. It's going to be a bumpy ride."