Fate Alchemist - A Regression Academy LitRPG

By the time Wulf had brought Dr. Tallari back to his workshop, the professor was practically red in the face with rage.

Wulf couldn't help but tighten his own fists. He wasn't sure what to feel, except angry. Sure, the resources on Alchemy weren't good, but did that mean the Orichalcums were erasing anything about Panne, too? They'd have to be.

It worked against him some ways, removing his access to that history. But it also prevented other professors from coming to the same conclusion that Dr. Arnau had reached.

Just because it worked in his favour didn't make it right, though. They were erasing information out of spite, because they wanted to stop the practice of alchemy.

He wanted to ask why, but he was pretty sure he knew why. They wanted to limit his access to information.

"Does that mean they're going to be destroying all the books that reference alchemy in the library?" Wulf whispered. He sat Dr. Tallari down on a bench, then found the man's mug. It was half full with lukewarm tea, but it was better than nothing.

"Possibly, but that's unlikely. It would take years to find them all, even if they're mostly restricted to third and fourth years. They're scattered all around the library. They've effectively done the same. They've made it unsearchable in the codex, meaning no one can access it." Dr. Tallari hung his head. "This will harm you in the future, my boy."

"Professor, please, don't worry about me." The old king's library had been more helpful for alchemy texts, anyway. "I'll get by."

"But it's not just you this puts at risk. If they can do this to any information in the codex, who knows that they'll remove." He swallowed. "Who knows what they've already removed before I became the manager of our codex here?"

Wulf sighed. He'd have to pitch his plan sooner than later. He said, "Professor, in my spare time, I've been working on some codex crystals. They're not perfect, and I'll need an artificer's hand in fixing them up, but I have a few ideas."

"What would that be?" Dr. Tallari asked.

"Well…we'll see."

Wulf spent the next few minutes unloading the crystals from his personal storage pendant, then showed them to the professor.

"These are an excellent start," Dr. Tallari said. "I didn't take you for such a steady hand…nor to have such a good eye for what codex crystals would work and which ones wouldn't."

"Thank you, professor."

"But, Wulf…this will not be nearly enough to copy all of the Academy's information. I could try to create a backup, of course, but…it would only have the bare minimum."

Wulf nodded. "I don't think I'll have time to ever finish a codex of my own. Nevermind that I don't have the materials to complete it."

"But this would be enough to store the information we lost today. To replace the crystals."

Wulf let a smile slip onto his face. "Sir, if I let you finish these crystals, do you think you could replace the crystals they destroyed today without them noticing? If you do it quickly, the information may still be in the system, right? The way you described it in class."

"Oh, yes," Dr. Tallari said. "You see, those crystals do store all the information that the books hold. They've scanned all the pages. It has some side functions, like analysis of dungeon maps, but that is because we have fed it books upon books worth of dungeon maps. As well as information about the students, what books they've checked out, their grades, and more.

"But that's beside the point. The crystals store all the information, even if they don't exactly act the same as a regular book. And it tends to stay in the system a little while after, relying on the other crystals, until finally, the system is overwhelmed, and must eject it."

Wulf nodded. "So I give you these crystals. You'd have enough to maintain that information. You could sneak into the codex tonight, and replace them."

"Correct," Dr. Tallari said. "And there'd probably be excess storage, given how many high-quality crystals you have here."

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"Probably," Wulf said. "Enough that you could link other libraries?"

"Perhaps."

"I…" The professor trailed off. "Thank you, but…"

"Is something wrong?"

"It's a bandaid solution. As long as the Academy is under control of the Orichalcums, none of this information will be secure."

"Professor, I have a plan for that too," Wulf said. He laughed softly. He was going to have to tell Dr. Tallari at some point. "Initially, I admit, I was planning on copying the academy's codex."

"That was never going to work." Dr. Tallari shook his head. "Simple mistakes, boy. You always make the simple mistakes, just like on your worksheets."

"I think I knew the same, in my heart. It wasn't going to work." Wulf shook his head. "But I have a better idea. Professor, I want to steal the codex."

Dr. Tallari's eyes widened. At first, his lips curled up in anger. He nearly dropped his mug of tea, but Wulf steadied it.

Then the professor's face softened. A glimmer of understanding lit up in his eyes. "I see. I would not stand in your way, and I will gladly repair it. Even if I do repair it, it won't last forever. There will always be something these men want to destroy and control."

"Thank you, professor."

"But you must understand, boy," Tallari said. "Portable codexes are almost never heard of. Do you have a place to store it? Putting it in a storage pendant will not last forever, and risks damaging the codex. If I understand what Dr. Blyke told me about your activities in the Hangar, you're trying to build a codex-sized storage pendant. But that won't work. They'll still get jostled. They're not meant to function in a Field anomaly. Do you have a solution in mind?"

"N—no. Not really."

"I highly suggest you consider that." Tallari rubbed the bridge of his nose. "We didn't have much information on it, but some sources suggest that Panne had created a rudimentary codex. Completely portable. He used it to store boundless knowledge of alchemy. I would tell you to look into that, but it seems rather difficult. It's a shame really, considering those Black Pilgrim people seem to think you're a reincarnation of him."

"They're nutjobs," Wulf replied. He hadn't met any of them, not in person.

"That may be true, but they could still be useful," Dr. Tallari said. "Be safe, and be careful."

"You too, professor."

~ ~ ~

Wulf had no idea how to meet any of the so-called "Black Pilgrim people." He was pretty sure they were calling themselves the Black Order, as if that wasn't ominous, and it wasn't really reflecting well on him, considering how much they seemed to like him.

But he had no choice, and Dr. Tallari was right. They could be useful.

The next evening, he left the Academy and ran to the slums. That was where he'd first heard of them, so if they had a headquarters, it would have to be there. He sprinted through the streets, moving faster than most wagons, and nimbly darting between pedestrians. Ascendants weren't supposed to use movement-enhancing Skills in the city, but Wulf wasn't. He was just relying on his Marks.

By the time he arrived at the slums, the moons glowed in the hazy sky above. There wasn't even a blob of light—just a glow across the dust clouds, which actually made the night sky seem brighter.

The slums had grown past their wall since Wulf had last visited. People in dirty rags sat on the street corners, begging for food and money, but there were too many of them for him to help at the moment.

The moment he was out of earshot of the guards, he hopped up onto a carving at the center of an old fountain—whatever statue had been atop it had been destroyed long ago, replaced with graffiti-covered stone.

"Ten silver Crowns to the first person who tells me where the Black Order's hall is!" he shouted, raising his voice.

People rushed out of the alleys and swarmed around him. Most were non-Ascendants, and those who were Ascendants were only Copper or Bronze tier. Someone shouted, "The big hall down the street! A massive line in front of it! Impossible to miss!"

Wulf flicked the woman the coins, one after another, and she caught them. "Anyone tries to rob her," he said, "we'll have problems."

The crowd began murmuring. Everyone glanced at each other. A few knelt down. A few pressed their foreheads against the paving stones and whispered something under their breath that sounded an awful lot like a prayer.

Wulf winced, then jumped over their heads and sprinted toward the hall. The crowd was thick and he was never going to get through.

Not unless…

He reached into his haversack and held up a potion. "I am the Alchemist. Please move! I need to get through!"

The crowd parted, people shifting aside. More bowed down, and more knelt down, but most just shifted to allow him through.

He reached the gates of the hall. They were wide open, and inside the doors stood hundreds of people. Most of them wore black cloaks and robes, and they worked behind a wooden table. It was a makeshift kitchen, with fires and cauldrons and stacks of dry bread. They poured out bowls of soup and fed the people outside, but when Wulf stepped through the doors, they all stopped and stared.

Finally, someone shouted, "Pilgrim! He is here!"

At first, Wulf wondered if they were saying he was the pilgrim. But then someone stepped out from the shadows at the back of the room. At first, he looked no different than the others. A black cloak, a hood with a cowl covering his face and eyes.

Then he pulled his hood back.

Wulf's eyes widened. "Umoch…"

The son of Lord Umoch. His old rival.

In unison, they both asked, "What are you doing here?"