Fate Alchemist - A Regression Academy LitRPG

By the start of Secondmonth, Wulf had enough xerion to fill a cauldron. How did he know, exactly?

Well, halfway through Firstmonth, he'd had to make himself a new container for it. His transmutations were growing more and more efficient, and he couldn't just keep it in the flask. So, with his steelglass ingots, he made a cauldron—about a foot and a half in diameter, and just as deep—for storing it. Some of it was just dust, so he also made a lid to contain it. Some took the shape of larger crystals.

But, all in all, he guessed it was about the same volume as his prototype scissors. And now, it was full of the faint blackish red crystal. Unlike primal material, it seemed to have volume. It wasn't just a window into the void, but it did catch and refract the light in patterns that almost made it look like it had a few stars inside it.

Wulf experimented with shaping it. He couldn't just carve it; these were crystals. Primal material, purified to the utmost degree.

That meant…according to his Grand Mark, he could shape it with his bare hands.

He picked up the largest crystal of xerion he'd been able to make—a crystal about two inches long. Shutting his eyes, he imagined it was clay, and tried to shape it.

It wasn't like sharpening the dart of base primal material. It resisted him. It felt like diamond in his hands.

Curious, he assessed it with the Field:

Xerion (High-Silver Quality)

A precious material created by a devoted alchemist. It has not yet been bound to a an Ascendant's will.

High-Silver. Yeah, there was no way he was going to shape that with his bare hands alone. He knew that already. But, just in case, he tested a crystal of regular primal material:

Primal Material (High-Coal Quality)

The basic building block of all existence.

Wulf nodded. Big difference in relative powers. He took the crystal of xerion and held it up to his dorm's candle. He wasn't just going to sit around and wait until his tier increased more. He crafted a batch of potions, and sure enough, with the help of all the tinctures he'd created and purified earlier in the day, they turned out as Middle-Brass.

One was a strength potion with a poisonous side-effect. He drank it, resisted the side-effect, and tried the xerion again.

Bit by bit, the crystal budged, shifting under the pressure he was applying, but it wasn't fast enough, and at this rate, he'd never get them to clump together, no matter how much pressure he applied.

But the potion didn't just give him strength. An aura erupted around him, brimming with potential mana. The xerion was tugging on it, drawing his aura in, like it wanted to feed on it.

Wulf guided the aura, and, as he pushed on the crystal, he imagined he was imbuing the crystal with his aura, using it to bolster and guide his fingers, but to also see the crystal. Like potion ingredients, xerion had a bit of a will of its own. But unlike herbs, there wasn't a specific potion it wanted to be.

It just wanted to be shaped. Used.

He plucked out another crystal from his cauldron and melded the two of them together, then held it up. They blended perfectly, like he'd just mashed two sticks of butter together.

It would work. He only had a few days to actually give the weapon its form, but now that his golem was done, he could focus entirely on the enormous scissors.

~ ~ ~

Wulf knew he'd promised that he wouldn't just work his whole life, but this was a rare occasion. He wouldn't be able to relax until he'd finished this. For one thing, going on a quest across the confederacy without a weapon wasn't the best idea. But for another thing, transmuting so much xerion was increasing his mana significantly. He figured completing a weapon by using alchemy would give him yet another enormous boost.

Ján's empty bed was yet another reminder of why he had to do this. Umoch was out there, and any celebration Wulf tried to have would be marred by the knowledge that Umoch hadn't suffered even a little bit for this.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Advancing and gaining tiers was the best way to destroy Umoch.

So, within three days, Wulf had finished shaping the xerion into scissors. He used his old scissors as a blueprint, which he then modified slightly. He made the grips a little larger and a little smoother, he made the tip sharper, and he added texture to the blunt section in the middle so it could grip objects better.

But, even when he fitted both halves together and locked them in with a pin, the Field didn't register anything.

It wasn't complete yet.

He turned the old bedsheet that he'd hid his prototype under into strips, which he wound around the handle, giving it a better grip, before inscribing his initials on the head of the pin that bound both halves together.

After all, if he was going to be an alchemist, he'd probably have to start selling wares at some point. He'd need to start building a brand at some point.

At that, the Field registered that he'd completed the weapon:

[By creating a weapon using alchemy, you have increased your mana. Advancement progress: 79%]

He assessed the weapon like he would with any other arcane object.

Fate Cutters (Unique)

Xerion scissors crafted by an alchemist determined to change his fate. They have not yet been bound to an Ascendant. When they bind to an Ascendant, their main effect will be revealed.

Wulf raised his eyebrows. "Unique?"

He'd heard of unique-quality equipment, but it was rare, and generally, most Ascendants preferred equipment that had a specified tier of strength. But…this was a different case. Xerion wasn't like other enhanced materials, so of course, it would be unique. That hidden effect? Well, that had to be xerion's order and chaos transferring properties.

He tucked them into a harness that he'd made earlier that week, which hung over his shoulders. It fit in like a greatsword, and hung snugly over his back, but he could draw it at a moment's notice.

"One big task complete…" he whispered, then turned to the golem. "Well, two, including you."

As expected, the golem couldn't respond. Or, it didn't. They wouldn't ever respond physically to a user.

But that didn't matter. He'd covered the golem in Sorcerer's Jade, which he'd shaped in swooping, swirling plates. They afforded greater mobility than the regular golem, which would help him when he used speed potions, but still protected his vitals. Gravel remained suspended in a frame below, forming the main body of the golem and providing its shape—that was the main purpose of the golem as a base. Without using a wild golem, you'd just have a stack of lifeless gravel.

The helmet had no visor, only cheek protectors and a nose-piece, and a swooping plume that he'd had to form with the excess clay. No visor might have left his face exposed, but it made it much easier to drink potions, talk to his crew, and just breathe.

Tomorrow, he thought. We're ready. Let's just hope Dr. Langold got the Oronith dock clear for us.

~ ~ ~

Tomorrow morning, Wulf met Seith, Irmond, and Kalee on the central butte, at the top of the same stairway where they'd met to steal Emerald Vanguard for the first time.

Wulf was planning on taking the exact same Oronith.

The sky was clear, though Secondmonths were always cold, and the weather seemed to have sucked some of the colour out of the sky. Even though Wulf wore gloves inside his golem, his fingers still trembled.

The others, despite their coats and scarfs, were shivering too. Snow covered the ground, icicles hung on the academy buildings' eaves, and chimney smoke chuffed out high into the sky.

"Let's just get this over with," Seith said. "It'll be warmer inside an Oronith, right?"

"Hopefully," Wulf said. He looked over his crew. "You guys are ready?"

They all nodded at the same time. Kalee carried her staff on her back. She'd gotten Seith to finish the enchantments and runes, because though she had an artificer's past, she didn't have the Skills anymore. But she could show Seith what to do.

Irmond had his bow over his shoulder and his arrows in his quiver, and Seith carried her toolbox at her hip.

Finally, there was Wulf, who had climbed inside his golem, and carried his haversack of potions on the outside. He strapped his scissors on overtop.

Thankfully, being so early in the morning, and a Seventhday, there was almost no one wandering about the Academy campus. It was too cold. People walked with their heads down. They may have been curious about Wulf, wandering around in a golem, but no one said anything.

True to his word, Langold had cleared out the Oronith docks. No one stood on them, save for a few inactive loader golems.

Only five Oroniths, including the now-repaired Emerald Vanguard, stood at the docks. Perhaps in another gesture of helpfulness, Dr. Langold had ordered them to pull away the wooden piers and maintenance platforms, because it was a straight shot right to the Oroniths.

Wulf said, "Let's go."

He led the way down to the docks, with the others close behind them, and stepped carefully onto the snow-covered platform. Still, no one intercepted them.

Running to Emerald Vanguard, he marvelled at how much more smoothly this new golem moved. He was able to get a jump in his step, and the right range of motion to run like he normally would—not like a knight in heavy armour. Of course, he was using [Arm of the Alchemist] to control it and the potion he'd used, but overall, it was better than most.

He climbed up the steps to the back of Emerald Vanguard's head, then slid in through the hatch. The others were close behind, but Irmond didn't close it—he kept watch behind them.

Kalee and Wulf both slotted into the control apparatuses, and Kalee gave it a pulse of mana to start up the Oronith's systems. Enchanted parchment unravelled down from the ceiling like banners, giving quick readouts that probably only made sense to an artificer, and Seith monitored it while Wulf formed his dream-link.

As soon as Wulf's consciousness spread through the Oronith and he returned back to himself, to the present, Irmond called, "Uh, guys…I think we've got trouble!"

"Hm?" Wulf turned his head, and, with the dream-link active, the entire Oronith's head swivelled to the side.

Out the corner of the visor, he spotted three or four figures sprinting across the docks.

The boy at the very front was Umoch.