Fate Alchemist - A Regression Academy LitRPG

Summer break wasn't long enough.

Back in Carolaign, of course, there'd been no such thing as summer break. But it'd been a lifetime since Wulf had spent his days on a farm. Sure, life after his last stint at the academy hadn't exactly been full of summer breaks, and the demons didn't seem to care about holidays, but there'd still been time off.

He hadn't used his time off well in his last life. In typical Wulf fashion, he'd spent his time grinding away ineffectively, trying to improve but ultimately floundering around.

Last time, he'd only been a Middle-Copper when leaving his fourth year at the Academy. Now, after only the first year, he already was.

This year's summer break was cut short as well by the fact that they'd have to travel overseas. The journey would take a month and a half, and if they wanted to be at the Centralis Academy by the start of Eighthmonth, they had to leave halfway through Sixthmonth.

That was tomorrow. The last ship, with the remainder of the Centralis Academy staff, those who didn't have any fancy teleportation Skills, would be boarding their ship and departing.

Thankfully, upon Wulf's pestering, he and his friends had made it to the port city of Kouver two days ago. He'd made sure they were early.

"What a view, huh?" Irmond asked. He sat on the edge of a cobblestone embankment, looking over the entire city and the swaths upon swaths of buildings before them. His legs dangled over.

Seith stood right behind him, on the street at the upper level of the embankment. Kalee paced behind them, but for a moment, Wulf hopped up on the faint ledge, beside where Irmond sat. He looked over the city.

Kouver was one of the largest cities in the Confederation, with nearly two million people spread throughout an enormous bay. The shoreline terrain, though hilly, had been terraformed over the centuries, both by mortal workers and by Ascendant architects, controlling the hills with steep cobblestone walls and dividing the city up into levels. Stairways ran between them, as did ramps and raised roads for wagons.

Most buildings near the shore were only two or three storeys, stone first levels, with wattle and daub upper floors, and heavy shingled roofs to survive the battering of storms. Farther inland, towers—offices for guild headquarters and administration—rose high up over the rest of the city. Their windows glinted in the setting sun, and their marble and granite structure shone almost orange.

Being on the west coast, and planning to travel west to Centralis, the sun didn't set over the ocean.

Also a little dramatic to say it's setting, Wulf thought to himself. It hasn't hit the horizon yet.

"What do you say we find a place to eat?" Seith asked. "Some place to celebrate our last night of freedom?"

"Last night of freedom for this year," Irmond reminded her.

Wulf opened his pouch, where he'd stored his winnings from last semester's tournaments. Though he could've spent it on gear, there really was no point in that. Making his own gear was more important, especially for a crafting Class. He didn't mind spending the earnings on his friends, using it to live a little.

There was still a little left tonight. Enough for dinner.

Of course, he could have spent it trying to gear up his friends, but gear that someone else bought for you…well, it didn't seem to register as well with the Field. The Field didn't think it was something you had strived for, but rather, something that you were just gifted.

"Better spend it now, anyway," Kalee said. "In Centralis City, they use forged coins. Crowns, they call them. A silver crown is about three of our silver pieces, and same with a gold Crown, and above that, a ruby Crown and an orichalcum Crown. And if you don't use Crowns, then you won't be able to buy much."

"Then let's find a nice place to spend our last night," Wulf said. "Gotta do something with it."

~ ~ ~

They found a seafood restaurant overlooking the port. Its patio hung over a retaining wall, easily clearing the rooftops of the city below, and providing an amazing view of the city. They were still early enough to get a seat at the edge of the patio, overlooking the port.

Piers ran all the way around the bay, reaching out into the calm waters, and a broad wharf made the perfect staging ground for wagons to offload their cargo. Workers loaded crates onto caravels, cogs, and knarrs, and offloaded barrels and other supplies from other ships. The Confederacy was far from isolated, and though they mostly imported luxury goods from overseas, they exported plenty of grain, ore, and finished textiles. Not to mention deepstone.

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Offshore, Oroniths waded in the waves, pushing through the water on their evening patrols. A few demon spheres had crashed offshore over the summer, and every so often, a Fiend wandered ashore. They tended to be pretty weak, having suffered a long walk through the water, but they'd still wreak havoc on a shoreline city if left to their own devices.

Wulf was more interested in the sea itself. He couldn't see the horizon. It was just waves, like it fell off into nothingness. Of course, he was well aware of how untrue that was. It'd been…two millennia ago, now, when the world had suffered a debate about whether it was spherical or flat. Spherical, of course, came out ahead.

It was so massive. So much water, so much…room. Gulls whirled overhead, a salty scent filled the air, and even high up from the coast, if he listened really closely, he could hear the distant waves crashing.

The ocean was amazing.

He barely registered when a waiter came around to their table, requesting their orders. While the others placed their requests, he quickly scanned the menu, and settled on a plate of noodles and grilled fish by the time the waiter reached him.

The waiter dipped his head respectfully, though he still regarded the four of them curiously. Most of the other guests, despite the summer weather, wore formal coats, gowns, or dresses. A stark contrast from Irmond and Seith's matching short-sleeved tunics, Kalee's fashionable (but very modern) sleeveless blouse, and Wulf's half-unbuttoned work tunic.

But hey, he was going to have to wear a fancy Centralis Academy uniform going forward. Better enjoy the freedom while he could.

As soon as the waiter left, Irmond asked, "You two don't, like, remember where the demon attacks in Centralis are going to be, do you?"

Wulf glanced at Kalee. She sat directly across the table from him. With a wince, she shook her head.

Wulf said, "Yeah, that's a 'no' from me as well. They didn't often make the papers in Istalis. We were too worried about our own attacks, and with the frequency that they took place, it became pretty tricky to remember it all."

"The defenses must be pretty impressive over there," Seith said. "I'd love to see what their Artificers have been up to."

"They're working on turning Centralis City into a fortress as we speak," Kalee said. "It didn't work last time, of course, but that won't stop them from trying."

Irmond tilted his head, then picked up the glass of ice water in front of him and took a sip. "Why didn't it work?"

"Too many demon attacks," Wulf provided. He turned to his own glass. It wasn't terribly fancy on its own, what with the frosted glass, but the ice was an impressive addition. They must've had an ice-aspect Ascendant in their employ. A Mage or a Chef, perhaps.

"Demons destroyed all the progress on the wall and city defenses before they could finish, and the king was forced to put all his resources into Oroniths just to keep up with the increasing attacks," Kalee explained.

"They kept us on the back foot the whole time," Wulf said. "The longer this goes on, the worse it will be. We can't win a sustained conflict, no matter how hard we try. We need a way to take out the demons once and for all." He leaned back in his chair. "Preferably before I'm sixty. I doubt we'll get a redo this time."

"Do you think you can make the king listen to you?" Irmond asked. "I mean, like, what if you told him what you knew? The King of Centralis Byrante has gotta be one of the strongest guys in the world, right, and if he couldn't do anything?"

"Strongest politically," Kalee reminded him. "He's an Ascendant, but I think he only ever made it to Middle-Gold. At least, last time."

Centralis, as Wulf understood, was a confusing conglomerate. It referred to the northern continent overseas, but there were a few nations. The strongest, oldest, and most powerful was Byrante, and their king was from a long line of Ascendant Pilots. They bore the title Rex Basileus, and crewed an Oronith of the same name.

To make matters more confusing, Centralis City was their capital—and where the Centralis Academy was.

"The 'king' is young," Wulf said. "He's about our age, maybe a year below. Surely, he'll be going to the Academy, too. Right now, he's just a prince."

"You think we can actually make a difference with him?" Kalee whispered.

Wulf shrugged. "We've got about a year before his father dies and he's expected to take the throne. I never met him, didn't know him. But I think there's a chance we could garner some real political favour."

"What else does the Centralis Academy have?" Seith asked. "That is, that the Istalis Academy doesn't?"

"The tournaments?" Wulf shrugged. "We'll be in a better bracket. We'll get regular mana infusions, and much more than the Istalis Academy could provide. Above that, there's a new class in your schedule…"

"Dungeon delving," Kalee provided.

"Dungeon delving?" Irmond exclaimed.

"Well, the Confederacy doesn't have access to the best dungeons at the moment. They will in a few years, after some mining accidents and such. But overseas?" He grinned. "I haven't seen them, but there are some truly massive dungeons. Large enough to fit an Oronith inside."

There was speculation that the world was, in fact, hollow, but no one had delved deep enough to find out. Or if they were, they weren't saying anything.

"Would you have enough mana to pilot an Oronith through the dungeon that long?" Irmond asked.

"I still have a ways to go," Wulf said. "But there's time. The first delving labs don't start until halfway through the first semester."

Seith sighed. "And you plan to…improve that fast?"

"Absolutely." Wulf folded his fingers together. "Now, you guys don't have to. But hey, Seith, best I can recall, the rest of your family is there, right? You wanna stick it to your siblings?"

"Kinda, yeah."

"Ascend beyond them." He turned to Irmond. "And what about your dad? You wanna show him what you're made of? This is your chance. Show him that you don't need to follow all his rules to be great."

"I hope you're right…" Irmond said.

"Even if I'm not," Wulf said, "I promise we'll get through it together. You guys were with me for a year, and I'll be damned if I forget it."