Fate Alchemist - A Regression Academy LitRPG

Wulf stayed on the tips of his toes, ready to dart to the side and dodge a heavy downward swipe, but nothing came. The guard, blinking, staggered back. His grip on his sword's hilt loosened and faltered, and the blade tumbled from his grasp. It clattered across the floor.

A look of confusion plastered the guard's face, and he rubbed his eyes. Kalee rushed into the janitor's closet and overturned a wooden bucket, spilling grimy water across the floor, then shoved it beneath the guard, letting him sit on it as a stool.

"Who…who are you?" the guard droned, his voice slow.

He must have had some resistance. The potion didn't put him to sleep immediately, and it probably wasn't ever going to. But it made him drowsy, and it pacified him.

"Get his sword," Wulf instructed Irmond. He turned to Seith. "Find a rope and bind his hands."

"Huh?" the guard muttered. "Now, wait a minute…what are you doing?"

"We're saving your prince," Wulf said. "You'll be alright if you don't fight us."

The guard looked over at Irmond, who held his sword.

"We don't know how long the potions will last," Kalee reminded him. "He's a High-Silver. They might wear off in minutes."

"What if you triggered [Deadline] and activated it instantly?" Irmond asked.

"That might knock him out," Wulf answered. "I'll do it at the end."

"You can't…do this…" the guard slurred as Seith ran up behind him and bound his hands with a thick rope. "My charge is to protect the prince…"

"We'll look after him," Wulf insisted. "But we can't have you meddling, now, can we?"

"If…if…anything happens to him," the guard snarled, "it'll be on your heads…you'll have killed the crown prince…you'll be executed."

"Neat," Wulf replied. He didn't plan on letting the prince get hurt, either. "We'll be watching over him from here on out. But first, we need some information." He uncorked his second vial, the truth potion, then held it up to the guard's lips. "Drink this. It'll make you feel better."

The guard really had no choice, and he knew it. Tired or not, he drank the potion. Though he retched once, he kept it down. "What…what's in that? It's…awful."

"Yeah, well, I didn't add sugar," Wulf replied. "Now I ask the questions. What's the crown prince of Centralis doing with reema dealers?"

Before he got an answer, he turned to Kalee and whispered, "Can you watch the prince? If he and the Lions leave, can you tell me?"

"Got it," she replied.

The guard clenched his teeth. "I…can't tell you…" He looked like he was straining against something, but Wulf couldn't see any physical strain. The man's face went red, and a vein bulged on his forehead. Finally, he exhaled, and burst out, "Prince Athllas is brokering a deal with the dark elves. On behalf of his father, the king."

"The king is making him do this?"

"...No."

"Who?"

"Himself."

Wulf scrunched his eyebrows, then glanced around. He didn't have much time, and the guard might have been stalling until the potions wore off. Not to mention, with how he'd resisted the other potions, Wulf didn't know how far back the amnesia potion would actually work. He didn't want to get them caught simply by giving the guard a potion that didn't erase his memory far enough back in time.

Grimacing, Wulf asked, "Why? Why's the prince doing this?"

"Varl, the son of the dark elves' Minister of Alliances," the guard explained, still somewhat resistantly. "Negotiations on a formal alliance have been stalled for years. If Prince Athllas can befriend him and help him, then he can get close to the minister, and finally push the alliance over the edge."

That made slightly more sense.

"And the king didn't ask him to do this?" Wulf interrogated.

"No."

"Are you working for the king?"

"I am working for Prince Athllas, because he asked me to be here."

"Do you report back to the king?"

"No."

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Wulf turned away, then, scowling, spun back to face the guard. "How many of you are there?"

"Only me."

"Where are your quarters?"

"Dormitory five fifty-three in the south wing," the guard said.

"Where are the prince's quarters?"

The guard's eyes went wide, and he gave a weak struggle against the binding on his arms.

"We're not going to hurt him," Wulf said. "We're going to send you a letter."

"Room five fifty-four in the south wing," the guard confirmed.

"How often do you have contact with the prince?"

"Never. I will see him at the end of the semester."

"So he won't notice if you're gone?"

"No."

Wulf had everything he needed to know. "Excellent. Now, we're going to put you to sleep. When you wake up, you'll be here still. When you return to your quarter, you'll find that your services will no longer be required. Do you understand?"

It didn't matter if he understood, but it slipped out anyway. Habit. The guard nodded.

Wulf triggered [Deadline], activating the entire potion effect at once, and the guard collapsed. The rest of the Somnia potion took effect, with Wulf's skill increasing the potion's strength. The guard's head slumped forward, and the rest of his body went loose.

"Untie his hands," Wulf said. "I don't know how long this will last, so we need to get moving. With any luck, he'll think he just fainted. Irmond, search him for a room key. He probably has one for him and the prince." He pushed the guard off to the side of the bucket. The man's enhanced durability remained, and when he hit the floor, it probably did more damage to the stone than his body.

As Kalee and Seith untied the guard's hands, Wulf used [Arm of the Alchemist] on his amnesia potion, turning it into a Splatter Potion, and splashed it on the guard's forehead. It'd take effect…soon, hopefully.

"Come on," he said. "We need to get to his room. We have a letter to write."

"You didn't fill us in on this part of the plan," Irmond said.

"It'll be quick. I'm…improvising, slightly."

"I thought we were going to trap the guard somewhere off campus and buy ourselves some time," Kalee said.

"The plan's changing. He's too strong for that. But I have an idea." Wulf turned away and ran back the direction they'd come in. "Seith and Kalee. You guys have a steady hand, right? And you're good at copying scripts, considering your pasts with runes?"

"Of course!" they both called, following Wulf down the hall.

"Come on, then!" He sped up.

They left the side hallway, then sprinted as fast as they could back through the winding halls of the academy until they reached the south wing. They ascended the stairs to the fifth level, then sprinted past bewildered students until they arrived at the prince's room.

Wulf waited a few seconds until the group of students in the hallway passed, rounding a corner and walking out of sight. "Irmond, you have the room keys?"

"Got them," he replied. He tossed them to Wulf, and Wulf unlocked the prince's room.

"Irmond, you're the Ranger. Keep watch. If you see something, report back to me."

Irmond nodded. "Got it."

Wulf stepped inside, and Kalee and Seith followed. The room was nearly the same as the other dorms, except one bed was completely empty—no one was using it; the sheets were still neatly folded, and a stack of textbooks lay on top of it. Not ideal. There was only one schedule pinned to the wall, only one spare uniform. The prince was likely alone in his room, as if it wasn't bland and sterile enough on its own. No posters, no sign of a hobby, nothing.

There was an inkwell and a few sheets of spare parchment on the desk, though. Handwritten notes lay beside it, as well as a half-empty mug of water.

"Kalee, Seith. Can you two mimic his handwriting?" Wulf asked. "We'll write a letter for the guard."

Kalee pulled one of the sheets of notes over. "Got it. I can copy that. What do you want me to write?"

"You do the top half, I'll do the bottom half," Seith proposed, and Kalee nodded.

Wulf scratched his chin. "We've gotta make it sound like it came from the prince. Try this: 'I've been worried about you. You've been having spells of amnesia lately, and I fear that this recent bout of passing out is because of how overworked you are—I've been keeping my own tabs on you, just to be sure. I promise, I can handle myself. I permit you to take a break for this semester, and to return next semester. This isn't a request, but a command. I cannot see you burn yourself to the bone for my benefit.' And then, just sign it as Athllas. They've gotta be pretty close with each other if the guard doesn't report to the king."

"You think Prince Athllas would treat his guard like this?" Seith asked. "Seems too…nice. Too understanding."

Wulf chewed his inner lip. "I didn't know much about the prince in my past life, nor when he was king. But I do know that the prince is clearly trying to help out his father. I don't know why else he'd be doing this. He seems to treat his guard well, and his guard seems to stay hidden. With this, no one should even notice a difference. The guard disappears, then we're free to infiltrate the Lions and watch over Athllas, getting closer to him, before eventually bringing them down."

"Alright…" Seith said uncertainly.

They finished up the letter, and when Wulf compared it to Athelas' notes, he could barely tell a difference. "Good work," he said. "Thank you." He shook the letter to dry it, then left the room. Immediately, they shifted over to the guard's room, which Wulf unlocked. He placed the letter on the desk, right overtop a cup of still-warm coffee—the guard wasn't going to miss it.

His guess that the guard was already overworked had been right, plus with this little encounter, the guard would think he just passed out and forgot his keys. It'd lend credence to the 'prince's' letter.

"Guys, get out of there," Irmond warned. "Someone's coming, and I think it's Athllas. He's keeping his head down and not looking, but I don't know for how long."

Wulf tossed the keys down on the guard's cluttered desk. Hopefully, he'd think he just left them behind. Wulf rushed out of the room and closed the door, then hissed, "Walk away normally. Athllas doesn't know us yet."

They clumped up and walked away down the hallway, moving in the opposite direction of Athelas. Wulf brushed his hands off on his pants and said, "And there you go. A job well done."

"Could've gone smoother," Kalee said.

"Could've," Wulf agreed. "But we should be free to infiltrate the prince's circle now."