Fate Alchemist - A Regression Academy LitRPG

"No, I—" Wulf cut himself off. "Of course not. How would I even tell anyone? You're the one who talks to the Field, not me?"

He tried not to sound flustered, but it was hard not to when a Messenger sprung something like this on you. "You're just…visiting?" Wulf asked.

"Yes." Mantri hung his head.

"Well, what do you eat? What does the Field feed you?"

"I can live off the cords if I choose. I can also eat human food."

"The cords?" Wulf tilted his head. "You know what, I don't need to know right now." He reached into his haversack and withdrew a strip of bacon he'd gotten at breakfast, but hadn't felt hungry enough to eat at the time. "Well, get something in your belly," Wulf whispered. He dropped the strip of bacon on the ground in front of Mantri.

The smaller-than-average black cat gave it a sniff, then placed a paw on it and ripped off a chunk. For a few seconds, he chewed it.

"Wulf is kind," Mantri said, his mouth half full.

"I try. I'm still curious why you're here, though."

"I…was bored. I promise, Wulf, it's the truth."

Wulf sighed. "I guess it would get pretty boring for a Messenger after a while, huh? But you're sure you're not going to get in trouble? With, say, the Field? How would that work?"

"If I get caught, I may lose my ability to meet you, to travel here, and you would be assigned a different Messenger."

"How would the Field catch you?"

"It's partially sentient. The more emphasis you put on me being out of order, out of place, not supposed to be here, the more the Field registers it—you're a part of the world, a part of the cords, too."

"Sorry," Wulf said. "I'll stop mentioning it."

"Thanks." Mantri turned in a circle and took another bite of the bacon, but already, his fur had fluffed up, his flanks had bulked out to a healthy level, and his whiskers were at a normal angle again.

"That was fast," Wulf commented.

"Wulf is kind," Mantri replied, as if that explained everything.

Wulf reached down and scratched the cat between the ears. "Alright, then. Since you're here, can I pick your mind about something?"

"Absolutely!" Mantri exclaimed.

Wulf raised a finger to his lips. Seith might be working the crowd into a roar, but the other students might still hear, and he didn't need any of them noticing something was off.

"How does the Field affect time?" Wulf asked.

"It can…change time, alter time, but only through immense effort. It would have to be faced with an existential threat in order to entirely shift the flow of time itself."

Wulf rubbed his chin. "But the Field only exists on this one world, right? None of the other stars in the sky have it, and wherever the demons come from, they don't have it either, right?"

"No."

"So it turns back time for the entire universe, still?"

Mantri was silent. "I…don't know. As far as I'm aware, the Field has never altered the flow of time. But if it had, I wouldn't know. There are only some devices which can create pockets of fast-flowing or slow-flowing time. But it still flows, not altered."

Wulf hung his head. Of course, Mantri was unaware that Wulf was from the future, and Wulf couldn't be too blatant about that.

He reached into his haversack and pulled out the storm spirit's core, then held it out. Mantri gazed into it and blinked, but quickly recovered his senses and said, "I see. This kind of thing…well, you know, the Field works on principle and feeling more often than not. It works on the ideas of things. And when you're stuck inside during a storm, or stuck on a ship during a storm, it makes time feel slower than normal? The Field recognizes that principle, and it uses it."

"So this core is affecting time," Wulf said.

"It's slowing the cords based on people's perception of it," Mantri replied. "But it's not altering the flow. That—speeding up time, or slowing it down—is easy enough in a pocket dimension or realm."

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Wulf hung his head. "I see."

But that was an interesting proposal. If he could create a realm to give them more time, he could use it to grow plants in the blink of an eye, or make tinctures without having to wait for hours for the vinegar to do its job.

"Alright, Mantri," Wulf said. "Thanks for the tip."

"You're welcome," Mantri replied. "Can I stay…a little longer? Until the end of the fight, and until your friend wins?"

"Of course," Wulf said.

Mantri curled up, leaning against Wulf's leg, and intermittently ripped off chunks of bacon and chewed, then swallowed (presumably—Wulf didn't actually see the cat swallow, and that might have just been another quirk of the Messengers).

Finally, Seith stuck a wrist-blade through her brother's shoulder pauldron and flung him back onto the ground, then stuck a blade to his throat. He yielded, and immediately, Seith threw her arms up in celebration. The blades folded up and shrank back into her wrists.

Just before Wulf stood up to go find Seith and congratulate her, Mantri said, "It's time for me to go. I…I hope I can see you again some time."

"I'll do my best," Wulf said. "You stay safe, alright?"

Mantri's lips quirked up into a smile, as best a cat's lips could do that, and he said, "I'll do my best." Then he slunk away under the bench.

Wulf shook his head, both in confusion and amusement, then turned to Kalee and Irmond. "We need to go meet her."

~ ~ ~

They found Seith just outside the arena change rooms. She'd put her uniform back on and taken off her wrist-blade constructs, and was just finishing up a conversation with a woman who sounded a lot like Vae Kella—a human with dark skin and long, curly hair, but nothing terribly extraordinary about her.

But she handed Seith a massive leather pouch full of Centralis Crowns. There were copper coins, silver, coins, and a few gold coins on top. "Your cut of the winnings, Telgrad," she said, her voice slightly bitter. Once she saw Wulf, Kalee, and Irmond approaching, she turned away and disappeared down a back hallway of the arena.

"What's that?" Wulf asked. "She didn't seem pleased."

"She had to pay me a large sum of money," Seith said. She hung her head, and her voice sounded awfully hollow. A second later, she grunted and braced herself. Irmond caught her in a hug. Although the elf boy was taller, being an elf, he was much lighter, and Seith barely staggered.

Still, Irmond planted a light kiss on her cheek and said, "Congratulations!"

"And…" Seith continued, wrapping her arms around Irmond's back. "And I think she had a bit of a crush on Meirim. She's kinda upset that he got taken out."

"Well, thank the Field for that," Kalee said. "You're in."

"Now the rest of you have to win," Seith said.

"How'd it feel?" Wulf asked. "To finally win?"

Seith hung her head. "I dunno."

"You don't know?" Irmond asked. "You did amazing?"

"On one hand," Seith said, "I liked it. I really liked how I felt, with the potion enhancing my movements, and I loved the look on Meirim's face when he realized that he wasn't going to destroy me like usual. I want power like that for myself." She crossed her arms. "But…it also isn't who I am."

Irmond tilted his head and stepped back. "What do you mean?"

"Something feels missing," Seith said. "I can't explain it. I just…feel empty after the adrenaline's gone."

Wulf nodded in understanding, and leaned back against the wall. "I'm sorry for pushing you, if this wasn't what you wanted."

"I've been thinking," Seith said. "I want…this." She motioned first to Irmond, then to the rest of them. "Proper friends. Family. I joined up with Umoch's gang looking for connections, looking for family, looking to prove how strong I was. But…" She sighed. "I'm an Artificer. My strength isn't strength. And I love being an Artificer. I love making things. I love building things. I love creating, not beating the snot out of my siblings."

Wulf nodded, then gave her a smile. Irmond hugged her again.

"So, once we get in with the Lions, I'm going to drop out of the tournament," Seith explained.

"Speaking of the Lions," Kalee said, "we've kinda been neglecting our duties of looking over Prince Athllas. We forgot last Seventhday, and we forgot tonight, too."

Wulf sighed, then pinched the bridge of his nose. "Damn it. You're right."

~ ~ ~

As soon as they made it out of the arena, they tracked down Prince Athllas. He was fine, thank the Field, but he was travelling with the Lions through the hallways of the upper academy building, sticking close with the rest of the posse. Wulf, Seith, Kalee, and Irmond ran into the group almost head-first, with no time to sneak up and follow from a distance.

Varl, who walked at the head of the Lions, said, "Ah, Telgrad. I wasn't expecting such a performance, but you're full of surprises. You'll make an excellent addition to our association. That is why you came to visit us, isn't it?"

"Just to…uh, report on our progress." Seith nodded.

"Well, you have three more to win. Not you, Telgrad, but one more for each of the others. Don't think I'll let it slide because of one good performance. If you're a package deal, then I need you all in. Or none."

Without another word, Varl and the rest of the Lions set off down the hall. Once they were out of earshot, Seith said, "Man, I don't think I'm ready to sleep yet. Too many nerves."

Wulf shrugged. "We need to keep a watch on the prince, still."

"I'll go," Irmond said. "You three enjoy the celebrations. Someone swap me out before we sleep."

"Got it," Wulf replied. He turned to Seith and Kalee. "What do you say we do a little Artificing work? Silent Wraith is arriving tonight, and it's been a while since we've seen it. I think it's time we bring our Oronith up to modern standards."

"Hold on a sec," Seith said. "I can already feel the slowness begin to take effect."

"Ah, I can deal with that. You might feel paralyzed for half an hour, but then you'll shrug it off. We'll catch up with you guys."