Dungeon Core Academy: Books 1-7 (A LitRPG Series) by Alex Oakchest (book suggestions txt) 📕

“I didn’t say that I wasn’t making threats. I said I wasn’t making hidden ones. There’s still a threat. Do you know me at all?”

“Speak,” said Reginal, though it came out as more of a growl.

“I have secured a supplier of oscil. I can get enough of the stuff for Cynthia to make dozens of orbs and to keep Devry’s condition in check for years.”

“And the threat is that you will withhold them from me. Fine. A threat usually comes with a demand. What is it, you bog of moral quicksand?”

“I need a few things from you,” I said.

“Speak.”

“First, it has come to my attention that some disturbing news about the No-Cores might soon come to light. When it does, I want you to act on it. Use it as a means to get rid of them.”

“They are still people of Yondersun, Beno. I will not kill them.”

“Just lock up their leader, Gilleasberg, and toss a few of the other more influential members of the movement into the cell with him. Let them rot until they’re so desperate for freedom they’ll say whatever you like. Also, banish Boothe Stramper from town. Cut off the worm’s head, and it will die.”

A guard, wide-eyed and still under Brecht’s spell, spoke in a sing-song voice. “Worms don’t die when you cut them. They don’t die, ha ha!”

“Shut up,” barked Reginal, shoving the guard onto a chair. He turned his attention back to me. “An excuse to disband that bunch of morons would suit me. I have said more than once that a dungeon’s presence nearby is a valuable asset for Yondersun’s defenses. As much as I hate to admit it, the dungeon is merely a hole in the ground without a core to run it. Your friend Jahn’s dungeon is proof of that. Very well, Beno. We have a deal.”

“That’s not all.”

“Luck can only be pushed so far before it plummets over the cliffside.”

“Don’t worry, this is more of a gentle hill than a cliff. I also want a say in town affairs.”

“What?”

“Just a say, Reginal. I’m not trying to wrestle control from you. When you and Galatee meet to discuss important matters, I want to attend or send a representative. I would like the same for Core Jahn, too.”

“Core Jahn? A carpenter does not ask his hammer which nail it would like to hit next.”

“Jahn isn’t your tool. He isn’t obligated to stay here and build your town, remember? I secured that independence for him. He stays because he chooses to. Since he’s creating most of the structures in this place, he should get a say in their planning.”

“You ask for too much, core.”

“Is there ever too high a price for your son’s health?”

Brecht began to lose rhythm now, and his tambourine beat became erratic, missing notes here and there. The plumes of light lessened until soon they were gone, and the drum was silent.

“Out of mana, Dark Lord,” he told me.

The guard’s faces snapped back to their stern selves. They lost their wide eyes and stupid grins. I could see from their expressions that this left them in a state of confusion. They wouldn’t be able to remember what had happened for the last few minutes, and they clearly didn’t like the feeling. One by one, they lifted their swords.

“Take your places,” said Reginal. “Put your swords away.” Then he faced me. “You sicken me, Beno. Using my son to worm your way into town affairs. Staking a young lad’s life on a power grab. Are you completely without morals?”

“Mostly,” I said. “Not completely. You were willing to give Jahn or me to Dullbright, weren’t you? I doubt that decision weighed on you much. Why is that, Reginal? Perhaps because you view us as tools, objects, pieces of stone? You accuse me of having no morals…you are like one pig accusing another of hogging all the mud while having brown stains all over your belly.”

Reginal wasn’t silent for a while then. He wore the expression of a man who could happily draw his sword and hack me to pieces, yet he didn’t move for his blade, nor did he raise his fist.

“Leave us,” he said, talking to his guards.

“Chief Reginal, we cannot-”

“Leave me alone, please. Wait for me outside the dungeon.”

“Chief Reginal-”

“Now!”

“Yes, Chief!”

The guards filed away. Once they were gone, I turned to Gary and Brecht. “You can go too,” I said.

When Reginal and I were alone, he deflated like a punctured bladder. His shoulders sagged, and even his eyes seemed to lose luster.

“Morals…power…the decisions that come with it…this was never what I wanted. I was just a foolish soldier who wanted to help win his land back for his people. Then I became a foolish chief responsible for doing so. Now, I’m a fool with sagging muscles and a great big lump of rock on my shoulders.”

“You have a soldier’s brain, Reginal. That’s different from a leader’s. Calling it a lump of rock is just being mean to yourself.”

“I was talking about the weight of my responsibility, damn it! When Devry is unhappy or angry or worried, he comes to me. When the townsfolk feel that way, they complain to Galatee and I. But when we chiefs have problems, who do we go to?”

“Is there a goblin version of a god, or something?”

“If there is, Beno, then he is sulking at me.”

“Yondersun is flourishing. A year ago, there was nothing but unbroken wasteland full of dead scorpions and cracked mud. Look at it now. Your people have a home, and you have joined together with an old enemy clan. That’s something to be proud of.”

“Yet, I would sell the whole thing to even those damned Silkers if I could be a proper father and protect Devry. I cannot