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

This means that early dungeons only attract crummy heroes. Teenagers trying to prove themselves, or alcoholic heroes who can barely swing a sword or cast a spell, and that kind of thing. Even then, young cores almost always lose their first fights.

What Bolton had done, in the disguise of a reward, would make my job a hell of a lot tougher.

No core ever passed their final evaluation without beating a party of heroes, and that had just become harder for me.

The worst thing was that by disguising it as a reward, he had kicked me in my metaphorical balls. I couldn’t exactly appeal a reward, could I? No, definitely not. I knew the evaluation rules, and a core can only appeal a condemnation.

Damn you, Bolton! Damn you and your stupid-ass intelligence!

“Uh, Dark Lord,” said Tomlin, from across the dungeon. “Girl is back. Tomlin hears her.”

Ah. Maybe things weren’t all doom and gloom, after all. At least I hadn’t lost my surface liaison.

By the time I hopped back to room four, my essence had replenished to 75 points. Floating there in the bare room, I heard the girl making sounds behind the mud wall she had once fallen through.

I had made Tomlin rebuild the mud so that the girl couldn’t wander in and out freely, but now I had other means of keeping her out.

“Tomlin, would you be kind enough to dig a door shape in the mud?”

“This will cost more study time.”

“I know what it will cost! Demons alive, you’re the most pedantic minion I ever heard of!”

“Tomlin honors his deals. He hopes Dark Lord will do the same.”

“I have more integrity than you could ever know, my friend,” I said. I realized that maybe I was a little grouchy thanks to Bolton, and I shouldn’t take it out on Tomlin. “I’d appreciate it if you could dig, and of course I will dedicate time for your study this evening.”

“Thanks, Dark Lord.”

After Tomlin dug a hole in the mud wall, the girl sprang out with a look of pure thunder on her face. She was seriously mad, and I, a dungeon core in his own labyrinth, was a little wary of her.

To recover some control of the situation, I said, “Ah, Vedetta. Nice to see you! Before we talk, I just have something to do.”

“You grubby little core, I-”

“One second,” I said.

I quickly crafted a door and lock, placing it over the hole in the wall.

There we go! A way for the girl to enter my dungeon, but with a nice lock to keep her out when necessary.

“Thanks for being patient,” I told her. “Now, what can I do for you?”

CHAPTER 17

“Are you going to explain why you blocked me out of your dungeon?” asked Vedetta.

Before I had a chance to answer, Tomlin scuttled over to us, and he reached out with his claws and gave Vedetta’s shoulders a gentle squeeze. “Tomlin made wall, but only because Dark Lord asked.”

She smiled at him. “I know, Tomlin. My anger is solely for this gem. Care to explain?”

“Overseers can drop by for an evaluation at any time, which I’m sure you know,” I said. “If they realized you were here, they would have been very, very disappointed that I hadn’t killed you yet. As luck would have it, or misfortune, I suppose, an overseer dropped by for a second evaluation.”

“Which is why you ignored me. Hmph. Fair enough, I guess. Has it occurred to you that overseers can also view your dungeon remotely? That they might, at this very moment, see me standing here?”

“It has, actually. Since we’re going to be working together, you might need to be here from time to time. So, I have a plan for that. A workaround.”

“Ah, this should be good,” she said. “Well?

“The technical definition for a hero, for a dungeon’s purposes anyway, is-”

“’One who is not a core or monster, and finds their way into the core’s dungeon by their own means, for their own motives.’ Yes, I know,” she said.

Hmm. She knew the definition of a hero by heart. I was now 85% sold on her story. Enough to work with her, but with a healthy dollop of doubt. There’s always a place for doubt.

“There’s a key part to that definition,” I said. “is the whole ‘find their way into the core’s dungeon by their own means.’”

“What’s your plan?”

“The area outside my new door is technically not part of my dungeon. So, I suggest that going forward, whenever you need to visit me, you knock on the door. I’ll have Tomlin answer it, and he will carry you into the dungeon. That way, you haven’t found your own way in. Technically, a kobold would have kidnapped you.”

“Very clever,” she said. I was surprised by how good it felt to get praise from a little girl. “Although, you know that the overseers aren’t idiots, yes? They’ll see through it.”

“They can see through what they want. They still have to stick to their technicalities.”

“I bet you’re really one of their favorites, aren’t you? Well, I guess you’re right. They will have to stick to it. I wouldn’t expect that it’ll put you in their good books, though.”

“We’re way beyond that, Vedetta. Trust me. Now that’s settled, what’s the reason for your visit today?”

She shrugged. “Our deal. You promised me that the kobold would help me with some mining work.”

“I did. I’ll need something in return.”

“What do you want?”

“You said you earned the mining skill while you were digging your tunnels from the surface. You can locate materials better than Tomlin, who’s only a level 3.”

“Level 3? Well done, Tomlin. Good progress!”

I had never seen a kobold blush until then. It was a strange sight.

“Tomlin thanks you, Vedetta,” he answered.

The girl