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

“Not much. Halfway through our meeting, the stable boy pounded on Dullbright’s door. He was all red-faced, I think he had sprinted all the way up the slope. He started ranting about Bolton’s horse getting loose from the stables. Bolton left without a word.”

“Alright. Thank you, Gull. You did me a favor today.”

“Don’t mention it. When are you coming for a beer, anyway? Talking through your core shavings like this, it’s not the same.”

“Soon, my friend. Soon. I just have a few messes to clean up.”

CHAPTER 8

- Maginhart [Kobold] has progressed in studies! 

Tinkering – Apprentice - [Progress to level 1: 87%]

Alchemy – Apprentice - [Progress to level 1: 72%]

Artificery – Apprentice - [Progress to level 1: 70%]

Death [Fire beetle, Warrior] has leveled up to 15 [Arena training]

Fight [Fire beetle, Warrior] has leveled up to 13 [Arena training]

Kill [Fire beetle, Warrior] has leveled up to 14 [Arena training]

Tactical bond increased: Death, Fight, Kill

“Well done, Beno,” said Reginal, joining me on Jahn’s Row.

Chief Galatee approached us, stopping only to clap her hands at a gaggle of workers who were staring at the distant sky, where the storm clouds had now dispersed. “Come on,” she said. “Back to work!”

Reaching me, she said, “The duke has turned back toward Fort Smiten. We’re 6000 old coins poorer, but it would seem worth it.”

“I don’t know. We’ve shored up the dam, but that hasn’t magically removed the water pushing against it.”

“Just like you to be thinking about the next problem, Beno. Why not savor it for a while?”

I used to savor things. When I first built my dungeon and began killing heroes, I did lots of savoring. But the larger my dungeon grew and the more monsters I was responsible for, the less I found myself gloating in victory. Nowadays, the losses of battle tended to weigh more heavily on my thoughts.

Perhaps Galatee and Reginal were right. What was becoming of me, if I couldn’t even bring myself to revel in a victory anymore? Was I just being sensible, or was I acting like Overseer Bolton and the rest of the academy who walked around with sticks wedged up their arses?

“We’ve pegged the duke back without provoking him,” I said, “But he’ll come back. We need to be proactive about this. Give him a reason to never set foot in the wasteland, without risking him attacking us.”

“We could appeal to his generous and noble nature,” said Galatee.

Reginal caught her eye, and the pair laughed.

It crossed my mind that I could have the duke secretly killed and replace him with a mimic. But then, it was one thing doing that to the mayor of a ramshackle town in the wasteland, and another doing it to a duke who lived in a stronghold and had at least two hundred men – minus the ones killed by lightning – and a bogan to his name.

As well as that, Shadow was my only rogue. I had nobody else who could do the assassination. Alas, it really did seem like I couldn’t solve every problem with murder and a mimic.

“Let’s break it down,” I said. “Why does Duke Smit want Yondersun as a vassal town anyway? What does the duke get from us?”

“It's simple. The man smells gold in the air,” said Reginal.

Galatee shook her head. “It’s not about the gold we have, but the gold that owning our town would mean to him. Yondersun is the only settlement in the wasteland. Even our closest neighbor, Hogsfeate, is on the outskirts. There are plenty of settlements in the far north that the merchants of Xynnar want to set up trading routes with, and yet have not thus far, due to the dangers involved in making the journey.”

“That’s right,” I said. “Whereas Yondersun could serve as a resting point. It would cut the danger of such trade journeys tremendously, allowing merchant caravans to have a break in the middle of the wasteland. If the duke controlled Yondersun, he could charge levies for passers-by. Actually, it occurs to me that you could start doing that.”

“No. Unconscionable,” said Reginal. “This is the homeland of my people, not a gold mine. I will never make it so.”

“It goes against our credo, Beno. Everything we agreed upon when we started building Yondersun,” said Galatee. “We struggled to live in the wasteland for decades, and we want to turn it into a welcoming place.”

“We’re just going to have to think of something else to deter the duke, then.”

“I have building work to oversee. I’ll see you at the next meeting,” said Galatee.

I was about to float to my dungeon when I realized Reginal hadn’t left. He looked around to make sure nobody was close enough to listen and then leaned toward me conspiratorially.

“Can I ask for your advice, core?”

“Ask away, goblin.”

“Beno, I meant, of course. I have a…delicate problem I would like to talk to you about.”

“Isn’t that what your wife is for?”

“There are things a man can’t share with his wife, and that she can’t share with her husband.”

“And yet you can share it with a dungeon core?”

“Oh, forget it.”

“Wait, wait,” I said. “I understand that my response wasn’t what you would describe as empathetic. I am working hard on that skill, Reginal, but it is like trying to turn a shark onto a diet of seaweed. What I meant was, why would you trust me with whatever…this…is?”

“I always thought you were cold-blooded, Beno. An evil, no-souled lump of rock with no conscience and who takes delight in causing pain and suffering.”

“Are you about to ask me for a favor? I see no other reason for being so nice.”

“I have told you before, Beno. I misjudged you. And as a leader, it is difficult for me to find people to