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

hours passed, and Smit felt like his stomach was a wet rag being squeezed to shake the drops from it. He had to relieve himself three times, and even then, he still felt poorly. His mind kept flashing to his children’s faces, and then to Lord Dresden’s face, and that made him feel worse.

Why couldn’t I have been born the son of a blacksmith or a fletcher or something like that? Comfortable, yet not overly so. No responsibility. Just a quiet life in a quiet place, with Shayna still alive, my children growing up without the stress I have had to face…

“Duke!”

It was Lerner, the head cavalryman, returning from his search.

“Yes?”

“We found something. Two doors are hidden in the ground. I think I know where they are.”

“Two doors?”

“One on either side of town, Duke.”

He sighed. “Our cavalry is useless, then. Dismount, and we’ll smoke these moles out of their hole.”

CHAPTER 23

Smoke poured into my dungeon, pumping in from the door that led to the surface and filling the first chamber. Upon seeing it in my core vision, I immediately contacted the Yondersunians, using my amplified core voice.

“Reginal? Galatee?”

“The crafty bugger is trying to smoke us out, as we’d expected,” said Reginal. He huffed as if he were moving around.

“Am I interrupting something?”

“Just practicing my form.”

“Right. And the paste Cynthia made for us?” I said.

“Doing its job. Cynthia was sent to us by the gods, I swear it.”

“Don’t forget Maginhart, I’m told he did most of the work. Cynthia sprained her wrist apparently.”

“Your kobolds have hidden talents, Beno,” said Galatee. “What next?”

“In an hour, the duke will start to wonder what’s going on and why his smoke didn’t draw us out. Until then, we need to be patient.”

“I wish I could say that was Reginal’s strong point,” said Galatee. “Luckily he can borrow some patience from me.”

“Good luck,” I told them.

“Same to you, Beno.”

“Is Jahn with you?”

“He’s in the emergency tunnels with the rest of the non-combatants. We can’t risk him.”

“Good. At least I know he’s safe. When the duke commits some of his soldiers below ground, you and Galatee will need to take a tunnel to the surface and attack from the rear.”

Turning my attention back to my core chamber, I saw Maginhart standing there, grinning. He wore a burn-proof apron covered in splotches and stains, and his hands bore many cuts and burns that had healed over.

“That’s a smug smile if ever I saw one,” I said.

“Yesss, Dark Lord.”

“You did well today, with the paste.”

“It wasss nothing.”

“No, it was something, alright. It shows how much you’ve progressed under Cynthia’s teaching. This alone makes me sending you to become an apprentice worthwhile.”

“Pleasssed that my learningsss can help the dungeon, Dark Lord.”

Using my core vision, I watched the duke’s smoke filling up the first chamber, only to be absorbed by the chamber walls and leave much of the space clear.

It was nice to see one of my plans working as I intended. Before the duke even got here, I had tried to think about all the things I would do if I was Duke Smit and I had arrived in town only to discover the residents were hiding underground.

I decided that I wouldn’t just charge in. First, I’d try to make the residents come to me. And how would I do that? Well, the fog surrounding the town was a clue. I’d smoke them out.

 To combat this, we painted the chamber walls using a chemical made by Cynthia and Maginhart, allowing them to absorb smoke. The Yondersunians had done likewise with their cavern, meaning that Smit’s ploy was useless.

So, what would Smit do next?

If I were him, I still wouldn’t come charging underground. Next, I would probably send some of my stealthiest people to scout things out.

Duke Smit resisted the urge to pace, well aware that all eyes were on him. A leader’s attitude transferred to his men, and he didn’t want them agitated.

Lerner approached him. “Nothing, Duke,” he said. “No sign of the townsfolk at either door.”

“They’re not coming out. You don’t suppose the smoke killed them?”

“We lit only small fires, Duke. They could not produce enough smoke to be deadly.”

“Then this clearly isn’t going to work. Send in Argyle and his team.”

“Yes, Duke.”

A kobold sauntered into my core chamber. Four hounds walked beside her, being unusually quiet and well-behaved.

“You have them well trained, Shadow,” I said.

“It wouldn’t be much help if their excitement showed itself in times like these.”

“It’s good to have you back, you know.”

“Thank you, Core Beno. It’s…it’s good to be back.”

“Why do I sense you’re holding something from me?” I said.

Shadow stared at me. I couldn’t help but feel she was working out whether to trust me with whatever she wanted to say.

“It’s…Redjack. Sometimes, I remember what I did. I get flashes of it. I close my eyes and see that horrible witch’s face. That smile, that laugh she makes. I hear her voice and how it told me to do things.”

“You’re free from her now, Shadow.”

“Not if I still remember what I did.”

“It will just take time, that’s all.”

“How did…how did the academy get the memories of your human life out of your head, Core Beno?”

“Only the forgers know that. The academy guards its secrets tightly.”

“I thought so. Forget it, Dark Lord. I came to tell you that we have movement in-”

“In the first chamber. Yes, I see the duke’s men sneaking in like thieves in the night. We’re ready for them. I have made sure they can make their way to the loot chamber without a single trap going off, and without meeting any of our dungeon mates. We have closed off all