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

I used my core voice.

“Shadow?” I said. “Are you there?”

“I’m here.”

“Ready?”

“I’m ready, Beno.”

“Good luck.”

Shadow wore all black to help her blend into the night. She avoided the mana lamps. Didn’t get within even twenty feet of them. Skirting around the back of Jahn’s Row, she reached the bakery.

There had been four guards posted at the front, each of them armed as if they were going to war. There was only one at the back. Standing on his own, looking glum. Nobody wanted to be stuck outside in the wasteland at night. Not when it got cold.

She’d expected the guards, but seeing them still worried her. It made her think about what would happen if she got caught. She’d have to fight them, and she didn’t know if she could.

Ever since the witch had played with her mind and made her kill Redjack, Shadow couldn’t bear the idea of violence. As a rogue, it made her job hard. Killing was basically half her skillset. The other half was sneaking. If she could only use one of her skills, she was only half as much use to the dungeon.

That was a big problem because she had a lot of making up to do to the rest of her dungeon mates. It didn’t matter that Anna had been in control of her mind. Redjack had died by Shadow’s hand. She had to repay everyone for what she’d done.

“I’m here, Dark Lord,” she thought.

A voice spoke in her head.

“Can you get in?” said Beno.

“There’s a man outside.”

“You need to sneak past him.”

“Thank you, Beno. I didn’t realize you had sent me, a rogue, here to sneak past someone.”

“Why, oh why, do I always end up with kobolds who talk back to me?”

“You wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Shadow. “Now let me work. I don’t need you buzzing in my ear.”

She scanned the shadows around the bakery. The yard was empty. Not much cover. The guard only had a lamp with him, but even so, the only way to get close was to crawl into his line of vision.

Maybe she could skirt around. Get in his peripheral vision, move slowly...

A hand grabbed her neck and lifted her off the ground.

“Gotcha!”

A man, easily twice her height, held her by the scruff of the neck. A guard. Dark eyes. A malicious look in them.

“Sneaking around are we, monster? Come to look at your friend’s handy work? Come to celebrate what that freak did, have you?”

Her legs dangled above the ground. He could kick him in the face. Maybe bite him. Get him to release his grip. When she was free, she could reach for the knife on his belt…

Then it felt like she’d been stabbed. But she hadn’t. This was a shock of fear running through her. Every time she thought about using a knife, she remembered Redjack’s face. She felt sick.

She knew she wouldn’t be able to bite the guard, kick him, or anything like that.

The guard by the bakery doors held the lamp up so it glowed on his face. He had a ridiculous mustache that was only half-grown. He was much younger than the rest of them. A new recruit put on night duty. Kind of like how Core Beno always put newer kobolds on mining duty until he got an idea about their other skills.

He squinted. “Hill? That you?” he said.

“Found one of those wolf things,” said the guard. He held Shadow up like he was a hunter showing off a pelt. “Live in the dungeon with the core, don’t they? It was sneaking around.”

“We better get Chief Galatee.”

“You go fetch her. I’ll make sure this little rat doesn’t escape.”

Shadow saw movement to her right.

A man spoke in a northern accent.

“She’s a little wolf actually, pal. Not a rat.”

A fist smashed into the guard’s face. So fast, so strong, that it crushed his nose. He fell onto his back and slammed onto the floor, and then he was out.

The other guard backed away, but the man was on him in three steps. Another punch and the guard was dozing.

The stranger picked up the lantern and held it up. Shadow saw the light glow on their face, and relief flooded through her.

“Eric?” she said.

“Hello, Little Wolf. I’ve missed you.”

Eric looked just as he always did. He was shirtless for no discernable reason. Barbarians tended to do that. His hair was ridiculously glorious and flowed like water, just like always. Despite the condition of his hair, he looked like he was allergic to soap.

It was a surprise even to herself how glad she was to see him. Not just because he’d knocked the guards unconscious. Eric was a friend. Shadow couldn’t say she had many true ones. Most of the guys in the dungeon were wary of her now. They knew that she’d been under Anna’s control when she murdered Redjack but all the same, they still blamed her for it. Maybe in a small way. Maybe not even meaning to blame her. But they did.

It was silly, really. She hadn’t known Eric long. But he’d gone with her on a mission to assassinate Sir Dullbright. On the journey there, he’d taught her things. He’d talked to her like an equal. He had a nice way about him, and he didn’t judge people.

“What say we get a drink, now these chumps are sleeping?” said Eric.

“I don’t think the tavern is the best idea at the moment.”

“Right. I heard about all that murder business. I swear, Little Wolf. Townsfolk can’t stand a bit of bloodshed, can they? The slightest stabbing and they lose their minds. They want to try living in the wild sometime.”

“I just need to take care of