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

little ones. She imagined it falling down, making a new layer in her mind. Covering all the other thoughts with one of a single color. Blue. A calming color.

When she opened her eyes, her pain was gone. That didn’t mean her injuries were healed; just that her brain no longer let her feel the pain.

Her fear, her confusion, her stress, they were all gone. She could think clearly.

The first thing she did was check her legs. Getting rid of pain was one thing. But if she tried to stand on broken legs, she’d make everything worse. The gods knew that her lame leg was bad enough as it was. No sense making it worse.

No breaks. A few cuts from where the wood had splintered and stabbed her. Some blood. But no breaks.

It seemed that the cart had completely smashed when it rolled. She pushed a big plank of wood off her and climbed out of the wreckage.

She took a few steps. Though there was no pain, her steps were uneven. That was nothing to do with the accident; her leg had always been lame. It happened when she was a kid, and Mum couldn’t afford a healer to set it properly.

Looking around, she saw that Bolton and Utta had both been thrown way clear of the cart. Bolton was twenty feet to her left. Utta thirty feet to her right.

And both of them were surrounded by humongous, way-too-big-to-be-real insects. Mosquitos, or something. With horrible bellies that bulged with liquid, and spikes sticking out of their bums.

The insects were going to stab Utta and Bolton!

Anna could maybe use her powers to deter some of them from attacking, but not all of them. She wasn’t strong enough for that.

Maybe if I’d stayed in the Chosen One School and developed my powers…

That was a stray thought escaping from her mind blanket.

The situation was too chaotic for her powers to keep her calm for long.

Bolton and Utta were both looking at her. They were trying to stay completely still and calm so as not to anger the insects. But they were looking at her for help.

She was going to have to choose. Utta or Bolton. Who did she help?

She looked at Bolton. She knew his mission. She knew how important it was, and why it meant he’d kept her and Utta in prisonry, and why he was ceaselessly traveling around Xynnar, even though he was older than a crypt.

Then she looked at Utta, who didn’t have a mission. But he was her best friend. She loved him.

I’m sorry.

Anna used her powers to see inside an insect’s mind.

She saw grey blankets hovering. Death. Lots and lots of it.

Gathering all the mana inside her, she channeled it. She covered the colors of death and replaced them with peace. She did it on one insect after another. As many as she could manage until her mana left her. But the insects were strong. Way too strong. Someone was already controlling their minds, and it took a tremendous effort for Anna to use her powers.

She suddenly felt exhausted. As if someone had sucked the life from her. She fell onto her bum.

Over by Utta, the insects flew away. Left him alone. The dope looked around, blinking as if he couldn’t believe it. As if he hadn’t spent the last year traveling with her, knowing what she could do.

Bolton looked at the insects around him, with their spikes pointed at his face. Each one looked longer than a sword and just as sharp.

I’m sorry, Anna thought.

And Bolton wasn’t a dope. He knew what Anna had done. He stared at her now, his face an accusation.

As the monsters flew at Bolton, Utta raised his hand. He made a throwing motion. A gust of wind hit the insects, knocking them off course.

The air around Anna grew even hotter. For a second, she couldn’t breathe. She was choking. She tried to suck in some air but got nothing.

She was dying!

And now she was being the dope. She knew what Utta could do. He hadn’t been sent to the Chosen One School to clean the floors after all.

Utta had absorbed the air and channeled it into the wind, and now she was choking.

But she’d seen him, do this before, and knew it wouldn’t be forever.

Seconds later, she could breathe again.

Utta had bought Bolton a few seconds.

The overseer reached into his satchel. He took out a frosted glass orb and smashed it on the ground. A deafening sound rang out, like someone hitting a sword with another sword. Light flashed, and then it formed an arc over Bolton, Anna, and Utta.

The insects buzzed around now. They flew to and fro. They stabbed at the arc of light, but it was like a big, magic shield. Light flashed every time they stabbed. It knocked them back.

Bolton, getting to his feet, brushed the dust from his shirt.

“I hope you’re happy. I was given that orb as a gift after fifty years of service to the academy. It was supposed to be for my retirement. I could have bought a mansion in the salt lakes for the price it would have gotten me.”

“What do you mean you hope I’m happy?” said Anna, hobbling over to him. Her gammy leg was screaming at her, but she refused to show pain in front of him. “What has this got to do with me?”

“Forget it. You ought to be more grateful.”

“For what?”

“For saving your life, you thankless brat. Even after you chose not to save mine.”

“It was you or Utta! What did you expect me to do?”

Bolton had no answer to that.

She didn’t blame him for being upset. She limped over to Utta, who hugged her. “Thank you, Anna,” he said. “Seems like you’re always saving