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

“Now?” said Maginhart.

“Oh, has your apprenticeship ended? I wasn’t aware.”

Maginhart, well-drilled in master-apprentice discipline by now, sat down and cleared his throat and began. Watching Cynthia drill him, it was easy to see why he’d progressed so well in his studies. If she’d taught at the academy, I bet she’d have even made a good dungeon core out of Jahn.

Only Warrane stayed on his feet. I was amazed at his energy. He’d already had to flee from town guards and then later escape from a dungeon filling with toxic gas. And he’d done it all while wearing his combat leathers. He should have been exhausted. Then again, Warrane’s drive and energy were part of the reasons he’d overcome his low status and risen to the rank of guard captain. He was a real asset to have with us.

“Is it safe to stay here for long?” said Gulliver. He was sitting with his back to the wall, a quill in his hand, and a book in his lap.

“Perfectly. The escape tunnel was hidden behind a false wall, remember? My creatures have lived in my dungeon for months without knowing about it. It was my ingenious plan, to have a secret fall back. A way out of the lair that only I knew about, for just such occasions as this.”

“Err, I knew,” said Wylie. “So did Tarius. And Klok. And Jopvitz.”

Shadow held up her hand. “Me too.”

I sighed. “I can’t have a single secret for myself, can I?”

I was trying to stay upbeat, but the truth was that I had a really strong urge to kill something. A hero, obviously. Not an innocent person. But I really wanted to extinguish the life out of someone. It might make me feel better.

Oh, who was I trying to kid?

As lovely as murder was, it wouldn’t help right now. How could it?

I was a core, and I’d been driven out of my own dungeon. It made me so angry I felt sick. The only saving grace was that lacking a stomach or throat, I had nothing to vomit and no place for it to go.

I guessed I had two choices.

Keeping stewing on it. Become more irrational as anger took hold. Let Riston control my mind. Not directly, of course, since I was a core. But indirectly. The longer I stayed angry, the more control I gave him.

My second option seemed best. Rethink, regroup, and kick his stupid arse out of my dungeon.

“The way I see it,” I said. “We have three main problems. Firstly, Jahn and I are out of essence, which means we can’t do much. Secondly, while Riston’s spells are active, the townsfolk are against us. Thirdly, we can’t end his spell without getting close enough to kill or at least maim him. I vote for maiming since that hurts more. We can maim him first, and then kill him for dessert.”

“Rip his skin from his bones and give it to a monster that eats skin like Gulliver eats apples,” said Tomlin.

“That’s more like it, Tomlin! We should get you angry more often!”

“The fly in the soup is that we can’t get close to Riston, on account of the townsfolk,” said Gulliver. “If he’s using kids as shields…”

“Meat shields,” added Eric.

Gulliver nodded. “Very poetic. If he’s using the children as shields, we can’t take any risks. I don’t think it will do your reputation any good to add ‘child killer’ to your list of achievements, Benny.”

“What did we say about Benny?” I said.

“That I should only call it you in private.”

“Or never. Now, let’s hear some solutions,” I said. “Nothing is too stupid. Say the first thing that comes to mind.”

“Horses!” said Wylie.

We waited.

He didn’t say anything else.

“Was there more to that?” I asked.

“You said first thing that comes to mind, Dark Lord. I was thinking about horses.”

Gulliver looked at him curiously, quill raised. “What about a horse, specifically?”

“If I train hard, could I ever run faster than horse?” said Wylie.

“A very overweight, lame, three-legged horse perhaps. Right, that’s one brilliant observation out of the way. Anyone else?”

Gulliver, flicking back and forth through the pages of his book, scratched his goatee beard. “We know that people started disappearing around the time Riston came to town. It’s worth exploring the idea that he’s responsible.”

“I already considered that,” I said. “For that to be true, he’d need control over those insects things. They’re the ones taking people.”

“You still don’t know what they are?”

“No idea. A giant mosquito that makes a copy of itself when you hurt it? We never learned about them in the dungeon. And I’ll be honest with you; I want one. Jahn, do you remember learning about them in the academy?”

“I’m the wrong core to ask, Beno. Sorry.”

“Gulliver is right, though. The insects seemed to have been guarding the girl in the caverns. She managed to get free, which is when the other children heard her asking for help. By the time I got there, the insects showed up.”

“So where the bloody hell they taking her?” said Eric.

“That’s the question. If Riston is involved, then we need to know two things. Why is he making these insects kidnap people, and what’s he getting out of it?”

“Perhaps you should try asking him,” said Gulliver.

“As good an idea as that is, I have a better one. We go back into the caverns and find the insects’ nest. Find where they’re taking people. Where the girl escaped from. There might be answers there.”

“It’s better than anything else we’ve got,” said Gulliver.

Eric, who was using a whetstone on his axe, said, “I still say we fight. Before you say it, I know, I know. You don’t want to hurt the townsfolk. But you can’t make an omelet without cracking