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

a few skulls, my grandmother used to say. Lovely woman, but not much of a cook. Let’s fight our way through to Riston and beat the answers out of him.”

“A great plan,” said Gull, “If the dungeon wasn’t full of gas, Beno out of essence, and if every single person in town wasn’t under Riston’s control.”

“Let’s hear your solution, then. What will you do, Gulliver, write it to death? Compose a brutal poem?”

“You’re not as much a man of the world as you like to think, are you, Eric? You’d be surprised what a master scribe can do.”

“I’m more scared of master baiters than master scribes.”

“Enough!” I boomed. “Stop pecking at each other, you two. We’ll wait until nighttime, and then a few of us will go to the crater and get into the caverns below. If we’re quiet, we can find our way through to the insect’s nest and see what the hell Riston is playing at.”

“Or if he’s even involved,” said Eric. “Seems to me you’re making assumptions. Much easier to beat the truth outta someone than just assume. But oh well, what do I know? I’m only a barbarian with years of travel and fighting experience, and hair that would make a mermaid’s gills fill with envy.”

We waited until nighttime. Shadow and I left the tunnels and emerged into the wasteland, where we found it covered in darkness. The moon was a pearl in the sky, bright enough to cast a white glare. I felt betrayed; the sun was an annoying, shiny prat, but the moon had always been much more discreet. To see it lit up like this? I felt like a friend had just stolen my last biscuit and eaten it in front of me.

“Why you, moon? Why you? I trusted you!”

“What?” asked Shadow.

“Never mind. Let’s get moving.”

It had been harder than I expected, convincing Shadow to come with me. She seemed to be worried about it. Not her usual self.

“Who’ll look after my hounds?” she’d said.

“I think they can look after themselves.”

“Someone needs to keep an eye on them.”

“Tomlin?” I said.

Tomlin eyed the dogs. They loved Tomlin. They loved to run at him and jump up excitedly, almost always knocking him over.

“I…err…have things to do, Dark Lord.”

“Do? What things? We aren’t in the dungeon. You’re on a forced vacation.”

“Things, Dark Lord.”

“You’re an absolute chump, Tomlin. And I say that as a friend.”

Gulliver raised a hand. “I’ll watch them. I had a pup when I was a young boy. I called him Lester. My best friend for years, especially when my older brothers left home. The first story I ever wrote was about Lester, actually. Dad said it was a load of sentimental tripe.”

“I thought the first story you ever wrote was about your first girlfriend?” I said.

Tomlin put his hand up. “Gulliver told Tomlin his first story was about sharing, and that was why Tomlin should give him his last piece of gingerbread.”

“Seems to me like Gull’s first story changes depending on what he needs at the time. But thanks, Gull. It would be great if you can watch the hounds. Shadow, let’s get moving.”

And so, lacking a reason not to, she came with me. I could have just ordered her to, of course. As her master, I could give a command she could not refuse. But I was trying to do things differently.

It felt counter-intuitive to leave everyone else behind. Especially when we were going into a nest filled with giant insects. My reasoning was that if it came to a fight, we couldn’t hurt the insects anyway. All we’d do was just swell their numbers if we hurt them.

Whereas Shadow was the stealthiest of us all. If anyone had a chance of sneaking through a nest, it was her. And I was a core, and thus had a natural navigational instinct in underground tunnels and tombs. Once I had spent enough time trying to find the nest, they would kick in. I was the best-placed of all of us to discover it.

Under the cover of what little darkness the treacherous moon allowed us, we crossed the wasteland. Yondersun was way in the distance, only visible because of the mana lamps glowing at the top of their posts. I couldn’t see any movement, but we were too far away. I had to assume Riston was looking for us, but he was probably doing it below ground.

He’d be in my dungeon right now. Smashing everything up. Strutting around like some jumped-up bloody…ostrich. Thinking he’d beaten me.

Focus. He’ll get what’s coming to him.

“I feel bad for him,” said Shadow, staring at Yondersun.

“Don’t. I know every bad person has a sob story they’ll share if you give them the time, but Riston doesn’t deserve your empathy.”

“Not him. Gary. We might be away from the dungeon. Outnumbered. But at least we’re free, and we’re together. Gary’s trapped in the cell all alone. Wondering if he killed those people or not…”

“Let’s say Riston used his powers to control Gary,” I said. “Would he remember it?”

“Ah. You’re asking me because I’m the only person you know who committed murder under a psychic influence.”

“I know how troubled you are by it.”

“Troubled? Nothing troubles me.”

“Nightmares tend to be quite loud in a dungeon, Shadow.”

She said nothing for a moment.

I knew enough to stay quiet.

Finally, she spoke. “Gary will have spent all his confinement wondering what he has done. Trying to wrench memories from his mind, and getting frustrated when he can’t. Your mind is supposed to be the one thing that always belongs to you.”

I sensed she had more to say, so I still said nothing. It was a trick that had taken me a while to learn, given how much I like to hear my own voice. But