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

She closed her eyes, no doubt to use her powers.

“Enough!” I boomed.

Anna’s eyelids shot open.

“Grow up, the lot of you. Eric, Anna, Bolton, Utta. We’re stuck with each other until we sort this out and leave this poor excuse for a dungeon. So for demons’ sake, shut up. All of you.”

None of them spoke. Even Bolton kept his mouth shut. He had a look in his eyes. A sort of glare, I thought at first, but the longer I looked, the more it seemed like something else. Admiration, maybe? No, it couldn’t be.

I carried on. “These are wraiths, and they’re incredibly dangerous. They’re undead, feel no pain, and attack with a single-minded determination. They have no desires other than to kill what they’re ordered to, and they’ll never stop. Cut their legs off, and they’ll crawl. Stab them in the belly, and they’ll come at you with a sword in their guts.”

“This one suddenly feels full of confidence,” groaned Warrane.

Cynthia patted his shoulder and handed him a water flask. “Shh. Don’t push yourself.”

 “Point taken, Warrane,” I said, “but they’re not attacking us. They aren’t even moving right now. That’s because, as Gulliver said, wraiths have a significant weakness: they are completely inactive during the daytime once they have fully turned into wraiths. It doesn’t matter if they’re underground where it’s always dark. As long as it’s daylight hours on the surface, they sleep. If you can call it sleeping.”

“Why would anyone build an army of wraiths in a place like the wasteland?” said Jahn. “It’s always sunny here! We get a few hours of nighttime at most. I was the worst core in the academy, and even I can figure out that.”

“That’s what I’m wondering, too. Fifty wraiths would be a devastating army in most places. It’s why a lot of towns and cities in Xynnar put wards in their graveyards, and have counter-mages on hand to block dark spells like this.”

“Maybe the core who owns this dungeon is stupid.”

“Cores are never stupid,” I said.

“I am,” said Jahn.

“No, you aren’t! Never say that. Everything people used to say about you in the academy is pure crap.”

“I agree,” added Bolton. “We chose you to become a core for a reason, Jahn. Perhaps we misjudged the type of core you would become. But our reasons for forging you have been proven right, given your work in Yondersun.”

I could feel the pride beaming off my core friend now. To get such praise from Bolton, one of the most esteemed overseers in the academy, always felt good. Jahn had never had such praise when he was a student, but it was better late than never. He deserved it.

“Let’s forget the whys for now,” I said. “We have fifty people here. Fifty wraiths who we need to turn back. If we can make just one of them human again, they can tell the townsfolk what happened. That Gary had nothing to do with the murders. That everyone in the dungeon only ever looked out for the town’s interests. Most importantly, that Riston is responsible for everything.”

“This one doesn’t see what the wraiths have to do with Gary,” said Warrane. “His victims…the murdered people…did not become wraiths.”

“It has everything to do with it. It has to,” I said.

They all stared at me.

I knew what they were thinking.

Is that just what you want to believe, Beno? That Gary is innocent?

Maybe it really was a matter of belief. When it came to it, I wanted to have faith in my friend over logic. I didn’t need an overseer to tell me how uncore-like that was.

“What about Riston?” said Eric. “You could turn all these folks back, get them talking, but Riston still has the rest of the town dullards under his control.”

“Well, we have Anna with us. She can reverse it.”

“Oh, how funny,” said Anna. “Suddenly I’m your best friend.”

“No, I hate you. But you’re useful to me.”

“Why should I help?”

Good question. Why should she?

I had been watching Anna, and I thought I knew her weak spot.

“Because Overseer Bolton wants you to. He knows I’m talking sense, and he wants you to help.”

Anna looked at Bolton as if asking him the question. Hells, for all I knew she really was asking it, telepathically.

“Remember what we said about the school, Anna,” said Bolton. “You wasted your chance, but you were still chosen. No matter how you left the school, you were a Chosen One for a reason.”

Anna looked at Utta now. She had her hands on her hips, and she arched her eyebrows. She expected him to back her up.

I always got the sense that Utta followed Anna everywhere. That he did everything she said. That he idolized her. Maybe even loved her. I doubted he’d be on my side.

“I agree with the overseer,” said Utta. “There has to be more to us, Anna. We were chosen. When we get the chance to help, we should help.”

“You never cared about being a Chosen One before.”

“I did. You just never asked me. It was always about going where you said. About trying to find a bunch of pirates to join. About coming up with ways to kill Beno. No offense, core.”

“People try to kill me all the time,” I said. “No skin off my non-existent nose. So, Anna, are you going to do the decent thing? If we somehow turn these wraiths human again, will you help remove Riston’s spell from the rest of the townsfolk?”

Everyone was quiet as they waited for Anna to answer.

“No,” she said.

And she casually sauntered out of the chamber, whistling to herself.

Bolton looked like a disappointed father. “Let me speak to her. You concentrate on changing the wraiths.”

That was easier said