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

“We’ve got four heroes currently stumped on two pretty basic riddles. They’re just through that tunnel, in a room before the loot chamber.”

“Spells?”

“A full mage, and someone who looks like a rookie mage. Nothing to worry about.”

“Fire?”

“Yes, they were casting fire.”

“Damn you, Core,” said one owl. “Be more specific with your reports.”

“Now wait a second. This is my dungeon, I am your Dark Lord, and you will not-”

“Orders?”

I sighed. “Go into the next room. Wait until they solve the riddles and open the doors, then attack. I want them to be completely off guard and out of sorts when they run into the core room.”

“Do you give us permission to peck to kill?”

“Of course.”

One owl nodded at the other. “Orders given. Execute.”

And then the two of them flapped away, and I have to admit, it was a minute or two before I could process what the hell I had just heard.

It was only when the sounds of screaming came from the room nearby that I pulled myself together. Feeling vulnerable again, I hopped back to my core room to watch the fun.

CHAPTER 32

The barbarian paced backward and forwards, muttering to himself. The mage kept stroking the goatee beard on his chin, repeating the riddle out loud. The two doors, meanwhile, were falling asleep.

“These guys are idiots,” Lisle told Bill.

“That’d make me an idiot, too. I can’t think of the answer.”

“You’re not an idiot, you just don’t have a head for this stuff. But these guys…they really are idiots.”

“If you know the answer, just say it. Sooner we get the loot and leave, the better.”

Lisle patted his older brother on the shoulder. He’d gone through a few different cycles of emotion with Bill. At first, he’d been annoyed that Bill dragged him out to meet a bunch of heroes. Then he’d slowly begun to feel energetic again when the mage taught him new skills.

Then, when they came into this dungeon and the rogue died, Lisle had been pretty annoyed at Bill for dragging them into it. That was about as nice a way as he could put it.

But he understood now. They might die down here, yeah. He and Bill were dying on the surface, though. No motivation, no life. They couldn’t even help their mother.

Bill had saved them, and he’d done it by putting them in their greatest danger since the bandit camp years ago. Now, it was time to move on.

Lisle approached the doors and stared at the bloated lion face. “You carry it everywhere you go, and it does not get heavy. What is it?” he said. “The answer is your name.”

The lion blinked sleepily. “Very well.” He then shut his eyes.

This left the monkey. “Your riddle is-”

There was suddenly a great flapping sound, and then a screech. No…not one screech, but two. The sounds were ear-splitting.

They all turned to see two massive owls swooping into the room, their talons ridiculously sharp, their faces strangely sinister.

The barbarian drew his sword. The mage grew a fireball in his palms. Bill held his sword now, and he watched the owls fly back and forth.

Lisle checked his mana; damn it. Empty. That was the drawback of being an amateur mage.

With a screech, one owl darted at the barbarian. Both the barbarian and mage attacked it, which left them completely open to the strikes of the other owl, which dug the talons on both its feet into the mage’s face.

Lisle watched in horror as he saw a talon pierce the mage’s eye. The mage screamed, but though the sound was somewhat muted by the claws covering his mouth. He ran in circles, desperately hitting the talons dug deep in his cheeks and forehead, but the owl wouldn’t release him.

The barbarian, holding his sword, looked for a way of helping his mage friend without accidentally stabbing him in the neck.

And then the second owl screeched at him, talons bared and ready to rip his face off.

With one swift swipe, the barbarian chopped a talon clean off, sending the bird off balance and into the dungeon wall.

He pointed at Lisle. “Mage boy. Use your little fireballs and get that thing off my friend’s face! Don’t worry, Jeremiah! We’ll get you free.”

Jeremiah? Thought Lisle. I thought you guys don’t use names.

This was worrying. The barbarian was losing it.

Lisle checked his mana and saw he had enough for one fireball. He aimed at the owl on the mage’s face and cast it.

And missed.

The mage, blinded by the bird, ran into a wall and fell. The owl tore at him, and the mage screamed for his mother and his father and his old childhood dog.

In desperation, he grew a fireball in his palms and then cast at toward himself, straight at the owl that clung to his cheeks. Its feathers ignited with a whoosh of orange and red, and a burning smell filled the cavern.

Lisle had never before wondered what happens when a mage aims a fire spell at his own face.

It seemed that it was time to find out.

The mage shot to his feet, his hair and face and robes aflame, and he sprinted down the tunnel while screaming for his parents. Just before he reached the riddle doors, Lisle shouted the answer to the monkey door’s riddle, and both doors opened. The mage ran through them.

The burning owl died, and the barbarian finished the other by punching it to the ground and then running it through with his sword.

He wiped the sweat off his forehead and then, without a word, stalked off toward the tunnels and riddle doors.

“Are you okay?” said Bill, putting his arm around Lisle.

It was as if being asked the question made