The Guild Core: The Complete Saga Boxset: A LitRPG Dungeon Adventure

by TJ Reynolds

  Despite its best efforts, his front rank had been all but demolished in a single counterattack.

  Again, the leader cried out, and the Hintari soldiers used a second skill. They thrust again, but this time their spears glowed silver with Shu’s Wind ether.

  Every spear pierced Ban’s wonderfully crafted armor.

  His minions collapsed to the ground.

  The second rank of bears and crawlers charged in.

  Back and forth the fight waged. Dozens more of the Hintari fell in the struggle, but nearly as many of his minions died in the process.

  He could have absorbed and summoned new minions on the spot, but he was attempting to keep up the ruse a little longer.

  Pulling back with his awareness, Ban observed the scene from a distance.

  His nymph archers fell regularly to Hintari archers. The enemy forces moved ever closer, spreading out on the field, preparing for wave after wave of assaults.

  Hundreds of spear-wielding infantry waited to take their turn before Ban’s blasted gates, and his supply of minions were nearly depleted.

  The ballistae bolts and arrows had become nearly ineffective due to the Hintari’s use of Earth ether shields. More and more of the green shields covered the front of the army by the minute.

  It was time to move into the second phase of his elaborate plan.

  He started by withdrawing all remaining archers. Only twelve of the nymphs remained, but that was twelve he would not have to summon back at the keep.

  Likewise, he took the ballistae nymphs as well. He commanded all of them to head straight for the tall tower standing above the bridge to the Sunken Keep.

  He commanded his front line bears and crawlers to trigger all of their skills simultaneously.

  The ensuing confusion made for ideal conditions for his next action.

  Then, core practically sparking with enthusiasm, Ban gave a mental shout. Darby! For Kai and for core! Attack!

  His newly forged champion ran out from where it had been tucked behind the front wall. Its thick plates of armor rattled with each bounding step.

  Ten feet at the shoulder and over thirty feet long, Ban’s terrifying creation made him proud.

  Darby sprinted straight for the gap in the gates.

  Pulling the bears and crawlers away at the last minute, Ban urged his champion to charge.

  The creature speared straight through the flailing front liners, who were still trying to recover from the onslaught Ban’s minions had caused.

  The enormous mounted blades cleaved through the soldiers with ease as the champion bore deeper and deeper into the Hintari ranks.

  Ban ordered the bears and crawlers to take up defensive positions once more and seal the breach with their bulk. Then, when he knew they would fight more cautiously, he entered his champion’s body.

  Ban headed straight for the center of the next contingent of infantry. Each block consisted of fifty men. When found himself surrounded by soldiers on all sides, he activated his first skill.

  A bright pulse of Lumen crashed outwards. The attack left a Stunned effect on the soldiers.

  They wouldn’t be able to react for three full seconds.

  He thrashed about, swiping with his terrible claws and turning the men into mincemeat with the blade mounted on his head.

  Just before the Stun wore off, Ban threw his armored tail from side to side. He’d fashioned Darby a mace similar to Kai’s, and seeing the weapon work up close and personal convinced him the design was ideal.

  The bulky mace blasted apart armor-clad Hintari one after another. And the contingent of infantry he’d crashed into fell apart completely.

  Scampering back, the few survivors were completely horrified.

  This was no effect caused by a skill.

  They’d simply witnessed Darby’s true and unqualified strength. Serves the bastards right, Ban thought as he spotted a more promising target ahead.

  Fifty feet away and to the left, Ban saw a cluster of archers protected by heavily armored pikemen. Amid the group, Ban saw a single man who stood out.

  His shaggy beard and old face were odd enough.

  The robes and glowing eyes were what tipped Ban off, however.

  He charged again, but the next group of soldiers triggered a wave of Wind ether like they had at his bears and crawlers.

  The combined strength of the group skill caused Darby physical harm, lacerating much of his flesh beneath his suit of armor. Ban spat out blood, but ignored the pain.

  Before the soldiers could waylay him again, Ban used another skill to counter their attempts.

  Roaring in defiance, Ban triggered Darby’s Luminous Comet skill. A bonfire of Lumen ether engulfed Darby’s body, and suddenly, he shot forward like a fleshy arrow.

  Endure my wrath! Ban bellowed in his mind as he careened toward the enemy.

  Ban crashed straight into the archers and filled his mouth with his first taste of Hintari wizard.

  A great uproar filled his ears as leaders all around screamed orders. “Slay the champion! Slay the shivving champion!”

  A hundred spears clashed against Ban’s armor, and too many found purchase below, around, or in between the plates.

  Desperately, Ban triggered a third skill.

  His huge tail mace burned bright and, with unnatural strength, Ban demolished the masses huddled to his sides and rear. Though he couldn’t see the tail’s effect, he could feel his body soaking in Hintari blood, could taste their deaths in the air.

  His skills were all on cooldown, but Darby’s claws, fangs, and tail proved enough to keep the ranks of Hintari busy for several long minutes.

  Spears thrust into his champion’s flesh, and more of the Wind skills cut his body from the inside.

  Slowly, the champion was dying.

  Ban finally released another burst of his Stun skill. He was about to charge ahead with Luminous Comet again, but a powerful force smashed into him.

  It was a person, he realized at the last moment.

  Some entity pushed against his consciousness. Faintly, he heard it chuckling in his mind, and then Darby’s ruined body shattered within its armor.

  Ban pulled away, quite disturbed by the sudden death.

  He lifted up above the battlefield. Glancing all around, he couldn’t spot the powerful entity—a wizard, he had to assume—that had so easily snuffed out Darby’s life.

  Witnessing the aftermath from above, however, Ban decided the champion had done its job.

  Well over a hundred—perhaps two hundred—soldiers had been crushed, cleaved, and trampled.

  The battlefield was stained crimson in a wide swath of destruction.

  Darby had served him well.

  In quick order, the opposing army reorganized itself. Ban watched in fascinated horror as the commanders shouted their soldiers back into formation.

  Consolidating their strength, the bold men of Hintar advanced once more.

  Ban wished he could resummon his champion again, but it had been slain. It would be twelve hours till he could revive Darby.

  He only hoped he could hold out that long.

  The spearmen at the gate pressed the attack, and soon they were cutting down the last of Ban’s front-line defenders.

  Briefly, a few of the Hintari pushed beyond the threshold. They entered his area of influence, and Ban panicked.

  He called upon every minion in his reserve to force the men back again.

  Thankfully, their strength proved sufficient to buy him a few more moments.

  Then, as the Hintari commanders threw men at the weakening breach, Ban released the trigger to his epic trap.

  Though he could not directly affect anything outside of his influence, he could do so by other means. He absorbed several thick steel bars below the surface of the battlefield.

  With unerring efficiency, the fifty-foot plate collapsed downward.

  Ban stared in awe at the pitfall’s effectiveness.

  Well over a hundred men, many more co
rpses, and all of his front-line minions—alive and dead alike—plunged into the trap. They fell straight down for twenty feet until they hit the subterranean chute Ban had forged.

  This acted to draw the valuable resources into Ban’s influence so he could absorb it all.

  The Earth Core swallowed his well-earned meal, drawing in steel, flesh, and a fountain of ether. Since most of the Hintari died within his area of influence, he got more than a mouthful of raw Progression.

  When all was done, the last soldier perished by slamming into the bottom of the chamber a hundred feet below.

  Ban absorbed the bodies and prepared for the final stage of his outer defense.

  With more than enough resources, Ban summoned an army of drimgard soldiers.

  The Hintari recovered quickly, of course, and when they chose which side of the gaping hole to assault, Ban threw over two hundred drimgard soldiers at the wall to defend it.

  It would be a losing battle.

  Ban was no fool.

  But after all the lives he’d harvested, how could he feel anything but pleased?

  20

  More Precious Than Life

  Bancroft

  “All things considered, you did a fine job, Bancroft,” Jakodi said, pushing the last lump of mushroom around his plate. “There were a hundred ways the battle could have gone wrong. I am very impressed.”

  Thank you, Jakodi. I can’t help but feel you’re being generous, though. If I’d have mucked things up entirely, wouldn’t you be saying the same?

  The old man chuckled and wiped his beard with a napkin. “If you’d have truly mucked things up, we wouldn’t be enjoying this fine dinner. I never lie, and rarely do I avoid the whole truth. Believe me, you did all you could.”

  Ban wished he had a champion’s body to sigh from.

  He recounted the events of the day, from start to finish. Jakodi might be right, but it was hard to accept anything but absolute victory.

  The dalgard soldiers did fight well, Ban admitted. I thought they’d be overwhelmed in moments when the wizards started blasting the parapets with magic.

  By then, however, the army knew my area of influence, so I was able to keep summoning new soldiers. You should have seen the look on their faces!

  “Must have been irate,” Jakodi said with a chuckle.

  A bit like an anthill at the end there. If I hadn’t made the walls so tall it would have been a disaster!

  Ban thought about how it had all ended. What still irked him was that he’d been so focused on the battle that he’d neglected to keep watch on the entirety of his walls. He thought back on it, remembering the group of soldiers who scaled the far end of the wall, well away from where he’d been concentrating his efforts.

  They slipped up and over the walls and into his area of influence.

  The only reason he hadn’t completely ruined the day was due to the two squads of reserve soldiers.

  Two wizards timed their attacks and blasted a half-dozen dalgard soldiers to pieces. Ban tried to summon them anew, but couldn’t.

  Panicking, he looked around until he saw the half-dozen Hintari slinking along the backside of the wall.

  He sent his reserves at them immediately, but the damage had been done. After a brief and bloody fight, his dalgard slew the wretches.

  Ban glanced back to find his dalgard soldiers being overwhelmed. For a few minutes, he summoned new minions to quell the assault.

  They’d gained too much momentum, however, so Ban had every dalgard trigger their skills at once, buying a few seconds of time.

  Then he absorbed the minions at once and summoned them anew back inside the keep.

  The Hintari had little trouble climbing the abandoned wall and marching their forces in afterwards.

  It irked Ban that they were so cozy at present. How dare they? After forcing their way into my influence, they stop and rest for the night? Just seems like lazy soldiering if you ask me.

  Jakodi leaned back in his chair and smiled up at the ceiling. “Smart soldiering often looks lazy. They will come at you fresh in the morning now that your ability to summon new minions has been removed.”

  A sad look crossed the old man’s face suddenly.

  Curious, Ban prodded his guest. You seem to know a lot about Earth Core sieges. Weren’t they infrequent in the past?

  “Before the War of Dragons, yes,” Jakodi said. “Then all of Brintosh marched into dungeons all over Anvar. And without the aid of their dragons, the Earth Cores were crushed.

  “But I played no part in that war. I refused to. It cost me a great deal, but I hold no regrets for the path I’ve walked.”

  In that war? Ban asked. What about previously? You’ve lived a long life, Jakodi. Have you ever battled with an Earth Core?

  The old man sighed and shook his head. “I have done many things I am not happy to admit or say aloud. And I’ll keep most of those to myself. I will tell you one story, however, if it will ease your curiosity.”

  Not having a blasted thing to do other than wait, Ban bit at the opportunity. Please! Tell me anything! I would summon you a glass of wine, but as you know, I am unable to do even that at the moment.

  Jakodi nodded, a faint smile touching his lips. “Very well. I will tell you about the battle for Torbin’s Creek. Long ago, when I served the Brintoshi army as young monk, we were called to march on a wayward Earth Core.”

  Wayward? Ban interjected. What do you mean? Like, the Earth Core went mad?

  “Precisely so. It is a sad fate for any creature, but an especially dangerous one when dealing with an Earth Core.”

  Unable to help himself, Ban interrupted Jakodi once more. What happened? Did it grow very old, or were arcane magics involved? Like, perhaps an evil wizard cast a spell on it to confuse the ether in its core?

  The old man chuckled. “I forget how young you still are, Bancroft. If you will still your mind, I’ll tell you the story in full. Do you wish to hear it?”

  Ban apologized sincerely and summoned all of his patience.

  “Torbin’s Creek is right near the Kaltan border in northern Brintosh. The Earth Core there was Earth ether aligned, and his dragon was well known to be generous of heart and mind.

  “The dragon flew into the Zargan Mountains one day and never returned. Most likely it battled a creature too powerful, but no explanation was given to the poor Earth Core.

  “When its master never returned, the dungeon in Torbin’s Creek sealed itself off from the surrounding villages.”

  Jakodi took a sip of water, swishing the liquid in his mouth for a time while he thought.

  When he continued, his voice had grown sad. “Years later, the dungeon opened up again and minions poured out. It had ascended its core through long labor, and two towns lay within its area of influence. Everyone that lived in those towns was slain in a single day of endless slaughter.”

  Ban reeled at the idea of sending his minions to hunt down commoners. Killing humans who hadn’t even ascended their cores would be a vile act indeed.

  “I fought in the final brigade of Brintoshi monks. We were considered the country’s elite forces, and so we marched on the dungeon, intent on crushing it completely. Never before had I fought so brutally. The minions were as mad as their master, and since the dungeon had ascended to Viridian, it was a devastating force to overwhelm.

  “Of the five hundred monks who attacked that day, less than two hundred survived.”

  Ban couldn’t hold back any longer. You killed a Viridian dungeon with only five hundred soldiers?

  “Monks,” Jakodi corrected him. “Each of us was Emerald 3 or higher. My own core had ascended to Viridian 2 at that point, and we were all very well trained.

  “But the Earth Core employed… terrifying tactics… strategies that your kindly heart could not yet imagine, Bancroft.”

  I am capable of any measure of ruthlessness to protect myself and Kai, Ban argued, feeling slighted somehow.

  Jakodi shook his head. “No, you are
not, and be glad for it. This fallen dungeon threw atrocities at us, attacking our minds, spirits, and bodies. But we prevailed nonetheless. I cannot tell you how much it cost to obtain victory that day, but we did it for our countrymen.”

  I’m sorry if this is overstepping, Ban said when the old man paused, but you mention atrocities… what do you mean? Was the dungeon adept at fashioning potent minions?

  “It wasn’t a matter of cleverness, Bancroft. All Earth Cores are clever. But something happens when one truly loses their mind. The rules that bind an Earth Core… you recall them?”

  Ban’s response was immediate. Of course! Without them, I’d have overrun those shivving Hintari already!

  Jakodi nodded, but his eyes were empty. “Exactly. Though I wish you had the strength to do so, I would not wish such a fate on you, Bancroft. The dungeon at Torbin’s Creek threw everything at us. Clever minions were among its forces, to be sure, but so too were the villagers it had slain.

  “Having severed all ties with the magic that bound it, the Earth Core summoned humans as minions. It formed amalgamations that mixed humans with other species, forging shambling nightmares.

  “And while we fought, it absorbed and summoned our own brethren to fight against us as well.”

  The old man closed his eyes and didn’t speak for several minutes.

  Ban gave him silence, for it was obvious the memories it brought up were painful.

  At last, Jakodi released an epic sigh only old men are capable of. “Not only did I lose friends that day, as well as my first love, but Brintosh lost the order of monks that had guided it for so long.

  “Afterwards, the king insisted on arming its soldiers with steel and armor. Since this went against the paths the monks walked, we became relics.

  “Most monks either fought in mercenary bands or became instructors to the Brintoshi soldiers. Slowly but surely, those techniques were forgotten entirely. I couldn’t do it. That was when I decided to see what the rest of Anvar had to offer me.”

  You traveled? Did you see Kaltan? I hear the food is amazing. Ban rattled off the questions in hopes of lightening the old man’s mood.

  He almost felt successful when Jakodi chuckled halfheartedly. “I saw every major city in all three kingdoms. I even traveled across the sea to Pintea. But those are stories for another time. I told you this to remind you of two important facts. Do you know what they are?”