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

by TJ Reynolds

  From a defensive standpoint, the antlers fanned out to either side, forming broad plates that could protect against an enemy’s attack.

  Ha! Ban exclaimed, imagining the Striated Stag from a new perspective. It’s as if the beast is carrying two short spears atop its head along with a phalanx of tiny shields! Brilliant!

  Ban imagined shaking his head in disbelief.

  When Kai made the gesture, it always had a satisfying quality to it.

  There are some things one truly does need a body for, Ban admitted before pulling up the image of the next design he’d acquired.

  The Tunneling Boar had a simple, straightforward body, but its tusks made it truly stand out. The two tusks jutted out of the boar’s face, then widened out into blades. The tips of the tusks pointed to the side, and the edge would be perfect for scooping dirt.

  Again, as with so many minion designs, Ban knew he would do well to modify each of the creatures. Their innate defenses could so easily be amplified if combined with the perfect minion.

  Ban wanted to shriek with joy when he found the bear.

  The minion’s official name was the Four-Toed Bear, an odd moniker, but considering it weighed at least five hundred pounds, Ban couldn’t care less. That beast alone might be enough to push my amalgamations to a whole new level! Ban thought. I’m almost looking forward to the day we are invaded.

  Almost.

  After skimming through the odd collection of rodents, delighting in a particularly nasty-looking raccoon with the fangs of a leopard, Ban focused on the most important new design.

  Throughout the entire graveyard, Ban only found a single creature design that was humanoid.

  The slime nymph lacked the intimidating name some of the others had. It was a limp-spined, flat-footed monster that reminded Ban of an aquatic lizard. Still, it had long, dextrous fingers that gave Ban more than a few ideas.

  How would that Brintoshi commander feel if I made bows and arrows, and trained my minions to fire in volleys? Imagine the devastation I could cause as they tried to cross the bridge!

  Ban pictured a score of the heavily armored soldiers spilling from the bridge, tumbling head over heel and landing with a wet smack on the tiles below.

  The Progression would flow freely.

  Another feature of the slime nymph Ban nearly overlooked was the odd capabilities of its fingers and toes. At the end of each rested a suction cup. Considering the minion’s slim build and short stature, it might be possible the nymph could climb walls or hang upside down.

  The possibilities were endless.

  In Ban’s enthusiasm, he nearly disturbed Kai again. Taking a closer look at his young dragon, Ban saw that his interference might not have been amiss. Kai’s dedication to the stack of books had flagged.

  The poor soul was fighting sleep with the courage of an Azure Dragon.

  But he was losing the battle.

  No, I’ll leave him to drool in an ancient text awhile. Besides, if I can master a few amalgamation designs, how happy will he be?

  With a thought, Ban pulled up his Amalgamation Interface. He stared at the long list of possibilities to start with. Then, going on instinct, he tried a more or less natural combination of creatures.

  He selected tunneling boar and obsidian beetle.

  The names of both creatures appeared at the top left and right of the amalgamation screen. Just below, each minion was displayed in miniature.

  At the bottom of his vision, filling the large portion of his vantage, the hideous combination of the two emerged. Ban chuckled, finding the monstrous creature amusing. Then he fell to adjusting the ratios of each component.

  Starting with “Teeth”, Ban pushed the lever almost all the way toward the boar. The wonderful tusks had to be worth something. The beetle did have a sharp appendage that jutted out from its snout, but it lacked the size and strength of the boar’s.

  Still, keeping ten percent of the beetle transformed the tusks, made them sharper along the edge and sharper at their points.

  With just a tiny modification, the tusks had become blades.

  Pleased with himself, Ban moved on to the “Hide.”

  The tunneling boar came equipped with thick and durable skin. Any soldier would be pleased with a pair of boots fashioned from the material. But the beetle was armored.

  Which would you prefer in a battle? Ban asked the unformed amalgamation. Really tough skin or a suit of armor?

  Of course, the unfinished creation remained silent, slowly spinning before him. I thought as much. I’d go for the plate armor as well.

  Again, however, rather than assigning one hundred percent of the trait to the beetle, Ban experimented for a time. He found a good ratio of eighty-four percent beetle.

  The resulting exoskeleton looked just as thick and strong. Some of its luster had been diminished, a tragic loss for sure, but it was now more flexible than before.

  It could take a hit and not crack open right away.

  Though Ban kept the boar’s body much the same, broad and thickly muscled, he did change the legs somewhat.

  Pushing the creature’s legs all the way to seventy percent beetle, Ban found the amalgamation even shorter than it had been. Normally, such a loss in overall height could be considered a disadvantage. But the mostly insectile legs sprawled out to either side of the boar’s body.

  The feet were left at one hundred percent beetle. The gripping spines underneath each of the six feet were ideal for gripping any surface. Since this particular creation was meant to bash its enemies, Ban felt he’d made the right choice.

  Down the list he went until Ban had finished with the first of his creations.

  He summoned the beast and observed it as it walked about.

  The mixture of the two designs left Ban with a particularly unique creature. Six scrambling legs, each powerful and quick, the pig bug stood just under three feet. It had an almost symmetrical stance otherwise, four feet long and nearly as wide.

  Despite its modest stature, the beetle boar hybrid weighed more than Kai did. No doubt, this had something to do with the inch-thick plates that covered its torso completely.

  This will be ideal for scrambling in and attacking invaders who are busy fending off aerial opponents.

  Feeling pleased with his progress, Ban would normally have moved on to his next project. He was a Golden 1 ascended Earth Core. He had grown since the last time he’d drummed up a batch of minions.

  Kai was a blessed dragon. Each dragon who achieved Golden ascension was rewarded with an Elemental Affinity.

  Kai’s was Lumen.

  That meant Ban’s too was Lumen.

  When he’d formed the stone houndzard champion, Ban hadn’t bothered to assign an element. The default had been Lumen. Recalling the pure and devastating destruction his Beam Roar offered, Ban nearly left the Elemental Affinity alone.

  But what is the fun in that? he asked.

  Ban weighed his options, and unsure of the effects each element might have, experimented a while.

  Fire and Wind were promising, the first offering a skill called Fire Bash. When Ban saw that the second offered Wind Bash, he had an easier time predicting the effects.

  Fire would cause more damage; Wind, however, gave the base “Bash” skill a more practical advantage.

  Reading the description of the Wind Bash skill, Ban practically cackled like an evil overlord.

  Wind Bash - a spell of Shu’s Wind, the Wind Bash aids the minion’s attack by augmenting its movements with the power of wind ether. The Bash attack is granted additional speed, and therefore, greater impact as well. If dust, debris, or any such particulates are in the area of effect, a cloud may be formed as well. Visual impairment may result. May only be cast once every ten minutes.

  Ban could have tested more of the elements, but Wind essentially improved the single purpose he’d designed the amalgamation for. If they could bash things harder and faster, he was satisfied.

  Another bonus was that the amalga
mation only cost 8 MCP.

  Ban had 240 Minion Control Points in total. His dalgard champion didn’t cost him a thing, so if he wanted to, Ban could muster 30 of the beetle boar.

  Beetle boar? Gods below, what a terrible name, Ban admitted to himself. I must have a theme this time. What would be a suitable theme? Then it dawned on him.

  Ban was building his own army.

  Why not name some of the minions after various units on a battlefield?

  He considered the chunky beast before him and laughed when the name popped into his mind.

  You, my strange friend, shall be known as a Shield Boar.

  Inspired by his first success, Ban pulled up two more minions. This time he aimed high. Literally.

  The Emerald Dragon Fly and the Ether Bat made for a twisted and pathetic minion. Their proportions were all wrong.

  Ban adjusted the wings, testing out the bat’s first. He tried the opposite when the creature looked destined to plummet from the sky. The dragon fly wings dwarfed the bat’s, and they even grew more stout when he pushed the lever back toward bat a little.

  Next, Ban adjusted the creature’s body size. The Ether Bats were much bigger, and since he wanted an agile flyer, he shrunk the body down by placing it at 80 percent dragon fly.

  When he came to the Teeth characteristic, Ban came upon a wonderful surprise. The Ether Bat boasted standard sharp and scary teeth. They could swoop down and take a nip out of a man’s neck, but not cause much more harm than a few drops of blood.

  The Emerald Dragon Fly, however, had a thin proboscis. Remembering an old book his master had once shown him, Ban knew many insects were designed with such tube-like appendages. Bees, for instance, used a proboscis to sip nectar from flowers.

  The Emerald Dragon Fly had quite a different purpose it seemed. The proboscis wasn’t flexible at all. It was two feet long and looked capable of puncturing stone itself.

  I wonder if that’s how the beast got its name. I wouldn’t be surprised if it could crack through gem stones.

  He kept the Teeth at ninety-five percent dragon fly, moving the toggle over five percent only because he noticed that while the proboscis shrunk a few inches, its tip also sharpened somewhat, and the base thickened slightly.

  Ban adjusted one feature after another, and soon had a working prototype.

  Again, he considered the Elemental Affinity.

  Wind improved the creature’s speed, Water added frost damage, and Earth increased the mass of its single, devastating skill.

  Ban spent some time brainstorming. I am essentially creating javelins or spears to be thrown at enemy combatants. Each minion will last but a single ‘throw’ before they die. What will make their one attack more deadly?

  At last, Ban came to Abyss.

  Angut’s element was strange and unpredictable, yet when Ban read the description of the minion’s modified skill, he fell in love.

  Shade Strike - a spell of Angut’s Abyss, Shade Strike envelopes the minion’s body in a dense cloud of abyss ether. Though no additional damage is provided, the minion becomes difficult to track. Both visual and auditory aspects of the minion are cloaked for a period of thirty seconds.

  Feeling jubilant, Ban sent the newly named Storm Dart zipping up to join the gargats at the top of the tower.

  Last of all, Ban wanted a creature who could not only stand toe to toe with a fully armored man, but who could bully one about with ease.

  Humanoids excelled at combat, so he selected the late daldrim design. Then he paired it with the Four-Toed Bear.

  The immediate combination was terrifying.

  But as he’d done with all the others, Ban started adjusting one characteristic at a time.

  Most characteristics were shifted toward the daldrim side of the scale. The arms were more capable of holding a weapon if they had the daldrim’s nimble fingers. The legs, likewise, benefitted from a more sleek build.

  Yet just eleven percent bear made the creature’s limbs bulge with muscles.

  The Body could accept a larger percentage. Ban settled on seventy percent daldrim for the body. The result was a barrel-chested monster whose mere bulk would benefit the battlefield.

  Finally, when it came to the Teeth, Claws, and Hide, Ban favored the bear at last.

  His amalgamation had flexible hands that could wield a sword or spear, but with fingers tipped in long claws. Should the minion be disarmed, it would have no trouble fighting with its claws alone.

  Its snout and maw were elongated like a bear’s as well. Long teeth filled the beast’s mouth, lending it yet another weapon it might rely on.

  Finally, the daldrim’s tough skin had been augmented by a rich fur coat. No need to give the lad a cloak if he already has one, Ban reasoned. And besides, the thick hide only offers more protection.

  This time, though Ban was tempted to choose the always powerful Fire of Yugos, he went with Holy instead. Anlil was a strange god, one whose followers ended up either extremely benign or extremely hostile.

  An element can’t be judged by the actions of fools, however, Ban decided. Besides, Kai plans to head deep into the tunnels below. Why not send him with a light of his own?

  All he had left to do was name the creature.

  Now this is something I might bother the man of the house for. Besides, it’s been entirely too long since I’ve made Kai scream.

  Ban held back a chuckle as he finalized the impressive amalgamation.

  The door at the base of the tower was closed, so Ban had only one option.

  Even while his dragon friend began to snore, face pressed into the dusty pages of a long-forgotten book, Ban summoned his killer creation in the middle of his core room.

  The minion was as well-mannered as all the rest, merely waiting placidly for a command from Ban.

  Exactly which command to give came easily to Ban’s mind.

  Yet even knowing what to expect, Ban had to admit the roar that burst from the six-foot-tall, two hundred-and-eighty-pound beast was enough to shake the dust from the walls.

  Ban was too busy laughing to interfere as Kai dropped his book, rolled toward his glaive, and slashed out the creature’s throat.

  “Where did that nightmare come from?” Kai demanded, chest heaving.

  I’m afraid it was me who let the beast in, Kai. I needed a name for the creature, and it seems you’ve helped me find just the right one.

  25

  With Eyes to See

  Kai

  If Kai thought he felt amazing after a single night’s rest, he was doubly surprised when he woke from his second night in the Sunken Keep.

  As he stretched his body, Kai realized some of his improvement must have come from the additional Attribute points he’d acquired. Constitution is nothing to balk at, he thought. I’ll need to keep adding points to it if I can.

  Splendid plan! I couldn’t agree more, Ban butted in. Constitution remains the single most important Attribute for keeping young dragons alive! Imagine having immense Intelligence, Wisdom, and Strength, yet dying of a common cold due to low Constitution!

  I won’t neglect it. I promise. Now, how about some food?

  The two friends chatted while Kai prepared a meal. He ate till his belly was tight, but soon stood up from the table and announced his plans for the day. Just want you to know I’ll be heading into the tunnels. Any chance you want to come along with your champion? That dalgard is as broad as any Brintoshi soldier.

  Perhaps, but I am quite busy myself. I have an alternative suggestion. First though, Ban said, any update on the information gained from the dragon scrolls?

  Kai groaned and rubbed his head. I’d rather not right now. I have a long list of ingredients for milk substitute and for softened food when the dragonlings grow strong enough to take it. I know that dragonlings need sunlight, but that only in deepest shade are they most comfortable. I even know the frequency and appearance of healthy dragon stools.

  It’s too much right now, Ban. All of it is simply too much
.

  Ban hummed in agreement. And I assume some glaive spinning fun is what you’re after to clear your mind?

  Exactly, Kai admitted. To be honest, though, I am also in great need of a cauldron. Can you make one for me? That skill book really opened my eyes to cooking in general. I’ll make us both a pot of delightful stew if you can figure out the design.

  Ban hummed thoughtfully, then replied. I can start on it this afternoon. When did you want to depart?

  As soon as possible really. I need to pack supplies, and… Kai’s thoughts trailed off as he moved through his mental list.

  His Earth Core friend interrupted. I’m sure there’s plenty to do to get ready. Still, I wanted to share my progress. Not only have I discovered sapphires and a graveyard of bones to add to my minion designs, but look, I’ve already made a breakthrough with Imogen’s Soul Sphere.

  Kai scrambled over to the chandelier where the sphere rested.

  Within, exuding gentle but insistent light, the Soul Sphere rested. A single miniscule thread slowly detached, evaporating as soon as it became a few inches long, almost like yarn unwinding from a ball.

  Kai grinned, wanting to touch the object, but afraid it might do some harm.

  Ban must have sensed this urge, for he encouraged Kai to do so.

  The Soul Sphere was cold to the touch, almost like frosted metal. Something about the integration process was cooling the sphere drastically.

  “I’m amazed, Ban. Any breakthroughs yet?”

  No, not exactly. It took me a while to even begin integrating the sphere. However, currently I am at 43% progress until I reach the first threshold. I don’t know how many exist in all, but I’m not impatient, Ban said. I’m honestly just excited to be a part of this.

  You did well, Ban, Kai admitted. Can you handle all of this alone while I’m gone?

  Ban answered almost aggressively. Of course I will! This is my keep, after all. I won’t let anything untoward happen to it or the dragon eggs.