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

by TJ Reynolds

  Kai closed his eyes and determined to succeed where he’d failed before.

  In his defense, there had only been a few days at the Sunken Keep when he could experiment. Kai had tried to unlock the stone twice, and both times, he’d utterly failed.

  He held the stone in his hand as he slowed his breathing.

  Kai called up Crystal Mind, the only mental technique he’d truly mastered. When his thoughts became orderly and transparent, he pondered the stone at length.

  Obviously, he couldn’t master this obstacle with Crystal Mind alone. He also doubted Gold Mind or any other mental technique would do the trick.

  No, he realized, this is not a chest to pry open. I need to use my intuition.

  He let his mind wander, and the minutes flowed into hours. Kai ignored the pain in his body as he searched his very soul for the answer.

  Then, long after he’d lowered himself into contemplation, Kai’s wandering mind noticed a distant and seemingly unimportant detail.

  A fountain trickled in the courtyard outside.

  The splash of the falling water soothed his frustration and reminded him of his first ascension. Then Kai noticed a faint howling of wind tugging at the window to his room.

  He thought briefly of the heavy stone beneath his feet as well as the fleeting shapes that fire took on when burning in a hearth.

  Each represented an element, and each, Kai knew, was sacred.

  But for the first time, Kai’s understanding shifted. They are not distinct at all. The elements are but facets of a whole. Each element is a strand that makes up a single rope.

  He clutched that idea with passion, and the stone in his hand suddenly burned.

  The pain passed just as quickly, and Kai opened his eyes to find himself in another place. He was in a dark cave. Surrounding him, gleaming on eight altars, were the elements of this world.

  A sphere of blue Water ether rippled on the nearest altar. That had been the element Kai first connected with. It was Briga's, and he was loath to let that connection go.

  Nearby, a sphere of Fire crackled, its red-orange light glowing warmly in the dark cave. Fire was of Yugos, the Brintoshi god of war. But fire also represented warmth, life, and a way to survive the cold.

  Andag's Earth and Shu's Wind sat to either side. The green and silver-white spheres seemed more familiar to Kai now. He'd used spells that called upon those elements, and he'd learned to understand their place in this world as well.

  White Holy ether and black Abyss sat on opposite sides of the cave. It had been easy to see Veldane's dark eyes and interpret Abyss ether as something that was evil. The Gil'Rahim demonstrated this point even more clearly.

  But that was a false notion.

  Any of these elements could be twisted to serve a foul purpose.

  Finally, Kai looked at the purple of Soul and the silver and liquid metal of Fate. He'd felt Niama's touch each time he cast Confounded Core, and though Rhona alone could command Sheerda's element of Fate, Kai knew the red-haired monk better than all.

  Glancing around, Kai came to the conclusion that all of these were essential.

  He walked to the center of the cave and found harmony within himself at last.

  Kai took a deep breath and felt something shift in his core, coming to rest exactly where it should be.

  I am proud of you, Kai, a voice intoned. Long have I waited for a Fundamental Dragon to learn this lesson.

  He turned around and saw Briga standing before him, her watery hair and eyes as beautiful as ever. I'm sorry it took so long, he said. I doubt I'd have managed it without Jakodi.

  The goddess smiled. Somehow I doubt that. Given enough time, you would have mastered this all on your own. But time is not something you have enough of.

  Wait, but the stone. Jakodi gave me the stone. I couldn't have reached here without it, right?

  Briga laughed. The stone was merely a symbol of Jakodi's understanding. He had to search many years for the answers, however, with no such metaphor to guide him.

  Kai searched the goddess's face. Fearing the answer, Kai asked, Will they come soon, then? You said I don't have enough time... Do you mean that the Gil'Rahim will come?

  Of course they will. They always do.

  Briga stepped closer, reached out, and touched Kai's face with a hand as cool as river water. I cannot guide you, Kai, not directly. But take the lesson you've learned here. You already have the answers, Kai. You've but to choose the right path.

  Kai's soul trembled when the goddess released him. He knew she would not return to him, not again in this lifetime. He wasn't prepared for such a farewell.

  The goddess started to fade, and he knew she was waiting for him.

  Patient as ever.

  So Kai relinquished his childish image of the godhead. Briga's face suddenly melted into a stern-faced man with fiery hair. Then he grew a long beard filled with moss and tangled vines.

  The god shifted between all eight of its forms, faster and faster, until a golden face was revealed.

  This was the Fundament.

  The true godhead that had created all, the one Kai served directly.

  He bowed his head and accepted the power he'd inherited at birth. A mantle of Lumen wreathed his shoulders and filled his veins with benign power.

  Unbelievable energy waited for his command.

  Enough to end the world.

  Or... to build it up again.

  The choice, Kai finally understood, was his own to make.

  Kai returned to himself some time after.

  His body thrummed with an untold power. He clutched the stone still, which surprised him.

  Kai held it up and laughed quietly. Even after inspecting it in his Interface, the stone's true nature could no longer be disguised.

  "Just a rock, probably snatched up from a river somewhere," Kai said. He rubbed it with his thumb where the stone had a natural indentation. "No, much more than a rock,” he corrected himself. “This happens to be a very smooth rock. Perfect for rubbing."

  Curious, Kai brought up his Interface. Unsurprisingly, a new Accolade was listed in his character sheet.

  Immaculate Elementalist: By mastering the understanding the paradox of elements—that all elements are distinct, and that their distinctions make them one—you’ve achieved what few spell casters can. As an Immaculate Elementalist, all spells can be learned and cast despite their intended element. Your own Elemental Affinity will be used to replace the spell’s original source of ether. This may have transformative effects on the spell’s outcome.

  Kai dismissed his Interface and considered what this new change might mean.

  He was the Fundamental Dragon. Being able to cast all spells came with his station. But the last part intrigued him.

  Would his Flame Spear now use Lumen to power it? What of his Spectral Champion?

  I’ll need to experiment, that much is certain, Kai thought. Tomorrow, when we’ve no other responsibilities other than to fly back to the Sunken Keep, I’ll find a lazy river somewhere and try out my spells one at a time.

  Suddenly filled with perspective and the will to share it, Kai sprang to his feet. He finished getting dressed in the finery lent to him by the Surtirs, and for once, he wasn't bothered by the silk and gold trim.

  By the time he stepped out of his room, he realized the banquet was about to begin. Unperturbed, Kai walked to Rhona's room down the hall. He rapped on her door and waited.

  "Who is it?" Rhona demanded.

  Her voice was strained and a little hoarse.

  He chuckled quietly and answered, "It's me. You ready to go?"

  The door opened quickly, and Rhona reached out and hauled him in with her.

  Inside, she pulled away and faced the opposite wall. The source of her anxiety was all too apparent.

  Not daring to laugh, Kai admired Rhona’s gown.

  She wore a deep yellow dress with a sash of crimson tied around her waist. The sash accented her fiery hair, which was pulled up o
ff her neck in the most elaborate style Kai had ever seen the woman wear.

  “They made me,” she spat out. “I hardly agreed, and Ganna is so kind and affectionate… well, I just went along with it.”

  Kai smiled sympathetically. “Rhona, you look—“

  “Don’t you dare tease me! I don’t care if you’re a dragon, I can drop into Spirit Surge and knock you out before you have a chance to react!”

  He shook his head, a hand held out. “I was going to say that you look beautiful.”

  She gaped at him for a while, then glanced down at herself. Her cheeks flushed red and she took a long and careful breath.

  “I wouldn’t tease you, Rhona,” Kai said again, stepping closer to her. “The yellow is bright and lively. The red makes your hair look ablaze. And this”—he lifted the emerald-strewn necklace on her chest—“this does the same to your eyes.”

  Rhona stared at him, searching his face for some sign of deception.

  Finally, she sighed and relaxed a little. “Do you promise? I don’t wish to look a fool. I’ve been playing soldier so long, Kai. I’m afraid people will think me silly.”

  Suddenly feeling sorry for the woman, Kai turned to face the door and held out his elbow. “Not gonna happen, Rhona. Come on, let’s head to the banquet together. And if anyone gives you a hard time, I’ll eat them.”

  She only hesitated a moment.

  Chuckling, Rhona wove her arm through his and they left her room behind.

  They walked in silence through the halls of the palace. A servant found them leaving the guest wing, and escorted the pair to the banquet hall.

  Kai’s heart pounded in his chest when he saw the bustling crowd ahead.

  He was sorely lacking in etiquette training, and if truth were told, he was just as terrified as Rhona.

  She might have sensed this, for as they walked into the vast hall, she whispered in his ear, “If it comes to eating the Hintari nobles, I’m afraid you might find the experience challenging. Seems doubtful that even a dragon could digest so much silk and velvet.”

  He snorted, trying to keep his expression somber as they passed a pair of old women wrapped up in thirty yards of expensive fabric.

  Tables were spread out in a wide semicircle, and Kai stopped suddenly, having no clue of where they were to go.

  Thankfully, a familiar voice called out to them. “Kai! Rhona! This way, if you don’t mind!”

  It was the Lady Ganna.

  The two sighed and followed their friend to a private table at the head of the room, where they sat down and joined her brother and two others.

  Ban looked at home in the finery given to him by the Surtirs. He greeted them both with a smile before introducing a strange-looking woman seated beside him.

  “Kai, Rhona, this is Tirale! Her champion, at least. Apparently, long ago, she was lucky enough to consume the body of an elf, which explains her exquisite form.” Ban’s voice was a little too loud for the occasion, but he blundered ahead, ignorant of the few onlookers who were glancing their way. “Tirale has no less than two thousand three hundred and seventy-two minion designs! Imagine it, Kai! Ah! I must admit I am envious, but no worries, she is willing to share her knowledge!”

  The elven champion stood and bowed to Kai and Rhona. “Bancroft is being generous. For an Earth Core his age, he is most distinguished.”

  Ban’s eyes widened, and a blush crept up his cheeks.

  He gaped a few moments, unable to recover from the devastating compliment.

  Kai shared a smile with Rhona and the Surtirs, but, taking pity on his friend, decided to change the subject. “Gael, Ganna, how goes the transfer of power?”

  Gael rubbed one temple with a hand, and Ganna chuckled politely. “Triumphantly,” she answered a moment later. “The previous council has been executed, which everyone in power supported wholeheartedly. Choosing their replacements, however, has been…”

  “A pain in the arse,” Gael supplied.

  Everyone laughed, and slowly but surely, as the conversation wound back and forth across the table, Kai’s tension eased.

  Ban embarrassed himself several more times that evening. Most were little things, like when he felt it necessary to describe, quite poetically, what he called “the most redeeming qualities of paisley.” None at the table offered any rebuttal, but Ban argued with himself anyhow, insisting that the subtle repetition of the design made it one of mankind’s pinnacle creations.

  His affections towards Tirale were painfully obvious, but in his defense, they seemed to be well received. Tirale nodded politely to all of Ban’s comments and even offered her own anecdotes to encourage him.

  Partly because he had been scrambling in every way possible to impress the lovely Earth Core, but also simply because of the circumstances, Ban brought the whole table to tears when he made the biggest bumble of all.

  When dinner arrived, it wasn’t only Kai’s conceptions of food that were drastically expanded.

  The Hintari dishes were as strange as they were delicious.

  Many of them were spicy.

  Ban tasted some Leaneze Currey, a bright orange stew that made the tongue burn and the mouth tingle. Kai enjoyed it, though, he limited his intake. Even after a few bites, he was sweating.

  When Tirale commented that Ban had a sophisticated palette for enjoying the dish, Ban went way too far. It might have simply ended with Ban’s champion sweating and panting, but Kai’s dear friend crossed the line when he imitated Tirale.

  She had added a pepper paste to the curry to “enhance its inherent qualities,” as she put it.

  Ban copied her, tossing more than double what Tirale had used in his own meal.

  In her defense, she did try to warn him, but Ban shoved a curry-loaded spoon in his mouth, a generous dollop of pepper paste on top. Ban’s eyes widened, and he declared it the best food he’d ever tasted. Then he started wiggling in his chair and fanning his sweating face.

  At last, the poor creature was forced to retreat. “Please excuse me,” Ban had said when it was apparent he was in absolute agony. “I believe there is some… tasks for me to perform back in the Sunken Keep. I shall be back shortly.”

  Then his champion’s eyes had glazed over and Kai, Rhona, and the Surtirs died of laughter. Only Tirale held her mirth back, holding a hand over her mouth and shaking her head occasionally as if to bolster herself.

  Kai sampled several exotic sweets, one that even combined fish eggs with pudding. Somehow, everything ended up tasting delicious despite their odd appearances.

  He drank a few glasses of wine as well, and when the tables were cleared of food, musicians emerged to entertain them all.

  As the first song began, Kai realized with some discomfort that the space between tables was meant to be a dance floor.

  After a ceremonial dance performed by a large group of feather-clad youths, the floor was opened up to the gathering at large.

  Bancroft grinned at Kai, leaning across the table. “Will you go for a spin, Kai? All of your practice with the glaive must have given you some skill in dancing.”

  Kai parried his friend’s question with one of his own. “I’m not sure if that’s true, Ban. But an Earth Core as distinguished as yourself could probably dance circles around me. Maybe Tirale would like a turn around the floor?”

  Tirale smiled, her silver eyes shimmering.

  Ban glanced to her hopefully, but his tongue failed him yet again.

  Ganna stood up and tugged on her brother’s sleeve. “Come, Gael, let us join Ban and Tirale on the dance floor. It’ll be wonderful.”

  Gael groaned but obliged, and Ban stood up to follow the others. He turned back to Kai briefly, face filled with stark terror. “But Kai, I don’t know a thing about dancing!”

  “You’ll be fine,” Rhona shot back. “Just try not to step on her toes.”

  Ban shuffled off, still unsure about what was expected of him.

  Kai and Rhona laughed as they watched him go.

 
Rhona took a sip of her wine and crossed an arm over her chest, leaning back into her chair.

  She would be content to sit here and let the night pass them by. Chances were, she’d indulge herself in more sweets and another glass of wine, then probably fall asleep in that nice dress of hers.

  And if Kai knew they all had time aplenty, he might have allowed such an outcome.

  Knowing that wasn’t the case, Kai stood up.

  He cleared his throat, and Rhona turned, eyes wide in terror. “Kai,” she said at once. “I only ever dance when I’m half-drunk, and never in a shivving dress.”

  He laughed and shook his head. “I wouldn’t think of it. I just thought you might join me for some fresh air? This banquet hall is a little stuffy.”

  Her green eyes flicked across Kai’s face, her mouth falling open slightly. “Very well,” she said simply, moving to stand and follow him.

  He walked out of the hall and straight toward the terrace outside.

  A series of fountains splashed in a wide circle, and large braziers lit up the courtyard. The cool night air came as a relief, and Kai attacked his snug collar at once.

  He unfastened the top button of his shirt and groaned in relief.

  Rhona sighed, spinning around and slowing as she looked up at the stars. “Thank you,” she said. “I did feel like a melting candle. Too many people in one place and not nearly enough ale.”

  “You could have asked for ale,” Kai offered. “But then the Hintari would discover your true nature.”

  “True nature? Ha! And what would that be, dragon boy?”

  Kai ignored her jest and wrinkled his brow severely. “That you’re a bare-footed Brintoshi disguised as a proper lady. Imagine the scandal!”

  Rhona frowned dramatically and punched him in the arm. “Imagine the scandal if the world learned the Fundamental Dragon was once a potato farmer.”

  He laughed, lowering his face. “No worries on that account. I plan on telling them all anyhow.”

  They chuckled together, and then a silence followed.

  The splash of the fountains reminded Kai of Briga and the cave he’d just discovered.