The Dungeon Fairy A Dungeon Core Escapade The Hapless Dungeon Fairy Series Book 1 Jonathan Brooks Cover Design: Yvonne Less, Art 4 Artists Edited by: Celestian Rince Copyright ©2020 Jonathan Brooks All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher. The following is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, businesses, corporations, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to any actual persons, places, or events is purely coincidental. Cover Design Copyright ©2020 Yvonne Less, Art 4 Artists Acknowledgements I would like to thank all my friends and family who have supported me on my writer’s journey, as well as providing much-needed encouragement. I also can’t forget all of the readers out there that have enjoyed my books; without you, I wouldn’t be the writer I am today. You’re all awesome! I’d also like to thank all of my beta-readers who helped beat this book into shape after I wrote it! Aaron Connelly Aaron Wiley Alex Canavan Brian O’Neil Brian Oles Christopher Burr Emma Baker Grant Harrell Jonathan Kröning Joshua Chausse Kyle Doucette Michael Huber Nate Martin Rei S Ryan Adams Sean Hall Steven Gene Mills Tania Bay Tyler Giesel Zachary Stading Zack Devney Table of Contents Acknowledgements Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Final Stats Author’s Note Books by Jonathan Brooks Extra Information Chapter 1 “I want you to leave today not just as Novices, but as fully trained Fairies that are embarking upon the greatest adventure you’ll ever commit to in your lifetime. I hope to hear great things from all of you over the coming years and centuries…well, most of you,” Head Instructor Lapis said in his graduation speech to the newest class of Dungeon Assistants. He was staring at one Assistant in particular when he said that last part, however, before he continued his speech addressing the entire group of graduating Dungeon Fairies. “Now, you all have your initial assignments, so go out and make DAPS proud!” Tacca looked over her fellow graduates, noting that all of them had smiles on their faces and were congratulating each other – all except her, of course. Still, she couldn’t help but grin idiotically as she realized she was free of the decade-long Dungeon Assistant training program. It hadn’t been necessarily difficult training, but with her ominously portentous birth and the accompanying stigma attached to it, navigating her way through the social obstacles in her way was a nightmare. Fortunately, with this being the last day she had to spend at the Dungeon Assistant Preparatory School ever, she didn’t have to endure the looks, snide remarks, and flat-out insults to both herself and her parentage. And that was just from her instructors. Her fellow Dungeon Fairies enrolled in the school were worse, but luckily she wouldn’t have to see any of them ever again unless she chose to – and she was fairly certain that would never happen. From here on out, she could theoretically spend centuries away from any other Fairies, as she had to spend all of her time with her assigned Dungeon Core as an Assistant. At least, that was the plan; none of the graduates had actually been assigned to their own Cores yet, because they all had one final training program…though it wouldn’t be at the school anymore. Instead, they would all be in separate real-life dungeons with a veteran Assistant “Mentor” that would show them one-on-one how everything was supposed to work in the field. Fluttering her wings fast enough to bring her up and out of the large main DAPS hall where the graduation ceremony had taken place, Tacca didn’t even look back at the others as she passed through the smaller hallways. The decorative glass and mirrored archway over the school’s grand entrance was supposed to represent honesty, clarity, and transparency towards the Cores that were their assignments – or some such nonsense that didn’t make sense to her – but all she saw was her reflection as she shot by them. Extremely pale skin framed by long, straight, jet-black hair stared back at her and her dark-grey wings, completely at odds with every other Fairy she’d ever seen before. Most Dungeon Fairies had skin tones ranging from a light amber color to even a deep purple, and their hair colors were like a rainbow exploded – all shades of blues, greens, reds, yellows, and even some light browns. All of that made her particular appearance unique, which might’ve been a good thing if she hadn’t been compared to looking like some sort of corpse her whole life. While that made her ability to fit in a significant challenge, there were other things about her origins that caused so much controversy and hardship for herself. Things that I’d rather not think about right now, especially since I’m getting out of here and it won’t matter anymore. As she took off into the night sky when she exited the school, she felt the cool air fluttering around her short, skin-tight, emotion-reflecting “Mood Dress”; looking down, she saw that it, and the thigh-high boots that accompanied it, were black as had been usual of late – though she could also see that it was lightening up with some grey spots here and there. She figured that escaping the nightmarish confines of the Assistant School was having a reciprocal effect on her mood, and she was hopeful her color-shifting clothes (that
