The Dungeon Fairy: A Dungeon Core Escapade (The Hapless Dungeon Fairy Book 1) Jonathan Brooks (the dot read aloud TXT) 📖

helped portray the whole “honesty, clarity, and transparency” concept that Assistants were supposed to adopt) would eventually reach the myriad of bright colors that were the norm for most Fairies.

It’ll be nice to finally not have to worry about what the others think about me; soon enough it’ll just be me and my Dungeon Core, braving the constant incursions by Raiders as they search for rewards.  Daydreams of working side-by-side with her assigned Core – who certainly wouldn’t care about her appearance and “ominous” birth omens – had been a constant salve to her feelings of isolation and the remorseless cruelty of the other Fairies.  It was everything she ever wanted, and she was almost giddy with excitement as she fluttered above the smallish building that represented DAPS headquarters.

“Hey, watch where you’re flying, Novice!”

The words barely registered before she was hit from behind, causing her left wings to buckle under the impact, and she began to plummet.  She was so surprised at the unexpected attack that she spun and tumbled through the open air as her right wings continued to flutter, sending her into an uncontrolled dive.  As she turned around and around and attempted to stabilize herself, she caught a glimpse of three of her fellow graduates watching her fall and giggling at her potential death.

Luckily – or unluckily, she supposed – this hadn’t been the first time something like that had happened; the constant harassment she received from the students of DAPS had trained her well enough that she recovered fairly quickly.  I can’t believe I let my guard down; I should’ve at least waited until I left completely.

She reflexively reached back and to the side to fix her temporarily bent wings – as she had done many times before; as she did so, she noticed that the three who had hit her from behind appeared disappointed when she was able to stop spinning and level out, at least 15 feet above the top of the DAPS building.  With their entertainment not cooperating with them, they broke apart with cheerful waves to each other and disappeared. There were brief pops as each of them Translocated to their assigned “Mentor” cores, followed by other, louder explosions of air as their abilities finished their processes of transporting the Fairies somewhere else.

It was also the reason why it was done outside in the night sky instead of inside the School, because Translocating while too near something – or someone – could be destructive…or even fatal to those caught up in it.  Thankfully, none of the students had access to that particular ability until just the day before when the official Dungeon Assistant Status was added to their consciousnesses.  Tacca had gained it as well, though with preparations for the graduation being so hectic she hadn’t even had a chance to check it out yet.

I’ll have plenty of time to look it over while I’m finishing up my training with my Mentor.  Which, since I was delayed by being knocked out of the sky, I’m already late for.

With a sigh and a thankful thought that she’d never have to deal with the nasty students of DAPS again, Tacca flew back up and started to activate her Translocate ability, picturing the coordinates she had been given earlier.  Even though they were technically new to her, using any of her abilities felt natural – as if she had been using them her entire life. As a result of her activating her ability, a few seconds later she felt almost all of her Fairy Mana drain from her reserves and she heard a faint *pop*.

Tacca’s vision went dark as the Translocate ability seemed to rip her body apart and send it somewhere else; although it felt “natural” using it, she had never actually activated the ability before – and it was quite the unusual experience.  She figured she should be scared but being ripped apart and being put together on the other side didn’t hurt in the slightest.  In fact, she didn’t feel anything – including the passage of time.  What could’ve been less than a second or a decade passed by before she sensed herself coming back together in a suddenness that would’ve taken her breath away if she had any at that point.

The world sprang into being around her and she found herself fluttering her wings in the air before and just below an absolute specimen of a Fairy; he was at least three times larger than her own five inches in height, with dark-blue hair down to his shoulders, a deep amber tone to his skin, and nearly translucent pearly-colored wings that fluttered quickly to keep him airborne.  His tight, short-sleeved shirt and pants – which were also emotion-reflecting Mood Clothes – were straining under the shapely muscles covering his frame, though for some reason they were an angry red in color.

How did I get so lucky here?  Maybe things are finally turning around for me now that I left that vile cesspool of hatred and negativity.

Her Mentor wasn’t looking at her, and the expression on his face made her wonder if he was mad because she was late.  She wasn’t exactly in his line of sight either, so it was entirely possible that he hadn’t even seen her Translocate in…though he should’ve at least heard her.  I better make amends right away, especially if I’m going to be working with him over the next year learning the ins and outs of assisting a Dungeon Core.  “Excuse me, Expert Assistant Cobalt?  I’m Tacca and I’m here to—”

At the sound of her voice, the blue-haired Dungeon Fairy looked down at her and his face transformed from angry to confused and then to worried in a matter of a second.  “Who are you and what are you doing here – and now of all times?”

Tacca was shocked at his tone, which wasn’t accusatory but concerned; it was so