Empire Builder 1: Breed, Populate, Conquer by Dante King (free e books to read online txt) 📕

the ground to his left and unleashed his Drain spell. As the strands that were the mountain ogre’s strengths became revealed to him, Ben snatched at one. Ben couldn’t tell which type of strand it was, but in his desperation, he tugged on it all the same. He pulled everything he could from him at once, absorbing the energy, as the ogre’s scimitar speared into the ground only an inch behind his head.

With a dull thud, the huge mountain ogre crashed to the ground beside Ben, limp. His tongue drooped out of his mouth, and his eyes were dull. What kind of energy had I drained from him? He was definitely still breathing, so Ben hadn’t completely drained the life from him.

Ben crouched in front of the fallen giant and waited a moment. His expression was still totally vacant. He grabbed the back of the scimitar blade and wrenched it out of his hand. Ben didn’t want him to start swinging that thing again while he was in range. Gingerly, Ben reached out a hand and waved it in front of his face, cautious, in case he decided to throw a punch.

Still nothing. Ben slapped his cheek. Then he slapped it again, hard. A line of drool ran out from his mouth, his eyes still motionless. Had he sapped his intelligence?

It wasn’t like there was much there to begin with, but this was a whole new level of dumb.

Ben paid attention to his own sensations. Energy rushed swiftly from his arms where he had absorbed it from the mountain ogre. Then with a burst of light and warmth, he felt the energy reach his mind.

Ben’s brain crackled and popped, almost as if it was physically expanding in his skull. He looked around him, feeling like the guy in Limitless after he’d just taken the nootropic drug NZT-48.

Ben’s vision raced around the ruins in the fading light. Details popped out to him that he would never have noticed before, like a camera zooming in on trees and branches and bugs and birds all around, scanning them like some kind of hypersensitive computer. It was almost as if his brain had split into several, all of them able to focus on something different.

And more than that, with each step to his mind raced with possibilities. It was like he could imagine the consequences of each action, playing them out in his mind’s eye like a probability calculator. This step would snap a branch, which would attract the attention of that guard. Or this other step would cause the bird perched on the branch of a nearby tree to caw, which would blow his cover.

Ben had to pause, close his eyes, try to focus his out-of-control thoughts.

Not going to lie—back during his CS exam cram sessions, he'd tried an Adderall or two. But how Ben felt in that moment made low-rent stims like that seem like a half-cup of weak coffee.

When Ben finally felt as if he had his mind under control, he concentrated on the task at hand.

Ben glanced down at the motionless form of the sentry. And that’s what I got from a dumbass like you. Imagine how smart I could become if I sapped someone with a real brain, he thought as he chucked to himself. This spell certainly had some perks.

He caught himself as he laughed. Was he really finding the misfortune of this asshole humorous? Well, he’d been part of a band of slavers, so Ben figured he deserved everything he got. Still, Ben couldn’t help but wonder whether his pleasure in his suffering was not some residual component of his past life as the Forgotten Ruler.

This mystery could be dealt with later. For now, he had this drooling dumbass to deal with.

But what do I do with you now? He thought. I can’t have the other guys noticing you’re not here. Ben’s thoughts raced, fueled by the extra mental power he had acquired. He hoped this boost would last long enough for him to formulate a decent plan.

A smile touched his lips as several possibilities occurred to him. The first thing he wanted to test was whether he could control the sentry as a minion now. Was that something the Forgotten Ruler could do? Worth a shot.

Ben tried sending his thoughts out to him. No, he didn’t know if that was something he could do, and he didn’t know how one was supposed to send thoughts. Was there some sort of communication protocol for brains? A chat with Professor Xavier could really come in handy right about now.

Nothing.

Maybe physical contact was required. Ben put his hand on the mountain ogre’s cheek. His skin was slimy, which he tried not to think about. That would only get in the way of effective communication.Ben tried pushing his thoughts through his arm. He was glad nobody was around to see his expression of extreme concentration.

OK—this wasn’t working out so hot.

Maybe speech would do it. They didn’t speak the same language, to his knowledge, but it was still worth a shot. Ben got to his feet.

“Get up, you dumbass.” He kicked the mountain ogre’s shins. Maybe that bit wasn’t necessary, but it’s not like it was going to hurt him anyway.

The mountain ogre didn’t respond. He just kept sitting there, his eyes vacant and his tongue hanging from his mouth.

Plan B it was then. Ben still had enough mana from the crystal he'd eaten before, so he reached out and drained a portion of the mountain ogre’s physical strength. He didn’t know exactly how much he would need, but he made sure not to drain more than half. He might need the rest later, and he didn’t want to waste it.

Immediately, Ben’s muscles felt stronger, his body felt taller. He was filled with the same manic power he had experienced after draining strength from a werebat on the bridge. It was as if his muscles were made of solid steel, his blood hot as magma, like he could kick down one