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

“You have succeeded, Benjamin,” Melody whispered, hushed awe in her voice.

“Well, go on.” Ben smiled at her. “Show me what you can do.”

She turned and looked around. Her gaze settled on a suitcase-sized boulder at the side of the small hilltop. She walked over and crouched above it. She wrapped her slender fingers around the underside of the stone and heaved. She almost stumbled back as she hoisted the boulder into the air with ease.

Melody let out a low gasp of surprise and looked over to Ben, grinning. He saw her arms quiver then, and she was forced to quickly set the rock down again. He wasn’t surprised that such a feat would drain her strength. All the same, the boulder had probably weighed nearly as much as her.

Melody beamed as she walked back over to him. “That was amazing. You made me so strong.”

“I didn’t think I’d given you so much,” Ben said, impressed.

“Your powers as the Forgotten Ruler are burgeoning rapidly,” Melody said. She placed her hand on his arm. “You will become mighty again, I am sure of it.”

Ben nodded. “I’m looking forward to it. But for now, it’s time to use this power to teach those ogre pricks a thing or two.”

Melody knelt and picked up one of the mana crystals she had refined. “You will need this.”

She was right. Especially after performing that transfer, Ben was badly drained.

Melody finished refining the remaining crystal while he consumed this one. Although it might be a bit risky to consume so much mana in one day, he figured it was certainly better than dying. He’d hang on to the mana, use it later if he needed it.

Ben picked up the mountain ogre’s scimitar, feeling the heft of it in his hand. He'd never wielded a sword before, but he was ready to take whatever advantage he could get in the coming battle. As he swung the blade to get a feel for it, something was triggered in his memory.

His vision went dark, similar to the way it had when he'd touched the crystal ball in the hotel room. Strange, he didn’t think this old scimitar was an ancient relic. In his mind’s eye he distinctly saw a young man training with a scimitar just like this one.

A master stood before him, scrutinizing his technique. Then the man glanced up, directly into his eyes.

“Forgotten Ruler, you have returned. Seek me out, and I shall teach you the ways of the sword.”

Then the vision ceased, and his sight returned to normal.

The sword felt a little lighter and more familiar in his hand. Ben swung it and found that he could instinctively handle it a little more easily than before. He wasn’t proficient by any means, but it seemed like he had received some small amount of infused knowledge from that vision.

“What just happened?” Melody asked, standing in front of me. “Your face went blank for a moment.”

“I think I had a vision,” Ben said. “I saw a man who told me he could teach me the ways of the sword. He addressed me as the Forgotten Ruler.”

Ben held out the scimitar in front of me. “This isn’t one of those ancient relics, is it?”

Melody shook her head. “I doubt that very much. This is a common sword.”

“Then how could it have given me a vision?

“This world contains old masters of legend,” Melody said. “Many of them had their spirits sealed away when the Forgotten Ruler was defeated. The commanders of the usurper’s armies could not kill them, but all the same they were too powerful to not be…dealt with.”

“You think the man I saw was one of these masters?” Ben asked.

Melody shrugged. “He recognized you as the Forgotten Ruler. It must have been one of the legendary masters. Archmage Kamila said it was possible that these masters would seek you out.”

“Where is he? How was he able to speak to me?”

“His spirit is sealed in a plane of existence parallel to our own. You will have to find the vessel his soul has been bound to. Only with that vessel will you be able to bring him back.”

Ben lifted the scimitar in his hand. “Well, I could definitely use some training. We’ll have to seek this vessel out soon. In the meantime, I’ll have to make do with the knowledge I have.”

“You will not be alone, Benjamin.” Melody placed a hand on his arm. “I shall accompany you this time and take part in the fight.”

“Are you sure?” He asked. Her lightning spell could be formidable, but he didn’t want her placing herself in unnecessary danger. It was an instinctive reaction on his part. He’d only met the girl, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t developing a soft spot for her.

Melody looked up into his eyes. “I have confidence in you, Benjamin. You are the Forgotten Ruler. Together we will prevail in this fight.”

He met her gaze with his own. She was right—they’d made a good team so far.

They continued to gaze steadily into one another’s eyes. Somehow the knowledge that they were about to face the possibility of death together again made her presence all the sweeter to him.

Melody’s lips were parted, and Ben felt her breath, hot on his cheek. He put a hand to the side of her neck, brushing her vivid purple hair aside.

Their lips touched, and they kissed passionately.

The last light faded, and they were plunged into total darkness as they stepped apart and turned to face the village.

Together, Benjamin and Melody set off between the trees to rescue the nymphs from these mountain ogres.

Chapter Five

Before they left for the village, Ben took out a notepad and pen from his rucksack and scrawled a quick diagram of the layout. When they ventured into the village, he didn’t want to suddenly forget what it looked like. He tore off the page and slipped it into his pocket for easy reference.

The dead sentry’s scimitar was in Ben’s right hand, the blade catching the light of