The Crafter's Darkness: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 4) by Jonathan Brooks (e book reading free txt) 📕

of the other Cores’ AOIs that she couldn’t view because hers didn’t extend that far, but indications throughout what she could see said that Dungeon Monster density was starting to reach a critical point – for both Cores.

Approximately 8 hours after the two Gnomes left on their journey back to their capital, Gerold and the others were ready to go.  It was getting later in the afternoon when they started out for their culling duties, but there was no time to waste; starting the next morning would, of course, allow Sandra to build up even more of her forces for the job, except that if they waited that long, it was possible that they would be fighting an uphill battle that might not be won.

In addition to the enchanted Deep Diver suit that Sandra crafted for Gerold, which only took a few hours, she had also used three-quarters of her incoming Mana to create more constructs and other Dungeon Monsters to accompany them.  The other quarter of the Mana flowing in was constantly being used to add to her two Absorption Nets outside of her dungeon, which was steadily increasing in size and scope, bringing in more and more Mana every hour.  After she had moved her Shears Net high above her dungeon, that – as well as her other Net of Tarantulas and various constructs roaming around – gave her about 250,000 Mana a day coming in; now, approximately 24 hours later, she had increased that by about 100,000, which was great – but not nearly enough yet.  She estimated that it would take about a week to get where she wanted it to be at: 1,000,000 Mana per day…or even more than that, if possible.

As long as they all survived through the next couple of days, she thought that was more than achievable.  To survive that long, though, a successful culling of the soon-to-be-overrun countryside would need to be done; to get that done, she had needed to learn all she could about what the Dwarves were going to face.

* What is the best strategy against the Golems and Goblins, Gerold?  Delarthe? *

“Well, I spent more time among the Golems than I did the Goblins there, so I can probably help with them,” Gerold started.  “The Golems from the dungeon nearby are all made of different forms of Earth as well as being different sizes.  Other than size being a factor, they mostly range in difficulty depending on what material they are made from; there are Mud Golems, Dirt Golems, Sand Golems, Pebble Golems, Rock Golems, and Stone Golems.  I haven’t seen any myself, but I’ve heard that inside of more-powerful Golem dungeons, there are even some made from harder material like diamonds.

“From what I understand, the golems can come in almost any shape, though all that I have seen have looked like a large person with two arms, two legs, and a head.  The only way I know of fighting and killing them is to dismember them completely, while at the same time ensuring that they cannot heal.  If you allow them time and don’t do anything to prevent their reformation (which will happen eventually), it can take a long time and effort to completely destroy them.”

* I see.  So, some sort of enchantment or elemental energy process is needed to make sure they don’t come back together to attack you.  Is that about right? *

“Yes; for instance, when I would delimb them, I would apply some of my Nether energy to my axe, which sealed the ends of its ‘stumps’ with necrotic energy, preventing them from forming together again.  Other Shieldmen have used other elements to do something similar, but I’m not as familiar with them,” Gerold finished apologetically.

“I, for one, cauterize their ‘wounds’ with a bit of Fire elemental energy applied to my axe, which usually acts well enough to prevent them from reforming,” Delarthe added when Gerold seemed not to have anything else to add.  “Thelon uses the most effective method, though, because he has access to Air elemental energy; all it takes is a layer of hardened Air energy on his own axe, and it acts as some sort of poison that completely shuts down the regenerative process immediately.  I’m not sure exactly how that works, nor does he from what he’s said, but it seems as though some intrinsic part of the Golems can’t deal with the touch of that kind of energy.”

Thelon spoke up for the first time since he had advocated for the continued presence of the Aerie Roc the night before.  “That’s true; all I have to do is make sure I have the Air energy on the blade of my weapon, and that does the trick.”

* Hmm…it sounds like the Golems utilize some sort of regenerative process that is canceled out by its opposite element.  Very good to know. *

“As for Goblins,” Delarthe continued, “they are both easier to kill and much harder to do it successfully.  As opposed to Golems, which are solitary monsters roaming around the forest, the Goblins tend to roam in small bands of up to 10 individuals.  There are some that travel around by themselves, which we call Scouts, but for the most part they stick together to present a more difficult opponent.  When there are enough of the small green-and-brown buggers, they can certainly pose a danger; on top of that, despite being scrawny and fairly weak, they can move with surprising agility and will run circles around you if you’re not ready.

“The ones we typically see come armed with rusty or broken weaponry that is a part of their forms – they don’t drop after the Goblins are killed, and dissolve just like the rest of their body.  Closer to the dungeon entrance, there are armored ones that can dish out a little more damage if pressed, as well as archers that like to hide amongst the tree