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

flowed into Ben’s body, rejuvenating his aching limbs. Ben’s mana dipped precariously low, but he had to keep going.

The giant slumped to his knees. His eyes stared straight into Ben’s, his expression one of total confusion.

Ben didn’t allow himself to feel a moment of pity for this ruthless asshole. It was his turn to die. Summoning up the last vestiges of his mana, Ben tugged on the giant’s green strand, draining what physical energy remained.

The mountain ogre’s face wrinkled up. His eyes went dim. The hair on his skin went gray and fell out in clumps. The skin turned flaky and dry and began to crumble like charred paper.

Finally, his body lost all strength, and he crashed face down into the dirt.

It was finished. The final mountain ogre was dead.

“Benjamin,” Melody called out, her voice strained. “You did it.” She walked toward Ben, on tired feet.

Ben took her in his arms, allowing her exhausted body to rest against his. His own body was filled with strength now. All pain was dissipating. He wondered if this meant sapping physical strength could actually cause him to regenerate and heal. He would know for sure in the morning. If it didn’t heal him, his whole body would be one big bruise.

This would also mean if he was ever injured, he could simply sap strength from the nearest living creature. He would have to think more about the moral implications of this.

For now, the strength filling his body made him feel a hell of a lot better than he would have expected, though he did feel pretty damn queasy. He remembered what Melody had said about consuming too much mana, and hoped he could increase his ability to use magic in the future. For now, it had been a necessary sacrifice to defeat the mountain ogres.

He checked his mana once more to see how badly it was drained. If any more enemies showed up right now, he would be helpless against them.

“That’s funny,” Ben murmured.

Melody looked at him, inquiringly. “What’s funny?”

“I thought I’d used up all my mana on that mountain ogre.” Ben half closed his eyes, focusing his attention on his reserves inside his body. “Yep. I definitely still have some mana left.”

“That is strange.” Melody commented. “Perhaps in the heat of battle you misjudged how much you had left.”

“Maybe. Well, at least it means I can transfer some of this strength to you.”

Ben held out his hand over Melody’s back and transferred some of his physical strength to her, using Drain. “This might help you recover more quickly,” he said.

He felt her stance grow steadier as he made the transfer.

“You saved my life back there, Melody,” Ben said. “I don’t think I would have survived that fight without you.”

Melody looked up at him and smiled. “This is why I was sent to guide you.”

“I couldn’t have wished for a better guide.” He held her tight.

For the second time in the same day, they had just survived a life-threatening combat. It was a little nerve-wracking to consider, but at the same time, exciting as hell. If they were capable of defeating a band of giants already, Ben could only imagine how strong they could become together.

As he pondered these things, a muffled groan came from inside the nearest hut on the other side of the now dying campfire.

“The nymphs,” Melody exclaimed. “We must help them.”

Ben let her go, and they both walked toward the hut.

Now it was time to see if the nymphs were still unharmed.

And as Ben and Melody hurried over, he realized what a big moment this was—he was about to meet members of the monster races for the first time.

Chapter Six

Ben and Melody approached the hut on the other side of the campfire. The hut was larger than the rest, and still in decent condition. That is, except for the spot where the mountain ogre’s spear had crashed into the planks and left a gaping hole the size of a basketball.

The hut was single-storied, but the walls were slightly higher than the rest, reaching above head height. The planks were more evenly cut than those of the other huts. And this hut was made of two large rooms. Altogether, the whole structure was almost double the size of any other huts visible in the village.

The thatch on the roof looked fresher, the planks were less weather worn. And unlike most of the other huts, this one had glass windows. The gaps between the planks were also better sealed, with some sort of clay substance. With any luck, it would be much warmer in winter.

Ben wondered why this hut was so much nicer than the others. It was likely that the ruler or leader of this town had lived here. From what he could tell though, the previous inhabitants were all dead now, so he would probably never find out.

Only a few seconds earlier, Ben had heard a sound from inside the hut. He assumed it was the nymphs, since he couldn’t see them elsewhere. All the same, he picked up the scimitar he’d attacked the mountain ogre with, and carried it in front of him. He didn’t want to take any chances.

“Hold your wand ready, Melody,” Ben whispered.

She nodded and did so.

He put his hand to the door of the hut and pushed it open.

It was hard to make out anything in the gloom inside. Holding the scimitar across his body to defend himself, he stepped through the doorway and to the right. Melody came in and stood to his left.

After a moment, Ben’s eyes adjusted. Firelight still came in through the doorway and one of the windows. In the flickering shadows, he made out a sturdy dining table and three squat chairs in this room. An open door led to a second room, with a bed inside. He couldn’t make out any other furnishing from this angle, in either room.

Then came a rustle in the corner of this room. Someone stood behind the table. By the figure’s slender