The Crafter's Dominion: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 5) by Jonathan Brooks (e ink epub reader .txt) 📕

A few more attacks from her crafting bubbles had similar effects, though in much lesser intensity.  Eventually, she was at a stalemate with the encroaching darkness, though it was only a matter of time before she was on the losing end again.  Combining her crafting and her Bonded bubbles was the next logical step, which produced much of the same results as before; she gained an upper hand, the shadows regrouped and attacked even more forcefully than before, and she wound up in a stalemate.

Desperate, and with nothing else to lose, she started thinking about all of the bubbles in her mind-space, including her constructs and Dungeon Monsters, her traps, Monster Seeds, and available materials.  She thought about all that she had done to save as many people as possible, the mistakes she had made but had learned from, and about the impending doom of the entire world if she didn’t stop herself from destroying these nearby Cores.  Anything and everything she could think of concerning her new life as a Human mind inhabiting a Dungeon Core ran through her conscience, creating an almost-painful feeling of conflicting sensations.  Which, if she wasn’t mistaken, was what life was: A collection of ups and downs, a maelstrom of conflicting emotions.

Gathering up the immense power her thoughts generated, Sandra’s conscience tossed it all at the insane darkness.  It had nearly overtaken her entire body; her head was the only thing unchanged in her form, which looked pained at what had been done to the rest of her.  Upon impact, there was an intense flash of light, blocking out her entire perception of the results….

Then the world came crashing back.

Chapter 11

Winxa! Help me!

Sandra was back, more permanently than after the Advancement Level increase she had experienced earlier – but still not fully confident that she had succeeded.  Barely audible gibbering in the back of her mind indicated that the insane Core shard entity was still there, if not in control anymore.  However, the slightly disoriented Core felt that if she let herself slip into a murderous rage again, she would find her “conscience” shunted off to the far recesses of her mind again in a snap.

“Sandra!  What happened?” Winxa was in front of her Core in less than a second, as if she had been waiting for any sort of opportunity.  “What can I do to help?” she asked desperately, pleading with her hands clasped in front of her.

Sandra couldn’t help but feel a suffusion of warmth at the Dungeon Fairy’s display of worry; as much as Winxa had been a little flaky and forgetful, the Dungeon Core couldn’t help but recognize that the Fairy was legitimately her friend.  She was also more than cognizant that it was thoughts of the diminutive Fairy that had first allowed her to figure out how to stop the withering darkness that personified the insane Core shard, and the depths of her appreciation for the fluttering fae increased to new heights.

I was able to suppress the insane remnants of the destroyed Core shard for a time, but I’m worried that I’ll lose control if something sets me off.  I need help keeping my sanity intact.

A small tear escaped the corner of Winxa’s eye, a sparkling gel-like substance that fell to the floor down below.  “I’m so glad you’re back, Sandra; I thought that I had lost you for good when ‘your other self’ initiated a Core upgrade.”

Don’t count me out yet, Sandra replied.  She hated to see the Fairy cry, even if it was for happy reasons, so it was just another incentive to resist the Core shard and to maintain herself.  Although she couldn’t wipe away the tears brimming on the Fairy’s eyelids, she could at least clean up what had fallen already.  She absorbed what had fallen and—

New Monster Seed Origination Material found!

Fairy Tear

While a Fairy Tear cannot be directly used as a Monster Seed, it can be used as a binding agent when combined with specific other materials to create a whole new Monster Seed.

What the—?  Did you know about this, Winxa?

The Dungeon Fairy sniffed a couple of times, wiping her eyes until they were dry.  “Know about what?”

Sandra explained the notification she had received after absorbing the Fairy Tear.  What do you think it means that it is a binding agent?  What’s so special about your tears?

“I honestly have no idea – to both questions,” Winxa answered.  “As far as I know, anything from our realm shouldn’t be substantial, so it’s strange that you were able to absorb it in the first place.”  She paused for a moment with a look of concentration on her face.  “Maybe it was because they weren’t sad or angry tears, but happy; I can tell you that I wept quite a few times when I used to guide Wester, and nothing like that ever happened before.”

Whatever it was is going to have to wait; I need your help to stave off this shard—  It was Sandra’s turn to pause as she thought about the shard.  The gibbering she had experienced before was practically non-existent, though not because it was gone. Instead, she realized that as she had been concentrating on the new Monster Seed Origination Material, the insane rambling had been pushed off into the same corner she had been shunted into earlier.  I think I need to keep myself busy and concentrating on something else; such as when I was using crafting to stave this off in the first place. 

“We can do that…but first you should probably check on the state of things, even if there is a risk of losing your sanity again.  I will do everything I can to keep you thinking clearly, but I can’t do anything if we’re overrun by the other Cores’ monsters.”

She had a point.  Knowing that