The Crafter's Dungeon: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 1) by Jonathan Brooks (literature books to read TXT) 📕

There was so much material in their bodies that Sandra was forced to create a few Orbs in the process, as she didn’t want to “overeat” and be forced to convert it all into Mana.  In addition, a few notifications popped up in her vision, but she pushed them to the side without even looking at them; she couldn’t afford the distraction, and from experience she knew she could read them later when she had more time – if she survived, of course.

With the way now unblocked, the third Bearling gave up tearing up the tunnel (which had been widened nearly a foot on either side toward the bottom) and rushed inside – only to be met by Sandra’s Bashers, who were ready for it.  They easily smashed its head to bits just like the last two within ten seconds, but that was when the Nether trap ran out of charge and shut off.

When the next Bearling entered – faster than the others because of the slight widening of the tunnel, it wasn’t hampered by a lack of sight; with room to maneuver and targets in sight, it took a couple blows to the face but retaliated by swiping a claw through one of Sandra’s Basher Totems, shearing through one of its arms and the majority of the way through its totem-shaped body.  Her construct quickly hit the ground – damaged beyond repair – and dissolved into thin air, leaving behind a Large Bronze Orb in the process.

The other three retaliated by striking rapidly in succession, pulverizing the Bearling into a pulp; however, another lucky shot ripped off a second Totem’s arm, leaving it still able to fight but severely hampered by a missing limb.  The time needed to finish it off, unfortunately, allowed two more Bearlings to enter, leaving about a dozen still trying to push themselves inside.

Her newest Ironclad Ape arrived at the second room after navigating its way through the traps throughout the last few rooms, and immediately ran through it into the first, leaving the “older” Ape to watch over the unconscious man.  As soon as it rushed into the room, the Nether trap had finally accumulated enough ambient Mana to activate again, but not before Bearlings five, six, and seven (who was just entering the fight) managed to slice her remaining Bashers apart.

Iron was much harder and denser than the softer metal that her Bashers were made of, however.  As soon as the lights went out and the Bearlings became disoriented, her Ape went to work, using the heavier and more durable material it was made from effectively.  Jumping over the last of the dissolving Bashers, her Ironclad construct landed on top of the nearest beast’s head, smashing it into the stone floor with nearly a ton of weight behind it.

The Bearlings were tough, though, and the one that her construct landed on didn’t instantly have its head popped like a grape like she had expected.  A double-armed pound from the Ape’s fists directly to its skull did the trick, though – nothing like a sledgehammer to the brain to seal the deal.

A second leap from the back of the now-dead Bearling brought her Ape towards the next Bearling in line, but the sheer weight of her construct prevented it from reaching it completely.  It landed with a crash against the floor (that ended up damaging even the reinforced stone) a foot away and swung at the beast’s head, but the Bearling had heard it land and bit down with its enormous jaws right as the Ape’s hand entered its mouth.  Teeth broke and blood spurt out from bloody gums, but the enormous beast held on despite the obvious pain and wouldn’t let go.

A half-dozen hammer blows from the Ape’s other arm caved in the Bearling’s head, but directly after the killing blow, the seventh beast had arrived and swiped at her construct.  The attack didn’t cut through the Iron like it did the softer metal of her Bashers, but it did leave deep gashes along its body; the powerful impact, on the other hand, flung the heavy Ape away to crash against the nearest wall, leaving its right arm in the jaws of the sixth – dead – Bearling.

Her construct was far from done, fortunately, and was able to get back up and into the fight, but now it was at a disadvantage.  The eighth and ninth Bearlings were able to get inside while it recovered, with the tenth poking its head through.  Seeing the overwhelming odds against her Ape – and despite the Nether trap still active – Sandra ordered her missing-limbed construct to retreat.

Her Repair Drone instantly went to work on the damaged Ironclad Ape once it shuffled toward the back of the blindingly bright room.  She still had her undamaged Ape and Mechanical Wolf watching over the prone body of the man, fortunately, and she wouldn’t hesitate to utilize them if she had need – which she was pretty sure was a great possibility.

Sandra watched as her damaged Ape had its foot repaired – she hadn’t even realized it had been bent in an unnatural angle – and its arm was just starting to barely regrow when the Nether trap ran out again and the Bearlings could see enough to advance farther into her dungeon.  The Holy trap had luckily turned off seconds after the Ape had arrived; she had set it up to trigger when something passed the threshold and stayed active as long as whatever had triggered it was in the first two-thirds of the room.

When the first Bearling looked into the room from the tunnel, all it could see was an Ape frozen in repair mode near the exit to the third room, another Ironclad Ape and a Wolf standing guard over the inert body of the man, and a bunch of metal poles scattered along the floor.  Seeing easy prey, the Bearling