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

a strong, cool-metal hand wrap around his ankle.  He screamed out incoherently in surprise; before he could think of trying to fight it, he was dragged by his left leg for a short distance before he was released, his leg falling back down to the floor unexpectedly.  He briefly considered trying to scramble backwards in an attempt to flee, but he decided that it would be more prudent to see what was going to happen rather than fight it.  Whoever was in the room – and in his head somehow – could’ve killed him at any time over the last minute or so, not to mention when he was asleep for however long it had been.

Kelerim propped himself up on his elbows as if he was trying to get a look at what was around him, though it was for naught as he still couldn’t see anything from his light-blinded eyes.  He heard a faint noise behind his head, but before he could react, two cool metal somethings pressed up against his temples – and he was frozen into place.  It definitely wasn’t voluntary, however; it was as if he was locked out from his entire body – he couldn’t move or even twitch a muscle.

It didn’t last long, thankfully.  Within seconds, he could feel an itchy tingling behind his eyes, and the room started to come back into focus.  In almost less time than it took to be blinded in the first place, he could see again!  It was as if it had never happened; if he hadn’t turned around quickly to see the white, cylindrical-shaped…thing…behind him, he would’ve thought it was some kind of miracle.

“Wh-what happened?  Where am I?  Who are you?  What are you going to do with me?  Am I a prisoner here?”  The questions just spilled out of him, because now he was thoroughly confused.  The womanly voice had been talking about “traps” as if it was some sort of normal thing for her, but the only traps he knew about were in dungeons.  He hadn’t ever seen any himself, but there were many stories from various warbands who were tasked with destroying dangerous dungeons; granted, the number of dungeons that were actually able to be destroyed over the last few decades had greatly diminished, but it still happened every now and then.

But if he were in a dungeon, why was he still alive?  And why had it gone out of its way to save him from the Bearlings?  He started to put some of the few pieces together that he had; he realized that he was only alive because the dungeon – if indeed that was where he was – had protected him.  Of course, he could be all wrong and he was in a Gnome stronghold like he had considered before, but for some reason he didn’t think that was correct.  Regardless, things still weren’t making any sense.

* I’ll try to explain it a little, but the first thing you need to know is that you are free to go at any time.  You’re not a prisoner here, though now that I’ve created a bond with you, I hope you’ll stay for at least a little bit. *

That didn’t explain anything; on the contrary, it only raised more questions.  However, Kelerim didn’t get a chance to say anything, because the woman continued talking in his head, with no explanation of how she did that, either.

* Ok, so this might be a little hard to believe, but I’m what you would call a Dungeon Core and you’re in my dungeon.  Now, don’t freak out – I’m not like other dungeons because I don’t want to kill you.  In fact, I don’t want to kill anyone, or anything if I can help it.  Before I go any further, though, I’m willing to bet you’re practically starving, as it’s been nearly two weeks since you arrived at my doorstep.” 

I’ve been here TWO WEEKS!  How he wasn’t dead already was a mystery to him, but it also explained the extreme hunger and thirst he was experiencing.  He looked over at the white cylinder thing that he assumed just healed him, and he thought he had his answer of how he had survived that long without food or water; if it could completely heal blindness in seconds, he was sure it could keep him alive despite the lack of sustenance.

He absently nodded his affirmation of his hunger, though he wasn’t sure if she could see that or not; he hesitated to talk anymore because his throat was so dry.  He belatedly realized that his screaming earlier had pained him severely, but it had been overshadowed by the shock of his blindness.  Whatever the metal healer thing had done to him, it had obviously fixed his torn-up throat; he wanted to keep it healthy, though, because he wasn’t counting on it to heal him again.

* Excellent!  I spent almost a day making a kitchen down below and I’m eager to show off my cooking skills; don’t expect too much, though, because all I really have access to material-wise is Raw Bearling Meat.  If only I had some spices…

 

* Anyway, if you can follow the Ironclad Ape here, it’ll show you down to the dining area.  You’ll be the first to really try out my new Vertical Air-trap Transportation System, or VATS for short.  I’m pretty sure I worked out all the problems I had earlier, so it should be safe.  I’ll tell you a little more about this place on your way, but I’ll save most of it for after you’ve had your fill from the kitchen. *

He couldn’t really object, since he knew going the other direction might blind him again; besides, he was literally starving, and he’d rather have the chance at something to eat, even if he wasn’t sure what plans the dungeon had for him.  The fact that he hadn’t been