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

in a large enough area, it banishes all of the shadows and makes it much easier to see; other than getting lucky and hitting it while it hides in the shadows, that’s about the only way we’ve found to consistently destroy them.

“How…how is it that you can make one of these?  And you said I can control it?”

* That’s one of my special abilities; I’m able to create just about any Dungeon Monster, though I have to unlock it first…and there are limits.  Yes, you can control it – give it a try. *

Sandra explained the two different Special Abilities the Wyvine had and described how to give it orders with intent behind her whispered words.  Chryla took to directing the Monster rather adeptly, making it slink through the underbrush with nary a sound and practically disappearing into the shadows caused by the dense foliage above.  Within a few minutes, she even seemed to be enjoying herself.

“This is amazing!” she said after she had gotten the hang of controlling the Wyvine.  “I think it’s time to test it out for real now.”  So saying, she took off further into the forest, tracking what Sandra immediately identified (with a pair of Shears she sent ahead) as a large boar of some kind that was obviously a Dungeon Monster.

The Ranger made more noise than the Wyvine as they quickly caught up to the boar, which was actually quite large – almost the same size as the new Shadow Beast Monster Sandra had just created.  The Dungeon Core watched as Chryla sent her new assistant invisibly around the side of the enormous boar as she crouched down behind a tree, preparing to fire her bow.

Something must have alerted the boar to her presence, however, as it turned towards her location at the moment the Ranger released a steel bolt from her bow.  Whereas the projectile should have gone through the boar’s eye, likely killing it immediately – which would have been an amazing shot – it instead skipped off of its skull, tearing a massive furrow in its skin and causing extensive bleeding from the horrid wound.  Unfortunately, the wound was nowhere even close to fatal; in fact, it didn’t even seem to faze the Beast as it immediately charged towards Chryla scrambling to fire another bolt.  Even hiding behind the tree probably wouldn’t do her much good because the boar seemed large enough that it could knock the admittedly thin trunk of the tree down in its effort to gore and kill the Ranger.

A vague blur was the only indication Sandra had of the Wyvine as it slammed into the boar from the side, after running into it at full speed.  As soon as it touched the boar, the “invisibility” it had borrowed from the shadows was entirely gone and it was revealed in all of its splendor.  The impact from Chryla’s new companion was strategic; the dark-colored lizard-cat hit with claws extended, which dug into the thick fur of the boar as its momentum caused the Wyvine to continue over and above the charging Dungeon Monster.  The boar was pulled over to its other side as a result, and it crashed down with its own momentum causing it to slide forward, slamming into a nearby tree with tremendous force, cracking its trunk.

But even that impact didn’t kill the boar, as it quickly struggled to its feet. Chryla and the Wyvine weren’t idle, however, and a bolt that appeared to have some sort of Natural elemental energy applied to it slammed into the thick fur and skin of the Beast’s neck just as the dark lizard-cat pulled its claws out of the boar’s side and started to furiously tear into the tendons and muscles of the Monster’s legs.  With two of them torn apart so thoroughly in a matter of seconds and the boar seemingly weakened by whatever the Natural energy had done, the Beast crashed down again; in the process of lethargically trying to turn its head to gore the Wyvine, another bolt slammed into its open jaws, driving itself into the roof of its mouth and into its brain, killing the Dungeon Monster instantly.

“Ok, I love it,” Chryla said happily after a moment as the Dungeon Monster dissolved, leaving behind a large Yew Wood stick that would probably be greatly beneficial in making bows – if the Rangers weren’t already wielding Sandra’s crafted composite bows.  “I missed my first shot there, and while I probably could’ve outrun that beast, it would’ve been difficult to take down without endangering myself. This Wyvine is exactly what I didn’t know I needed.”

* I’m glad to hear that!  Now, there is a limited amount of time that your new companion can use its special abilities, which uses elemental energy just like you do.  Unfortunately, it cannot regenerate that energy naturally outside of my dungeon; fortunately, I can send some Fire and Nether Energy Orbs along that will fill it up, similar to how you regenerate your own through the ones embedded in your palms. *

“That’ll work, I guess – but isn’t there a way you could embed those Energy Orbs into the Wyvine?  That would make it much easier, I would think.”

* It doesn’t work that way, regrettably.  I have to use— *

Wait.  Why didn’t I think of that?  It was so simple that Sandra didn’t know why she hadn’t tried it before.  Well, she knew why; using an Elemental Orb – which was a lot more expensive Mana-wise – rather than almost any other Monster Seed to create a Dungeon Monster was foolish, because it was a waste of Mana, essentially.  When she added in the time and effort it took to enchant an Elemental Orb into an Energy Orb, then it was equally ridiculous.  For her constructs, it wouldn’t even make a difference, because they couldn’t use elemental energy; for her other Dungeon Monsters, though….