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

Sandra felt bad for Kelerim; he sounded like he had a hard life living amongst the Orcs, but it wasn’t his fault.  She wanted to blame the entire race for his misfortunes, but she had felt some of the same ridicule and shunning in her previous life because of her deformed, claw-like hands.  Fortunately for her, she had her father to help get her through, but the beaten-down man before her didn’t have the same support that she had.

The Orcs were just…different to what she was used to as a Human, but it didn’t necessarily mean that they were wrong in their thinking.  The way they treated Kelerim was wrong in her opinion, but their society as a whole had survived this long because it worked for them.  Something along the line must’ve broken down, however, and it was just as Winxa had said: the Orcs, along with the other nearby races, were slowly getting to the point where they would be wiped out by the nearby dungeons unless something was done to help them.

But what could she do to help?

Sandra couldn’t believe she even thought about helping the Orcs after hearing what they did to Kelerim, but she had trouble blaming the entire race.  Regardless of how they treated him, she felt a sudden urge to lend aid to the Orcish people – and to the other beleaguered races as well.  She wasn’t sure how she could help, but the need to do something was there.  I wonder…is this part of the Creator’s plan?

She didn’t realize she had projected this thought out, but both Winxa and Kelerim responded almost in unison, “What plan?”  She was just glad that she had learned how to direct her thoughts toward one or the other, because having a simultaneous conversation with both at the same time would get highly confusing.  The Dungeon Fairy was hanging out in Sandra’s Home room, but the Core had been updating her on the details of Kelerim’s “visit”.

* I think I may have a way to help the Orcs, as well as the other nearby races – I just haven’t completely figured it out yet.  It seems crazy, I know, but it seems…right.  Like it’s my purpose for being here in the first place, even though it’s still a guess on my part. *

Sandra projected that thought out to both individuals for their benefit, before turning her attention back to Kelerim.  She wasn’t intentionally trying to ignore Winxa, but she didn’t want to give the Fairy any cause to try to add her opinion, because of the possible consequences of inadvertently giving advice.

“How in the world could you help the Orcs?  And why would you – a dungeon, after all – help them in the first place?” Kelerim asked with all sincerity.

* There are circumstances about my appearance in this location that I won’t go into right now, but suffice it to say, I have reason to believe that my presence here may be part of a bigger plan.  And the fact that I received a…reward of sorts…for bonding you to the dungeon only proves my theory more.  I think I was put here to help the races effectively fight against the dungeons, so that they can survive and thrive like they used to.  There are other races out there, like the Humans, that have actually gotten better as a result of the dungeons nearby, but something…I guess the best way to say it is that a mistake was made that the Creator is trying to fix.  And I think I am that fix.”

“I don’t get it.  I admit, the ‘monsters’ I have seen so far appear plenty powerful, but I doubt that they alone will be able to beat back the thousands of other dungeon monsters roaming around.  Unless you have a massive army hiding in here somewhere?” Kelerim asked, still confused.

* My constructs are unique, I do have to say, but they aren’t what I meant.  My strength lies elsewhere; I’m not an expert in fighting, I’d never even killed anything before I became a Dungeon Core, and the only monster or wild beast I’ve seen larger than a dog was the Bearlings that attacked two weeks ago.  Despite that, I have something that is quite different from the other dungeons in the world – knowledge.  And it’s that knowledge that can help the Orcs, as well as the other races in danger of extinction. 

* As you may have guessed by now, I’m not an ordinary dungeon – I’m a Crafter’s Dungeon. *

Chapter 33

“So where do I fit into all of this?” Kelerim asked, curious as to his role in everything she had just said.

He had to admit that he was a little on the fence when it came to the “rescue” of the Orcish race.  On the one hand, they had taken him in when he was exiled from the Dwarves; on the other, they had treated him horribly, even going so far as to chase him out into the wasteland to die.  When he looked at it objectively, though, he realized that those actions by the few that had wanted him dead were in the minority; the rest were too beaten down by their own circumstances to care much about him.  In fact, there were plenty of times when an individual had shown him a little kindness, even if it were just sharing a bit of food with him now and then.

Unbeknownst to him, he agreed with Sandra – a Dungeon Core of all things – about the situation within the land of Orcrim: he couldn’t blame the entire race for the actions of a few.  He felt a small obligation to do what he could to help, though he couldn’t guarantee it would extend to the Dwarves who had kicked