Empire Builder 1: Breed, Populate, Conquer by Dante King (free e books to read online txt) 📕

1) PASSIVE

2) DEFENSIVE

3) AGGRESSIVE

At that moment, he needed the monster to attack with everything it had. He placed his finger on the proper rune, setting the vine monster to aggressive. After seeing how well she handled herself in the dungeons, he knew it wouldn’t be able to harm Imogen, and he wanted to ensure that the monster would respond correctly in battle.

As soon as Imogen came close enough to detect, the monster began roaring and snapping at the end of its stalk. Imogen walked up very close to the monster, almost taunting it.

Then she spun on one foot and kicked the monster’s head so hard that it burst, spraying sap across the atrium. The stalk went limp and fell to the ground in a heap.

Ben absorbed the monster back into the tower. A small notification popped up on the screen.

Accumulated knowledge: Range Deception

When Ben pressed the notification, it expanded, showing a description.

Vine monsters can stop short of their range, luring opponents closer before attacking

“What does this mean?” Ben asked.

“The vine monsters have gained intelligence based on Imogen’s attack,” Sir Gallant the Younger explained as he read the text. “Next time you summon one, it will hold back, enticing her closer, so that it can attack her.”

“Just like they did to us,” Melody commented.

“These new abilities, do they apply to any monsters I summon in future?” Ben asked.

“Any that you summon in this tower,” Sir Gallant the Younger said. “The knowledge is stored in this control room.”

“Good to know,” Ben said.

He scanned the screen and spotted an option for a third monster. A smile spread across his face as he read the name.

Blade Fiend.

“What’s this thing?” he asked, gesturing toward the words.

“Ah,” said Sir Gallant the Younger. “Blade fiends. Very, very dangerous creatures. But likely very useful for your purposes. A blade fiend is a tentacled beast that has the power to consume edged weapons. It uses its tentacles to snap them out of the hands of its opponents, devouring them and using them to its own advantage.”

Ben wasn’t quite sure what that meant, and decided he needed to see this in action.

“You’ve got my curiosity,” said Ben. He pressed the rune to speak to Imogen. “One more and we’re done, alright?”

She nodded, her fists held up before her.

Ben then summoned the blade fiend, his counter dropping down by 20 as the monster appeared in the room.

“Wow,” said Ben as he took in the sight of the monster. “That’s…something else.”

The blade fiend resembled a pink, fleshy tube, a dozen thin, rubbery tentacles attached and whipping into the air around it.

“What the hell is this thing?” asked Imogen.

“A blade fiend,” said Ben. “Doesn’t look like there’s anything around it can use to attack you, so take it out.”

Imogen nodded, one of the fiend’s tentacles plopping onto her hand before moving onto the other.

“You see that?” asked Sir Gallant the Younger. “If she’d been wielding a blade, it would’ve plucked it right out of her hand.”

Ben said nothing, watching the events. Imogen quickly grabbed onto the tentacle, ripping it off with a quick pull. The fiend let out a horrible cry of pain as Imogen tossed down the tentacle and closed the distance between them. Once near, she laid into the beast with a series of punches and kicks, quickly taking it down. Its limp body fell onto the floor with a soft plop, and Ben didn’t waste any time pulling it back into the tower.

He wanted to summon more monsters and train them, but realized he ought to check on his guests first. No doubt they were beginning to wonder where he was.

He navigated to the Dining Hall on the screen.

“I wonder what’s keeping the slaves so long,” Adremor remarked, rubbing his stomach.

“Probably mucking out the stables,” Uzax spat.

Lexi dropped her eyes to the table and didn’t comment.

“Looks like we don’t have any more time,” Ben said. “They’re getting impatient. These three monsters will do. I’ll fill the room up, and keep on filling it up as long as I have the mana.”

“What do you need me to do?” Melody looked at Ben, her eyes wide. Her shoulders were squared, but she still looked nervous.

“I need you and the nymphs to be ready to fight. I plan to weaken them as much as I can from here,” Ben explained. “If the monsters can’t deal with them, you’ll have to go in and attack them yourselves. Once I run out of mana, I can have Sir Gallant the Younger operate the control panel. He’s already experienced in summoning monsters, so he should be able to handle things.” Ben realized something and looked at the little animated statue. “Can you regenerate your mana?”

“My mana regeneration speed leaves a lot to be desired,” he said sharply. The topic was obviously a sore spot for him.

“Damn,” Ben said. “I was going to suggest that we take it in turns, one person using their mana to summon monsters while the other regenerates.”

“Unless you provide me with a full day’s rest between summoning, that is out of the question,” Sir Gallant the Younger said.

“In that case, we’ll have three attempts. Me first, then you, Sir Gallant the Younger, then me again. If that fails, then Melody and the nymphs will have to fight. I’ll join you and use my Drain spell in whatever way I can, but I can’t guarantee the mages won’t have defenses against my magic.”

“I assume they will be able to muster some form of defense against your Drain spell,” Melody confirmed.

“Do any of you know how strong the mages are?” he asked. “What can we expect?”

Melody frowned. “As an Elemental Acolyte in the Arcanarium, I saw many mages who are far stronger than I, and these hunters don’t rank very high up. That’s not to say they won’t be strong, but the level of power mages can attain is incredibly high. These mages will be adept in combat magic, for that is what they would have used while