The Crafter's Dominion: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 5) Jonathan Brooks (books that read to you txt) 📖

even remember what the enchantment was supposed to be other than a very expensive one, but the supplier wouldn’t listen to reason.

Because he had been duped and wouldn’t – or couldn’t – admit it.

Long story short, the supplier accused Sandra and her father of trying to cheat him, making them out to be the bad ones in the situation.  Even offering to have an Enchanter look at the weapon to prove that it was enchanted with something else wouldn’t appease the man, so they ended up terminating their working relationship with the supplier after that.

Essentially, no matter what they said or did to prove the weapon wasn’t what the supplier insisted it was, he wouldn’t listen.  She and her father were powerless to do anything at the time – but that didn’t quite translate to the here and now.  Sandra was far from powerless.

Ignoring the continued ranting about destroying her Core and whatnot, which she had gotten fairly used to from the fragmented soul in her mind, she focused on her Resonating Prismatic Core.  It was currently touching the side of the Goblin Core, Echo pressing it against the glowing crystalline form with her hand.  Hmm…there’s one thing that normally happens during a bonding, but maybe it needs a little push.

“I WILL—WAIT; WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

Observing from outside of the Cores, she watched as her Prismatic one slowly pressed into the side of the Goblin Core, allowing it to be absorbed little-by-little.

“NO!!!  YOU’RE GOING TO DESTROY—”

The shouting continued right up until the Core was fully absorbed, which was then replaced by blessed silence.  In addition to the silence, there was something else that happened: A tiny presence in the back of her mind, not invasive or threatening, appeared.

“Hello?”

For the first time, she heard the other Core in a non-shouting state, and it was coherent enough that she could make out a male-sounding voice.

“Hello?  Is this the Goblin Core?”

There was a little chuckle coming from the presence in her mind, followed by a verbal response.  “Is that what you’ve been thinking of me as?  Well, I guess it fits based on my Classification, but I’d rather you call me Mychal.”

“Mychal?  That sounds almost Human.”

“I was…I think.  My memories are a bit jumbled, and I barely even remember my own name.  All of this has suppressed who I was, and now I only really exist as a Dungeon Core.  How—?”  The voice paused for a moment.  “How did you manage to keep yourself whole?”

Sandra explained in brief who she was and what she had done to keep her mind intact, though she hurried through it because she felt as if time were running out.  “I don’t think we have much time.  I need to know, will you stop trying to destroy my Core now?”

“Y-yes, I believe so.  In fact, I find that I now have very little desire to kill any more people out in the world above.  Though…”

When he didn’t continue, Sandra prompted him.  “Though, what?”

His voice was starting to become a bit shaky.  “I don’t think I can help myself.  The contract with the Creator is too strong of a force, and I can’t resist it entirely.  These people in my dungeon are starting to bring back some of the anger that your presence has seemed to calm, but the need to kill them as a threat to my existence is too hard to ignore.”

That didn’t sound good.  “What will you do?”

“I…I think I have to try killing them, or my Core will end up shattering.  I have no urge to send any of my Monsters above right now, but I can’t say how long that will last.  Some feeling of mine says that if I build up my defensive population in my dungeon to a certain point, I’ll be contractually obligated to send them out.  I can probably withstand the need to do that for a little while, but ultimately I will send them out to expand again, killing whatever they encounter.”

“I can understand that.”  She did, too – it was ingrained into their nature, after all.  The knowledge she had gained earlier from the soul fragment allowed her to comprehend the urge, the need to expand, but without the insane anger and rage that went with it, it could be controlled.  Up to a point, of course.

It wasn’t the best-case scenario, but it would have to do.

“We’re out of time,” the other Core suddenly said in her mind.  “I really don’t want to kill anyone else right now, but if those people don’t leave in the next few minutes, there’s nothing I can do to stop it.  GET THEM OUT OF HERE!”

The shout wasn’t one of anger or rage, but one of desperation. She understood what he was trying to do, and she wouldn’t waste the opportunity.

Looking around the room from the perspective of the Goblin Core – which she suddenly comprehended that she was inherently connected to – she saw the world slowly coming back up to speed.  Their entire conversation had taken at least 10 minutes, but less than a fraction of a second had passed in the real world; now that the Bonding process was complete, everything was returning back to normal.

With a rush, the party she had sent into the dungeon rushed into motion, but the Goblins were still moving at a super-slow speed.  Before anyone could continue the slaughter they were undergoing of the Monsters in the Core room, she immediately froze everyone using the Bond she had with them.

* Don’t kill any more!  Run!  I’m carving a hole in the wall located in the previous room, but you’ll have to blast the rest of the way through yourselves.  I’ll explain everything when you’re safe. *

She let them go in less than a second, so it probably felt less like she was controlling them and