The Crafter's Dungeon: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 1) Jonathan Brooks (sites to read books for free .TXT) 📖

goner.  I don’t know this Kelerim enough to trust him, so I will be here to keep you company while you’re undergoing the process.”

Sandra wouldn’t have it any other way.  She had already informed Kelerim that she was going to be unavailable for the next day and to not go exploring – since there were many traps still in place – so she thanked the Dungeon Fairy and used her filled-up Mana to complete the 8th and final stage needed to upgrade to Core Size 16.

It was boring as usual, thankfully.  It took a little bit over a day and a half, but fortunately that seemed to be the norm lately when she was upgrading.  She was glad that the downtime wasn’t dramatically increasing as it had when she was new, otherwise it probably would’ve taken a week or more by that time.  When she finally recovered from her upgrade, she looked inside and outside of her dungeon (where her Mechanical Wolf and Jaguar were roaming around), looking for any major issues.  Kelerim was in his room sleeping on his Leather-padded bed, and everything else looked quiet.  Even the Bearlings were still keeping their distance, for which she was thankful.

When everything looked normal, she relaxed and finally looked at her upgrade notifications.

Core Size Upgrade Stage complete!

8/8 Completed

Your Core has grown!

Current Size: 16

Mana Capacity increased!

Ambient Mana Absorption increased!

Raw Material Capacity increased!

New Constructs option!

Core Selection Menu

Dungeon Classification:

Constructs

Core Size:

16

Available Mana:

12/8011

Ambient Mana Absorption:

8/hour

Available Raw Material (RM):

8500/24079

Convert Raw Material to Mana?

8500 RM -- > 340 Mana

Current Dungeon Monsters:

654

Constructs Creation Options:

15

Monster Seed Schematics:

60 (4)

Current Traps:

27

Trap Construction Options:

All

Core-specific Skills:

4

Current Visitors:

2

Constructs Creation Options

Name:

Mana Cost:

----------

------

Automated Digger

2500

Repair Drone

4000

Ironclad Ape

6000

Steel Python

8000

Overall, there wasn’t anything Core-changing about the upgrade, but the extra capacity for her resources was nice.  Not to mention that she unlocked another construct: a Steel Python.  It took her almost a day after she upgraded to finally get the chance to see it, because she needed to create another Average Steel Orb, which was one of only two Monster Seeds she had capable of containing it – the other being the ultra-expensive Flake of Dragon Glass (which she could theoretically create now with her new upgrade).  Added to that expense was the Mana cost of the Python itself, which was nearly her maximum, and it added up.

When she finally had enough to create it, she was slightly disappointed at her first sight of it.  She had been expecting a giant snake that might fill up half the room because of the sheer expense of it, but it was much smaller than that.  At five feet long and six inches around, it was still large, but she didn’t think it was worth the cost; it was only when she had it move that she saw its worth.

Because it was fast.

It slithered across the room faster than any of her other constructs, as the smooth – and somehow flexible – steel skin along its outside allowed it to glide effortlessly over the stone.  As an experiment, she had it wrap around one of her Tiny Automatons that were still wandering around her Home, and she watched it squeeze the little construct so hard it crumpled under the pressure.  A quick strike of her Python’s razor-sharp fangs practically ripped the Automaton apart, before it dissolved and melted away, leaving behind a Tiny Copper Orb.

Definitely effective, that was for sure.  Although it was expensive, she could see the worth in having the Steel Python as a defender, not in the least because it would be much harder to destroy than anything else that she had access to.  However, because it wasn’t as versatile as her Ironclad Ape – in terms of crafting ability – she left off with just the one.  Before it left her room, she made sure to cancel her Fire wall trap; she saw no reason for it to be destroyed so soon after it was created.

And now it was back to training her new apprentice – and eventually a little excursion for her new friend.

Chapter 35

“I really don’t think this is a good idea; I’ve told you already that if any of Razochek’s warband sees me, they’ll kill me.  There has to be a better way,” Kelerim spoke toward the metal monkey next to him.  He knew it wasn’t actually her inside the Ironclad Ape – and that he could just talk to the empty air and she would hear him – but it felt more “normal” to speak to something.  Otherwise, he felt like he was losing his mind and talking to imaginary voices in his head.

Oh, there was a voice in his head – but it certainly wasn’t imaginary.

He had gotten to know Sandra over the last few weeks and he was enjoying himself for the first time in…well, forever.  He had as much food as he wanted, he could craft without having to worry about quotas and deadlines, and he had someone who actually listened to him instead of looking down on his parentage.  She was encouraging yet firm, and she demanded perfection – which was frustrating, but also motivational.

Kelerim had needed to grit his teeth at first in anger after he had been told he was doing everything wrong, but he calmed himself with the knowledge that he was self-taught and didn’t actually know the best way.  It turned out to be the right attitude, because when he learned something as simple as holding the hammer the right way, it made a world of difference.  Within a day and a half – and after many other lessons drilled into him while watching the Ironclad Ape at work at the forge –