The Crafter's Defense: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 2) by Jonathan Brooks (top 10 novels txt) 📗

but the crafting – and found that the Orbs actually replenished the elemental energy in her Shapeshifter, which was extremely handy.  Then she spent the next day replacing most of her constructs that had been destroyed, while also devising plans for the future.

Sandra still hadn’t had any contact with the Dwarves (Kelerim as a half-Dwarf didn’t count), so that was something she’d need to do soon.  She also had to figure out what was going on with the Orcs, and whether Kelerim had succeeded in finding his father.  The Gnomes she had saved and had left her dungeon were probably still on the road, but eventually Gnomeria would learn about her existence.

Most importantly, however, was the large influx of materials she had gained access to either through natural means or through her Transmutation Core-specific ability.  With the ability to enchant now – though she really needed to practice – and those new materials, there was so much crafting to be done…

Felbar and Echo woke up within an hour of each other approximately a day and a half after the Elite Elves had saved their village from destruction.  Felbar was understandably confused, shocked, angry, and – at the same time – intrigued by the dungeon and the development of the Energy Orbs.  Fortunately, Violet was there to calm him down and answer any of his most pertinent questions, though Sandra chipped in whatever information he requested when he started asking specifics.

He may be a gruff, grizzled-looking warrior on the outside, but there’s obviously a shrewd mind underneath that exterior.

She had to leave Violet to get him acquainted with the dungeon and get him some sustenance as well; he woke up just as hungry and thirsty as Kelerim had all those weeks ago.  Echo didn’t have someone familiar there to get her accustomed to her surroundings and to explain everything the way Violet had for Felbar – so that job was left to her.

Sandra briefly thought about using her Shapeshifter to become one of the Elite Elves, but with all of the other projects she had going on, she hadn’t quite yet had time to craft any clothes; she didn’t think that having one of them dressed in a sheet with a hole cut out would be the best first impression.  That, and if her Shapeshifter ended up reverting back to its normal form while talking to the likely-confused Elf after she woke up, the strangeness and deception probably wouldn’t go over well.  Besides, she still couldn’t actually “talk” out of the Shifted forms, so it was ultimately a poor idea.

Therefore, when Echo woke up – inside a little room branching off from the growing room down below that Sandra made and moved her to, with just a Repair Drone nearby – Sandra was there to greet her…via her mind.

*         *         *

Echo struggled awake, a strange nightmare bombarding her mind with thoughts of strange metallic undead monsters and snakes – oh, how I hate snakes.  Finally, she was able to open her eyes and did so abruptly, staring at a stone ceiling above her.  It definitely didn’t look like an arborent, and her people rarely built with stone, so she must be—

She quickly sat upright and saw she was in a small room, with an exit leading…somewhere – where that somewhere was, however, was a mystery.  A moment after sitting up, she held her head in her hands as the room started to spin, the act of sitting up making her dizzy.  She immediately noticed that she was practically starving and likely dehydrated; the lack of food and water probably had a big part in her dizziness.

“Wha—?  Where—?” she asked the room when she finally got a chance to look around, before scooting away (more like flailing because of how weak she was) from one of the white cylindrical monsters she recognized in the corner.  She waited for a moment to see if it was going to attack her, but when it didn’t even move she started to relax a little…until a voice that sounded like it was in her head spoke to her—

* Hello, Echo.  I apologize for the sparse accommodations, but I haven’t had the chance to build you a bed quite yet. *

“Who are you?  Where are you?  Am I a prisoner?”  The questions just rolled off her tongue as she began to panic.

* Oh, no – not at all.  But quite a lot has happened since I had to heal you from that snake bite.  Now, let me explain exactly who I am… *

End of Book 2

Author’s Note

Thank you for reading The Crafter’s Defense!

Sandra made a lot of improvements to her dungeon in this book, not the least of which being the creation of her AMANS above her dungeon.  I wanted to be able to speed up her progress without making her too overpowered, which was what the increase in incoming Mana was able to achieve.  Even with plentiful Mana, the one thing she didn’t have enough of was…time.  Time until she was attacked by Elves, the time needed to upgrade, the time stolen away by her Classification advancement – they all hindered her in some way, but that also led to some interesting developments.

In the third book, I’m planning on including more enchanting, more crafting, and the introduction of the Dwarves nearby.  Eventually, Sandra would like to collaborate with all of the races to help defend themselves, but only time will tell if she ends up getting what she wants.

Again, thank you for reading and I implore you to consider leaving a review – I love 4 and 5-star ones!  Reviews make it more likely that others will pick up a good book and read it!

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