Monster Mansion 2 by Dante King (best way to read ebooks .txt) 📗

“Our turn,” declared Kyrine. “I didn’t create all this just so that you could have all the fun, Jeremy.”

“Sounds good to me,” said Astrid with a grin. She brandished her sword, and Kyrine held out her paired battle-axes.

“Do you want to fight another Cobra?” I suggested.

Kyrine shook her head. “I have another idea. I’d forgotten I could do this but… well, watch this.”

She concentrated for a moment, and Astrid and I both looked around at the sound of faint popping noises, like far off gunshots. Off at the other end of the walled garden, shadowy figures were appearing in the snow.

“Who are they?” Astrid asked as the dark silhouettes began to move toward us through the snow.

“They are shadow elves,” Kyrine said proudly. “They are the base-level summonable creature of any dungeon, but I’d forgotten them.” She turned her eyes on me. “I’d forgotten much before I was joined with my Keeper. Now that we are together, Jeremy, I’m remembering…”

Kyrine had a massive well of mana, and it seemed that there was no limit on her summoning in this place she had created. More and more of the shadow elves appeared in the distance and began to move silently toward us. They were dressed in black chain mail with gleaming breastplates over the top, and their eyes burned red as coals in the whirling snow.

Astrid got on one side of me, and Kyrine on the other. I drew on my summoning strands and placed five Flesh Muncher portals in a staggered line on the ground in front of us, about each with about ten feet of distance from the other. The Flesh Munchers were fixed in place, but they could attack anything within about four feet of themselves. The barrier would slow the advance of the shadow elves and thin their ranks before they reached us.

The Flesh Munchers were terrifying creatures, as tall as me, with a thick, vine-like stalk as thick as my arm rising out of a base of broad fleshy leaves. The stems were topped with gray, bulbous heads that had no eyes or noses or ears, but massive, toothy mouths. They swayed gently back and forth, awaiting prey.

I had seven summoning points left, so I drew on the Flora Whelp strand twice, creating one of the spitting, ferocious dragon-like creatures which crouched growling by my side. With my last three summoning points, I brought in a level 3 Venomous Cobra. The Cobra appeared out of a portal I placed on our right flank, to attack the enemy there.

“You like a challenge, right, Kyrine?” I asked as I saw the shadow elves organize themselves into ranks. They divided up into units, a line with spears and shields in front, a knot armed with swords and shields, and a block of archers at the back.

“I certainly do,” purred Kyrine. “I think we will be more than a match for them.”

Astrid looked at Kyrine, and there was doubt in her eyes. She glanced at me. “Are you sure this is wise, Jeremy? I’m not sure how the others would explain to the bosses at the EDI if I were killed in this battle by accident.”

“Oh, didn’t I mention that?” said Kyrine. “Nobody can die here, not unless I will it.”

There was a tense pause. “And of course,” Kyrine continued, “that includes you, Astrid. In this space that I’ve created, you can be injured—that’s why I created the healing potions—but you cannot not be killed.”

“Uh, what happens if I take a hit that would kill me?”

“Oh, you just respawn at the entrance.”

Astrid grinned. “Cool!”

“How come I can’t summon shadow elves?” I asked.

“They are not in the dungeon’s database in the same way as the other creatures. All the other summonable creatures are made available when I absorb a core, but these shadow elves are not based on cores. They are a manifestation of the dungeon herself, my very own signature creature. They are no good for dungeon adventurers, because they don’t drop any loot, but for the dungeon Keeper and his friends, they make a valuable training resource.”

“Here they come!” shouted Astrid.

One of the shadow elves—a tall one bigger than the rest and with a red gemstone in his tall helmet—called a command in a language I didn’t know. The rank of archers raised their bows and loosed a cloud of arrows up through the falling snow.

“Force Barrier!” I shouted, flinging up the spell so that it unfolded like a blanket over me and my monsters. The arrows struck the Force Barrier, bounced off, then fell harmlessly to the ground as I released the spell.

A second cloud of arrows flew, and I repeated the spell. This time, the barrier was a second too late, and a scatter of black-feathered arrows stuck in the snow around us. I held the Force Barrier as a third and then a fourth volley flew through the air, and then the shield wall of spearmen charged.

They crashed into the Flesh Munchers, who lashed out with their massive mouths, decapitating shadow elves in every direction. Astrid gave a whoop, and Kyrine followed her as she charged into the melee, sword swinging.

Astrid and Kyrine fought side-by-side, pushing against the center of the shield wall. The Flesh Munchers darted their heads this way and that, snapping limbs and yanking off heads, and even devouring the elves whole. The shadow elves may just be summoned creatures, but they bled when they died, and their bodies soon littered the ground.

I held back, holding off the flights of arrows with my Force Barrier. As I did so, I saw the group of swordsmen split into two. One approached the rear of the spearmen to reinforce them, while the other began to move round toward my left. The shadow elf commander shouted, pointing a finger