The Crafter's Dilemma: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 3) by Jonathan Brooks (english readers txt) 📗

continue creating those new enchanted Orbs, she was going to have to make more of the Elemental Orbs, which would be another drain on her limited mana.

As much as she wanted to do everything right now, Sandra knew she was going to have to be patient – and to have to split her focus between four different things: building up her AMANS, excavating underground rooms, creating more Energy Orbs, and learning what she could from the two Gnomes.  Fortunately, her perusal of the wastelands and surrounding areas had shown no emergencies that she needed to take care of, so she figured she had some time to get what she wanted done.

Therefore, she went ahead and started the process of adding more Shears outside her dungeon; as the first large pairs of Reinforced Animated Shears – they were nearly twice the size of the original and were made of sturdier metal (not quite Iron, but something similar and just about as durable) – hit the air above the Wasteland, Sandra was surprised to find an unexpected benefit.  Not only were they stronger and likely deadlier as constructs, but they could also “see” farther than the originals.

Farther, though, wasn’t quite the right word; while they could see approximately the same distance, the clarity of what they saw was much higher.  When comparing the two, a small Desolate Spider at 1,000 feet away was much easier to see with the Reinforced Shears than the previous incarnation; Sandra wasn’t sure why that made the difference, but she wasn’t going to complain.

In fact, by shuffling some things around, she used that advantage of “seeing clearer” by placing all of the new Shears along the outside of the AMANS, to better make out threats that might be heading towards her dungeon.  Not only that, but she took a dozen of them and sent them in a route that roamed around the entire border of the wastelands in a constant circuit, looking for anything out of the ordinary; they absorbed a bit less Mana at that distance, but having eyes on the surrounding villages and forest edges made her feel a little safer – for herself and the people she wanted to help, unbeknownst to them or not.

Sandra’s Visitors slept for almost half a day, which allowed her to get a lot of work done.  At full production, her AMANS would’ve likely been increased by 2,000 or more of the newer Shears, but she was also contributing to her other projects at the same time.  As a result, only about 900 Shears were produced – but at the same time three full rooms were complete, she produced an additional 32 Large Elemental Orbs of different elements, and she was also able to enchant them into Energy Orbs using her Unstable Shapeshifters.  She could’ve produced even more Orbs towards the end of that time, but she decided to start stockpiling some extra Mana for some experiments.

As soon as Echo was up, she was eager to return to her village; after Sandra made sure the Elf was fed, she had over four dozen of the Energy Orbs packed up in a makeshift Cotton cloth bag ready for transport.  She also volunteered her Mechanical Jaguar Queen to help with transport, but Echo refused, saying she wanted to be able to return on her own.  Sandra was a little hesitant about letting her go all alone after seeing what was really out there in the wastelands – as well as noticing that the Elf wasn’t completely recovered from her coma – but she wasn’t going to insist.

So, just over two days after the Elites had saved the village from an army of reptilian Dungeon Monsters, Echo left to rejoin her people…hopefully only temporarily.

 

*         *         *

 

Dawn was just breaking over the horizon as Echo left the dungeon for the first time since she woke up from her healing coma.  She had honestly been expecting Sandra to offer some sort of other excuse to keep her trapped inside for some reason and had been pleasantly surprised that she was politely but firmly urged to leave.  Not that she had a problem with that, of course, since she wanted to get back to her people – but she was not expecting to be given a simple cloth bag full of Energy Orbs and sent on her way.  Holding such valuable items in her hands made her a little on edge, truth be told, because such things were likely worth a fortune back in the capital.

Not that she believed that they would actually be sold; Echo knew that those in charge would see that they would be distributed to those who needed it most for the defense of their lands, and not for those with the most influence or deepest pockets.  Obviously, since she was in charge of them, she would make sure those in the village got the first choice – because they were an important part to maintaining their people’s presence on the border.  They were also her friends, of course, and she didn’t feel bad about making sure they got some preferential treatment.

Echo was entirely conscious that she hadn’t fully physically recovered from her experience, but she felt like she was strong enough to at least run back to the village on her own, so she had eschewed using one of the dungeon’s monsters to help her back there.  It wasn’t only for that reason, however; she reached toward her shirt where the Holy and Air Energy Orbs were nestled against her chest, constantly sending additional elemental energy her way.  A few minor experiments with them proved that they needed to have actual skin-on-Orb contact to replenish her energy, so they were pressed tightly against the center of her chest where they wouldn’t fall out when she was running.

I’m really going to have to find some sort of necklace like the one that Gnome woman, Violet, had.  At