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

to the right, the Holy Protection Shield will stay on until you turn it off, though you won’t be able to attack through it.  Let me demonstrate. *

Sandra had the Steelclad Ape that had followed him outside pick up and throw a small rock at tremendous speed at the War Machine; as she had predicted, the rock bounced off, ricocheting off and leaving the Gnome construct unharmed – even though it probably wouldn’t have done much in the first place.  She then asked Felbar to try to attack the Ape, but the Gnome soon found that he couldn’t fully extend his arms up, as they were slowed to a stop by the shield from the inside.  He could walk and even run but trying to attack anything through the Holy Protection Shield was nearly impossible.

Felbar proved her wrong, however, as he physically barreled into the Ape with his entire body – shield included – and sent it flying backwards.  Fortunately, it wasn’t hurt that badly, but it did go to show that the Gnome could at least do something while shielded.

* The Shield doesn’t consume a lot of energy by itself but uses more when it stops an impact or even an enemy spell – which will drain it rapidly.  It’s meant for extra protection when you’re in trouble or see an attack incoming, and not for constant use.

 

* The other enchantment, on the other hand, is best used in short bursts and you’ll have to keep your hand on the activation rune because you’ll not be able to “lock” it.  It’s also on your right side because it’ll leave your left hand free to control your Machine’s left arm.  Now, stick your construct’s left arm out and we’ll see if Violet and I set up the enchantment correctly. *

Felbar hesitated as he reached up to the activation rune, and Sandra nearly giggled at the look on his face as he likely remembered the “mistake” she had made earlier.  Fortunately for him, Sandra had learned from that and Violet had double-checked everything before she approved of its safety.  With a shrug, Felbar closed his eyes and pressed down on the rune sequence.

A cone of fire erupted out of the end of the warhammer, starting from its tip and extending almost 10 feet before dissipating.  The noise of crackling flames made him open his eyes and stare at the flames coming from nowhere, and he began to giggle himself as he moved his War Machine’s arm around, making the cone of fire go where he wanted.

* Oh, good – it didn’t even explode this time! *

 

Felbar froze for a moment and gave a half-hearted grunt at Sandra’s poor excuse for a joke.

 

* Anyway, we’ve determined that you can keep that going for about 20 seconds before it starts heating up your Warhammer too much; after 30 seconds, the hammer will probably start to deform a little; at a minute, the Titanium will likely start to melt.  Like I said, this is best used in short bursts, otherwise you’ll have to wait a while for the hammer to cool down again before you even use it to attack with.  Not only that, but the Flame Cone enchantment uses a lot of energy, so you have approximately 10 minutes of full use before the Cube runs out.  We would’ve put large Cubes in for these enchantments, but then you’d have a lot less room to move. *

The flames cut off after just over 20 seconds of Felbar playing with them, and the warhammer was noticeably hot, with waves of heat flowing off of it.  After having done so much blacksmithing lately, Sandra could tell that another second or two and the entire thing likely would’ve started to change color from the heat.

“This is…this is like nothing I’ve ever seen before.  Thank you,” Felbar said, a hitch in his throat as he appeared to be holding back tears.

* You’re welcome, but you can also thank Violet for helping a massive amount with those enchantments.  Anyway, head back inside and get out of that thing – we have a lot to talk about. *

He looked disappointed, but he turned the War Machine around and jumped back down to the workshop.  By the time it was parked, and he was out, the others had arrived.

Chapter 26

* I’m going to keep this as brief as possible, because we have a lot we need to get to.  Which brings me to my first question: how many of you are willing to help me do this?  While this is my dungeon and I control the different things in here, I don’t control you.  If any of you wish to leave, you can do so whenever you like. I appreciate whatever help you’re willing to give to eliminate this threat once and for all, though. *

Sandra thought that it was the best idea to give them an out if they wanted it, because she didn’t want them to do something they had no desire to do.  Now that the War Machine was done as they had agreed, Violet had already helped with quite a few of the enchantments that the Dungeon Core had wanted done; at the same time, Sandra had practiced a lot more and could actually create a lot of the easier enchantments by herself.  She was pretty sure she could do most of the others that she still had planned if necessary, so if the Gnomes wanted to leave, they could go with her blessing.

Echo was only there to deliver Energy Orbs to her village and her people, though she had been a great help in teaching Sandra how to manipulate elemental energy well enough to cast some spells.  The Elf didn’t have to do any of that, though the Dungeon Core certainly appreciated all that she did; that being said,