“Yes,” Blake said, a hint of pleading in his voice. “Since you are a darkness dungeon, but also have a connection to the Goddess of Justice, I should be able to ascend and unlock the skills of a paladin, even with both affinities…”
Blake trailed off, and he ran a hand across his face.
“What is it, Blake?” Erin asked, talking into the pendant.
“Well, there is the chance this doesn’t work, and I become a death knight instead.”
Oh, that sounds cool.
“Won’t know till you try, right?” Ryan said, excited by the prospect. “Are you ready?”
Blake did not reply, but Ryan sensed Blake’s aura pull away from the shield. The boy had his eyes closed tight, and his hands were balled into fists.
That was answer enough. Ryan absorbed the shield, noting it was classified as a rare item. He checked it over and decided to make a few minor improvements. He removed imperfections and improved the grain structure of the metal it was made of, and replaced the gems, which had minor flaws, with the perfect versions he had acquired over his time as a dungeon.
Then he replaced the gold in the insignia, which was just gold leaf, with actual gold. His final change was to the back of the shield. On a whim, he traced the symbol that was imprinted on his crystal core, the skull representing his darkness affinity, into the metal.
Happy with his work, he summoned the shield, allowing himself a twinge of pride as he saw the rarity had increased to ultra-rare.
Oops.
“Are you ready?” Ryan asked.
“Yes.”
Blake placed both of his hands on the shield, forcing his mana into the object.
Instantly, the room burst into light. Ryan watched in awe as darkness mana and celestial mana twisted and danced around the sitting figure. Blake’s body was engulfed within the two contrasting manas, and it almost appeared as if they were trying to overcome each other.
Minutes ticked by, the battle between the two elements raging. Then, with a pop, the two seemed to equalize, darkness on Blake’s left half, light on his right.
Even as the light began to fade, the twin elements began to twist and swirl, the maelstrom flinging dust in a tornado of power and crackling energy.
Blake cried out in pain, and Ryan almost tried to pull the shield away. But the boy’s yell was followed by a deep sigh as the two manas suddenly converged, creating the strange, beautiful mana that Ryan knew to be ethereal.
It settled into Blake, permeating his body, then slowly faded until he was just a boy again, clutching a glittering shield with shaking hands.
Slowly, Blake rose to his feet.
“How’d it go?” Ryan asked, his interest piqued. He checked Blake’s information, and let out a wry chuckle.
Oh, this was going to be interesting.
???
“Exalted One, I bring grave tidings.”
It was a woman who spoke, prostrated before his throne.
“Viktor has failed,” she bemoaned, “and the Crown of Sorrows is lost.”
She was clad in robes of red, and to the bare eye, she was achingly beautiful. But beneath that beauty, he knew she was the vilest creature imaginable. Well, close to the vilest.
He let out a chuckle, and the woman flinched.
“Worry not, my daughter.” he said, smiling at her fear. “The necromancer accomplished all I needed of him when he brought me that ring.”
He grinned and turned to his right, where the fruit of Viktor’s labors stood, silent and obedient.
The ring had acquired him a being of immense power. That small, tawdry piece of jewelry was worth more than the crown had ever been.
The woman looked up, confused.
“But, the Crown of Sorrows—“
“Was a useless legendary artifact that only a necromancer such as he could use. Viktor was the last of his kind, so you see, it had no value to me.”
The woman bowed her head once more.
“Now, I expect you to carry out the next stage of our endeavor.”
“But of course, Exalted One,” the woman said, pressing her forehead closer to the ground. “My brethren and I will begin at once.”
Slowly, she backed away, and he turned his eyes back to his prize. He allowed himself a rare, cruel smile. Everything was going as he had planned.
Soon, after countless ages, he would finally have what he wanted. He would finally have his revenge.
Afterword
On behalf of myself and the Portal Books team, I would like to first thank each and every one of you for reading my story, Bone Dungeon.
I had a blast writing this story, and there were many Skype calls with my editors during its development that may or may not have gotten sidetracked covering the crazy shenanigans I wanted to put into the story…and eventually did — looking at you, skeletal fight club…and Steve…and Buttercup…and yeah, I think you guys get the point.
Anyways, this story means a lot to me, and the fact you have picked it up, given it a chance (and made it through to the end) also means a lot to me.
It has always been a dream of mine to one day write a story worth getting published, and thanks to Portal Books, that dream has now become a reality. If you enjoyed this book, I would love it if you could leave a review, share it with friends and family, even give it a shout out on social media.
If you hated it, why not share it with your worst enemy? (I’m a new author, I’ll take the views where I can get them, bwahaha…kidding!) But really, while Bone Dungeon is my first book, you can bet it won’t be my last.
I am hard at work on Bone Dungeon’s, and also writing another fun novel on Royal Road. If you wish to follow my work, feel free to check that one out at:
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/21501/dco--dungeon-core-online
or join my Discord, where I post writing updates and chat with my readers:
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Also, you can follow the Portal Books Facebook group for updates about my books and those of their other amazing writers at:
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Finally, if you’d like to sample FREE content from other incredible authors at Portal Books, you can do so by signing up to the Portal Books mailing list.
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By signing up you’ll also be the first to hear about all our titles such as:
Occultist (Saga Online #1) by Oliver Mayes
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Warden (Nova Online #1) by Alex Knight
Aether Frontier by Scott McCoskey
Dungeons of Strata by Graeme Penman
Cryoknight by Tim Johnson
Battle Spire (Hundred Kingdoms #1) by Michael R. Miller
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Best wishes,
Jonathan Smidt
More LitRPG from Portal Books
Portal Books will release 8 new titles this year - it’s going to be a big one. But out right now is the sci-fi themed LitRPG, Warden: Nova Online.
“Imprisoned for a murder he didn't commit, Kaiden's only hope of early release is in serving as a Warden in the game-world of Nova Online.
It’s available on Kindle Unlimited and on Audio.
Also out now is Occultist (Saga Online #1).
Welcome to the world of Saga Online, the newest fantasy VRMMORPG. Join Damien as he discovers the rare Occultist class and summons an army of demons to save his mother’s life.
It’s available on Kindle Unlimited and on Audio.
Last, but not least, is Battle Spire: A Crafting LitRPG Book.
Battle Spire is a meeting of World of Warcraft and Die Hard, using crunchy LitRPG mechanics with a heavy focus on crafting. Readers can expect to find in depth item and spell descriptions, along with stat tables and profession recipes.
It’s available on Kindle Unlimited.
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Copyright © Jonathan Smidt, 2019
Published by Portal Books, 2019
The right of Jonathan Smidt to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
www.portal-books.com
Bone Dungeon (Elemental Dungeon #1) - A Dungeon Core LitRPG Page 36