“Yes, of the mansion.”

“It’s pretty incredible,” I said. “I can’t believe you crafted it all yourself.”

“I can do a lot more than that now that I have you with me. But there is no need to get ahead of ourselves. We should begin at the beginning, to avoid missing out on any essential steps of progression. For now, you should begin guiding the progression and evolution of the monsters.”

“That sounds good to me.”

“Then, where would you wish to start?” Kyrine asked.

“I think I want to test out the training room for a bit. I’d like to see how everything works and give my new Dragonling a bit of a spin. I haven’t used Summoning Magic before, so I want to see what it’s like to command a minion. By the way, I know that we currently have two monsters in the database—Dragonlings and Magma Apes—but how do I add new monsters?”

The Magma Apes had already been present in the database, but the Dragonlings had been added after I’d answered Kyrine's interview questions on magical creatures.

“Oh, it’s not too difficult, you will just have to retrieve creature cores and bring them to my area of influence, where I can absorb their essence,” Kyrine said. “But the Magma Ape and Dragonling should be sufficient for now. They each represent a blueprint, and you can summon as many as you like so long as you do not exceed the number determined by your cultivation level.”

“I figured there’d have to be limits,” I said.

“There are limits,” she said, “but they will increase quickly, I’m sure. You will need to experiment a little to work out exactly what you’re capable of.”

“All right!” I said. “I’ll experiment with what I’ve got for now, then I’ll think about heading out to get some new creature cores.”

“Very well, but don’t hurry to leave the grounds. After all, I have only just merged with you.”

She almost sounded a little too possessive. I would have to outline some basic rules to our relationship. For now, though, I was excited to take my new monsters out for a spin in the practice hall.

Chapter 15

With a simple thought and a focused intention, I found myself back inside Kyrine's core room. I stood in the center of the room, with Kyrine standing before me, looking at me intensely. She seemed a little sad that I was leaving her private chamber, but I wanted to test my minions in the practice hall.

“How do I get out of here?” I asked her. I remembered that she’d said this room existed within the core itself, and I suspected that even if I went out of the small wooden door, it would not lead me into the mansion. I looked at Kyrine and smiled. “I guess the door doesn’t work, right?”