Chapter 86: Dwarves

Like a kid who saw a toy, Sergio looked so excited that he almost jumped from the railing. However, the infinite darkness beneath them made him think twice before doing so.

“It something I found in the dungeon,” Nikolai said as he turned off the lights on Alias. “Let’s have some light in here.” He waved his hand and allowed something other than air into his pocket dimension, which was light.

“Woah!” Sergio watched as the sky, which was black until now, turned into a light shade of red. Nikolai smiled as he also enjoyed the new look of his pocket dimension.

Even though it was constructed by darkness, his dimension was a space in essence. The light came in from Nikolai’s location in the real world, so the setting sun was the reason for the red sky.

Nikolai used the darkness of the outside as a portal to get air and light in. His pocket dimension wasn’t inside his body but inside of darkness. That’s why Nikolai could enter it and leave it as he wished.

“This machine is so big,” Sergio muttered in amazement. “Bossman, can it work? Why are there so many gaps into it?”

‘Well, that’s because of my darkness.’ Nikolai almost laughed, but he didn’t say anything.

“Forget about the machine. We need to sleep now. We’re leaving at the first ray of dawn.” Nikolai opened the hatchway and jumped into the room.

“Ah, bossman! You should sleep in the captain’s cabinet!”

“Let the mute use it. She’s a girl and has her needs.” Nikolai said, even though he was only doing it because he didn’t trust her. Sergio, however, was convinced of the excuse Nikolai gave.

Sergio went into the room as well, sleeping on the upper bunk. As he laid in his bed, Nikolai couldn’t remember the last time he felt so safe.

A dimension of his own.

His darkness left his body without Sergio noticing and went upstairs. They surrounded the captain’s cabinet as they began to create a wall in his space.

As he was locking the mute archer inside the cabinet, Nikolai realized that the way he created his space was too simple. He could divide it into a separate room, making it a proper house.

After he finished creating the walls around the cabinet, Nikolai finally fell asleep. His fatigue from clearing the dungeon pulled him into unconsciousness in a matter of seconds.

***

The dwarves took hold of the ore mines, making their lands near mountains or underground structures. With their strong affinity to the Earth element, the dwarves were natural welders of metals.

As the group left the forest and entered the mountain range, they could feel that they were trespassing. Metallic monuments lined the trails that Nikolai and co took as if reminding them that going any further would prove dangerous.

‘Why are dwarves so feared?’ Yuxi gestured as Nikolai was crouching beside a small metallic statue. Sergio seemed to understand her question and turned to look at Nikolai with equal curiosity.

“They are called Master of Firearms and the Inventors of Gunpowder. It is commonly believed that the dwarves designed the first gun in ancient times, which humans replicated later on. Until now, dwarves have blueprints of unorthodox weapons that can split iron with a touch and evaporate lakes in one shot.”

Nikolai stood up as he picked up the doll. The monument had ominous green beady eyes, which shone brighter when Nikolai raised it.

“This is going to explode,” Nikolai stated calmly as the two were looking at him. They blinked their eyes as cracks appeared on the monuments, and it began to shake.

“Bossman! Throw it away!”

Nikolai tossed the monument in the air before jumping behind it. As it descended with flames coming out of its cracks, Nikolai scissor kicked it midair and sent it flying toward the hill beside the trail.

The monument exploded when it collided with the hill, obliterating the ground in an instant. The explosion shook the area as Nikolai landed beside the unsteady Sergio and Yuxi.

“Nice one, boss!” Sergio wiped off his sweat with a smile. “However, that was so close. Who’s the idiot who leaves such a doll in the middle of the forest.”

“I’m guessing that it’s the idiot behind you.” Nikolai dusted himself as he stood up. “I knew you guys wouldn’t come out unless the ground was destroyed.”

“Who are you talking to… Woah!” Sergio jumped away when he saw the head of a dwarf come out of the bushes behind him. The dwarf was half of Sergio’s height with a robust body. However, he wasn’t alone.

The dwarves came out one by one from the forest and the mountain with their signature giant noses, surrounding the three intruders. Each one of them held a firearm, whether they were males or females.

“Bossman, I think we’re in trouble.” Sergio and Yuxi backed away until they were beside Nikolai, who looked at the dwarves with a smile.

“What brings ya lots here?” The dwarf who appeared beside Sergio asked with a gruff voice. He wore a leather jacket that had many pockets with dusty trousers. Each of the dwarves wore a headband, making Nikolai feel like he belongs.

“Our ship needs fixing, so we came here to look for the dwarves, the masters of their craft,” Nikolai said with an unwavering voice despite the countless guns ready to shred him to pieces.

“We aren’t your handymen, leave or suffer.” The dwarf spat.

“I have something to offer in return.” Nikolai raised his hand, and the blueprint appeared. “This seems to be the blueprint of a key. I don’t know what key it is, but I found it beside the stream.”

“A blueprint?” The dwarves’ eyes gleamed with interest while their leader frowned. “What does this key do?”

“I’m not a craftsman to know.” Nikolai shook his head. “However, the key consists of sixty-six parts.”

“Leader, can it be…” One of the dwarves stepped up and said with hesitation. The leader seemed suspicious as he looked at Nikolai.