After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

Cotto, Batto, and Sotto were so dead. That was what they believed.

How did things come to this? Would they be okay? Would they be able to escape?! Even if they do, their clan leader would definitely punish them so badly. What if they took away their workshops?!

Their race's main social unit was in the form of clans. They did not have proper kingdoms—never did—unlike the ugly humans did. Their way of life was always simple, and there were very few conflicts because their interests were the same: Exploring and creating.

Each clan all had their own hideouts, specific areas where generations of dwarves lived. They also were not allowed to exit until they reached a certain age, which was 50 years old, which was also the time the next generation would usually be born.

Their clan, called the Northern Dwarves Clan, had their hideout somewhere Northwest of here. However, while a team went out to gather materials, they encountered enemies!

Those brethren managed to leave a message behind—to not follow them because they had been captured by a city that had been ready for them! If others came to check, they'd only be captured as well!

It had been 3 years since then, but the elders had yet to make a move!

How could they feel comfortable, though? One of the captured people was actually Cotto's cousin and Batto's teacher!

And they—young idealists—wanted to rescue them.

So, the three snuck out with all the weapons in their arsenal (which really wasn't a lot), used the pathways they prepared long before that, and finally met the outside world for the first time.

Regardless, the trio was not ready for what greeted them outside the safety of their clan lands. While they had classes and lessons and stories of what to expect, seeing the monsters in person was too horrible!

They were also much faster than they thought! The elders said other races were fast, but not this fast!!

In a short time, they had consumed most of their weapons!

Fortunately, they found an abandoned village. It did have monsters, but not as many as it did in the wild. There were also buildings to hide in, and they could use their repellent to keep them away for a few days.

Who'd have thought ugly humans would arrive!?

What do they do now?! Would they become slaves like in the stories!? Would they become ugly too!?

CRY

It didn't help that those humans went away to talk and just left them there!

Unexpectedly, less than half an hour later, the group of people arrived again.

It was that man with pee-colored hair again, the one who seemed to know most about them. "Do you have a way to contact the adults of your race?"

"We are adults!" the dwarves insisted, looking very, very annoyed. Most thought they were adorable, while others shook their head.

Otto crossed his arms. "What about the Elders, then?"

They narrowed their eyes at the ugly humans. This was probably what those stories called 'traps', right? This was totally a trap!

If they told them, wouldn't these ugly humans try to take them away?

Otto knew there was no talking with them anymore. He just nodded at the others, who then, to the dwarves' surprise, loosened their ropes!!

"Well, you should call them and leave this place," he said. "It's for your own safety."

What?

The dwarves looked at him in disbelief. "Are you… really letting us go?!"

Unlike goblins, they had no sixth sense about the hostilities of people. They would be too slow to react anyway.

"Yes, we don't really need you," Otto said, shrugging, definitely playing hard-to-get. "But we will welcome you if you want to come with us willingly—"

"WE WILL NEVER COME WITH YOU, PEE-COLORED HUMAN!"

"..."

Obi, who was watching from the side, laughed boisterously.

Otto's eyes twitched, but he managed to maintain his handsome smile. "But before that… take this," He said, taking something out from his space.

It was not small, and might barely fit normal people's spaces at all. Even the other human 'slaves' there were amazed when they saw it.

"It's a bike!" they gasped, not expecting to see one in this world. "Did someone bring it from Terran?"

"It doesn't fit though, I tried!"

"It's a legitimate working one! It's made of simpler materials and is foldable—I think they created them!"

"What?"

"Where do we get one?"

While the humans were chattering amongst themselves, the three dwarves looked at him—and at the contraption—oddly.

Otto smiled. "I noticed you need some improvements in the speed department."

He went on to ride it and took it around, making the dwarves look at him. They watched as he traversed the streets so quickly without putting much effort into it.

The dwarves tried to school their expression to be uninterested, but they really sucked at hiding their curiosity.

Otto knew it'd work.

For some reason, according to the books, the inheritances among dwarves always had to do with weapons. Practical equipment seemed to bypass them. Further, the development of 'real' dwarven weapons took a long time. In a dwarf's long lifespan, perhaps they'd only be able to make a handful of genuine weapons.

Of course, this was considering the fact that dwarves, before reaching adulthood, were focused on the theories and simpler inventions, while the old ones were too slow and their bodies too weakened to do much anymore.

At best, practical mechanical tools were just repurposed weapons. For instance, the one they used to mine Blus could also be used to damage walls and was thus, technically, a weapon.

As for why this was, he didn't know, but a bike should be something they'd be interested in.

Oslo had mentioned some of the principles regarding the bike, and Otto had a feeling that the dwarves would be able to manually apply a lot of these concepts in their processes.

"This is a gift from Alterra," he said. "You'll have to make adjustments so you can use it though. I'll send you our map in case you want to know more."

The dwarves could only accept the updating of their map, surprised that the place wasn't nearby at all. What were these humans doing this far?

Otto smiled at the critters, enticing them. Even if he knew it'd take a while, he was determined to plant the seed.

"Remember: Alterra is a friendly place—and it could become a home for every race.

"And that includes the dwarves."