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

A/N: Huhu I am so sorry but it's another 1 chap today! It's long tho! These darned natural disasters are just coming one after another! Grrrr I do think it'll be as usual moving forward tho~

That said, so many places were hit by tsunamis and earthquakes this week! I hope everyone is alright!!! (We're far from the sea, but we're prone to earthquakes)

Stay strong, everyone! Our houses, too! Aja! Aja!

Anyways, back to the story!

…

___

The dwarves looked at each other, but they reluctantly touched it in the end. They poked and grabbed, but let it go as if it were poisoned. But, seeing as nothing happened, they became bolder and bolder until they completely took it.

They studied how it was folded and then stared at its workings. They were smart and could somewhat understand, and the enlightenment made for a curious sight.

Otto had very, very, good memory. When Oslo showed off and explained how it worked (which was something he had also just understood at the time), Otto did not forget it.

"It's a curious thing, so helpful, yet actually so simple," he said. "A contraption of metal and wood. You push your legs on something called 'rotating levers' and the whole thing rolls forward by a huge amount with little effort.

"There is no trace of aether beyond what is innate in the materials. It just works so well on its own. Isn't it curious?" he asked, and he could see the dwarves' eyes sparkling. "There are many things you can create without aether, and that is something our people do best."

According to the books he had read (he wished he had read more to be honest), Otto could surmise that they'd be just as interested in these aetherless mechanical things just as much as they would be interested in certain aether tools.

It was said that dwarves technically could not have professions like humans did, but they had a deeper sense of arrays due to their close connection with elves in ancient times. It was just instinct, like how humans were just social animals by default, with few exceptions.

So, even if it wasn't counted by the system, people still saw dwarves as official weaponsmiths and creators.

At the same time, it was also why they were instinctively dependent on aether manipulation.

It was like their minds were wired to always consider it, which was also why—Otto inferred—they could take years to create anything.

Dwarves had, historically, only created complex things. This was why the ones without much power or successful magical function—like that trebuchet he heard about before—were counted as rejects and no longer explored.

That was not sustainable at all, he thought, but how easy would it be for them to go against instinct and intuition?

Opening their minds like this was a risk, of course. What if the dwarven clan decided to expand to non-magic items and decided to sell it to others? However, if they were going to explore this route, Alterra was the best path, and he must water that the seed he planted in their minds.

Otto stood up and smiled. "That's my gift," he said. "You can go if you want, but you can also stay if you want—"

"WE WON'T!" they immediately answered, almost too hurriedly, and they quickly gestured to head out. This disappointed many people, who looked at them in pity.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?

"You have a home with us!"

"We'll be waiting for your visits!"

The three teenage dwarves flinched, not knowing how to handle such attention. The unknown was always scary, however, so they found their little feet moving faster than before.

Faster in their standard, of course. They were, unfortunately, still very slow.

A line of watchers couldn't help but see them off, and they were amused because the show would last longer than they thought, considering how slow the dwarves moved.

Pitter, Patter, Pitter, Patter

"Lol, so cute."

"They walk like penguins haha."

The three dwarves: "..."

By the time they reached the gates, Otto was there again, as well as many others. It wasn't difficult to stand in front of them, even with a leisurely pace.

This time, it was Silvia who kneeled down. The three dwarves did not hate Silvia. She was the one who lent them her phone, after all.

That said, she also guaranteed the phone would not work for long outside their hometown, so when she took it back, they were regretful but not too desperate.

They weren't fools. Obviously, asking for that weird tool was asking to be lured into a trap! PSH—

Still, it was not a magic tool—they could instinctively tell, but it worked like one. They remembered the 'bike' and wondered how many more things they could do without having to use aether?

It was so difficult to integrate aether into everything, and more difficult to make it function a certain way. They had a Hall subject that taught them how to do it, and the class lasted 10 years at least!

If they could create things without that limit—

NO! WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?!

The three dwarves slapped themselves in sync, making the spectators flinch.

"What do you want?" They asked Silvia, their walls of guardedness raised high above the clouds.

Silvia smiled, unaffected by their glares. She took out a little box from her space. "It's candy, sweet and could give you a slight increase in energy," she said. "Something to chew on while you're traveling."

"It is good and safe to consume," she added. "I can even make an oath if you want."

"No need!" Cotto screamed, just grabbing the box. "We'll take this!"

He didn't sense aether on it, so they couldn't have done anything they couldn't handle. They just wanted to leave here as soon as possible! Who knew how these demons would try to lure them next?!

The dwarves narrowed their eyes at each other, immediately dashing to the gates as quickly as they could without turning back.

The humans didn't follow, but they did watch the 'white haired penguins' toddle to the gates with a mix of amusement and disappointment.

The dwarves rushed and rushed. Sotto then took out the dwarven beast repellent in their space.

Dwarven beast repellent was not a potion. It was a tool that needed to be charged. It absorbed aether on its own, and they judged that it should work for a few days.

It was also why they were forced to go into hiding in a human village. The power ran out!

It was an irregularly-shaped stone of sorts that occupied a portion of the space. One of them had to carry it with both arms, so the other two would guard him as best as they could.

It could keep the beasts around 10 meters away from them, though the stronger the beast the smaller this distance and there was a chance their own scents would overpower the effects and they'd be hunted down anyway. It was very scary.

It also worked only for Town-level monsters and below, so they would never venture anywhere else with it.

Anyway, they just used it and headed straight home. They had to make sure to lose whoever was trailing after them!

They traveled and ran as fast as their little legs could take them. Occasionally, they might also look back.

When they confirmed that there was really no one following them though, they couldn't help but feel complicated.

Psh. Jerks.

…

Back in Old Shrao Village

Sigh.

"Such a pity," Mao said, very sad to see the new race leave. There had been many whispers among the group about them finally getting dwarves, and some had already volunteered to show them to the dorms.

Sadly, that was a distant dream for now.

Mao took out his phone and looked at their 'memories' together. There were even photos of him holding the peace sign in front of the tied-up dwarves.

Otto looked at the sad atmosphere and rubbed his temple. He, too, felt regretful, but he was the type to always think long-term when it came to business.

"Dwarves are known for their weapons," Otto said, though the soldiers really felt complicated. "And they are known to deal significant damage to town-level territories. We can't have them thinking we kidnapped their young."

Although they were a weak race, there were still so many unknowns about them that it was difficult to predict what they could (literally) throw at them.

"The dwarven weapon we saw was just an advanced trebuchet," Sammy said, referring to the weapon the goblins used against Guia back then.

"Those are their infantile weapons," Otto explained. "According to records, it was not unusual for dwarf clans to have the capability to destroy Level 5 walls—and damage stronger ones. It was said that they were developing weapons that could handle city defenses, too.

"That could just be a legend of course, because no matter how many dwarves were captured—not that there were a lot of them—those kind of powerful weapons had yet to show up."

The one they had in the Blu mines could destroy level 5 walls, but beyond that was not possible.

"Of course, this could be propaganda certain people spread so people would actively be wary and hunt dwarves."

"It's a pity to let them go… but we have to take it slow, otherwise Alterra might pay for it."

There would be risks, but it was better to be on good terms with them. From what they gathered, dwarves had very little hostility in their bodies. So when they managed to escape the humans, they preferred to just build their own clans and live their own lives, refusing to touch humans again.

There was simply no reason to start the relationship on a sour note.

Someday—maybe—the seeds they planted would bloom, and they'd be curious enough to look on their own.

"If it's fated, it's fated."