My Fate System

The Ferro Fort shook, causing dust to fall from the ceiling as it threatened to collapse. Nikolai could see nothing from the dust and smoke of the explosion. The heat of the blast scorched his skin, but his fingers had frostbites.

"Damn, Sergio," Nikolai muttered under his breath as he lowered his arm. The other three were sprawled on the ground, and even the dwarves couldn't steady themselves.

From behind the dust cloud came a bright light. When everything settled, a significant gap was torn in the fortified wall. Traces of frost and flames could be seen on it.

"I did say kaboom, but... cough." Sergio tried to stand up from the ground with his face covered in soot. There were burn marks on his arms and legs. 

"Let's talk about this later." Nikolai helped him stand as he looked at the other two, who were relatively doing better. "We need to hurry up. Hopefully, Sergio didn't destroy the ship again."

"I didn't destroy it last time..."

"Shut up, your potion did." Nikolai helped the alchemist as he limped toward the door. There were shouts behind them of the swarming dwarves, and Lex took out her gun and fired several shots in the air.

They ran into the workshop and found Alias in front of them. It was steadily floating as it did before. As they approached it, dwarves swarmed into the workshop.

"Stop moving!" Master Dwarf was in the lead of his armed squad. "Otherwise, we'll shoot!"

Hearing those words, Nikolai and the others froze. The sight of a hundred dwarves carrying guns was still fresh in their minds. They turned to see themselves surrounded by countless firearms, ready to shred them.

"What is the meaning of this, Lex?" Master Dwarf glared at her. "How could you... betray us like this?"

"I'm saving you, not betraying," Lex said. "The inheritance you seek is a cursed one."

"That's why you attacked some of us and took the items they brought?" Master Dwarf looked saddened. "Our ancestors dictated that we find the inheritance, no matter the consequences."

"Your ancestors, not mine," Lex said with a frown, gritting her teeth. "You will thank me later." She said as she took out her gun.

"What, you are going to fight against a hundred guns with one?" Master Dwarf shook his head. "Surrender, and I'll make sure you are spared."

"I'm Gunmaster, Lex." She said with pride, but Nikolai felt as if she was holding back her sobs. "My weapons are unmatched!"

She pulled the trigger toward the dwarves, but nothing came out of the muzzle. Instead, like spreading its wings, two plates opened on each side out of the gun. Most of the dwarves screamed in pain as they fell to their knees.

"A directed sonic attack?" Master Dwarf covered his ears with pained expressions as they bled. Yet, even with his betrayed expression, he looked amazed.

"I'm sorry," Lex apologized and turned to Nikolai. "Let's leave!" She said, and Nikolai nodded in response. He carried Sergio and jumped over the ship as the other two climbed into it.

The workshop had a dock connected to it, which Lex had opened beforehand for their sail. As soon as she boarded Alias, she ran toward the core room, and the ship began to move.

Nikolai took out a health potion from Sergio's pouch and made him drink it. After that, the alchemist rested as his wounds began to heal.

"I'm so sorry, boss. The moment I try to be reliable, I rely on you." Sergio said as he coughed. In addition to being the closest to the explosion, he was also the weakest one in the group. Thus, he was hurt the most.

"Shut up, idiot. That's how we do things. You rely on me, and I rely on you." Nikolai said with a frown. "Now, just rest as I take care of the rest."

Nikolai stood up and walked toward the railings. Jumping on them, he looked at the dwarves aiming their guns at Alias, hoping to bring it down. He spread his arms as he looked down on them.

"You shall not pass."

His darkness exploded like a hungry fog until it blocked the ship. The dwarves pulled their triggers, and bullets rained on his darkness.

The moment a bullet touched his darkness, it disappeared as it entered his pocket dimension. However, their inertia and destructiveness were still there. So, every time a bullet entered his pocket dimension, it made space unstable as it struck the walls.

As hundreds of bullets struck the walls of his pocket dimension, Nikolai felt that it was threatening to break. The damage was directly transmitted toward the black cube in his sea of consciousness.

"Cough," The blood leaked from his mouth and nose as his eyes turned entirely red. However, he didn't stop using his darkness until Alias entered the tunnel and the bullets of the dwarves struck the walls.

As it finally ended, Nikolai could do nothing but fall back on the deck. He lay next to Sergio as blood leaked from his nose and eyes. His mana rushed to fix the damage to his pocket dimension and sea of consciousness, but the process felt like a hundred knives striking his naval.

The blood trailed down toward his neck and his cheeks. Nikolai watched the light on the ceiling turn brighter by the second as he waited for his body to recover.

Someone appeared in front of him with her short brown hair and calm eyes. Yuxi crouched beside him and looked at him as he bled. She raised her hand and touched his headband, making Nikolai's eyes turn scary as he glared at her.

His darkness was about to explode, but she retracted her hand from the headband and grabbed his neck instead.

'Is this what you fear?' She mouthed the words, but Nikolai could understand them. Her small hand wrapped itself around his neck.

'I have the opportunity now, but am I going to do it?' She asked as she let go of her hand and stood up. She walked toward Sergio's pouch and took out a health potion before making Nikolai drink it.