My Fate System

"Very well, human." The leader nodded. "This will be an equivalent exchange. Give us that blueprint and bring the ship to us. We'll fix it for you once we have the materials."

'Does he think I'm a fool?' Nikolai smiled as he saw through the dwarf's scheme. Bringing the ship to them while it needed repairing was the same as asking Nikolai to go and never return.

"Great!" Nikolai replied with a bright expression, holding himself back from grinning. The last thing he wanted was for the dwarves to notice his teeth.

The leader smiled as if he was a brilliant schemer. He looked confused when Nikolai walked toward a clearing beside them.

"I'll give you the blueprint once you finish repairing it!"

From the shadows on the ground came out Alias, looking as if it rose from the dead. The dwarves retreated in fear as the ship surfaced.

"How did you do that?" The leader asked with sharp eyes, looking at Nikolai as if he was a demon.

"An enchanted item!" Nikolai lied, but they can never tell. The leader looked shocked as he glanced again at Nikolai, wanting to see through his background.

"Are you from an enchantment family?" The leader asked, looking apprehensive. Nikolai simply smiled without replying. The leader looked at the ship and nodded.

"Carry it back! We're returning to the village!" The leader raised his arm toward Alias.

"Aye, Master!"

The dwarves walked in unison toward Alias, passing by the panicked Sergio and Yuxi. Each dwarf grabbed a part of the ship before they shouted and raised it. 

"One! Two! Three!"

The dwarf in the lead began shouting, and with each yell, the dwarves took a step forward. Sergio stumbled toward Nikolai as they watched the ship leave.

"Bossman, can we trust them?"

"The dwarves might be doubtful of others, but they aren't the type to scam others."

"For someone as cynical as you are, bossman trusts stereotypes too much," Sergio said with a hint of unease, which Nikolai understood.

"It's not like we have a different way of fixing Alias, right?" Nikolai shrugged. "The dwarves don't need the ship. Plus, seeing me take it out of thin air, I doubt they would think of anything funny."

Nikolai said with a smile as his eyes followed the dwarves. The group then followed after them, walking around the mountains until they arrived at a large monument, as big as a small house.

The monument was of a dwarf with a long beard that fell to his knees. The craftsmanship was exotic, every detail being incredibly vivid and realistic.

Nikolai saw the Master Dwarf walked toward the statue and placed his hands on it. After injecting it with mana, the statue's eyes shone as it began to shift.

There was a rumbling sound as the statue moved to reveal a staircase. Sergio and Yuxi looked mystified by the existence of such a place in the middle of the forest, but Nikolai felt it was only natural for the dwarves to live underground.

"Where are they taking the ship?" Sergio turned to see the dwarves carrying the ship away.

"There is a special dock," The Master Dwarf came to explain. "We'll fix the ship there. Now, blueprint."

"Not a chance, dwarf." Nikolai talked to him the same way the dwarf talked to Nikolai. "No upfront payments."

"Guh." The dwarf scowled with a frown. "Fine, you can either stay here or enter our village as guests."

"We'll be going in." Nikolai descended the staircase before the others objected. After all, the dwarves had all sorts of machinery, making them a treasure trove.

"I guess we'll be living with them for a while." Sergio turned to Yuxi and shrugged.

Yuxi sighed and looked at the underground passageway with unease. Sergio followed after Nikolai, and she remained with the dwarves, who looked at her with wariness.

At the end of the stairs, there was a large hall lit up by fluorescent bulbs. Even with the limited light, Nikolai could see the village. The first thing that greeted their eyes was the many storage rooms filled with machines.

"This looks like an underground military post," Sergio mumbled as they walked behind the dwarves.

"Even the military doesn't have this many machines." Nikolai sighed in greed. "How many days would the repairing need?" He asked the Master Dwarf.

"Three, at most." He said while glancing at Nikolai. "During this time, don't wander around the village."

"That's fine, but I want to see your Gunmaster," Nikolai said, making the dwarf scowl at him, but Nikolai was unwavering.

"Fine!" The Master huffed and waved his hand. "I'll take you there now, and you can find the way later."

'They are even willing to let me meet their Gunmaster?' Nikolai squinted his eyes as the dwarf led the way. Their attitude could only mean that the blueprint was this important to them.

'They are looking for the blueprint of a key, it seems. I wonder if the dwarves know about the dungeon.'

The Master Dwarf took them to the Gunmaster, who had a pavilion of their own. The ceiling had an opening with sunlight coming through them.

He found many mirrors lining the opening as he looked up: a mechanism to allow sunlight in without using windows. They walked in and found the place to be filled with plants.

"I thought a Gunmaster's abode wouldn't have a lot of... greenery?" Sergio muttered as he breathed in the fresh air. Nikolai felt the same. 

The group walked in to find a table with empty plates on them. The Master Dwarf sat down and gestured for the others to sit as well.

"Ding!"

The Master rang a bell on the table, and the doors of the pavilion opened. Machines rolled out carrying plates of food, and they filled the table instantly.

Sergio, Nikolai, and Yuxi had faces that screamed 'what the hell is going on?' while the Master Dwarf simply sighed.

"She's always so extra."

Nikolai heard the master mutter as the doors of the pavilion were thrown open. Walking out was a girl wearing nothing but a skirt and bondages around her chest.

'A human?' Nikolai was surprised.