BXBX NOVEL Chapter 99: Kaboom!
Nikolai looked at the unconscious dwarf in front of him and crouched beside him. He rummaged through his pockets until he found the possessed item, a small watch. The spiritual power on its was several times stronger than the rest.
“This must be the first item?” Nikolai guessed. If he were the Souls Mechanic, he would have the strongest item drop first.
After putting the watch into his subspace, Nikolai stood up and left the pavilion. He entered his dark dimension and ran back toward the others.
He heard the whistle of an arrow as his food stepped into the pavilion. The headless arrow flew across the pavilion and struck the stumbling dwarf while the other ran forward.
As the dwarf reached Sergio and Yuxi, a long chain appeared between them and wrapped around the dwarf. The dwarf screamed in pain as the chains oozed darkness that tried to devour the poor man.
“You don’t need this anymore.” Nikolai appeared beside him and took out the item from his pocket. After losing the item, the dwarf began convulsing before passing out.
“As strong as ever, boss!” Sergio gave him a thumbs-up. Nikolai smiled and shook his head.
“We’re fighting against craftsmen; they’re not trained for battle.” Nikolai knew that the dwarves were barely an F-rank. Until he gets his skill and reaches 100 Points in a single stat, then he will be an F-rank.
Yuxi walked over toward the other dwarf struggling to stand after inhaling the potion and getting shot by her arrow. She took out a black piece of fabric that Nikolai gave her and pocketed the item.
Nikolai walked toward her and opened his palm. Yuxi looked at the screw silently before handing it to him. Squinting his eyes, Nikolai threw the screw into his pocket dimension as his mind wandered in thoughts.
“Do you think Lex managed to fix the ship?” Sergio walked toward them with his mask covering his face. The mask was weird, as it looked like a hooked beak of a bird strapped with leather.
“It won’t be as good as the dwarves themselves, but it will do,” Nikolai said as he looked at the unconscious dwarves. “We can’t convince the dwarves that their dream would possess them.”
“They will hate Lex and declare her a traitor,” Sergio said with an uncomfortable expression.
‘I thought you hated her.’ Yuxi gestured with a mocking smile.
“It’s just…” Sergio scratched his head as Nikolai looked at him silently.
‘He’s too empathetic.’ Of course, Nikolai knew this already, but he was beginning to notice that it might pose a problem. Furthermore, it might be pathological to be this kind. ‘Maybe I should take him to a doctor that would make him more selfish.’
As Nikolai thought of things he found plausible while others might question their logic, Lex ran into the pavilion. She came in with sweat rolling down her face and her pipe strapped to her forearm.
“We need to run away, now!” She said, panting and trying to gather her breath. “They check the workshop every hour. If they see the ship ready to launch, we’ll be stopped. We have thirty minutes left!”
‘She fixed a core in less than thirty minutes?’ Nikolai was surprised. They wouldn’t have been able to know the guard’s schedule without Lex’s help.
“Let’s go.” Nikolai nodded as he glanced at Sergio. However, he took out a health potion and handed it to Lex without being told.
The Gunmaster was surprised but had no time to question. She drank the potion, and her fatigue lessened enough for the four to go outside.
The dwarves outside were nowhere to be seen, as Lex made up an excuse that the Master Dwarf wanted to see them a while ago. The four ran through the fort for a few minutes before they came across patrolling dwarves.
The group slowed down their pace into walking as the dwarves looked at them warily. Glares brimming with tension were shot between the two groups until the dwarves sensed something was amiss.
“Where are you going?” The dwarves blocked their paths. “The Master instructed that you remain in your pavilion. Please return.”
“We took permission from the Master to overlook the ship’s progress.” Lex lied.
“Very well.” The dwarf hesitated and nodded. “We’ll accompany you then.”
Sergio glanced nervously at Nikolai, who was relatively calm. As they walked with the dwarves behind them, time began ticking. Since the workshop was on the deeper parts of the fort, they wouldn’t reach it in less than thirty minutes of walking.
Nikolai slowed down his pace until he was the last person walking in front of the dwarves. Lex shot him with a complex gaze as if asking him not to hurt them.
‘We’re making them an enemy, to begin with. We might as well give them a reason to hate us.’ Nikolai sighed but didn’t plan on killing the dwarves.
His Darkmoon Longbow appeared, and he infused it immediately with the effect of Blinding Light before shooting it. His darkness exploded to shield them from the light as the dwarves shouted because of the light.
“Run!”
Nikolai shouted, and the group sprinted. Even though he was the fastest in the group, Nikolai remained in the back. After a while, a siren was set off in the whole fort.
“Warning, Code Five. Warning, Code Five.”
An announcement rang in their ears as the gates began to close. Whoever saw them ran after them, and by the time they made it to the workshop, there was a whole group of guards following after them.
“That’s the gate!” Lex pointed at the locked gate in front of them. However, there was no way they could get in after the gates began to shut down.
“Kaboom!” Sergio shouted as he waved his hand, and three vials made an arch in the air before they struck the metallic gate.
“Wait, that’s too many…” Nikolai tried to stop him, but he was too late.
BOOM!