Ben and his family continued hunting the rest of the day. They didn't run into anything as threatening as ogres or a horde of ants but they still were able to train themselves. Watching his family level up Ben felt a little more assured for their safety.

The upcoming months or years would be a bloodbath, Ben could feel it. All he could do now was try and prepare himself and the city for what was coming their way.

The sun was starting to set so he guided his family back to the city gates.

“Aren't you coming to?” Grayson asked as Ben stood outside the gate.

“No. I have something to take care of. I should be back tomorrow. Tell Cloey not to miss me too much.” Ben said, smiling as he jumped on the back of Ava and took off.

“What do you think he is doing?” Grayson asked his parents.

“Probably training. You saw how far apart our strength is from his. Today was probably a waste for him.” Joe said, watching his oldest son disappear in the sky, “We need to get stronger.”

Grayson slowly nodded with determination on his face.

…

Ben returned to the Red Forest Wolf den and asked Eve to guide him to where the ‘short people’ were. After traveling for a bit, Ben saw the glow of fires in the distance.

Stealthy approaching, Ben came close enough to see short but stocky figures around multiple fires.

‘Dwarves!’ Ben cried out in his mind. They was over a hundred of them from what he could tell and they seemed to be in rough shape. Their clothes were all tattered and their stocky bodies seemed thin. Lots of them seemed to injured or disabled.

‘Ava did you see dwarves when you were sent to Earth?’ Ben asked Ava. Cloey had saw Ava before being sent here so Ben thought maybe Ava had seen the dwarves.

‘No, I didn't . I saw a couple a demons and insects, that's it.’

Ben drowned, he was sure that these dwarves were slaves from space but he wasn't able to be sure.

‘Well I could always ask them.’ Ben smiled at his own bluntness.

Ben stood up from behind the tree and started walking towards their camp. He was soon discovered by the dwarves and soon found himself facing the end of a spear.

“Hello. Can I speak to your leader please?” Ben asked politely, smiling at the dwarves.

Being closer to them, Ben was able to make out some things he couldn't see before. The dwarves were around 1.5m tall, with mostly stocky builds. The men had long beards that were braided while the womens hair was also braided. Their limbs looked thick and powerful, their forearms alone looked bigger than Ben’s bicep.

A old man with white hair and beard stepped out in front of Ben, he was holding a tall staff with different runes on it.

“You asked for me.” he said simply, his gray eyes seemed murky.

“Pleasure meeting you. Would you and your people be interested in joining my city?” Ben spoke bluntly, getting to the point.

“You're city? A human city?” the leader asked. He seemed astonished at the idea.

“Yes. My name is Ben and I rule one of the cities created by the system. I am inviting you to join it. You will be provided with food, clothes and a place to live.” Ben clearly stated what he would be offering.

“Why would a human offer shelter to non humans, slaves for that matter?” a younger dwarf standing next to the leader spoke up. His arms were covered in rune like tattoos.

“Well I don't like the idea of slavery so it doesn't matter to me if you are slaves because you aren't now. Human or not, as long as you help my city become stronger you are welcomed. You have my word.” Ben spoke truthfully. As someone who grew up on the 21st century, he was strongly against slavery in any form. As for letting non humans into his city? Who would question his decision. He was the city’s lord and he dared anyone to challenge his rule.

Though it was a dictatorship through and through, it was going to ensure the safety of the city. Ben’s word was final and they was no taking a vote or other bullshit politics. Though Ben didn't take a keen interest in politics before the apocalypse, he read enough to know that even the presidents and prime ministers of the world were not able to change much even when they were in power. This way Ben could make any change he wanted.

The dwarves seemed to be hesitate to trust him and seemed to be torn on their decision.

“Well no need to rush to a decision. How about we eat our fill first, okay?” Ben waved his hand a three large deer carcasses appeared. Ben smiled as he saw the dwarves mouths start to water at the meat.

“How about you cook me a leg and you can have the rest?” Ben offered with a sly smile, knowing he was exploiting their weak spot.

The leader looked at Ben with his murky grey eyes, he knew what he was doing but he had little choice in the matter. His clan was starving and they need the food. Giving a slight nod the warrior's in agreement, they started cooking.

Ben sat around the fire with the dwarves and learned lots about them. They were once a well known clan among the dwarves called the Iron Mountain Clan, they were apart of the Human Alliance but met there down fall when the went to war against a stronger dwarven clan. The alliance wasn't allowed to interfere with interspecies conflict so when they lost the war the surviving members were all sold off.

Just like in the stories, dwarves were masters at construction and forging. They created lots of weapons in the universe. The Iron Mountain Clan was relatively well known but not very famous. They had no god level craftsmen in their clan.

Since coming to Earth, they had been fending off beasts and monsters with makeshift weapons. Their already small number was decreasing fast. With their levels falling back to 10, they were on the brink of destruction.

Ben didn't see any children running around and felt sorry for them. They had gone through hell and being sent to Earth was their only chance they had left.

Ben pulled out some wine from his storage and proceeded to drink with the dwarves. He enjoyed these straightforward kind of people and wanted to help them.

Waking up the next morning, Ben felt like a nail was piercing his head. Shielding his eyes from the sun, Ben looked around and found a couple of dwarves still snoring away. After bringing out a bottle of wine Ben memories became fuzzy. The dwarves loved their alcohol and Ben was forced to drink with toast after toast. Soon Ben emptied his entire collection of wine he had in his storage.

“I am never fucking drinking again.” Ben cursed under his breath as he held his head in his hands.

“City Lord Ben!” the leader, whose name was Hal, called out loudly.

“Not so loud please. You damn dwarves made me get so shit faced that even my own breathing seems to loud.” Ben complained, still holding his head in his hands.

Hal laughed at Ben’s predicament, “You brought alcohol out surrounded by dwarves, what did you expect?”

“What is it that you want Hal?” Ben wanted to find a dark place and sleep so he wanted to end this conversation.

“We decided to join your city.” Hal’s voice took a serious tone.

Ben looked up from his hands for the first time. Seeing Hal’s serious expression, Ben felt ecstatic!

“That's great!” Ben yelled before wincing and grabbing his head again.

Hal chuckled, “We have already backed up our belongings and are ready to move out when you are.”

“Okay, any of you have a bowl of cold water or anything. Ill wash my face then we can go.” Ben asked, still excited about winning over the dwarves. Someone brought him a bowl of water and Ben quickly washed his face and headed out with the dwarves.

During the walk, Ben took out his communication jade and sent a message to Deke, ‘Have all four generals at the north gate in an hour.’

Not waiting for a reply, Ben put the jade back into his storage and continued to chat with the dwarves. Apparently lots of different species were sent to Earth as slaves including demihumans and demons. Ben was curious about these races and looked forward in meeting them.

During the march they met some monsters and beasts but Ben quickly took care of them, showing off his strength to the dwarf clan. He had already gained their trust last night but he wanted to show them that he had the strength to back up his words. Of course he hadn't summoned Ava and Duke was still in the city so they didn't know his real strength.

An hour later, their group was finally able to see the giant walls of the city. The gate was open and had a small crows gathered at the entrance.

Seeing someone approaching, they had their guards up but upon seeing their City Lord, they relaxed.

Ben’s four generals all looked at the dwarves curiously.

“Everyone, may I introduce the Iron Mountain Clan. They are dwarves and I have kindly invited them to join our city.” Ben spoke loudly to make sure everyone heard him.

The four generals looked at Ben with admiration. He had made allies only days of becoming the City Lord. This assured them of their choice of following him.

James walked forward and gave a small wave, “Welcome.” he said simply.

The other three followed suit, welcoming the dwarves.

Hal stepped forward, “We thank you for allowing us to join your city. Us Iron Mountain dwarves will do the best of our ability to help strengthen this city.”

Ben smiled, excited for the future of his city.