"Are you sure it works?" Sergio asked Lex, who was tinkering with some guns and machines. "I cannot die just yet. This better works!" he aimed the gun at her.

"I will kill you myself if you don\'t leave me alone," she waved her hand. "This gun is stronger than the one that bastard had. That is how powerful it is!"

"I am terrible aim, unlike bossman," muttered Sergio as he lowered his gun, looking at it with nostalgia. "Thank you for making it look the same."

"I don\'t care, honestly, but Yuxi will scold me if she knew I enabled your obsession."

"You cannot call it an obsession!" shouted Sergio as he slammed the gun on the workshop desk, making Lex stop working and glare at him.

They were alone inside the workshop, which Valkyrie had created for Lex to work on her machines. It was filled with all kinds of machinery, even those who had souls of their own.

"You are a grown man who is still thinking about a bad friend," she pointed her finger at him, making Sergio take a step back. Lex sighed and removed her goggles before gesturing for him to sit. "I was in a similar situation years ago. I still am, sometimes."

"What kind of situation?"

"Where I wanted to deny reality for what it is. I saw my family get killed in front of me, but I had to stay quiet to live. It broke me, and I never talked afterward for years. Finally, however, the dwarves gave me a home, and I learned to move on."

"I am not denying reality."

"The words he said..." Lex sighed, "cannot be said to a friend. You know that he is not the kindest man in existence, and I am sure that you have realized this."

Sergio was quiet as he suddenly remembered how bossman wanted to kill Yuxi multiple times. However, he always believed that the boss did not trust people.

"Maybe he was not a good person, but he is still my friend."

"You knew him for a month."

"It does not matter how long I knew him for," Sergio shook his head with a smile. "I felt accepted. I don\'t feel that way with anyone. However, I felt that he saw every flaw in me and still accepted it."

Lex was silent before she picked up the gun and pushed it toward Sergio. The Gunmaster looked conflicted, but a smile emerged on her face afterward.

"Then, you need to find him and see the truth for yourself. This gun is a special one that I created using the technique I obtained. You can link it to your soul, and you will never miss a shot."

"It seems I need to create proper bullets," laughed the alchemist evilly. Lex shivered as she seemed to remember the explosion in the dwarves\' village, making her hesitant.

However, Sergio ran away from the workshop before Lex took the gun back. The mansion was large enough to have a training ground, allowing him to test the gun straight away.

The targets were there, but Sergio did not know how to activate the soul item. That is why he did the most common method: mana. The gun lit up as it came to life, and blue runes appeared on it.

Then, the blue runes slipped into his hand, and Sergio felt like he was holding no gun but another part of his body. The targets were far away, but the moment Sergio thought about shooting them, his arm moved on its own and fired.

BANG!

The bullet tore the dummy apart before Sergio realized it. This was beyond the realm of skills. The Souls Mechanic technique allowed Lex to revolutionize the world and build countless armies.

"Then, why did bossman insist that she is the one to use it?" frowned Sergio as it did not make sense. Lex hated his boss because he destroyed her relationship with the dwarves. However, in return, he gave the ability to change the world.

Nikolai was not evil as they claimed he was. However, it was hard for his friends to accept that, and seeing the world insist otherwise made Sergio doubt his judgment.

"You seem ready," said a voice from beside him, and Sergio turned to see his new boss arrive. Young Miss Valkyrie walked with her light armor to stand close to him, eyeing the gun with amazement. "I am indeed lucky to have both of you join my party."

"You gave us everything we can ask for, boss," bowed Sergio. "We can never repay how much you gave us. I am ready to aid you all in the next mission," he was not lying, as Valkyrie was everything but unkind to him.

"I am only glad that your talents were not wasted. Yuxi keep bragging about your abilities that I had to see for myself, and I am glad that I did."

"Yuxi is a good friend," smiled the alchemist with appreciation. "I had no home or a job to return to before she suggested that we work for you. So this can be a good fate of ours."

"Fate... what a mysterious thing," sighed Valkyrie with emotions. "I am sorry for what happened, Sergio. I would have never allowed you all to be in danger if I knew sooner."

"I regret nothing," said the alchemist with confusion, and the knight nodded with a smile. Then, she spread her arm for them to walk into the mansion, which he approved."

"I am sure that you heard about The Great Unseen," she said, and Sergio nodded, the two of them walking side by side. "A great disease that inflicted our world. The church grew more powerful, while trade grew weaker."

"It made life harder for our city," sighed the alchemist. "I hope that this is a momentary calamity."

"I fear not," said Valkyrie while shaking her head. "The Rosia Kingdom is bleeding as we speak. There is a great famine heading our way, and we have no way to stop it."

"That cannot be," frowned Sergio. "I learned that the churches are developing countless methods to cross the darkness. It should be a matter of time before we find a way."

"The church will monopolize whatever they invent because we live in such a world. However, there are stories of people who crossed the darkness without the help of the church."

"Are they powerful?" asked the alchemist as he opened the door for his boss, and she walked into the mansion.

"Not necessarily so," Valkyrie walked into the living room, where she poured both of them tea. "A group of them are close to our city. I wanted to invite them to learn their secrets, but I fear it would take a while before they are free. At that time, the church would have contacted them."

"A group close to our city...?" pondered the alchemist as he received the tea from her, who sat beside him. "The closest event that I can think of is the Vangir Guild\'s exploration."

"I like smart men," she said with a smile while sipping her tea. Sergio was not sure if she was flirting, but he dismissed it. "That is indeed the case. The Abani Ruins are being explored as we speak. Some reinforcements arrived a few days ago, crossing the darkness in less than a day."

"That is amazing," said Sergio with awe. "Even the church cannot cross the darkness in such a time. How did they do it?"

"That is going to be our investigation. I pulled a few strings for our party to participate in the exploration. We are still students, but my party is strong enough to compete against the guildsmen. We must get close to them so that we learn the secret."

"You are talking like a scheming person, boss," laughed Sergio as he stared at his tea. "However, I know that you are doing this, the Rosia Kingdom. How can I help?"

"You are a loyal man, Sergio," Valkyrie said as she placed down her tea. Then, her hand grabbed his forearm. "I have many strong people in my party. I can summon any of them to fight for me, but few of them are smart enough to change the world. You are such a man, Sergio. I believe you can find a way for us to cross The Unseen. I want you to come with me."

Sergio stared at her hand, grabbing his forearm, and he feared that she would feel the scars hidden beneath his clothes. However, it was long since someone placed such faith in his abilities. It made him feel valued.

"I understand," nodded Sergio. "I will follow you to Abani Ruins, boss," he said, and Valkyrie bloomed with a beaming smile.

"Well then, I will send the details later," she let go of his arm and caressed his cheek. "Thank you, Sergio."

"I am only doing my job, boss," said the alchemist with a smile, although he felt a bit uncomfortable with the sudden affection. Valkyrie seemed disappointed and left shortly after, leaving him alone.

"I am so pathetic," smiled the alchemist as his head dropped forward. "Bossman was right. I need people to like me, and when they do, I will bleed for them stay."

A sudden realization that the person who knew him best was the one to leave. It made sense, in the end, because even Sergio knew how pathetic and a burden he was.