The dwarf soaked the stream’s bank after they pulled him out of the water. Sergio rushed forward, taking out several vials from his pouch, looking more prepared than ever.

‘Did he prepare after Yuxi’s incident?’ Nikolai felt sorry that he made the alchemist this worried, but it paid off to be ready.

“Bossman, hurry!” Sergio opened the dwarf’s mouth and poured a potion. He then began pressing on the dwarf’s chest in an attempt to save him.

“Hurry for what?” Nikolai jumped over the stream and landed next to Sergio. “This dwarf is dead.”

“We can still make it.” Sergio took off the lid of another vial, but Nikolai grabbed his hand before the alchemist could pour it.

“You’re wasting our resources over a corpse,” Nikolai said lightly. “Didn’t your notice? He wasn’t floating. That means there’s no air in his lung anymore. It has been a while since he died.”

“But…” Sergio looked at the dwarf with an uncomfortable expression. “Why did we take him out then?”

“We can get some clues as to why he died.” Nikolai let go of Sergio’s arm, and the alchemist put away his potion sadly.

‘I didn’t know young Sergio was like this.’

It was the first time Nikolai noticed the difference between the two versions of Sergio that he knew. In his past life, the Sergio he met was also a good person, but not unrealistically good that he wanted to save everyone.

“Anyway, we need to…” Nikolai walked over toward the dwarf, but the corpse, which turned out to be not anymore, opened his eyes and gasped for air.

“He’s alive!” Sergio shouted with surprise. “Bossman, he’s alive!” Nikolai could tell that Sergio was happy, but he was far from feeling the same.

He held Sergio back before he rushed in to help the dwarf. The old-looking man began breathing heavily while clutching his chest.

“Where… am I?” The dwarf asked with surprise. “I thought that I drowned. Did you save me?”

“Old man, we thought you were dead!” Sergio said with surprise while still being held off by Nikolai’s arm.

“I… thought so as well. Heaven’s mercy, I didn’t think that I would survive. Thank you, thank you…!” The dwarf turned emotional, but Nikolai’s eyes were cold.

“Interesting. This dwarf is moving.” Nikolai said while squinting his eyes. 

“See, boss? I told you that we can still make it!” Sergio said with a grin. “Hm? Boss? Why are you taking out your gun? Wait! Bossman! No!”

Bang!

The gunshot tore the peace of the forest instantly, and the bullet that Nikolai fired lodged into the dwarf’s forehead. The dwarf’s face looked shocked as he fell to the ground, lifeless.

“Bossman, what…” Sergio’s face was pale, but it morphed into shock a moment afterward. “The dwarf is… moving again?”

“As I thought.” Nikolai walked over toward the dwarf, who tried to lift his body again. “You’re a moving corpse.” Nikolai grinned as he pulled the trigger again.

Bang!

The mana-infused bullet destroyed through the dwarf’s skull and destroyed it, but the dwarf still tried to stand up. Nikolai sighed and waved his hand, making the darkness explode to surround the corpse.

“Bossman, what is… a moving corpse?” Sergio blinked at Nikolai, who turned to look at him.

“It’s an unusual sight, but it’s not an undead,” Nikolai said to the frightened Sergio and Yuxi as his darkness consumed the dwarf. “You can call it a puppet, a possessed body, a moving corpse, but the meaning is mostly the same.”

‘Something is controlling his body?’ Yuxi frowned and gestured.

“Yes, something or someone is controlling it,” Nikolai repeated and turned toward the dwarf. “Whatever it is, it must be powerful.”

The darkness returned to Nikolai’s body after it attacked the dwarf. As the body appeared again, it didn’t move again. Nikolai walked toward the body and crouched beside it.

“May your soul find rest now,” Nikolai muttered as he began looking through the dwarf’s body. He found many random items like ores, a wet notebook, a screw, and a pocket pickaxe.

“Are you sure it’s dead now, bossman?” Sergio strode forward with unease. “Damn, I was trying to save this… corpse? Am I going to get possessed?”

“Don’t worry. This thing is what possessed it.” Nikolai raised the screw in the afternoon’s sun, and it gleamed a golden color.

“A screw?” Sergio frowned as if he couldn’t believe it.

However, this was indeed what possessed the dwarf, which made things a lot more interesting for Nikolai. The screw looked normal, but Nikolai could feel spiritual residues that were connected to the body.

His darkness managed to cut away that connection, allowing Nikolai to ‘kill’ the moving corpse. However, the screw was no trying to possess him.

His head ached as the spiritual power within the screw tried seeping into his body. Nikolai frowned and used his darkness again to isolate it.

“Bossman, be careful,” Sergio said with a frown. Nikolai nodded and placed the screw in his dimension. His darkness worked to isolate the spiritual power from harming him, allowing Nikolai to make use of this clue.

‘We lost our only hope of finding the dwarves.’ Yuxi frowned and gestured to Nikolai as he stood up. He glanced her way as he remembered that mutes are ignored unless someone is looking their way.

“We didn’t lose anything; this corpse is more useful than a living dwarf.” Nikolai smiled, trying not to reveal his sharp teeth by grinning. “After all, the dead can’t lie.”

“Bossman, your evil side is showing again.” Sergio helplessly sighed as he strode toward the corpse. “If it’s a corpse, I know how to find some clues.”

He took out an azure potion from his bag. Nikolai couldn’t recognize it but had a hunch of what Sergio was trying to do. The alchemist took out his dagger, cut away a piece from the dwarf’s meat, and placed it in the vial.

“Show me where you came from,” Sergio said with a focused expression as he infused mana into the potion. The potion lit up, and a trace of mana pointed in a specific direction upstream.