A few minutes later...

Kieran descended the flight of stairs leading from the top floor and continued until he arrived on the floor meant for production. Before returning to Zenith Online, Kieran had explained to Aspaira that the area meant to accommodate all Alchemists should be nearing its final stages of renovations.

So, if she had formed any relationships with the Alchemist within the Alchemists' Circle, she could use her authority as the Chief Alchemist of the Godhand Consortium to allow any willing Alchemists to join their Union by signing a modified Zenith Covenant.

Naturally, as these individuals had not earned Kieran's trust, the guidelines of the Zenith Covenant would be strict and inflexible. So strict many would turn it down without a moment's consideration.

However, Kieran understood something about these kinds of people who turned down such contracts--they weren't interested in contributing anything great.

All they sought was personal gain.

While it wasn't an unforgivable sin, it didn't abide by Kieran's reasoning for creating the Godhand Consortium. Those who joined had to be willing to assist their fellow members to reach phenomenal heights.

For, in one of the clauses Kieran created, if their production rate fell below a certain level, they'd experience a status demotion and if it fell to an unfit level, they'd be expelled from the Union altogether.

The Zenith Covenant that Aspaira distributed to people of notable skill was not devised by her personally.

Kieran had left her with strict details before he began his training inside the medical facility.

'Aspaira, Sorcia... and a few other unknown Alchemists. The numbers aren't amazing, but I'm impressed that she managed to convince at least 10 to join the Union. Though, if I'm being honest, I'm almost certain she did so using my name,' Kieran thought, smiling faintly as he praised Aspaira's smart decision.

After considering the matter, Kieran walked to the door before.

Now that the renovations were complete, aside from the slender walkway that cut the room in half, connecting the two staircases, the large space was divided into quadrants that were further cordoned off by walls sturdy enough to withstand the explosion of failed items.

Doors with signs that read: Alchemy Department, Forging Area, Tailor Station, and Enchanter Paradise sealed off the entrances to the respective profession training areas.

'These eyes of mine... they're slowly becoming stronger,' Kieran thought, somewhat mystified by the fact he could almost see through these doors.

A second later, Kieran tapped on the door to the Alchemy Department and stepped inside. After entering, he was immediately greeted by the sight of Aspaira pacing through the room, examining several cauldrons.

"Are they all True Alchemists?" Kieran questioned.

"For the most part, yes. But, two of them are promising Apprentice Alchemists that started late. They're mere steps away from becoming True Alchemists," Aspaira responded, lifting her gaze to Kieran.

"Good. I'm here to dispense the rewards," Kieran said.

The moment he mentioned rewards, the eyes of all the Alchemists lit up.

They understood that they were taking a risk when signing the Zenith Covenant with unbelievably restrictive stipulations, but they were willing to take the chance to see where it led them.

Unsurprisingly, many of these people came from humble origins--they were dreamers. However, they were practical dreamers, who understood that their aspirations couldn't be realized through their efforts alone.

They needed someone or something to rely upon when it all became too cumbersome.

"I'm sure Aspaira has said this to you all, but she is your acting Chief. You can consider her words to be mine when I am absent. That said, she retains the right to praise or reprimand you based on your performance," Kieran said.

As he walked through the Alchemy Department with his hands behind his back, Kieran's eyes fell upon the two Apprentice Alchemists as well as Sorcia, who, unlike the others, had yet to sign the Zenith Covenant.

Quietly, Kieran gazed into Sorcia's eyes, trying to get a read on her as he exuded a heavy aura. It was the undeniable aura of a true expert that made most in the room gasp.

Eventually, they found it difficult to fathom how Kieran could be so powerful yet own a Union. Curiosity suffocated the room but no one could mobilize this emotion, frightened to speak up and address the elephant in the room.

As Kieran sensed this tension, he smirked, resuming his announcement. "Though, you may ignore what I just mentioned regarding performance since we'll be treating this time as a probationary period. Until I announce it, your performance is not what's important. I demand your loyalty and attentiveness. If given, it will be repaid handsomely."

"Our loyalty?" Myst, one of the Apprentice Alchemists asked.

She was a petite girl with black eyes and azure ear-length hair. Judging by her appearance, Kieran estimated her age to be somewhere in her late teens no older than Sera.

"Correct. There will naturally be people attempting to poach you and claim what I have gifted to you all. Needless to say, that'd be unacceptable. Not only will they incur my wrath, but those foolish enough to agree to be poached will also be punished to the fullest extent of the Zenith Covenant," Kieran answered.

Many gulps echoed in the room as they looked into Kieran's cold, stoic eyes.

"Of course, this is all a worst-case scenario. I'm sure you all read the fine print and I'm sure that you're all intelligent people. After all, you agreed to sign the best deal of your lives," Kieran chuckled, effortlessly lightening the mood with his bright smile.

"How can you so confidently say it's the best deal?" Myst questioned, curious of Kieran's words.

"Naturally, it's the best deal because it rewards you for pushing yourself. The greater your efforts, the greater your fame and fortune. After a certain point, I will no longer provide a base salary, instead, you'll be given a larger commission--an incentive to increase your production rate as much as possible," Kieran voiced.

Most guilds would call Kieran a fool as that severely limited the overall profits.

But, the way Kieran saw it, they were all too close-minded and blinded by greed to understand the practicality of incentivizing the production crew.

The profit ceiling may be lower, but the overall ability to produce profits increased greatly.

Not to mention, Kieran wasn't just reliant upon these players to create profits. He currently had an unfathomable enchanting machine churning out low-grade enchantments at an absurd rate.

Kieran estimated that Agatha could produce in a day what 100,000 Enchanters took one week to produce. If he managed the stock properly and understood how to create the appropriate enchantments, Kieran could resupply the store in a bind.

Not too long after, Kieran retrieved the Madness Potions and Inferior Immunity Potion. Due to their demanding requirements, only True Alchemists held any chance at sufficiently brewing the potions.

However, Kieran only extended the ability to learn the recipe to those that had signed the Zenith Covenant.

This obviously meant Sorcia was excluded from the reward.

As she watched the other Alchemist gush over the recipe, Sorcia chewed on her nail, truly curious about its specifics.

Her curiosity as an Alchemist was overwhelming.

"A-Aatrox... may I view the recipe momentarily?" Sorcia requested, using as polite a tone as possible.

Kieran feigned as if he was considering it and shrugged seconds later. But before he revealed it to her, he hovered his palm above the paper, creating a strange layer of mystic energies.

One of the reasons Enchanters were so coveted in his past life was this ability--Recipe Locking. They could lock recipes, which required suitable ocular abilities to open, or required the enchanter responsible to dispel it.

As Sorcia read through the potions, her brow knitted and desire welled within her eyes.

Clutching the paper, she bounced her leg and bit into her nail harder.

"Agree to join me and you may use one of the available usages," Kieran said, tempting Sorcia with a magnetizing voice.

Gradually, she gazed at Kieran.

A light sigh escaped her lips and Sorcia asked a question. "Can I really trust you? Trust that you won't take advantage of me?"

"Take advantage? Should you join, you'll be elevated to Vice Chief. But, ask Aspaira, I demand a lot," Kieran replied.

Before answering, Sorcia returned to looking at the two pieces of aged papers in her grasp. 'With recipes like this, becoming an Alchemy Master will only be a matter of time.'

Deeply moved by the possibility of becoming the first Alchemy Master, Sorcia's eyes glistened. "I'll... join the Godhand Consortium."

"Great," Kieran laughed, closing his fist.

A shattering sound filled the atmosphere as the lock on the recipes started to crumble. At the same time, a Zenith Covenant appeared before Sorcia. "Sign it and I'll remove the lock completely."

Despite having agreed to sign the contract, Sorcia trembled when reading the repercussions of violating the terms of agreement. 'If it means access to rare recipes... I'll have to take the risk.'

With that, Sorcia ended up signing her name, adopting her role as the Godhand Consortium's Vice Chief of the Alchemy Department.

Since he had accomplished what he came to do, Kieran left the Advanced Health Potion recipe to be distributed between those that couldn't learn the other recipes due to the number of uses being exhausted.

...

A few minutes later...

Kieran stepped to the door that led inside the Forging Area and opened it. A blast of heat assaulted his face but it wasn't as unbearable as Kieran expected.

Thanks to his Constitution, he had become surprisingly resistant to heat within a certain threshold.

"Hamon!" Kieran exclaimed, stepping forward with an unusual grin.

His voice boomed above the clangor of Hamon hammering away at a slab of purified metal. As Kieran's voice reverberated in his ears, Hamon turned around and grumbled.

"Boy! Damned boy! Yer done interrupted me! Are ya a fool or something? Never interrupted a blacksmith!"

"Not even... if I grant you a powerful and helpful toy?" Kieran replied, smugly eyeing Hamon.

"S-shiny?!"