The first glimmer of the dawn shone in the eastern horizon, spreading yellow and crimson rays on the bustling city of Avibria. Kadyn and Elora had breakfast before the duo got ready to go out; they wanted this dwarf, as he could become a decent employee.

However, before they could take a single step forward, someone dashed inside the shop. Kadyn frowned when he saw this, but his expression changed a little when he spotted the face of the man. "Khrom!"

The man in front of him was Khrom whom Kadyn had offered a job last time. Since then he had disappeared completely. Kadyn had a pretty good impression of him. Though he looked suspicious, he had a clear conscience, proud and determined heart. Furthermore, he was decent at information collecting. If Kadyn could recruit him, he would become a great asset in future. Anyway, this wasn't a time to think about those things.

He hastened towards Khrom and held him, who was covered in sweat, dirt, wound, and blood. "What happened to you?" Kadyn asked.

"D-do you have a po-potion?" he held his arm that was bleeding continuously and asked with his trembling, weak voice. Then he struggled and walked towards the wall of the Potion Hall and sat with the help of his back. Kadyn exchanged glances with Elora and took out a high-grade potion that he had concocted last time. "Drink it."

Khrom swallowed the entire vial in a single gulp and placed his head on the wall, not speaking anything for some time. The sight was sorrowful. Kadyn didn't know Khrom's story but he knew there was one behind him. Most of the time he came, he was cloaked in vicious wounds. Kadyn couldn't help but become a little interested in his situation.

It had taken around ten minutes for the blood to stop. However, his wounds were ugly and deep, taking longer than expected. All in all, he was fine for the time being and would be healed after some rest of a few days.

Khrom opened his eyes and stared at Kadyn, and said with a determined tone. "I'm ready to work for you. However, I need you to kill someone."

Kadyn looked at Khrom, then shook his head. "I'm not an assassin. Sorry, I can't do that."

A crestfallen look emerged on Khrom's pale face; staring towards the sky and teardrops fell from his eyes. He gritted his teeth in hatred and fury. Kadyn saw a strange fire in his eyes as if he wanted to burn everyone and everything. However, he couldn't, as he had no strength. He looked furious yet… helpless.

"Though I won't kill anyone," Kadyn said at this moment, and Khrom again focused his gaze towards him. "I can help you achieve your goal."

Khrom's entire body trembled at his words. He stared at Kadyn with a sullen face. Then he fell on his knees. "Please, help me, and I'll be your slave for the rest of my life."

This action shocked Kadyn. He knew how proud Khrom was. To do such a thing, he must have lost every hope. He could sense despair and guilt and hopelessness and rage inside his heart.

"You don't need to do that," Kadyn said. "My words are still the same. I want you as my employee. Do you accept it?"

Khrom looked at Kadyn and gritted his teeth before nodding. Kadyn smiled and said. "Remember, you'll be my Employee, not a slave. You can do whatever you want. You can go wherever you want. You'll benefit according to your merits. However, remember one thing," Kadyn peered at Khrom and his voice turned grave, "you can never betray, or you would live a life worse than death. Do you accept these terms?"

Khrom took a deep breath and clenched his fist before nodding. Kadyn could see the struggle inside his heart. He looked like a bird that wanted to fly, unfettered and unrestrained, but got captured by a hunter. 

Kadyn shook his head. He knew that he was showing this emotion because he had no idea what kind of fortune had fallen into his lap. There will come a day when he would be proud to call himself an employee of his shop. As he thought about this, a scroll appeared in his hand. "Drop your blood on it." Kadyn passed the scroll to Khrom.

Khrom didn't bother to read anything and dropped the blood. The scroll burst and entered into his head, the golden mark appeared and vanished without any trace. 

[Employee Name: Khrom]

[Employee Rank: Iron]

[Magus Rank: 10-star elementary mage]

[Element: Wind]

[Energy Points: 0]

[Loyalty: 2%]

[Evaluation: Has potential to grow]

Kadyn looked at the status window and left stunned. 10-star elementary mage? Furthermore, he had only 2% loyalty for him. What the fuck? Isn't it near being a traitor? But System gave him a pretty decent evaluation. What the heck is going on?!

"Low loyalty doesn't imply that someone is a traitor," System cleared his doubts. "Loyalty can be cultivated. You just need to be sincere enough. Someone can have zero loyalty for you and he could still be a decent employee with tremendous potential.

"Low loyalty is one of the signs of a traitor but it isn't true every time. After all, when you hire someone new, it is natural for him to have a low loyalty towards you. You've to win over the hearts of your employees. How? That's your headache."

"My wounds!" just as he was listening to System, Khrom exclaimed. Kadyn eyed him and found that all the wounds had completely vanished from his body. He looked fine and full of vigour. There was no trace of weakness on his face.

"I'm healed, but how?"

"Consider it a free reward you have received after joining our shop." Kadyn smiled. 

"Thank you very much."

[Loyalty +1]

Kadyn peered at Khrom in shock and checked his status. Truly, his loyalty had increased by one. Then he glanced at Khrom and a dumbfounded look appeared on his face.