If Leo hesitated even for a moment, Bethany would fall to her death. Jorash was fast and clever, there’d be no way to catch him if Leo let him out of his sight. He had to decide.

He rushed to Bethany and held out both hands. “Grab on. I got you.”

Bethany grabbed Leo’s hand with her free one and together they pulled her up just as the stair gave way. A split second longer and she would have been torn apart by the razor wire below.

Leo felt a surge of energy flow through him. His Sorcerer Magic System told him what he already knew. “Leo, you are now a level three Sorcerer. All your ability scores have increased to reflect your new level. Shall I tell you about your new spells?”

Leo was thrilled to reach this new level, but he was still on a tight timeline. “Just one for now. Whatever’s most useful.”

The Magic System had a perfect answer for him. “Right now, I recommend the Ocean that Moves. It will allow you to turn any solid object into a liquid state for up to ten seconds.

Bethany looked angry at herself. “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted Jorash. He’s more snake than human.”

Leo wouldn’t argue with her on that, but they couldn’t give up yet. “There’s got to be a way we can catch up to him. We have to try.”

Bethany nodded and the two of them bounded up the rest of the spiral staircase. They made sure not to look down at the gaping pit of death below. They reached the top of the stairs and Leo realized that their luck had not completely run out yet.

Jorash was at the other end of the second floor with the orange package still in his hand. He frantically punched the button for the elevator. “Come on, come on. What’s taking so damn long!?”

Bethany looked concerned, Jorash was still a good distance away. Those elevator doors could open at any moment and then he’d be gone for good. “We can’t let him take credit for all of our work.”

Leo was one step ahead of her. He activated his Magic System and called for the Ocean That Moves. He aimed at the floor beneath Jorash and the cement melted into liquid. Leo summoned a wave in the liquid cement that pushed Jorash away from the elevator. Jorash splashed back into the middle of the room as the floor turned back to solid rock.

Leo was a little disappointed that Jorash didn’t wind up stuck in the floor, but at least he wasn’t escaping on that elevator.

Jorash snarled. “You two just don’t know when to quit.”

Jorash crushed a spell capsule and light beams shot out of his hand. Leo stepped in front of Bethany and let them hit him. He knew that as a Sorcerer he could survive more damage than a regular human. The light beams stung and Leo bore them with a grimace

Leo’s Magic System alerted him with a warning. “That’s ten health points gone. One more hit like that and you’ll lose consciousness.”

Leo wouldn’t let that happen. He rushed at Jorash and activated his Flaming Hands. He threw a punch that caught Jorash square in the gut and followed with an uppercut that caught him directly on the chin.

Jorash nearly dropped the package, but Bethany ran and slid in for the save. She caught the package right before it hit the ground.

Jorash reached for another spell capsule but Leo knocked it out of his hand. Bethany picked it up and crushed it herself.

She shot her own light beams which hit Jorash in the forehead. He collapsed to the ground in a heap. Bethany grinned. “That’s for leaving me hanging, jerk.”

Leo checked to make sure Jorash was still breathing and was actually relieved to see that he was. Jorash was bad news, but Leo couldn’t help but feel a little bad for him. At the end of the day, Jorash was someone who needed a job just like him.

Bethany hit the button to open the elevator doors. She waved Leo over. “Come on, who knows what he’ll try when he wakes up.”

Leo followed her into the elevator. As the door closed, he braced himself for spikes to shoot out of the walls or the ceiling to rip off the elevator and a tentacled monster to suck them out with its horrid tendrils.

Instead the elevator reached the top floor with a pleasant announcement. “You have reached the top floor, congratulations.”

Leo and Bethany share a look of relief and step out into another small room with a metal table and the interview Proctor standing behind it. The Proctor stood silently with his arms crossed until Bethany set the orange package on the table.

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Leo and Bethany waited with baited breath as the Proctor cracked a capsule and poured its contents onto the package. Green smoke floated up from where the powder landed and formed itself into a glowing green thumbs up.

The Proctor waved the green smoke away. He looked Leo and Bethany in the eyes. “You have passed your Interview. Welcome to the Opal Corp family.”

Bethany squealed in delight and wrapped Leo in a big hug. “We did it! We work for Opal Corp. You don’t know what this means Leo, my parents were about to get evicted from their apartment. Now I can start paying their rent.”

Leo understood Bethany’s struggle. He was thankful that he was able to bring this new friend along with him. Whatever happened next, he needed to make sure nothing bad happened to Bethany as he worked his way up the Opal Corp ladder.

The elevator doors opened behind Leo and he heard the same voice as before. “You have reached the top floor, congratulations.”

A frown spread across Bethany’s face as she watched a battered Jorash limp his way out of the elevator. He half collapsed as he reached the table with the Proctor. The Proctor raised an eyebrow as he looked at Jorash, then turned to Bethany and Leo. “This one was not with you when you arrived. Would you consider him a help or a hindrance in your mission to bring this package here?”

Bethany was about to speak but Jorash dropped to his knees in front of her. “Please. Please tell him that I helped you. You don’t understand how much I need this job. My parents, my whole family have been preparing me for a job at Opal Corp my entire life. I was supposed to repair the rift between them and the Holgelds. If I fail to get this job, I’ll be disowned. I won’t have a home or a family to go back to.”

Bethany looked skeptically down at Jorash, she then looked up to Leo. Clearly it was up to Leo to decide Jorash’s fate. Leo took a deep breath. “Yes. We couldn’t have gotten the package up here without him. He deserves a job just like us.”

Bethany bit her lip. Jorash got up to his feet and wiped tears away from his eyes. “Yes. I deserve this job.”

The Proctor nodded. “Very well. The three of you will receive your assignments in the morning. Cars will be waiting downstairs to take you to the Opal Private Security Campus. On-site living facilities will be provided, of course.”

Leo felt a rush of excitement. His first place of his own. He was leaving the foster system behind for good.

Jorash was silent for the entire ride over to the Security Campus. This was fine for Leo, this was a part of the city he had never seen before, he was enthralled by the high rise buildings and luxury shopping streets they passed by.

Leo, Bethany and Jorash arrived at the Security Campus and were guided to the on-site living facilities. An Opal Employee greeted them at the front desk. “Welcome, my fellow coworkers. I will be assigning you to your accommodations. As new hires, your living quarters will be adequate, but for a slight fee, might I recommend upgrading to our more luxurious options.”

Jorash snapped back to life when he heard the word ‘luxurious.’ He swept his hair into place, put on his best shit eating grin, and whipped out his credit card. “I’ll be having one of those, thank you very much. This will cover it, whatever the cost. And if I could have dinner brought up, steak and lobster. And some ice packs.”

The front desk worker took his credit card. She swiped it and smiled. “Right away, sir.”

She motioned Jorash towards an elevator that opened up for him. Jorash gave Leo and Bethany one more sneer before he boarded. “I can’t believe you two bought those crocodile tears. Oh, boo hoo, my parents will never love me. Yeah, right. I hope you both get shot in the line of duty.”

He flipped them a rude gesture as the elevator doors closed. Leo hoped he never had to set eyes on Jorash Morgeld ever again.

The front desk employee got Leo and Bethany’s attention once again. “What about the two of you, basic accommodations I assume?”

Bethany nodded, trying not to look disappointed. Leo reached into his Pocket Dimension and pulled out more of Vorass’ cash. “Actually, luxury accommodations. For both of us.”

Bethany lit back up. “Leo, you really don’t have to.”

Leo waved the thought away. “Consider it a ‘thank you’ for beaning Jorash in the forehead with those magic missiles.”

Bethany gave him another hug. Leo had to check to make sure none of his ribs were broken.

After Bethany went away to her own rooms, Leo took another elevator up to his brand new home. When the doors opened, he worried he might have died in the Interview and gone to heaven.

The rooms in his quarters were the finest Leo could even imagine. Marble floors and gold fixtures. A smokeless, magic fire in the grand stone fireplace. All the furniture was richly upholstered. Even better, the spacious kitchen was completely stocked with food.

Leo threw together a plate of expensive cheeses, sliced aged meats and even a little caviar. He scarfed it down like a kid eating spaghetti. Hasty as it was, this was the best meal of Leo’s entire life.

Later he collapsed onto silk sheets in his four poster bed. If this was life at Opal Corp, Leo could get used to it.

In the morning, another car was waiting for Leo, ready to take him to his first work assignment. In the car, a sharply dressed woman in a business suit passed him a folder full of details. “You don’t have to read this now, but you’ll want to learn as much as you can about your assignment. Due to your excellent score during the Interview, you have been assigned a very high profile client. She is one of the fastest rising executives in all of Opal Corp. You are to stay by her side and keep her safe. Understood?”

Leo kept the folder closed in front of him. He nodded soberly. “Of course. I’ll keep her safe.”

Leo knew that whoever this executive was, she was lucky to have a Sorcerer as her new bodyguard.

Leo got out of the car in front of a huge mansion. It made his luxury accommodations look like a slum. A literal butler in coat and tails took Leo to the back patio. By the infinity pool, a beautiful young woman read the newspaper.

She had a coffee beside her that she stirred without touching. There was clearly magic about her. Leo could sense it.

The woman looked over the rim of her designer sunglasses. “I take it you’re my new bodyguard? Pleased to meet you, I’m Surya Holgeld.”