Leo watched as the two torn halves of his Interview Invitation Card fluttered to the ground. With it went all of Leo’s hopes of ever getting a job at Opal Corp. Leo could kick himself for letting his anger at that jerk, Jorash, get the better of him.

The Interview Proctor waved his concussive baton menacingly. Leo knew that trying to fight this Opal Corp official would get him thrown in jail, or worse. Leo’s dream of claiming his rightful place as a Holgeld was over.

Bethany stepped forward and put her hand on the Interview Proctor’s arm. “Wait, please stop. Leo didn’t do anything wrong. It was that other jerk, Jorash who started it. Isn’t there security footage you can watch or something?”

The Interview Proctor took a capsule off his belt and crushed it. An image hovered in mid air that showed the four of them. The Proctor waved his hand and the image rewound back in time.

The image replayed Jorash going to slap Leo and Leo defending himself. The Proctor waved the image away. He sheathed his baton. “Carry on then.”

Leo picked up the torn pieces of the Interview Invite Card. The card stitched itself back together. Bethany pointed at Jorash. “What about him, shouldn’t he get kicked out instead?”

The Proctor snatched Jorash’s card. Leo could see a bead of sweat form on Jorash’s forehead. Jorash clearly needed this job desperately, despite his bravado.

The Proctor read the card. “Jorash Morgeld. That’s you?”

Jorash nodded, he gritted his teeth ready for the hammer to drop. Instead the Proctor handed him the card back. “Consider this a warning. Thank your father for that.”

A smug grin spread across Jorash’s face. “Of course. He’ll be very appreciative of your excellent judgment.”

The Proctor left the three of them. Leo had to hold Bethany back from Jorash. “You think you’re such a big deal because of who your family is. But you’re really just a snot nosed kid.”

Jorash brushed his hair back and turned his back on Leo and Bethany. Leo vowed that if he was ever able to claim his Holgeld lineage, he’d never abuse it the way that Jorash did. “Thank you, Bethany. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t spoken up for me.”

Bethany calmed down, she gave Leo a pleasant smile. “My pleasure. We are going to be future coworkers after all.”

Leo and Bethany waited as the different Interview Candidates were summoned to a smaller room. Soon, only three people were left in this initial intake room. The two of them, and Jorash.

Another Interview Proctor beckoned the three of them into a smaller room. Jorash acted like Leo and Bethany weren’t even there. The room held a single metal table with a bright orange package on top of it.

Leo didn’t know what to make of it. The Proctor pointed at the orange package. “You will be Interviewing for positions in Opal Corp’s private security division. To pass this interview, you must protect this package with your lives.”

Jorash laughed dismissively. “Are you serious? Protecting a little box, that’s all we have to do? I assumed this interview would be a cakewalk, but this is ridiculous.”

The Proctor’s face was unreadable. They pressed a button on the table and a door slid open behind them. “Head through there. Bring the package, unharmed, to the top floor of the Recruitment Center. Whoever arrives with the package will be hired.”

Leo looked at Bethany and then at Jorash. He’d have to rely on these two in order to get the job. “We have some questions first.”

The Proctor shook their head and pointed to the door. “Your Interview begins now.”

Jorash snatched the orange package off the table and sprinted through the door. Leo and Bethany rushed after him. The door slammed shut behind them with an ominous noise. There was no going back, they had to see this Interview through to the end.

Leo saw Jorash stopped where the hallway branched into two paths. Leo grabbed his arm. “Hey, don’t even think about going ahead without us. If you screw up and damage that package, we’re all going to pay for it.”

Jorash turned around and sneered at Leo. “I don’t need the two of you nobodies slowing me down. I’m perfectly happy arriving at the top by myself and sending the two of you back to the unemployment line.”

Bethany stepped between the two of them. “That’s enough. We don’t know what to expect up ahead. Jorash, even an egotistical jerk like you should know it’s in your own best interest to use what resources you have.”

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Leo took a breath. “You’re right, Bethany. Jorash, whether you like it or not, we only have each other to rely on. I’m willing to put personal feelings aside, if you are.”

Leo stuck out his hand. Jorash looked at it like it was covered with acid. “Fine. You two follow behind me, for now. I might need a human shield or two.”

Jorash walked down the left path without shaking Leo’s hand. Leo grumbled. “That’ll have to be good enough then.”

Leo activated his Ears of the Master ability and listened for what might lie ahead. Jorash moved confidently with the package. Leo heard a strange noise that he realized was the sound of gas escaping.

Leo couldn’t figure out what the sound meant, until it clicked for him. “Jorash, get down.”

Leo dove at Jorash and tackled him to the ground. This was seconds before a huge flame shot out of the wall at head level. Jorash looked up with his mouth agape. “What the hell is that!”

Leo waited for the flame jet to turn off. “It’s a trap, obviously. And likely not the last one we’ll have to face. Why not let me hold the package for a while?”

Jorash looked embarrassed then shoved the package in Bethany’s hands instead. “Let her hold it. She knows she’s too stupid and helpless to run off on her own.”

Bethany rolled her eyes but still gripped the package tight. Jorash swept his hand ahead of the hallway. “After you then, Leo. Watch your head.”

Leo took the lead. He kept his Ears of the Master spell active. He listened and stopped just as a massive sawblade ripped through the hallway in front of him. Bethany yelped and held the package against her.

Leo realized that Opal Corp took their application process very seriously. “It must be more expensive to have a bad employee in an important position than pay their hospital or funeral expenses.”

Leo didn’t agree with this but it revealed a lot about how Romus Holgeld looked at the world. Leo was sure there was fine print that started this Interview that held Opal Corp harmless in the event of injury or death, but you’d have to be an incredibly powerful company to not experience any legal backlash from killing or maiming your applicants.

When the sawblade retracted, Leo and the others dashed past it. They reached a larger room with three doors on either side. Leo heard strange noises on the other side of the doors but couldn’t understand them, it was just a bunch of whirring and clicking.

Then six doors opened and through each door came a large, shambling figure. Leo had never seen anything like them before.

They were made of pieces of clay and metal and resembled either steroid boosted humans or large gorillas. Leo could sense that these Homunculi weren’t machines but beings brought to life with magic. Each held a huge spiked weapon in their hands. They went straight for Bethany with the orange package.

Jorash pushed Bethany out of the way and crushed a capsule in his hand. Three beams of light shot out and pierced the clay skulls of three Homunculi. They collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Another Homunculus snuck up behind Bethany, she ducked as the spiked weapon swept over head. A second Homunculus popped up and brought its weapon straight down towards her head. Bethany smashed a capsule against her chest.

A protective bubble surrounded her. The weapon bounced right off. “That was my only spell capsule. I need you two to finish these clankers off.”

Leo was way ahead of her. He swung his Flame Arc whip wide and it burned straight through two of the Homunculi. Leo went for the third but Jorash stepped in front of him.

Jorash crushed a second capsule and a pure black dot appeared at the end of his index finger. He tapped his finger against the final Homunculus and it crumbled into dust.

Bethany retracted her bubble shield. “That was a waste of a capsule. Leo had that last one under control.”

Jorash shrugged. “My parents bought me an entire arsenal of spells to use for this Interview. I’m leaving nothing up to chance with the likes of you two.”

Bethany looked regretfully at the shards of her one spell capsule, then she looked at Leo. “How many capsules do you have left?”

Leo's thoughts scrambled for a second. It seems like neither Jorash or Bethany had caught on that he was a Sorcerer. He decided to keep that to himself for now, especially where Jorash was concerned. “A few. I’d have to count.”

Now Leo wished that he had had time to buy some spell capsules before the Interview. He had the money after all. He was only a level two Sorcerer, there were probably a ton of spells that he didn’t have access to yet. Leo summoned his Magic System.

“Those Homunculi and that Thief I took down had to be way more powerful than those jerks I fought off outside my foster home. I have to be close to leveling up, right?”

His Magic System answered him. “You are only twenty five experience points shy of level three, Leo. Don’t give up.”

Leo took a breath. The door on the other end of the hall was open. He motioned for Bethany and Jorash to follow him. “We need to keep moving. There must be an elevator or something that can get us to the top floor.”

At the end of the next hallway, Leo found his answer. There was a spiral staircase leading up. Leo started up it, Jorash behind him, Bethany in the rear.

Once they were about halfway up, a deep rumbling started down below. Leo looked around for its origin. “Everybody stop. Something’s wrong.”

Bethany let out a yelp as the stairway gave out beneath her. Every step below fell away. Down below the floor split open, revealing a pit filled with razor wire. Bethany grabbed a hold of the step above her. If she fell, she would be shredded to bits.

Bethany had the package in her other hand. “I’m slipping. I can pull myself up but I’ll have to let the package drop.”

Jorash’s eyes went wide. “No! Don’t you dare. I’ll help you. Hand me the package first.”

Jorash leaned down and held out his hand. The staircase was too narrow for Leo to get involved. Bethany reached down deep and lifted the package with one hand and passed to Jorash.

Jorash snatched the package and stood up. “You trusting types make things too easy sometimes.”

Jorash stepped away as Bethany reached up. The step she was hanging onto snapped at one end. She could only hang on with one hand even now that the other was free. “Help me up! I’m slipping.”

Jorash glowered down as Bethany hung on for dear life. “Shame you don’t have another protection spell, that wire looks quite deadly. Oh well, looks like I’ll be arriving at the top floor on my own.”

Jorash pushed past Leo with the package. Leo knew that he had only a split second to make a decision. He could stop Jorash or save Bethany. There was no way to do both.