The Heir of Opal

The money hovered in mid air, it was more cash than Leo had ever seen. The old man smiled and waved his hand so that the money returned to the briefcase. “Your inheritance is a million times this much. A billion. Who can even count? Opal Corp is currently valued at three point two trillion dollars.”

Leo fought to keep his jaw off the floor. He was an orphan who spent his whole life being passed around the foster care system like a piece of moldy bread. Now this old man was telling him he could inherit the most valuable company in the world. A corporation run by a family of powerful Sorcerers.“But I’m a nobody. I can’t even afford to use magic.”

The old man said his name was Volus. He was an Adept, someone who received his magical abilities from Opal Corp in exchange for a monthly subscription.

Volus reached inside the jacket of his perfectly tailored suit and removed a small gold device. “Do you know what this is?”

Leo looked at the strange little thing, it had all sorts of arcane symbols carved into it. It looked powerful, and expensive. “What does it do?”

Volus tapped the device with one finger. “This device can activate any latent abilities in your DNA, your bloodline. Unlike me, I believe you were someone born with the natural ability to use magic. You’ve just never been able to tap into it.”

Leo shook his head. “I’ve only seen Sorcerers on TV. That can never be me. I’ve never even been able to try an over the counter spell capsule.”

Volus gave the gold device a twist. A long silver needle emerged from the top. “Go ahead. Let’s find out if I’m right.”

The needle looked incredibly painful. Leo grimaced as he reached out and pressed his finger down on top of it. The needle pierced his skin. Leo’s blood dripped down the needle and filled in the arcane symbols.

The symbols glowed, dim at first, then brighter and brighter. A huge grin spread across Volus’ face. “I knew it!”

Leo felt an immense power flow through him. It surged all the way from his toes to the ends of his fingers. It was like nothing he had ever felt. A voice spoke out in his head.

“Hello Leo, I’ve been waiting for you. You are a Sorcerer. I believe you can be the greatest sorcerer the world has ever seen.”

Volus waved his hand in front of Leo’s face to get his attention. “It’s talking to you, isn’t it? Your magic system?”

Leo snapped back to the present. “It is. So, this is real? I’m really a Sorcerer.”

Volus slipped the gold device back in his pocket. “You really are. Congratulations, Leo. We are both going to be fabulously wealthy.”

Leo looked at his hands. He had a million questions to ask his magic system. What spells did he know? What were his stats? “I always wondered who my family was, they must be Sorcerers too. Wait, does this mean they are who I think they are?”

Volus’ smile faded, he looked deathly serious. “That’s right. You are a Holgeld. You are the true heir to Opal Corp.”

The Holgeld Family were the most important family of Sorcerers the world had ever seen. Their patriarch Romus Holgeld was the first person to learn how to sell magic to everyday people. This grew Opal Corp from a small mining company to the largest corporate entity on the planet.

The wheels in Leo’s head spun wildly. “There are rumors that Romus Holgeld is going to retire. It’s all anyone’s talking about.”

As a poor foster kid, Leo never paid much attention to the business world, but Opal Corp was a whole other story. That company held the entire world’s attention and imagination. Leo often dreamed what it would be like to be a part of it. To share in the immense luxury and influence that even the lowliest member of the company was able to enjoy.

He could buy any car, live in any mansion, eat at the finest restaurants in the city. Somehow this was becoming a reality. Leo looked at Volus’ expensive suit and then at his own ratty t-shirt and blue jeans. “So what do we do next? How do I claim this inheritance?”

Volus held up a finger. “You can’t just claim it. You’ll have to fight for it. Romus Holgeld has many children, and all of them want his empire for their own. But I have a plan.”

Volus reached into the other breast of his jacket and pulled out what looked like a credit card, only it pulsed with its own strain of magic. Leo would have recognized a card like that anywhere.

“That’s an Interview Invitation Card. Your plan is to get me a job at Opal Corp?” Leo reached out for the Interview Card but Volus held it just out of his grasp.

“I’m going to hold onto it for now. We don’t want it falling into the wrong hands. You don’t even want to know what I had to go through to get this. But this will be your way in, Leo. Once you get a job at Opal Corp we can get you all the way to the top. Your Sorcerer Magic System will help, and you’ll have me to guide you from the inside.”

Leo and Volus shook hands. Together they were going to make Opal Corp theirs.

Leo needed to head back to his foster home to gather his things. Volus would meet him back in the same spot in a few hours. Leo was happy to be seeing this particular foster home for the last time.

These foster parents were cruel and dismissive thieves, feeding Leo only the cheapest food and buying him the cheapest clothes while keeping the extra money from the government for themselves. And this was before they drained Leo’s savings account.

The only thing Leo really needed from his room was a small, hand knitted stuffed rabbit. He was too old for it of course, but it was the only thing he had with him when he was dropped off at a fire station as a baby. He always imagined that his mother must have hand knitted it for him.

He rushed down the steps of the dilapidated apartment building where his foster home was. He didn’t see that his foster siblings, Brett and Dirk, were smoking cigarettes on the stoop. “Where do you think you’re going, Leo?”

Brett stood up and flicked his cigarette at Leo. Dirk snuck behind Leo and snatched the stuffed rabbit. “Think you can run away from home before you get kicked out? Like that will save you the embarrassment?”

Brett and Dirk had bullied Leo from the day he arrived at the foster home. They treated it like their own little kingdom, even though they were fosters just like him. Leo never had the courage to stand up to them, but he was sick of their games. “Give that back to me. It belonged to my mother.”

Brett and Dirk laughed. Dirk waved the rabbit in Leo’s face. “What are you going to do about it?”

Leo lunged for the rabbit in Dirk’s hand, Brett held out his foot and Leo tripped, landing on his face. Leo reached up and felt a trickle of blood coming from his nose. Was it broken?

Leo heard the voice in his head once again. “This is your Sorcerer Magic System. It seems like you are in an unfortunate situation. Are you ready to fight back?”

Leo felt the power surging back up inside him. He just needed to tap into it. “I’m ready. Show me what to do.”

The voice brought up a bunch of glowing runes in Leo’s vision, even though he had never seen the language before, Leo found he could read them like perfect English.

“You are a Level One Sorcerer. These are your ability scores. The higher your level, the better your abilities become. You also unlock new spells and skills as you level up. Might I suggest a Level Zero Cantrip, Burning Hands, to deal with these bullies?”

Leo nodded enthusiastically. Bright green fire spread around his hands, but it didn’t burn him. He got back to his feet and took a fighting stance. Brett and Dirk looked scared. “What the hell, Leo? Are your hands on fire?”

Leo smiled. “Let’s find out.”

Leo threw a punch right at Brett. Leo felt there was more force behind it than any punch he had ever thrown in his life. The green fire singed Brett’s shirt and the impact of the punch sent him crashing back down onto the stoop.

Dirk ran, the rabbit still in his hands. Dirk had always been the fastest one in the foster home, no way Leo could catch him. But he still had to try. Leo sprinted after Dirk. He moved with grace and power, he overtook Dirk in no time.

Leo leapt in the air and brought his flaming fists down across Dirk’s back. Dirk tumbled. Now it was Dirk’s nose that was broken and bloody. Both Brett and Dirk squirmed on the ground in pain. Leo took back his childhood treasure.

He put the rabbit in his back pocket. “Let’s hope this teaches you not to mess with any of the other kids in the foster home ever again. You never know who’s going to finally grow up and fight back.”

Leo felt a new glow spread from his feet all the way to the top of his head. It was different than before, but it was exhilarating.

The voice spoke to him. “Congratulations, Leo. You earned one hundred and fifty experience points from this encounter. You have leveled up. You are now a Level Two Sorcerer.”

Leo couldn’t believe it. His first day as a Sorcerer and he was already climbing the ranks. He called up the runes that represented his stats, all of them were higher than before. “What about spells?”

The voice was happy to answer. “You have unlocked the following spells. Flame Arc, you can extend a green flame from your fists like a whip in a range up to fifteen feet. Ears Of The Master, you can hear any sound within a mile radius. Pocket Dimension, you have an invisible inventory capable of storing anything you want, you can also escape there to rest and recover after battle.”

Leo’s mind raced as he thought about the possibilities for these new powers. When he woke up that morning he didn’t even know how he was going to survive on his own. Now the options seemed endless. But then he gathered himself, there was still one thing more important than all others. Opal Corp. He rushed back to the meeting place with Volus.

Leo turned the corner into the alley where he was set to meet Volus. He was greeted with a gruesome sight. Volus was slumped on the ground, dead. Blood pooled around him. Leo ran to Volus and turned him over. A magic rune encrusted dagger stuck out of his chest.

Sweat beaded on Leo’s forehead. Volus seemed like a powerful Adept. Who could have possibly killed him? Then, Leo saw that the dagger had a note tied to it. Leo unwrapped the note and read it aloud.

“To anyone working with this traitor, this is your warning. Leave the Holgeld Family alone.”

A stone sunk in Leo’s stomach. Somehow, someone in the Holgeld Family knew what Volus was up to and they killed him for it. Leo crushed the note in his fist.

This didn’t matter. He would take down the Holgeld Family, the ones who abandoned him as a baby. Opal Corp would still be his.