Crackling black and blue energy swirled around the creature and exploded with a blinding flash of magical pressure.The force of the blast blew Jordan off his feet, causing him to crash into a nearby wall.Once the ringing in his ears quieted down, he attempted to steady his vision as he looked around the battlefield.


    As Jordan drank, he felt the strength the Cost Of Business arrow had taken from him.The arrow had been enchanted with a Cost spell, which traded the health of the user for a single, deadly shot.This combined with the Long Range Circle allowed Jordan to take a shot with the equivalent power of a level 9 adventurer, albeit only once and nearly keeling over from exhaustion afterwards.


    They hadn''t been in a situation where their last resorts were necessary and he was concerned about the toll it would take on Jordan.


    “I could feel the arrow draining me as I fired it.That and using the rest of my den on the Long Range Circle has left me quite exhausted.You should give me food and money since I''m so tired” Jordan said sarcastically, plopping on his back in a dramatic fashion.


    Bryn walked over to the Minotaur''s corpse which was still smoldering.


    The sandy floor below the beast had been transformed into a glass-like substance from the heat of explosion, and Bryn marveled at the power their party was able to unleash.


    Yet here he stood, the battlefield transformed by the sheer power his party had demonstrated.The image of what remained of the minotaur atop the glass floor reminded Bryn of one of the modern art pieces his mother loved, and he began to get lost in the image.


    I was doing funny haha jokes so you''d know I was ok but I''m as functional as a bag of expired grapes right now.” Jordan shouted from across the room, snapping Bryn back to attention.Bryn helped Jordan over to the side of the room where they made a temporary camp.They still needed to clear out the remaining small enemies from the section, and Jordan would need time to recover.


    They were unable to find Joshua’s body after the fight.Jordan assumed he must have escaped in the chaos, and the pair decided not to pursue him any further.Considering his party member was killed in front of him and the gaping chest wound he received from the minotaur horn, the two of them decided not to tell anyone about what he had done.Uncle Josh had enough to deal with.


    Using the detect creature stone, they confirmed all enemies had been eliminated and left the dungeon.The contents of the chest along with the reward money proved to be a handsome payout for the pair, and the guild points they were awarded would officially make them Gold level, in about 3 weeks when the paperwork cleared.


    “The burden of this heavy bag is making me sleepy.I’m going to go home, take my medicine, and read my book by the fire.” He said walking in the direction of the Shadow District.


    Jordan stood still, torn between his options.He was an adult man, and he was within his rights to say no and go home.However, he also knew that he would regret not eating a free piece of that delicious pie.


    Bryn began politely eating his cake at a normal pace, while Jordan devoured his like he had been starved for weeks.Blackerby’s Blackberries was the local delight of the Gold District, the only place in the area where rich and poor came together.The product was cheaper and higher quality than any other bakery in the city, and the friendly environment combined with the heavenly aroma of baked goods calmed Jordan in a way nothing else could. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    He cleared his throat loudly, and as Jordan looked up with his face covered in jam, Bryn shook his head and laughed.


    not my fault if you grow up to be a bad adult.But seriously wipe your face, I know people here” Bryn said shoving a napkin at Jordan.


    “I don’t want to hear it, especially after you tried to baby bird me when we ate at Georgina’s last week.” Jordan said with his mouth full.


    Whatever let’s get on to business, you bother me” Bryn said as he pulled out a file.


    What do we got?” Jordan said, looking at the file Bryn opened as he sipped on his drink.


    But I have some crazy plans, and you deserve to be in the know about the crazy” Bryn said nervously.While he knew the two of them had a good partnership, he knew this was a hefty proposition.


    He sat back and looked toward the ceiling, pondering Bryn’s question.What   He had a good life back home, his parents were good to him, and he even had a small group of friends he was close with.He could have stayed home, worked a normal job, and remained safe and content.


    The road ahead for him to make a good living adventuring was difficult, full of risk and uncertainty.Sure he liked being friends with Bryn, and he had gotten used to living in this city, but nothing was really tying him down here.Realistically he could leave anytime and go back home, with the world continuing to turn, ignorant to his existence.


    He wanted to form a guild that was known in every corner of the world.He wanted to travel to new countries, uncovering mysteries and fighting powerful enemies.He wanted to visit home after he had become a legendary adventurer so he could see how proud his parents were.He wanted to make more friends like Bryn, and have his own circle of companions that he could rely on.


    When did he become… passionate?


    He passed it to Jordan, the bold letters at the top catching his eye.


    All weapons and items are legal, and the arena will take place on a shifting battlefield.


    First place will automatically be awarded with the opportunity to create an independent guild.


    As enticing as those numbers were, he wasn’t sure what Bryn was getting at.“Seems we’re getting ambitious my feathered friend.Well I’m listening” Jordan said as he leaned back into his chair while crossing his arms.


    He sighed as he looked into the sky, seemingly lost in thought for a moment.


    I realized it after I saw you fire that shot yesterday.We can make this work, and we can make it work better than other people can.We might be weaker than the other parties, but I think we try harder and strategize better. This tournament is in 8 months, and I truly believe that if we try, we might be able to win.”Bryn said as he leaned forward getting progressively more excited.“That might be a bit too ambitious, but if we win 3 or 4 rounds, we’ll be so ahead on points and money we can start our own guild by the end of the year even if we don’t win.” Bryn’s eyes burned with determination, and Jordan could tell he was completely serious.Having their own guild would make recruiting easier, along with the other advantages their own guild would provide.


    Your passion is always welcome, if not a little scary.But we do have some work to do to even qualify.” Jordan said as he looked at the large 3 staring back at him.“Also is this amount of points even possible in this amount of time?” He asked.


    We need to keep our eye out for a 3rd party member that could be permanent.This would be the preferred plan since we need to grow our party eventually anyway.If we can’t find anyone, worst case scenario we hire an independent and go from there.” Bryn said as he flicked through the other papers in the file.