Evolution: A Warlock’s Rise To Power

Lucan and Silent said goodbye to Oar and went off in search of the planeshifter shrine. Entering Avalon, they transported to a distant country. Following the clues left in the journal they departed a border town in the country of Stalik.

Silent was occupying Lucan's shadow as he flew through the air on his broom. Wanting to complete the quest as fast as possible, they flew over a swamp land and entered the territory of the giants, avoiding the monsters below. Fortunately, they didn't need to go near any of the cities. The race of giants wasn't known to be the friendliest to visitors.

Coming to a large lake, they found an island situated in the center of the water. Only a quarter of a mile across, it was deserted and barren except for a single stone monolith protruding from the ground. Lucan landed as they slowly walked towards it.

The monolith was covered in tribal carvings that depicted a river and portals. He assumed it was a representation of the ethereal realm.

Lucan stood in front of the monolith, but it did not react. Unsure of what else to do, he reached out and placed a hand on the stone.

A voice resounded in his head.

'I warned you to never return to this place.' The voice said angrily.

"I-, I have never been here before." Lucan said, confused by the guardians' remark.

'You may change your form, but I will always recognize the energy you carry Ghost King.'

Lucan was taken aback, until it clicked. The essence he had acquired in the Depths of Despair had been stolen. He always knew this but never questioned where it was stolen from. Perhaps Nilan the Great, A.K.A. The Amber Shawl, had stolen the ethereal essence from the Ghost King, or maybe he took it from his tomb.

"The Ghost King had died and transformed into a ghost; I am not him. I took this essence and some of his blood in order to become a planeshifter."

Suddenly four large eyes appeared over the top of the monolith. They slowly opened and stared at the warlock. Looking him over from head to toe.

'Your soul is not the same as the Ghost King, but I can't be sure that you aren't working for him. Be gone and leave this place, never return.'

The eyes slowly began to close.

"Wait, what can I do to prove that I am not with him?"

The eyes halted.

'Hmm, if you say he has become a ghost, prove that you are not with him by taking my amulet and destroying him. Let his soul be absorbed my mark.'

An amulet appeared in mid air and dropped to Lucan's feet. The eyes closed and the voice retreated from his mind.

"Wait, don't go."

There was no response.

Lucan sighed and picked up the amulet.

[Step 3 completed.]

[Step 4: Venture to the tomb of the Ghost King and claim his soul for the planeshifter guardian.]

"What did they say?" Silent asked.

"They want me to slay the Ghost King to prove I am not with him."

"I guess that is the only way to finish the quest unless you can find a planeshifter and kill them."

"Yeah, it looks like we have to go to the tomb."

'Hey Lucan, can you talk?' Super telepathically asked.

'Yeah, what's up.'

'I tracked down those landmarks for the tomb. I have a location for you.'

'Where is it?'

'The Black Steel Mountain range, its outside of the city of Garth. There should be a dungeon around there, the tomb may be in the dungeon or nearby.'

'Okay thanks.'

Lucan and Silent took out their return scrolls, it was already getting pretty late in the day and they had to log off soon.

'Wait, why does that place sound familiar?' Lucan thought to himself. 'Have I been there before?'

He immediately frowned as he remembered. The Depths of Despair were located in the Black Steel Mountains. The place had been both a curse and a blessing for him. Honestly, he was feeling nervous and anxious. He didn't want to go back, but if he wanted to finish his class change quest he had too.

When they arrived in Shadowsweep, Silent could tell something was bothering Lucan.

"Hey what's wrong? Is something the matter?"

"Oh, ah, um." The words wouldn't come out when he wanted to tell her nothing was wrong. He found it impossible to lie to her. "I was just thinking about the Ghost King." He said.

Silent realized he didn't want to talk about it and didn't push any further. "Alright, let's head into the castle and log out."

Brax left the capsule and started his day.

He ate a light breakfast and skipped his workout. He was planning to join an athletic club today. Brax had realized that his melee combat capabilities were nothing when they weren't paired with shadow form or ethereal step. If he wanted to make a big improvement to the amount of damage he was able to put out in the game, melee fighting was the best place to start. He had taken magic blade assassin class and had a few rouge moves but he was still a complete armature because he would always fall back on his magic.

Driving to the address of the club he found online, Brax parked his car and went into the plain looking building without a sign. He was worried he was in the wrong place until he opened the door and could hear people sparring and grunting. At least he hoped that's what the sounds were. The other possibility was that the people making the noises were having some naked encounters.

Walking through the front door there was a reception desk. Behind the desk was a door that hopefully led to the gym and not some freaky sex dungeon.

"This is a private club, invitation only." The thin wiry man said as he straightened the papers on the counter.

"Is there no other way?" Brax asked.

The man gave Brax another looks over, apparently still unsatisfied. "Let me guess, you are probably one of those Evolution players that found us online and you want us to help you be better at fighting in the game. Right?"

Brax could only sheepishly smile.

"We aren't a normal martial arts gym, go mess around somewhere else. We are a place for those who wish to hone their craft. We don't want weekend members who are just her to gain an edge. Everyone who joins the club, joins for life. Besides it's not like you will see result quickly. Go look for a McDojo to teach you a few things, give you some belts, and print you a certificate."

Brax frowned. "I will just say, I always start what I finish and I am determined to train here."

This time when the man looked up, there was a glint of death in his eyes. Brax didn't doubt for a moment that this man had killed before. Unlike the game, this was real life, he wanted to run out the door and flee when the receptionist's murderous gaze was on him. But how could he flee after saying what he previously said.

The man's eyes relaxed and he let out a chuckle. "Well you're either brave enough or just stupid. But it doesn't matter, we will probably be closed by the end of the month anyways."

"Oh?"

"Mmm, the landlord is trying to sell the building and we are a bit late on rent and have no room to complain if he defaults on our lease. Don't waste your time here." The man said before leaving the desk and going into the gym.

Brax wouldn't chase him into the gym, that would be disrespecting the club and he would have no chance of ever getting in. Instead he took a seat by the door and pulled out his phone.

He first sent his Aunt a text.

[I need a lawyer to handle a commercial real estate transaction. Do you know anybody?]

Then he checked his Evolution account. Super was still online.

[Can you find out who owns the building at XXXX Lavender street in Flower city. I need a phone number.]

With the time in Evolution flowing faster than the real world, Brax had a name and number by the time he got off the phone with the real estate lawyer.

He dialed.

"Hello, is this the owner of the building on Lavender street?"

"Great, I am Mr. Tomlin of World Conqueror Industries. I want to buy your property, is it still for sale?"

"No, I am not preapproved by a bank."

"Watch your tone, I am not preapproved because I can transfer the money at any time, I am not broke."

"Ha, ha, that's better. Take 10% off your price and I can transfer the money into your account today. My lawyer is already drawing up a bill of sale, you will have two weeks to transfer the property deed."

"No, no, the tenant doesn't need to vacate the property, I will take over their current leases. And I will not bother with an inspection, I will buy it as is."

"Good, good, since you are out of town, send someone to your property in an hour, and bring a notary."

"Alright, goodbye and good luck in your future ventures."

Brax walked out of the building and onto the sidewalk. This property was a corner lot and had five floors. He turned the corner and went to an entrance that was locked up. The owner had given him the key code so he could take a look around the other floors.

Right now the club was the only one who leased the space. The other floors were recently cleared out when since the building was being sold. To his untrained eyes they didn't look bad at all. If he ever needed an office for his company, this would work out quite well.

He made his way back into the club and took his seat while he waited for the owner's lawyer to show up.

The receptionist walked out of the gym at the same time the lawyer walked in the front with another person following.

Seeing the familiar lawyer, the receptionist got angry. "I told you that you can't kick us out till we are three months late. We still have till the end of the month."

The lawyer ignored him and turned to Brax. "Mr. Tomlin?"

Brax nodded.

"I received the documents you emailed a little while ago." He said while pulling a contract out of his briefcase. "Please check it to make sure everything is correct."

There were no problems, He showed his ID to the notary, so did the lawyer and multiple copies of the document were signed.

"Once you transfer the money, my client will arrange for the deed to be transferred to you within a week. If you need any work in the future, give me a call." The man said, passing him a card before he left.

"So, Mr. tenant of mine. Are you sure there is no way I can join your club?" Brax asked.