Evolution: A Warlock’s Rise To Power

"You bought the building?" The receptionist asked.

"Yes, I am determined."

The man snorted. "Fine, your club fees are $40,000 a month. Is that a problem?"

"Not at all." Brax chuckled. The lawyer had handed him the lease agreement with the club, and that was the amount they had to pay in rent every month.

"Alright, you can join. I am the owner of this club by the way. The name is Anthony Vindel but you can call me Tony."

"I am Brax Tomlin. When can I start?"

"Come on back, no point in waiting."

Brax followed Tony into the gym as the owner began to explain the club.

"We focus on several types of hand to hand combat here, we do a little bit of empty hand, but most practices involve small weapons like daggers or stilettos. Almost all of our members come from the military or dangerous walks of life. Don't come crying to me if they don't give you face. I am only letting you join so we don't have to shut down."

"Alright, I understand."

Entering the gym, Brax could see two men in a sparring ring. Each had a rubber dagger. They were circling each other and lashing out. Their combat was intense but not very pleasing to the eye. Brax could tell that in their minds they were not putting on a show or strutting their prowess for each other. They were locked in a life and death battle. To be struck by the dagger meant flesh would be cut. Taking a blow to get in closer to the enemy was not an option. He was amazed by what he saw.

"Don't get your hopes up. It will be years before you are on the same level as those two. It's possible that you will never be that good."

Brax watched as one of the men caught the wrist of the other before giving his opponent a flurry of stabs in the stomach.

"Hmph, if you were to try something like that, you would likely get your hand cut off."

"Yeah, yeah, I am the worst and you're the best." Lucan said to Tony while watching the two men split up and try again.

"At least you can admit it." Tony said, ignoring Brax's mocking tone. "Go get changed and get back out here." He said pointing to the locker room.

He changed, even though he showed up in sweatpants. He got rid of his jacket and tightened the laces on his shoes.

"Since I am the only trainer here today, you are stuck with me. Tell me about your character, no need to talk about real life, one look at you and I can tell you have no real-world experience with cold weapons."

"Okay, well first and foremost I am a warlock, but-."

"A warlock?"

"Yeah it's a type of spellcaster that-."

"I am not dumb; I play evolution too. Where else could I practice my skills so easily? It is just surprising that a caster wants to learn knife skills."

"I am also a thief and with magic I can turn wands into daggers. Magic wise, I specialize in illusions and telekinetic, but I have access to all shadow and mental magic."

"Hmm, I see. Alright, that's enough, I have the general idea. I will start your training in Paranza Corta. It's an Italian style of fighting that uses a stiletto. The stiletto was originally invented to pierce through chain-mail and uses a stance similar to fencing. It's ideally a stealthy type of knife fighting. Perfect for assassinations."

Tony picked up a couple of rubber stiletto knives and tossed one to Brax. Unlike regular daggers, a stiletto had no edge, it was purely a thrusting weapon.

Brax held the stiletto and tried to match Tony's movements, unsuccessfully. The instructor circled around him, staying in constant movement. His blade hand was in front, swirling around, to keep Brax guessing while his off hand stayed close to his chest for defense. Suddenly the instructor dropped down slightly, swiftly shifted his weight to his front foot and went in for the killing strike. A fierce thrust placed the stiletto between his ribs on his side.

Caught unaware, Brax dropped his rubber knife and clutched his side. There would definitely be a bruise.

"Your feet are too far apart, and you are too distracted by my blade. Keep your eyes on my hips. They will tell you when I am about to strike."

Over and over, Brax tried to fend off Tony's attacks until he was wheezing and tired.

"You're too weak. Go to the workout equipment in the back and get stronger, train for an hour then run three miles on the treadmill. That will be all for today."