Evolution: A Warlock’s Rise To Power

Brax sidestepped as Tony's rubber stiletto barely missed him. He circled around the man, lowered his stance and shifted forward, thrusting his own weapon towards the instructor.

*Whap* *Bang*

Tony slapped Brax's wrist away with tremendous force and delivered a knee to his gut before the stiletto came into contact with the side of his neck.

Brax crumpled to the ground with the wind knocked out of him.

"Good, you are improving faster than I thought you would." Tony said, offering his hand to help Brax up.

"Ugh." He groaned while getting back to his feet.

"You are here every day; have you been practicing even more?"

"Yeah, the past two weeks in game I have been undergoing a trial. From the moment I log in till the moment I log off, I am in constant battle, forced to press forward. I only have so much mana, the rest of the time I have to rely on my knife skills."

"Keep it up but remember, when you create an opening you have to immediately launch a counterattack. You avoided my first strike but instead of capitalizing on the close distance between us, you backed off, circled around and then went in to attack. Okay, let's call it quits for today."

"Alright, I will try to capitalize more on the openings I get."

"Not bad newbie." Said Jeff, walking over from the workout equipment. "Not good, but not bad."

Over the past few days Brax had the chance to meet a few other members of the club, Jeff being one of them.

"Keep up the hard work and one day you might be able to actually step into the ring with me and last more than five seconds."

"Don't get his hopes up." Tony said to Jeff.

"Yeah, yeah, enjoy it while you can. If you guys step into my world, we will see if you are still top dogs."

"Ha, ha, is little Lucan Quilldrake gonna show us a thing or two." Jeff laughed. "But I do think it would be fun to wail on you in the game, we should meet up some time."

"He may not be the highest level but from what I heard he isn't an easy person to pin down. But who knows if that is true, it's hard to get information on his character." Tony said.

"Oh, you actually tried?"

"Mmm, my usual sources only gave me some outdated information, nothing relevant." Tony responded.

Brax laughed. "You must have gone through the channels I control. I may be a newbie in here, but I made all my money through Evolution, I have carved out space from myself in the game. Seriously, if you guys ever need help, let me know."

"I will keep that in mind. Hey, do you guys want to grab a drink?" Jeff asked.

"Sure, I will join you. I don't think anyone else is going to come today." Tony answered, they both looked to Brax for his reply.

With this being the first time they invited him out, he wanted to accept, but he already had plans.

"Ah, sorry, I am meeting up with my girlfriend after this." He said with a cheesy smile.

"What, how does a shmuck like you have a girlfriend? You can bring her along. You should really come."

"I will ask her if she is interested, but no promises."

Brax went to the locker room to shower and change. When he stepped back into the gym everyone was gone. Tony had left a note with an address of a bar and told him to lock up.

Brax smiled. It seemed like Tony trusted him, and it was easy to lock up since as owner he had a copy of the keys to the building.

Brax threw his workout clothes in his trunk and drove to Jenna's house after sending her a text to let her know that he was on his way.

*Ding Dong*

He rang the doorbell. Before the chime finished echoing in the house, the door was opened.

To his surprise, Mr. Beneil opened the door.

"You are here for Jenna? She isn't ready yet."

Her father said, standing in the doorway, not inviting him inside.

"It is good to see you again Mr. Beneil. How are you doing?"

"I have heard that your fortress may be in trouble soon?" Jenna's father said, ignoring Brax's question.

"There will always be those who desire what I have, I am not worried."

"Hmph." Mr. Beneil snorted. "I heard that there are now over 8,000 soldiers stationed at a city not to far away from your fortress. I am sure your investors are getting nervous."

"I never figured you for having an interest in Evolution. Do you play?"

"If you don't take those who would dethrone you seriously, you will be blindsided and unable to continue with your contracts. How would you be able to support my daughter if you lose everything?"

"I would support her with my two hands of course." Brax said, answering literally. "You sound just like my Uncle."

"I have no doubt that the people of Terracorp are starting to get anxious."

"Their feelings are of no concern to me, if they honor their part of the contract, I will honor mine. Besides, every day that I receive reports of what's happening at my fortress I grow more and more excited. I may be absent from the shadow realm, but it is not like I am doing nothing. The stage is still not set, but when it is, I will step out and show those who are watching what I am capable of." Brax replied, not able to hide the ambition in his eyes.

For the first time, Mr. Beneil responded positively. "Good, then I will make sure to be watching. Any man who wishes to be with my daughter must be able to stand above the rest."

"I won't let you down."

There was a noise from inside the house as someone walked up to the door.

"Daddy, you're not giving Brax a hard time are you?" Jenna asked.

"Hmph, just having a chat."

"Then why is he still standing outside?" She said while placing her hands on her hips.

"He never asked to come in."

Jenna shook her head and pushed past him. "I will be back later."

"Behave yourself."

"I will." She replied.

"I wasn't talking to you."

Brax opened the door of his car and Jenna got into the passenger seat, he then went around and got behind the wheel.

"What do you want to do today?" She asked, as he started the car.

"It's up to you, we can do anything you like."

"If you are going to ask a girl out for the afternoon, you should at least have something planned." She jokingly scolded him.

"Well… Tony and Jeff from the club I joined invited us out for a drink if you are interested."

"Oh, that could be fun, I have heard you talk about Tony quite a bit, I would like to meet him."

"Sounds like a plan." Brax said, punching the address into his GPS and then following the map.

They pulled up to a plain looking building. The sidewalk was dirty and there was almost no foot traffic on the street.

"Is this the right place?" Jenna asked.

"It's the address they gave me." Brax said, getting out of the car.

Without a sign or even a window, there was only a door with the address digits beside it. He pushed it open and walked inside.

Expecting a trashy dive bar, the two were greatly surprised. The place was well lit and spotless. Half the bar was filled and surprisingly, there were tablecloths on the tables.

When Brax walked in, Jeff caught his eye and waved him over to the booth him and Tony were sitting at. Getting up, Jeff switched sides and sat next to Tony, letting the two newcomers share a bench.

"Ah, glad you made it." Jeff said.

"This-, this was not what I was expecting to find inside."

"He, he, I said the same thing, the first time Tony brought me here. It is one of the hidden gems of Flower city."

"This is my girlfriend Jenna, this is Jeff, and that is Tony. Tony is the owner of the club where I train."

"Oh, so you guys are the ones who are leaving my boyfriend covered in bruises."

"Ha, ha, not me. That would be Tony."

"Eh, if he doesn't want to get hit, he should move faster." Tony said with a shrug.

Jenna started to laugh. "Ha, ha, thanks for helping him. He is always speaking highly of you."

"Good, good. That's the way it should be." Tony said with a straight face. Jenna chuckled again.

A few minutes later a round of drinks were served and the four got to know each other better.

The door to the bar opened and in walked a face that Brax would have rather not seen. The man walked towards their table.

"What a surprise to see you here Jenna."

"Hmph, how can it be surprising to see me when you show up every time I leave the house, Jason."