Evolution: A Warlock’s Rise To Power

"Spit it out. Where is the dungeon?" Johnny asked.

Lucan didn't directly answer and instead opened a portal and walked through. The others followed him.

Before them was an ash covered sky, blocking out the light, covering the land in darkness. The hill they were standing on was void of grass or any plant life. The bones of a gigantic creature long dead were spread out across the land. The creature had been so large that they couldn't see the end of its body in the distance. In front of the hill, the creature's skull was a dozen stories tall and propped open, making the entrance to the dungeon.

"Welcome to the Abyss, home of demons." Lucan said when the others arrived.

"Ah, the Abyss, how exciting." Johnny said. "Let's get to it."

Without delay, the priest ran into the dungeon.

"Hey, wait a sec-." Lucan was cut off when Holly grabbed him and Silent and ran after the others who had already entered.

"Come on, let's not get left behind."

Before Lucan could say anything else, he was pulled into the dungeon.

He looked around and sighed. He and Silent were still in their own party, they hadn't joined the others yet. Worst of all…

[You have entered a survival dungeon. Reach the end to complete the dungeon. Death will eject you from the dungeon.]

Lucan felt a tickle on the back of his neck but wasn't fast enough to dodge. A meteor punctured through the ash covered sky and squashed him into paste.

"Damn it." He cursed after reviving with his soul stone because he didn't want to leave Silent on her own.

"We didn't get into their party before they entered the dungeon. Let's head back out and regroup before going back in." Silent said once Lucan revived. She too noticed that they were the only two in the dungeon.

Turning back, they could only see no exit to the dungeon but an army of millions of demons stampeding towards them from miles away.

"There is no way out." Lucan said.

"Crap, normally the only way out of a survival dungeon is to die."

"Oh, no." Lucan said. "I just used my soul stone, if I die again, I am going to hell."

"Watch out!" Silent said as she shoved Lucan.

Another meteor had fallen from the sky. Lucan tumbled backwards to see the large rock crush his wife.

She disappeared and was ejected from the dungeon.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap." Lucan cursed as he started running froward.

Making his way down the hill he found a small cave. Adrestia and Little Brown went in first to make sure it didn't have any inhabitants.

Lucan followed. He was just looking for any place he could avoid the meteors while he figured out what to do. He knew he couldn't stay here for long; the horde of demons would be at the hill in twenty minutes.

[Silent Night: Did you survive?]

[Lucan Quilldrake: I am safe right now.]

[Silent Night: Heaven and the others swear they didn't do it on purpose. When I came out, they were waiting. They had killed themselves to meet up with us.]

[Lucan Quilldrake: Yeah okay.]

[Silent Night: Seriously, it isn't their fault. Heaven said she is sorry for dragging us in.]

[Lucan Quilldrake: Don't worry about me, go have fun with your sister and run the dungeon with them. I will figure something out, if not… I will see you in a week.]

[Silent Night: No way, I know my husband can survive.]

[Lucan Quilldrake: Don't worry, I am not mad, really, I am not. Go spend some time with your sister.]

[Silent Night: Okay, let me know when you get out. I will miss you.]

[Lucan Quilldrake: I will miss you too.]

Lucan closed his chat interface and sighed.

He turned to Adrestia next to him and shook his head. "I am mad."

But being pissed off in a cave wouldn't solve any of his problems. He tried to take out his magic carpet but received a system notification.

[Players are unable to activate mounts in a survival dungeon]

Taking another peak out of the cave, Lucan realized the landscape had changed after he entered the dungeon. The bones of the enormous creature were no longer present. Instead, the mouth of a canyon was open at the bottom of the hill.

With desolate open spaces to the left and the right and a demon army at his rear, Lucan felt like video game logic dictated that the exit for the dungeon would be in the canyon or somewhere near its end.

He just prayed that this was not a labyrinth type dungeon. He always loved those, but not when he was on a clock. The stampeding demon army didn't seem like the type of people to wait.

Devils could be considered a lawful evil. They had their rules and codes, they followed a strict hierarchy with a proper structure. As evil as they were, they honored the words the said.

Inversely, demons are a chaotic evil. The strongest are the leaders. Arguments are solved by seeing who survives. There is nothing a demon won't do and there isn't a line they won't cross.

If the demons could unite as one and face the devils together, they would win their current conflict. Demons out number devils a thousand to one, but the race that kills the most demons, happens to be demons.

When the demon army got to him, there would be no chance for him to talk his way out of it.

Regardless, Lucan needed to move before the group of demons arrived. He rushed out of the cave and headed into the mouth of the canyon. He ran forward as the dark brown rock walls rose on either side while he traveled deeper in.

"He, he, he, he."

Lucan heard a mad laughter from behind as he ran. He looked over his shoulder to see three large hyenas the size of elk. Since this was a survival dungeon and the goal wasn't to defeat everything but to get to the end, their levels were higher than 150. They were each 165. Their hungry demon eyes spotted dinner after they slipped out of a crack in the canyon wall.

They pounced forward, moving three times faster than the warlock. When the first one dove towards Lucan with its mouth wide open, he activated shadow form and slipped to the side.

Lucan created three shadow copies of himself and he scattered with his illusions.

Two of the hyenas were fooled but one still chased him. Since he was going to be overtaken any moment Lucan went with the first idea that popped into his mind. He jumped towards the canyon wall and used telekinetic cling so that he could quickly crawl up the side.

He kicked and scurried as fast as he could to get out of the jumping range of the predator who had caught his scent.

The hyena whined and followed him as he slowly moved further into the canyon.

The other two found the real Lucan after they attacked the illusions several times.

"This isn't going to work." Lucan told himself. He was moving too slowly. The demon army would catch up at his current pace, and then he would be done for.

He was outnumbered three to one and they each had over 45 levels on him. Lucan realized that wasn't true. He had Adrestia, she was now his level as well. He was only outnumbered three to two. But it wasn't like that was any better.

Up ahead, Lucan saw a tree that brushed the edge of the canyon wall. As he drew near the hyenas kept their distance from it. They didn't dare to get close to it. Lucan took that as a bad sign. And to make his luck worse, the limbs of the tree blocked the canyon wall he was crawling across.

Beneath him were three hungry demon hyenas and in front of him was a very ominous tree. Lucan looked to the top of the canyon to see meteors falling like rain, but for some reason they did not fall into the canyon. Lucan cursed the stupid video game logic that governed this dungeon. He was trapped.

"I don't think things could get any worse." Lucan said to Creepy who was clinging to his shoulder.

He immediately regrated saying that out loud.

As the hyenas were growing impatient, a change overcame them. They stood on their hind legs with a practiced balance and reveal hand like claws.

At that point, Lucan noticed a few humanoid features on them. These weren't simple hyenas at all. The one who had been tracking Lucan from the beginning stretched out his claws and grabbed onto the rock wall, pulling himself up as he started to climb after his dinner. The other two began to follow him up the wall.