Evolution: A Warlock’s Rise To Power

Lucan's mind returned to his body on the balcony. He sat up and looked around in a daze. The sorcerer was doing the same.

"Good, good, good." Gilbuzz said while coming over to Lucan.

The warlock quickly got his feet underneath himself and stood up.

"Master, I am sor-."

"That's enough." Ronbellus said. With a wave of his hand, the sorcerer was consumed by hellfire and teleported away.

"You did well." Gilbuzz said to Lucan.

Both Gil and Ron looked towards the warlock expectantly.

"Seems like a fun game." Lucan said as the two horned devils kept staring at him.

"Indeed, loved by all." Ron said.

"Yes, a game with a large potential."

They both continued to stare at Lucan.

Seeing as how they weren't leaving. Lucan used an illusion to create a piece of parchment with his ideas on it before taking a screenshot to store it away.

He quickly went through several pages.

Both devils moved behind him to see what was recorded.

They were shocked to find all sorts of formations and different spells written down.

"You are planning on making your own version?" Gilbuzz asked as the two devils gave each other a knowing look.

"Yeah, I have a few things worked out. The hard part will be the multiple deaths that don't lose experience and the upgrades. But I think with further study into dream magic, it may be possible to make something similar."

"That would be a lot of work, surely there is an easier way." Ronbeluss said.

"Now that you mention it, I think there is an easier way." Gibluzz said.

"Oh really, tell me more." Ron said.

Lucan rolled his eyes as the two devils began their pitch.

"Maybe this is a crazy idea but what if all the big issues could be solved with that." Gilbuzz continued.

"You don't mean…"

"Yes, precisely. If someone did it that way, they would be able to recreate everything."

"Indeed, and it would be so much easier to manage." Ronbellus added.

"Yes, yes. With the proper resources and 'that', someone could have a replica up and running in no time."

"That surely would be the best way to do it."

The two kept going back and forth with their vague conversation.

"Sigh, what could it be that you are referring to? What would make this strenuous task so easy?" Lucan sarcastically said.

"Should we tell him?"

"I think it will be fine if we tell him."

"Alright, go ahead then."

Gilbuzz looked to Lucan and said. "It would be much easier if the cores were replaced with a dungeon core." The devil said while pulling out a basketball sized dark metal orb.

"Except you would probably need two." Ronbellus said while pulling a second core out form his bag.

"Yeah, you would need two."

"And you would also need to take the dungeon master profession. Hey Gil, aren't you a dungeon master trainer?"

"That's right Ron, I am."

Their routine couldn't be any more obvious. Lucan didn't care, his ears perked up when he heard them talk about a dungeon master trainer. That was beyond a rare profession. It wasn't quite epic, it was considered… very rare.

Becoming a dungeon master would let him create his own dungeon. A beginner had to take over an already existing dungeon and couldn't truly create their own. But after taking control of a dungeon they could change everything inside. It would be much easier to recreate the game he played with this profession. It also opened a brand-new way to play the game. Lucan was excited to get his hands on that profession.

"Alright, enough of the bullshit. What do you want?" Lucan said.

"He, he, he. Your soul of course." Gilbuzz said. "Every time you die you will come to the nine hells for three days. And you will become an agent of the devil force. You will carry out missions when directed to do so."

"Ehh, pass. I will wait till I develop enough to complete it on my own." Lucan said.

He went back to copying down all his ideas on how to create his own version.

The devils looked towards each other; a bit worried. They expected him to at least haggle.

"Who know how many years that will take. What if someone else takes us up on our offer. Surely it would be best to be the first one to release this game in the other realms." Ronbellus said.

"Yes, even then, you may not ever complete the game."

"Don't worry about that." Lucan said. "Did you guys forget that my direct superior is Raze? Surely you have heard of him. Yeah, you guys are powerful and mighty, when I inspect you, I only see question marks. But when I try and inspect Raze, I only see a black skull. That guy is pretty resourceful and loves to make a profit."

The devils looked even more worried now.

"We are open to negotiation. Why don't you make an offer."

"Hmm, I guess I could do that. It would increase your strength and give you a better standing. I don't know. You might not be interested in 'that'." Lucan muttered to himself.

"What is it? What are you thinking?" Gilbuzz asked. He was determined to make the deal happen, but he was still a devil, he wouldn't take a loss.

"I was thinking that I could upgrade your status. I could make you one of my direct warlocks. You would have access to more spells and abilities. I would transfer every devil that has bought powers to be under you. Every time they made a purchase, you could keep 10% of what they spent. It would allow you to make purchases without having to sacrifice your levels."

"That's not bad." Gilbuzz said. "I could impart the dungeon master profession to you for that. But you still require two special dungeon cores. Regular ones won't work, you need 'versus' cores."

Lucan frowned. "We both know that you would each receive gains from me using those cores. Sure, a beginner dungeon master can't make his own cores, but I am sure I would find others eventually. Since I am guessing that both of you made those cores, you would already receive half the experience they would collect."

"That is true." Ronbellus said. "We don't collect the experience, but we do collect the misery and despair that accompanies death and loss. But if you search elsewhere where you will have to involve Raze if you want to find them anytime soon. And like you said, that guy loves profits, I feel it will cost just as much for his help, if not more."

Lucan contemplated his options. The devil was right, going to Raze would eat into his potential profits. He could see his dungeon becoming popular. It wouldn't be hard to charge an entrance fee. But he really didn't know what to offer them. These eternal beings didn't lack wealth. They were already far stronger than him. What could he offer them that would be enough for the two dungeon cores?

He had an idea.

"I will open a portal to any realm you want for half an hour. You can schedule when you want it to happen in advance."

Ronbellus nodded. "I will trade my core for that."

"I don't care for it." Gil said. "I want you to help capture someone for me. You can have my orb, but if he is not delivered into the nine hells withing a month, I will take back my core and the profession I am going to teach you."

"What is the person's level?" Lucan asked.

"150. But you don't need to kill them, you only need to bring them to hell, that is it. I will be watching you the entire time until you complete your end of the bargin."

"Alright, I guess. I will need more information though."

"No problem. Shall we draw up a contract?"

"No thanks. Let's shake on it." Lucan said stretching out his hand and activating his pact magic while shaking hands with both devils.

"Since I am not invading the abyss, I will plan a small raid elsewhere. When I am ready, I will let you know." Ronbellus said to Lucan and passed him the deactivated dungeon core before disappearing in a flash of hellfire.

"Let's head back to my place and I will impart the ways of dungeon mastering to you." Gilbuzz said, leading Lucan out of the arena.