Evolution: A Warlock’s Rise To Power

Lucan and Silent looked over the door trying to determine what was inside.

"Don't you think these symbols looks similar to the Demonic language?"  Silent asked.

Lucan shook his head.  "I really have no idea, but that would make sense.  The arm of a demon was able to draw power mana from whatever was inside.  It is very possible that this dungeon has something to do with demons."

"Do you want to give it a try, or should we find some teammates?"  Silent asked.

Lucan rubbed his chin and thought it over.  His first instinct was to go at it with just the two of them.  But things were different now.  He had taken the dungeon master profession.  When conquering a dungeon to claim it as his own, he was only given a limited number of attempts.  If he wanted it for himself, it made more sense to go in with a full armed and properly formed team.

"Let's get a team."  Lucan said.  "I want to try and conquer this dungeon to make it my own."

"Do you have people in mind, or…"

"I don't, I will contact Super to see if he has anybody trustworthy available."

"Okay, but I can probably get us a paladin that is around our level.  She is one of my acolytes and has helped me a bit in Destol."

"Sure, ask her if she is interested.  I will talk to Super about finding two more people."

'Lucan, what up?"  Super asked after the telepathic connection was made.

'I am about to run a dungeon that we found under the mountain fortress.  It looks like it has something to do with demons.  I am putting a team together to conquer this dungeon and make it my own.  Do you have any trustworthy people you can recommend?'  Lucan asked.

'Sure.  I know the perfect person.'

'Oh, who might that be?'

'Me.  How about it?  Can I join?'

'Sure, we just need to find one more person then.'

'That shouldn't be a problem.  I will see which one of my trusted aids is available and bring them with me.'

'Good, look for Commander gear in the dungeon of the fortress.  I will send little brown to guide the way.'

With Lucan's command, Little Brown flew through the tunnel back to the dungeon of the fortress.

Silent turned to Lucan with a smile.

"Any luck?"  He asked.

"She agreed and is heading this way now."

"Awesome.  Super is coming and is going to bring another player with him."

After that, Lucan and Silent went back to looking at the markings on the door, trying to discover anything they could about the dungeon.

Not too long later, the pair could hear footsteps coming down the tunnel.  Silent turned around to confirm it was their help, but Lucan wasn't worried since he was controlling Little Brown to lead them here.

Three players stepped from the darkness and towards the door.

"Silent! Thanks for the invite."  Said a woman dressed in shiny heavy armor.

"Thanks for coming, Divine."  Silent said to the paladin with the name DivineDiva.  "This is Lucan, who I told you about.  And this is SuperSleuth.  HE is also one of Lucan's direct warlocks, like me.  And I haven't met this last person."

"This is Tracker92."  Super said.  "He is a sniper and is well versed in a variety of black powder weapons."

"Hello everyone."  Tracker92 said.

"We might have too many ranged classes."  Silent said.

"It shouldn't be a big deal."  Super said.  "I have ranged ability but most of my bonuses pertain to melee.  And Tracker also has some melee capabilities."

Tracker92 took an axe off of his back.  "You don't have to worry about me.  I was actually rewarded advanced axe proficiency from completing a certain quest chain.  Although I mostly use guns, my axe should still be feared."

"That is settled then."  Lucan said as he sent out invitations to his party.  "I called you all here because this dungeon has never been played before and I hope to take it over since I am a dungeon master.  That means the difficulty will probably be increased.  And if we fail, I may not get another chance to take it over.  So, I would appreciate it if everyone plays it safe."

When Lucan saw the others nodding in understanding, he pushed open the door to the dungeon and walked into it. 

[You have entered the Abyssal Prison dungeon.]

[You are a dungeon master and have the right to attempt to conquer this dungeon.  Would you like attempt taking over this dungeon?]

Lucan selected yes.

[Dungeon difficulty temporarily decreased to level 150.]

[You have six hours to defeat the final boss of the dungeon in order to claim it as your own.]

Lucan was surprised and a bit happy.  Attempting to take this dungeon lowered the level from 190 to 150.  If he had Silent had tried to complete it on their own without conquering it, the dungeon would have been impossible for them.

A wave of dark mana suddenly surged through the dungeon.  Lucan's bag shook and the demon's arm crawled out while all five players were knocked from their feet.

Before they could get back to their feet, the arm stood on its fingers and galloped down the hallway.

[Special item detected: Flesh of a demon prince.]

[Dungeon level raised to level 160.]

"Get back here."  DivineDiva called out to the arm while jumping to her feet.

She didn't know what it was, but she had seen that it escaped from Lucan's bag.  She charged forward to chase after it.

*Click*

"STOP!!!!"  Lucan shouted.

The paladin froze.

"Don't move."  Lucan said while approaching her.  "You stepped on a trap."

The warlock crouched down and took a closer look at the floor tile that sank down when she stepped on it.

"I'm sorry, I was just trying to get that thing back."

"Don't worry about it."  Silent said while giving her a soft pat on the shoulder.

"I just need a minute to disarm the trap."  Lucan said while using a wire to fish underneath the depressed tile.

*Click* *Click* *Clunk*

"There, that should do it.  Woah, woah, wait a second."  Lucan quickly said as Diven was about to move.

"What?  I thought you said it is disarmed."

"It should be, but you never know."  Lucan said while grabbing Silent and backing away.  Super and tracker also moved back.  And then Lucan gave her a nod.

Divine Diva suddenly jumped backwards.  The tile stayed depressed and didn't move.

Lucan and Silent went forward to help her up.

"Sorry about that."  Divine said.

"No worries, now worries."  Lucan said.  "Who would have guessed that there would be a trap in the first five feet of the dungeon."

"I am guessing that we will run into more traps."  Super said.  "The info block did say this dungeon was a prison.  There might be traps to both keep people out and also keep others in."

"Everyone, stay alert, we have six hours to clear this place.  Let's take it slow and steady for now."  Lucan instructed.  They then slowly made their way into the dungeon while trying ot remain prepared for whatever was to come.