Evolution: A Warlock’s Rise To Power

"I have never seen you in the village before." A burley man said to Lucan after standing up. "Are you new?"

"I am a Traveler. I entered your village today and it didn't work out well for me."

"Ha." The burley man laughed. "Ever since Mentas came, nothing has worked out well for us. My name is Brandt."

"I am Lucan. I originally came to your town with hopes of recruiting people to came to my coven's city but now I am here. Do you guys want to leave with me?"

"What?! You can't escape from here. We have tried for several months." Brandt said.

"Don't worry about that. I have never met a cage that could hold me. It's not much trouble to bring you all along. The village was in poor spirits when I passed through here, but they seemed healthy. I am on my way out of here and the more the merrier." Lucan said to the caged prisoners in a very relaxed manner.

He gave them enough of the truth about the situation to make his stance clear, but if the Lord had planted someone in here, they wouldn't gain any information from him. Looking at the condition of each of these people, he didn't think there was a spy set up incase the city was invade and Mentas happened to captured a prisoner.

"Boss, he has gone crazy." One of the prisoners said to Brandt.

"I am not your boss anymore; you make your own decisions. As for me, Lucan, if you get out, please take me with you."

A murmur went through the others. Some doubted their boss while others agreed. But regardless of his words, they all recognized him as their leader.

"It will just take a bit of planning. Anybody got anything in their pockets?" Lucan asked.

***

"Why haven't you made contact yet?" Silent asked Little brown who only squeaked while getting his head rubbed. It had been 2 hours since Lucan had been listed as 'Unreachable' in her friends list.

"We have learned a good deal, it's time to move. Does everyone remember their roles?" Lisel asked.

Everyone nodded. Silent had made sure her role was to find the dungeon. These other people were her acquaintances, but Lucan was her only friend in the game. Even though her leveling had slowed a bit, she had more fun leveling together with Lucan than by herself. For her the game was not about levels, becoming famous, or earning wealth, it was about enjoying herself and trying new things.

The team left the abandoned building where they had reconvened after scouting out the manor.

Calder and Vanslaugtherfest led the way up the hill towards the Lords manor.

Two knights stood at the gate surrounding the estate. "Stop right there! Villagers aren't allowed any further."

Calder and Van chuckled to themselves. "Do we look like villagers."

The knights took a closer look at the two men. One stood tall and shirtless. His body covered in scars. A single one of his arms was thicker than their shiny and brightly polished helmets. The other was an armored tank in various pieces of high-grade mismatching armor. It was a suit of armor claimed on the battlefield. Every piece belonged to a powerful warrior who thought they could defeat Van. Now he wore a patchwork set of his enemies' gear.

The knights tried to draw their swords, but Calder and Van weren't the type of people to be overpowered by level 120 knights. And they weren't alone. Spells and arrows came flying towards the knights.

The 2 Elites put up a good resistance, but they were no match for the players attacking in a coordinated effort. After 5 minutes they turned gray and disappeared.

"Alright let's move on quickly." Lisel said, rushing up the path towards the manor after the spoils had been collected. She took a glance back. Everyone was rushing after her, but Silent Night was nowhere in sight. She was surprised that Silent had been with them this long. The rouge was not happy about going after the Lord first but stopped complaining when Lisel told her she could be in charge of finding the entrance to the Lord's dungeon.

It was the best job for a rouge whose level wasn't quite high enough to deal with the knights and the Lord. She could use her class advantage to sneak around the manor to try and locate Lucan.

***

There were suddenly several guards rushing past the cell of prisoners. They ran down the hall and it sounded like they were going upstairs.

"Something must have happened outside if Metnas is calling for the auxiliary guard." Brandt said.

"Eh, it's good luck for us." Lucan said. "It's time to go. You know what's expected of you if you want to leave here alive." Lucan said.

"I am willing to try anything if we can get out of here. You have my faith." Brandt said to Lucan. Brandt's level dropped from 120 to 119 while the others dropped from 115 to 113.

Lucan smile. "Then use your time wisely. Make sure you get all the way through, quickly." He then turned into a shadow and disappeared between the cracks in the bars, reforming outside of the jail cell.

After Lucan stepping into the hallway a level 100 guard turned the corner. "Hey! How did you get out of your cell?" The Guard asked while drawing his sword and carefully approaching Lucan.

Lucan slowly backed away from the guard. "There is no need to be hasty. Let's just calm down." Lucan said, holding his hands out, trying to soothe the jumpy guard.

"Don't resist and this doesn't have to be bloody." The guard said moving closer to him.

*Cough*

The guard turned around to the sound of a cough behind him. The he paled in shock. Brandt stood behind him while the 19 other prisoners were turning into shadows and passing through the bars, appearing behind Brandt.

The prisoners were unarmored with ragged cloth clothes, not even having shoes. But the 20 Elite prisoners were a force that this single guard couldn't deal with. He tried to scream but Brandt's large hands closed around his throat while the other prisoners jumped forward with rocks and fists.

Lucan gave them a moment to loot the guard's gear before he turned and walked the directions that the guards ran towards earlier.

As they walked down the hallways, prisoners from other cells called out.

"Guard Captain Brandt, please help us."

"Brandt, get us out of here. You can't abandon us."

The guard they killed didn't have any keys. Brandt gave the same reply to all those he passed. "If you want to leave think the name Lucan Quilldrake 3 times and ask for the strength to free yourself."

As they walked down the hallway, shadows darted from their cells and started following the growing group. A loss of experience for an ability that would allow them to escape was a no brainer for the villagers that had spent several months locked up under the care of Lord Mentas. Lucan's banked experience was building fast as the high-level NPCs all bought the same expensive ability.

Even though his connection with Raze was currently blocked, Lucan could still sell spells and abilities he had already bought for himself. The ability to turn into a shadow for 10 seconds every hour wasn't something to be looked down upon. You could slip through the tiniest crack. It was possible to turn to a shadow for half a second and let an enemy's attack pass right through you. And of course, it was perfect for breaking a fall and taking no damage.

***

Lisel had already led the team through 8 knights. Under her commands they had split one knight from the rest and focused on him before moving to the next. Like this they burnt through 7 knights after they entered the manor.

The problem was that 40 guards had come from somewhere to reinforce the 4 remaining knights.

"You were fools to think you could stop me." Mentas said while pulling out a staff and starting to chant.

"Interrupt the spell." Lisel shouted.

Arrows, spells and weapons all tried to hit the Lord but all stopped short. The largest of the knights held only a shield and stayed close to Lord Mentas, assuring nothing would disturb him.

After 20 seconds of chanting Mentas raised his staff in the air. The 8 players started grasping at their necks. Telekinetic magic was lifting them off the ground and choking them. "Please die and leave me all your valuables." Lord Mentas instructed.