Evolution: A Warlock’s Rise To Power

Lucan and the mouse moved down the tunnels. Every chamber they came across was empty and they were always on the right side of the tunnel. Every room looked identical to the first, minus the skeleton and the chest. Lucan had been walking for several hours but the tunnel still continued perfectly straight. The whole time his random mutterings became louder and more frequent.

[Fourth degree mild insanity had been upgraded to first degree moderate insanity]

Lucan was slowly losing his ability to rationally think, but there was only one thing he could do. He had to keep walking forward.

3 days passed without finding anything after the first room. No opponents, no exit, no variation from the chamber on the right side of the tunnel after 30 minutes of walking.

"This has to end soon." Brax said, sitting up from his bed. 'If it doesn't, I will eventually have to kill myself and respawn from the graveyard after I take the penalty.'

***

The day came and went. Brax logged back in only to keep walking through the tunnel.

He started to see variations and changes but he couldn't trust his eyes. Fourth degree moderate insanity had set in and he couldn't trust anything. Regardless, Brax couldn't store the small chest in his bag anymore. Lucan would take it out the moment he stored it and held it tightly in his arms.

"I will keep you safe. Don't worry." He would whisper to it.

When moderate insanity progressed to extreme insanity, the only thing he could do was to crawl forward while clutching the chest. He crawled through swamps, desserts, and across an artic ice cap, he suffered from the harsh environments one after another. Lucan constantly told himself its all in his head, but it didn't stop the sun from making him feel like he was dying from dehydration. It didn't stop the creatures from taunting him and lashing out.

So many times, he thought about the suicide button that would take him straight to the graveyard. He could buy some fresh bread after reviving and sit by the lake in a clam breeze. He might even be good enough at wood working to make a fishing pole now. How wonderful would that be.

But he didn't stop. When fourth degree extreme insanity hit, the best he could do was curl up, close his eyes and inch forward.

It felt like he had been crawling through the tunnel for the better part of the month, but his interface told him he still had 8 hours left of play time before he would be kicked out.

"Hey you, what are doing here?" A dark-skinned elf came running up towards him. Lucan opened his eyes and turned in the direction of the voice, his eyes told him he was in a forest, but he wasn't foolish enough to believe that. Two more elves trailed behind the first.

"Back! Get Back!" Lucan shouted. "Are you working with that sneak thief, or did the smug dragon send you? It doesn't matter, no one will get my treasure. AH, ha, ha, With the power given to me from the mighty Raze I will rend flesh from the bones of any who dare trespass against me."

"Easy now, there are no dragons or thieves here. No one wants your treasure." The elf said as she put away her bow and showed empty hands to Lucan.

"Lisel, what are you doing? That human has obviously gone crazy, leave him be."

"If you don't want to help then just get out of here." She said. 'I am sure this is him; I can't leave.'

***

"What is so important that I had to stop what I was doing and come up three floors? Don't you know what lunch hour is?" Bret complained to his newest subordinate. 'Source Creations' only gave him 30 minutes for lunch, so he was never happy to be interrupted.

"Sorry boss but I got a T8 alert in the Depths of Despair."

"What? T8 are you sure?"

"Yes boss, I checked it twice."

"I'm sorry. You did good. Start gathering a report on the player and pull up all active information on the situation. How long has he been in?"

"Yes boss, 8 hours."

"What?! And we are just hearing about it now? Is there something wrong with the alert protocols?"

"No boss, I checked, and everything is in order. He has been in a high degree of insanity for awhile but only in the past five minutes have his stress markers reached the notification level."

"Alright, I will inform the director."

Bret sat behind his desk, picked up the phone and dialed extension 1. The Director of Operations.

"Director of Operations office, how