Evolution: A Warlock's Rise To Power

Cracks began to form on the cocoon. Then it shattered. The small blue butterfly that fluttered out now had faint black markings on its wings.

The queen flew around Silent's head several times before it rested on the side of her head lick a hair clip.

Silent summoned the rest of her swarm. They began to flap around her excitedly. The queen gave a wave of her wings and Lucan saw a discharge of shadow mana. The hundreds of butterflies turned into a group of thousands and numerous shadow illusions joined the swarm. Under the command of their queen, the swarm split into squadrons. As they flew overhead, they dropped shadow bolts towards the floor like planes dropping bombs. The illusions dropped illusions but the real butterflies dropped actually shadow bolts.

*clap* *clap*

"That is impressive." Lucan said while clapping.

"Good job Queeny." Silent said.

Lucan then looked to Little Brown and changed his form to that of a bird. "Now that you are stronger, I have an important task for you." He took out the note that Super had given him earlier and attached it to the bird's leg. "I need you to deliver this to the temple of the moon in the fey wildlands. Do you think you can do that?" He asked.

"Squeak! Squeak!"

"Good, then I will look forward to your return."

After he finished speaking the bird took flight and dove into the fey wildlands to deliver the message. Lucan knew that it would take Little Brown a few days to reach the temple but he didn't want to bother with going himself.

Lucan and Silent then spent the rest of the evening and the following day running dungeons to raise their level. By the time they logged off Lucan was half a level away from 145. Once he leveled up again he would get another thief ability. And when he reached level 150. He would get his last thief ability and mission. Also, Nolan's ring would be upgraded. He looked forward to the new effect that would be added.

***

When Brax opened his capsule, he noticed that Jenna had already left hers and he could hear the shower running in the bathroom.

After relieving himself in a different bathroom, he went to join her in the shower, hopping that she would need help soaping up. He made sure that every inch of her was scrubbed clean, which of course he did slowly and meticulously by hand.

After breakfast Brax offered to drive her home, but she had already texted her driver who was now waiting outside.

She leaned in and gave him a kiss before leaving. "I will see you tonight back inside Evolution." She said before she headed out the door.

After she left, Brax changed into his sports clothes and headed to the martial arts club.

Tony had him use the strength training machines before they stepped into the ring and began to spar.

"What are you doing, keep your guard up and be ready to dodge." Tony said after stabbing Brax in the side several times.

Brax wheezed while out of breath. "I am worn out. It is hard to react fast." He said.

"Duh, it is easy to react and move when in tip top condition, but when you are in battle, you won't be at your best. You will keep training at your worst until you can react even in the most disadvantages situations."

Jeff watched from the side, pointing out every fault or misstep that Brax made. He swore that the man took pleasure in pointing out his failures. But as painful and exhausting as it was, he was learning a lot.

"Alright, alright, you managed to hold on for over an hour. I am surprised you haven't fallen flat on your face yet." Tony said.

"His stamina is increasing. It's not bad." Jeff added.

"Run three miles on the treadmill and then you are done. Lock up when you leave, we are getting out of here." Tony said before he walked towards the exit with Jeff.

"We are going to be getting a drink later. If you still have any energy left when you are done, you can meet us at the place we had drinks last time." Jeff said before he walked out the entrance of the gym.

After his run Brax was dead tired. The last thing he wanted to do was go out for a drink. It was only a little past noon, the only plans he had right now was to go home and get some lunch. But first he took a nice long shower and changed into clean clothes. His car was too nice to get dirty, and he didn't want to sit in his filthy sweat until he got home.

When he walked out of the locker room and into the gym, two people suddenly pushed through the doors. They were both bleeding and Brax thought he saw a gun tucked into one of their waste bands. The man with the gun was supporting the other as they ran/hobbled into the gym.

When both parties saw each other, they stopped.

"We aren't looking to cause any trouble." The armed man said. "We are being chased by thugs and looking for a place to hide."

Brax certainly wasn't looking for trouble either.

"There is a back door that lets out into the alley." Brax said, pointing towards the door next to the locker room.

The man with the gun nodded and pulled his friend to the door. A few moments later they were gone. Brax was glad they left; he certainly didn't want men with guns hiding in the gym. Who knew what kind of shit he would get himself into?

Once they were gone, Brax ran and locked the back door before peering through the window. Both men hobbled down the alley and turned the corner. It looked like they had no intention to return. It was only then that he let out a sigh of relief.

"Fucking crazy." Brax mutter to himself.

He then left the gym and entered the reception area. It was then that he realized he may have made a mistake.

Two police officers were going from shop to shop, working their way down the street looking for something. That was when Brax noticed the shop across the street point to the gym he was at.

Even though his latest experience with the police left a bad taste in his mouth, Brax was sure that they were not all bad. In fact, he believed most police officers respected their job and earnestly upheld the law.

Brax rationalized to himself. 'Even though they didn't point the gun at me, it's not like the police would expect me to endanger myself and stop those two. I didn't do anything wrong. Just tell them everything you know, and it will be fine.' Brax prepared to fully cooperate with the police.

That was until the two officers at the shop across the street turned around. He recognized the two right away.

'How the hell are these two even allowed to keep working. Those two didn't lie, they really were being chased by thugs.'

It was the two police officers that illegally pulled him over, planted drugs and assaulted him.

A dangerous idea suddenly pooped into his head. If he had been playing Evolution right now, he would have expected to see a certain notification pop up in the corner.

A wicked smile flashed across his face as Brax reached out and locked the front door.