Evolution: A Warlock's Rise To Power

"Senior Beneil?  The owner of the Slumbering Dragon Group."  Mr. Garzone remarked before taking a sip of his wine.  "It could be possible.  But if you are married to one of his granddaughters, or grandsons, I don't judge, then why would he try to get you put into prison?"

"He planned to sell of my wife to build relations with the Winged Tiger Corporation.  But he doesn't know that we are already married.  He kidnaped her once, but I sent him and a whole city to hell.  I am sure he lost a gold deal of money on that incident.  I even went down to join in the torture.  Not long after that, I encountered those two police officers for the first time."

Seeing the confused look on Mr. Garzone's face, his son spoke up.  "He is probably talking about inside of Evolution.  That game."

"Yes, indeed."  Brax said.

"I see.  If you were interfering in his business merger then it is possible that he could have wanted you out of the way, but it is only a hunch."

"That is right.  I have no proof.  I was only offering an opinion."  Brax said.

"I will keep it in mind.  But enough about these unpleasant matters, let's enjoy the food."

"You know dad, I can only think of one person who sent a whole city to hell.  Don't you remembering me showing you that video of the city being raided by devils."

"I do recall you showing me something like that.  But if we are talking about Evolution, where are the profits you promised me?  You have only managed to recoup my investment after six months and earned a slight profit.  I don't think it is worth all the time you spent on it."

"That is just because we are a small organization inside.  If we had a stronger backing and network, we could rake in the profits."

"Like I have told you before.  People in my line of work control the real world, we don't have time to start all over inside of a game.  You have to find your own sources."

"That's what I am trying to do dad."  Then the son turned towards Brax.  "You are Lucan Quilldrake, right?  You do strike a similar resemblance to him."

Brax nodded and kept eating his meal.  He was missing out on playing by hanging out here with these two.  He wanted to finish his meal and head home.

"Dad, this guy is a Baron of his own territory with millions of followers.  He is basically an arms dealer that sells magic and spells, he knows a lot of people."

"Why are you tell me this?  I don't play."

The son then faced Brax again.  "I haven't actually introduced myself.  You can call me T.J.  I happen to play Evolution too.  I have a group of about fifty close knit players who work well together, we have been steadily growing and expanding our influence.  If you ever need some information or help locating something, I would be happy to give you a fair price."

"Eh, I already got a guy for that."

"Come on, just give us a chance.  We may be small, but we are one of the best.  I bet that we can find out whatever you want quicker than your own guy."

"Have you ever heard the name SuperSleuth?  He is one of my direct warlocks."

T.J.'s face changed.  He was clearly aware of who Super was, since they were in the same industry.  From the look on his face, T.J. didn't think he could compete with Super.

"Okay, okay, your information needs are covered but we also do a bit of freelancing as mercenaries.  If the money is good, we have no problem going to war against smaller groups or guilds."

"Have you heard of the WindyWillow Organization.  One of the higher ups for the WindyWillow organization is also one of my direct warlocks.  In fact, their base is inside one of my fortresses.  I keep enemies out of their home, and they take on my commissions at a discounted rate."

T.J. was starting to give up hope.  His father saw and only chuckled.  "Well… umm… Gold!  If you need gold my guys can usually scarp together fifty or sixty thousand gold every month.  We sell it off in small batches, but I could be your direct supplier if you need gold."

"I sell gold in batches by the millions."  Brax said, still working on the fish in front of him.

T.J. hung his head in defeat.

Brax set down his fork.  "If you are really trying to start a business in Evolution, I can offer you a piece of advice.  Just focus on one thing.  Just one thing and do it well.  I sell spells, skills, and abilities.  Everything else I have is just a byproduct of my relationships that come from the one thing I do."

T.J. nodded his head.  "I understand.  Perhaps I am stretching myself to thin.  I should devote my group to a single goal."

*Whap*

A slap smacked into the back of T.J.'s head.  "I have been telling you that for months, and now that some outsider mentions it, you decided to seriously consider it."  Mr. Garzone said in a jokingly angry tone.

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you."

Mr. Garzone only shook his head.

"I can offer you a final piece of advice as thanks for the meal."  Brax said while setting the silverware down on his empty plate.  "The assassin's guild is a great resource, but no player trusts them with anything critical.  They are too big of an organization.  With tens of thousands of player members and all their requests publicly posted, it is far too easy for a player to learn that they are being targeted before the mission is even taken."  Brax stood up from his chair.  "Thank you for the meal, but I must be going now."  He said before turning and walking out of the restaurant.  It was time to head back and log in to the game.

"Ah geez, it's a shame that I couldn't come up with a way to get involved with that guy."

*Whap*

"Why are you so dumb today?  Didn't he just tell you that he doesn't have any assassins he can rely on.  And if he is really as powerful as you say inside Evolution, then he surely isn't the only one with that sort of problem."

T.J. thought for a moment and then looked towards his father.  "I considered it before, but if you are an assassin group that is good at your job, it is almost impossible for other clients to find out about you."

"Unless you had a client with a lot of connections who could then recommend you to others."  His father said.

Brax think much about his conversation earlier.  He only spoke about what he had observed.  He then let Jenna know that he was heading home.  She responded that she would log in and wait for him.

Once reaching home, he went to the bathroom before getting into his capsule and logging in.