Evolution: A Warlock's Rise To Power

Chapter 177: A New Hand

Lucan sat up in his bed in the manor. It was another blistering hot day here in the nine hells.

He went to the magic workshop in the basement and continued his practice with the hope of coming up with a variant spell that would temporarily solve his missing hand issue.

He had already made some adjustments to his spell weaving. He could no longer delicately control mana with his left arm, but he could still summon mana. On top of that, he was also able to hold mana in place with his left arm.

It took a bit of time to get used to it, but he could use his right hand to control everything while his left arm held it in place. He was a little slower than he used to be, but spell weaving was already slower than regular spell casting. The benefit was that he didn't need a spellcasting device and he could cast multiple things at once.

And now with his split mind, it had become even easier than it should have been to cast multiple spells at once.

Lucan kept in contact with Silent. She had missed the banquet before the selection but Raze had been made aware ahead of time. And she was able to make it for the main event.

Lucan was surprised to find that the four other hands were present or had sent a high-ranking subordinate of theirs.

Everyone was in attendance.

Lucan kept practicing and researching his magic for the entire day. He practiced nonstop. When he got tired, he would sleep. When he was hungry, he would eat. The rest of his time was spent researching magic.

A day passed.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

There was a knock at the door of the manor.

Lucan walked to the entrance to see who it was.

A red skinned devil soldier was on the other side of the door when Lucan opened it.

The devil didn't speak the common tongue. It grunted and handed Lucan a few pieces of parchment.

The warlock took a look.

The first was an overview of a person along with a picture.

Gildo Robbins, an NPC ninja. It was the person that Gilbuzz wanted Lucan to bring to the nine hells. He had one month to find the person and complete his task. If he couldn't do it, he would lose his dungeon master profession, along with the two 'versus' dungeon cores he needed. He kept the parchment away so he could refer to it later.

Lucan was surprised to see that the second piece of parchment was contract.

Gilbuzz had written it up and made him an offer.

He still had to stay in the nine hells for three more days. Gilbuzz was willing to let him leave now. But in return, the next time he was sent to the graveyard, he would have to come to the nine hells for five days.

Lucan was somewhat torn. On one hand, it wasn't that bad staying here. He only had a few more days left. He could finish them and be done with this deal.

On the other hand, he was stagnating here. He wasn't able to level up and get stronger. He had many things that he could get started if he was able to leave now.

After thinking about it, Lucan decided to sign the contract. He would push his debt into the future instead of paying it all off now.

***

Razes selection had lasted all day and into the night. Heaven's Kiss and a few of her people joined Silent Night to watch the proceedings. The two sisters were watching while whispering to each other. Or more accurately, Heaven was pestering Silent with questions.

"How did Brax get out of jail? Do you think someone purposely set him up? Did you really stay over at his place? Did you you know? How was it? Was he gentle? Did he hurt you?"

"Geez, we just slept in his bed, nothing happened." Silent told her sister.

They watched the selection to the end. Raze had whittled the potential applicants down to less than one hundred. They appeared before his hand's and their representatives.

The selection wasn't the most interesting thing in the world, but it was necessary. Each participant took a turn, showing off and bragging. It wasn't just limited to their skills. They were bragging about their connections and what they had done in the past.

When it was evening, Raze finally made a decision. The majority of the applicants had been NPCs, but in the end, the Supreme Leader chose a player.

Wildon Tagert, who was drowning in gold managed to buy the position from Raze. Even though he had given the most benefits to the old man, that didn't mean the Wildon was a push over. He was a sly businessman who had been working for years and never took a loss.

Wildon was a fairly handsome human man. Although he was a warlock, he spent most of his time in the game developing himself as a merchant. After been chosen, he joined the banquet that was held after the selection. He Introduced himself to all those present, one by one, trying to further his connections.

Raze was pleased, he had received a great fortune from Wildon.

Heaven's Kiss was annoyed with him. After introducing himself to everyone he sat near Silent and kept trying to show off in front of her. It was obvious to everyone he was trying to draw her attention.

Silent didn't mind and was barely paying attention, she was focused on the chat window that was opened in the interface. Her husband was teasing her and talking about the last night.

[Lucan Quilldrake: You really tasted amazing. You should stay over again tonight. I was only able to kiss and taste your upper half last night. I can still taste you on my lips. Tonight, you should let me take a closer look at your legs.]

[Silent Night: Stop it, you didn't taste me at all last night. We got drunk and went to bed last night. That was it.]

[Lucan Quilldrake: Really? I remember kissing down your neck and shoulders, down to your chest. You were holding onto my head and making a lot of different noises.]

[Silent Night: What are you talking about? That never happened.]

[Lucan Quilldrake: Wifey, you should be honest. Let me tell you, I enjoyed when you pulled down my underwear and took care of me. Don't worry, I will take care of you tonight. How can I let my wife do all the work and receive nothing in return?]

[Silent Night: Geez, take the hint. It is embarrassing to talk about.]

[Lucan Quilldrake: Oh, is my wife embarrassed to talk about these things with her husband?]

[Silent Night: Of course I am, you are talking about kissing my breasts and the naughty thing I did to you. Who wouldn't be embarrassed?]

[Lucan Quilldrake: Get used to it. Tonight it will be my turn to make you feel good.]

[Silent Night: You stop it, or I will stop talking to you for now.]

Silent's face had turned a shade of red from talking about these things. She looked rather cute and many people took notice.

"Miss Night, Miss Night." Wildon called out to her several times, finally getting her attention.

"Oh what is it?"

"I just wanted to make sure you are alright. You seemed to be a little lost and were just staring at the wall."

"It's nothing." Silent said.

"Mind your own business. She is chatting with her boyfriend." Heaven said, trying to shoe the young man away.

WIldon didn't take the hint and kept pestering her. Even though Lucan was teasing her and causing her to be embarrassed, it still put her in an extremely good mood. She barely noticed the annoying player who wouldn't leave her alone.

Everyone else noticed him thought. There were a few people who even managed to get a few pictures of Wildon with Silent.

It was true that Wildon was far better looking than Lucan. And everyone could see that Silent Night was enjoying herself, they just didn't realize that it had nothing to do with Raze's new hand.

They posted a few pictures on the Evolution forums.

[Silent Night shows up to Warlock selection without Lucan and finds a new man.]

[Lucan Quilldrake gone and a new hand steps in to look after our empress.]

[Wildon Tagert, newest hand, claims Silent for himself.]

Several photos of Wildon and Silent appeared online. N The comment section started to explode.

-"Hey, they look really good together.'

-"I know right. This WIldon guy seems like a much better fit for her than Lucan."

-"Wow, has our empress moved on to someone else?"

-"She should have left Lucan long ago."

-"Look, Heaven's Kiss is there. I heard that she neve got along with Lucan and didn't like that her sister was dating him. She looks to be in a good mood in this picture. Maybe she approves of this new hand."

-"Argh, what does it take to have a chance to date Silent. Do I have to become a hand as well."

-"Quick, pretty lady, look my way."