Zero to Peak: Ascension Online

Ivan and the two hundred soldiers rushed into the tree line. Maximillian had taken an inconspicuous position high up in a tree. Ivan would act as the point man for the next step of the operation.

The next step was for the team to move to the bunker, going past the alien soldiers who were virtually everywhere on the estate. The movement was not going to be a quiet one; they were sure the aliens must have hijacked the estate's surveillance system and would therefore see them moving towards their target.

To get to the bunker, the team had to navigate past a cluster of twenty skyscrapers. The skyscrapers were massive, each taking up at least 350m². After that, they would have to navigate through a recreational park before getting to the tallest building on the estate, which stood above the bunker below.

The distance between the tree line and the cluster of skyscrapers was about forty metres.

The team split into two groups of one hundred soldiers each. Ivan led the charge. The soldiers spread out in a close-knit formation. Gunfire erupted as the first team made contact with more than a thousand alien soldiers stationed within and around the cluster of skyscrapers.

The team steamrolled the aliens. Ivan was responsible for stirring up confusion among them. The constant crack of explosive sounds from his powerful, ground-splitting push-offs confused the aliens. He leveraged his tremendous speed and indestructible armour, which had a pain-dampening effect, to bulldoze through the soldiers with his body.

Ivan advanced with Team One while the second team followed behind, providing cover. Team One received fire from aliens located at various heights in the buildings. Ivan got busier, skilfully scaling the buildings to deal with the aliens high up. The soldiers who were armed with RPGs unleashed some attacks at the high-positioned aliens, but they weren't very effective.

The battle was an adrenaline-fuelled thriller. At times it looked like the battle was going to be lost, as more alien soldiers poured into the warzone from various areas in the estate. Ivan's presence made the difference.

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Character Name: Nnamani Ivan

Avatar Name: Black Riot 79

Skill (4): Parasite.

Information: A skill that allows the user to plant parasites on desired targets. The parasitism grants an array of abilities.

Ability (1): Possession — Gradual possession of the body and mind of the target. The effectiveness of this skill depends on the power gap between the user and the target. The stronger the target, the higher the chance of failure.

Pros: The skill has a one hundred per cent effectiveness on Base Rank and Bronze Rank targets. A reduced effectiveness of ninety per cent on Honoured Bronze Rank targets. The effectiveness of the skill on Supreme Crusade Rank targets and higher is not certain and is left for fate to decide.

Cons: Only two parasites can use the skill at the same time. Any attempt to use more than two simultaneously will see the effects of the two active parasites cancelled.

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Ivan employed his Parasite power. He dispensed two parasites that possessed two alien soldiers. He made sure to arm the possessed aliens or ensure that the aliens were already armed with powerful explosives. Then, with the established mental link between him and his 'puppets', he moved the aliens to a 'good position' among their comrades, where they detonated the explosives, killing a good number of them.

Ivan spammed the ability. There were constant explosions everywhere, even in the buildings where some aliens had taken positions. In the end, Ivan and his team were victorious. Team One stood watch as Team Two advanced into the cluster.

Ivan and Team One went on the move again, with Team Two staying behind to cover them. They didn't advance straight into the recreational park. They moved east, based on Maximillian's instructions.

Maximillian was still at the tree line. His gun had morphed into a railgun, which he used to decapitate the surviving battleships on the river. There was a restriction on how much he could use the weapon, but it was enough to stop the warships from strategically interfering.

As Team One moved east, an alien ran out from its hiding spot in the cluster. It ran straight towards the main entrance of the recreational park. The soldiers noticed its presence.

"Hold your fire! Don't shoot it!" Ivan ordered in a low but firm tone.

The soldiers respected Ivan's order. He had gained their respect because of the role he had played in this operation.

A barrage of plasma rifle fire from the park caused the alien to detonate in a fireball.

The alien wasn't a regular one; it was one of Ivan's puppets. The instant it detonated, there was another explosion inside the park. Ivan's second puppet had struck.

In the heat of the battle at the cluster, Ivan was fortunate to possess an alien soldier ranked at the equivalent of a lieutenant. It was unintentional; he was randomly selecting his parasite targets.

He had possessed the alien at the instant it was relaying orders to its subordinates stationed at the theme park. He used the highly-ranked puppet soldier to make the operation smoother. He ordered the soldiers in the park to maintain their stations and wait in ambush.

Then, Ivan manipulated his puppet to retreat into the park. None of the aliens in the park noticed the abnormality in their superior's state.

Ivan couldn't believe there could be a regular alien placed at such a high rank. He manipulated the alien to instruct the soldiers not to shoot at Team One as they approached. They were told to wait for the team to be inside the park before they engaged.

Meanwhile, Ivan made the high-ranked alien get its hands on the most powerful explosive around. He timed his strike to perfection, and the high-ranked alien detonated the explosives.

Ivan leapt high, dashing into the park. He zig-zagged through the place with great pace, being the absolute nightmare of a grim reaper to the terrified and confused aliens. Ivan met a few powered-up aliens but swiftly dispatched them with his parasite power.

The battle through the park took significantly less time, about thirty minutes, compared to the previous one, which had taken a few minutes over an hour.