Zero to Peak: Ascension Online

"We definitely can't match the strength of these monsters. We can't rampage through them. Taking down these monsters will require prowess at the Bronze Ascendant rank," Wanyama said as he gazed at his teammates one by one. "At this juncture, it's about trusting ourselves to survive this attack.

"If anyone has a trump card up their sleeves, they should at least help us. Don't tell us the details of the move."

Ivan's thoughts didn't consider his S-rank weapon a trump card. He felt that the weapon would make no difference if he were to use it. After all, he was wielding a C-rank weapon, and it didn't provide a boost to his physical attributes.

None of the adventurers spoke up.

Wanyama sighed, disappointed. "So no one has a trump card."

Sarah_Ze_Beaut nervously scratched her head. "I have a secret ability. I've never tried it out before. I don't know how strong it is. All I can say is that I can unleash multiple attacks in a single burst.

"If you trust me, I will try it out. But on the condition that I receive protection." Her gaze moved nervously from face to face, apprehensive that one of her teammates would object.

All eyes were on Wanyama to make a decision. He sighed, gloom hanging over his expression. "You don't have to worry about protection. We are not at an advantage, so we will employ a defensive tactic. We will allow the enemies to attack, and we will absorb their blows. We will strike decisively at any openings they create."

Silence fell upon the adventurers. The air was heavy with gloom as everyone was preoccupied with their thoughts.

The adventurers felt tremors beneath their feet, announcing the frenzied approach of their adversaries.

Onelight once again cast the spell Healing Sphere. A yellow sphere of holy light enveloped the adventurers. The monstrous undead skeletons closed in and rained attacks upon the sphere. Cracks appeared on the sphere, but it remained steady. Am_I_Me glanced at Onelight's face; the healer was completely focused on maintaining the stability of the sphere. The effort clearly strained her, evident in her contorted facial expression.

"You are doing well. Just hold steady. Hold steady," Wanyama encouraged the healer as he focused on finding the right opportunity to burst forth.

The sphere held up for a few more seconds. Onelight was so strained, she barely held on.

"I can't hold the sphere any longer!" Onelight shrieked.

Wanyama nodded at Sarah_Ze_Beauty. The stagemaster nodded back and took a breath, bracing herself for what was coming.

Wanyama transformed into a Runic Giant. The sudden increase in height shattered the sphere into an explosion of holy light. The blinding effect of the light was stronger on the undead monsters because it was light formed from Light Energy, whereas they were mutations formed from Dark Energy.

The brief moment of blindness was an opportunity for the adventurers. They slipped away from the crowd of undead monsters, seeking to distance themselves from Wanyama, who had remained behind. Ten seconds went by, and the undead monsters were yet to recover. Wanyama wasn't idle; he seized the opportunity to leverage his colossal might to decimate a multitude of undead skeletons.

His burning touch, when formed into a fist, was exceptionally lethal against the undead monsters. Explosions rang around the battlefield endlessly—either from the decimation of a monster or as a result of a planted rune triggered by Wanyama—creating an unrelenting, enormous inferno.

The undead skeletons recovered from the blinding light. Following their instincts, they all attacked Wanyama, who posed the greatest threat. Wanyama planted runes upon monsters that slammed into him and simultaneously triggered the runes, blowing them up. He relentlessly continued this routine, creating a cascade of volcanic explosions that was deafening.

The eardrums of his colleagues in the distance suffered from the endless cascade of explosions. Onelight had to exchange 700 Exp to cast a Healing Sphere again. The sphere of yellow holy light engulfed the adventurers, providing a potent sound-dampening effect and simultaneously healing the injuries the adventurers had sustained in their ears.

"Onelight, get ready, any moment now," Sarah_Ze_Beauty said to Onelight as she gazed upon the swarm of undead monsters that mindlessly piled upon Wanyama.

Wanyama was fortunate that his body was sturdy enough to bear the brunt of the sword slashes and stabs from the monsters. He delayed launching his devastating Ground Obliterator because he wanted more monsters to gather around him. Unleashing the Ground Obliterator in his Runic Giant form would yield truly devastating results.

Go flame!

An explosion akin to one hundred simultaneous claps of thunder violently shook the realm. A colossal fireball erupted into the sky from the epicentre of the explosion. Apart from the dazzling, blinding golden light that dominated the sky, bits of hapless monsters caught in the explosion sailed through the sky, falling in various directions.

Ashes and severed bones fell upon the Healing Sphere like rain. It didn't last for long.

"Onelight, now!" Sarah_Ze_Beauty said with urgency.

The Healing Sphere vanished, and the adventurers were in the open. Sarah_Ze_Beauty activated her special ability, Cosmic Stageplay.

Sarah_Ze_Beauty's avatar form featured her wearing a brown trench coat over a plain white shirt and light brown trousers. She wore a magician's black top hat, giving her a comical appearance. Now, she and her attire transformed. Her attire changed into a double-breasted frock coat over a white shirt and plain black trousers. She now wore a pair of black boots, in contrast to the brown lady's shoes she had worn earlier. Her transformation still retained the magician's top hat, and a magic wand appeared in her right hand. Beside her, a bunny with fur as white as snow crouched on the ground. Sarah_Ze_Beauty now bore the regal elegance of a bona fide stage magician.

She tapped the air with her wand, and the wand bounced back as if it hit a solid object. She pulled at the space where her wand had bounced and retrieved a black box from the void. Magical!

Meanwhile, the undead skeletons that were fortunate not to be caught in the cataclysmic blast burst forth towards Wanyama's position. Wanyama could not be seen because where he had stood earlier was now a gaping, deep crater with him at the centre, lying exhausted.

Sarah_Ze_Beauty gently lifted the bunny and placed it into the unlidded black box that she placed on the ground. She picked up the black box with her right hand, as if she had added no additional weight to the box. She turned around, facing her colleagues who had been watching her with intrigue, confusion, and apprehension.

She showed the adventurers the inside of the box. The space in the box was white and empty! Where had the bunny gone? Truly magical! She placed the box on the ground. She put her hands into the box and retrieved a bazooka missile.

What the heck! How?

What the hell is happening?

Her colleagues wondered in confusion. She reached into the box again and retrieved a loaded bazooka.

Am_I_Me was utterly lost, marvelling and gawking at the magical scene, forgetting that she was in a battlefield. The other adventurers patiently watched, apprehension and confusion etched on their faces.

Sarah_Ze_Beauty turned around and fired the missile. The attack decimated a wave of monsters that was closing in on the crater. She quickly loaded the last missile and fired at another wave of monsters. With two quick attacks, she dealt with two waves of undead monsters.

The undead monsters at Level 10 numbered over four thousand. So far, the combined attacks from Wanyama and the stagemaster had accounted for the decimation of just over one thousand five hundred monsters.

Sarah_Ze_Beauty put the bazooka back into the box. Her action met with strong verbal reprimands from her teammates. She acted unconcerned by their reactions. She pulled out a machine the size of a lift's car out of the box.

How?

The box was smaller in every dimension compared to the lift's size. How had she pulled it from the box? Where was she getting these items from? How could she carry this lift? It looked so solid. Magical! Truly magical!

This machine was a teleportation machine. The machine was akin to a standard lift. She pushed a button on the outside, opening the door to the machine. She stepped into the machine, but the double sliding doors didn't close. A white light flashed in the machine, and Sarah_Ze_Beauty vanished from the machine.

She materialised in the crater where Wanyama lay vulnerable. She effortlessly carried Wanyama, cradling him in her arms. A white light flashed upon her, and she vanished from the crater. She appeared in the teleportation machine and walked out with Wanyama in her hands. She left Wanyama in her colleagues' care while she returned to the box.

Sarah_Ze_Beauty manoeuvred the teleportation machine, inserting it into the box, but she didn't fully stow it away. She hesitated, waiting for something to happen. Her eyes were cold and calculating.