Zero to Peak: Ascension Online

After Brainboss_7 collected and assimilated the knowledge about the events that happened under the devil's veil, Blueblack's phantom dissipated with a crumbling pixel effect.

"Blueblack was the devil collaborator. She was a Bronze-rank Demon Class Special Character masquerading as a Base-rank Voidwalker. She had a powerful Lord Devil backing her; that's why I couldn't see through her disguise. I deeply apologise for the discomfort she has caused you. It's unfortunate that we lost innocent people in the course of these events," Brainboss_7 said solemnly.

The adventurers were speechless. Their expressions were convoluted, but deep grief could be discerned. Brainboss_7 walked calmly, retrieving important loot drops that Alita_72 and Blueblack left behind—an Archer Class Card and a Demon Class Scroll. He approached Wanyama. The team leader didn't hesitate to hand over Baka's Dragon Mutant Class Card.

A ragged breath audibly echoed, but the raid team, lost in grief, paid no attention. The ragged breath belonged to Salazar.

"Adventurer! You dare to ignore me, Salazar the Tyrant Lord?" Salazar's infuriated voice boomed.

Ivan calmly turned to Salazar. He put away his sword into its spatial sheath and calmly walked towards the undead skeleton. Brainboss_7's actions purged the devil energy from the realm, reverting Salazar from its monstrous state to its regular undead form. Hence, Salazar's power plummeted from the Honoured Bronze rank to the peak of Base rank. The disparity in power between it and Ivan became vast.

No one doubted that Ivan had the capability to swiftly deal with Salazar. Meanwhile, thoughts were flying around in Brainboss_7's mind. He felt that this team was truly unique. The random yet balanced selection had pooled three special characters, each with very special hidden abilities, into one team. Out of the three, two had died. The one who survived possessed a unique type of weapon whose grade he couldn't discern.

Fortunately for Ivan, Brainboss_7 couldn't tell that the sword he possessed was Black Riot. The sword's appearance had changed; it was now a red blade adorned with ornate, intricate golden-coloured runes.

'Very weird team. I will have to conduct deeper investigations about them,' Brainboss_7 concluded.

Ivan halted, the distance between him and Salazar being a few metres. The monster furiously lunged at Ivan, priming its bone sword to strike him. Ivan caught the sword high up before it could descend upon him. The gloves on his hands were an extension of his armour's sleeves. He yanked the sword with power, severing Salazar's entire arm from its shoulder.

"Roar!" Salazar grew even more infuriated. It struck at Ivan with its other arm, which was missing a hand. Ivan weaved diagonally to the right and reached for Salazar's shoulder. He yanked off Salazar's other arm.

"Curse you, human. You think you can defeat me? I…"

Ivan ended Salazar's existence with a clean roundhouse kick to the skeleton's head, severing it from the main body. Salazar's body fell to the ground.

Raid completed.

Info: Adventurers, you stand triumphantly after surviving the perilous journey in the Vate Prison Realm. You successfully cleared all the levels of the realm, leaving no bone unturned. You have mitigated the growing threat brewing in this gate.

Description: You have successfully cleared the Vate Prison Realm.

The adventurers didn't jubilate. The notification reminded them of the loss and trauma, making them feel even more gloom. Brainboss_7 felt pity for the team, but his expression was impassive. He had faced worse journeys, so he wasn't going to make a big deal out of this raid team's ordeal.

Another info panel surfaced in Ivan's perception.

Victory!

Info: The tyrant is dead. A new overload has set his mark on the Vate Prison Realm. Ivan, the tyrant slayer, a name joining the long line of tyrant slayers who have carried out a successful crusade in the Vate Prison Realm. It is worth noting that you defeated the tyrant honourably in hand-to-hand combat.

Description: You single-handedly defeated Salazar in hand-to-hand combat.

Reward: +1 attribute point to Strength. +1 attribute point to Agility.

Subsequently, another info panel appeared. This one bore the rewards for completing the raid.

Reward for completing the raid of the Vate Prison Realm.

Reward (1): +5 attribute points have been added to Strength, Agility, Speed, and Stamina attributes.

Reward (2): +2 attribute points have been added to Intelligence attribute.

Reward (3): Your HP range is improved. You have gained 50 HP points. Your tolerance for damage has increased.

Reward (4): You have obtained a passive skill: Battlelord.

Ivan quietly assimilated the knowledge in his perception.

The urgent decision to bypass the limitations of the special ability, Combustion Giant, came back to bite Wanyama. His body buckled under his weight as he became vulnerable, contracting an illness borne of the ubiquitous microorganisms in the Vate Prison Realm. The team leader coughed out spoonfuls of blood. He supported himself with his outstretched arms as he helplessly coughed out blood.

"Wanyama! What the hell?"

"Shit, I thought it was all over. Why this?"

"Not again."

His teammates came rushing to him.

Ivan used his body to support the dwarf Rune Giant. "Bro, what's happening to you? Why are you coughing blood?"

Although Wanyama was dark-skinned, his complexion became pale. He was suffering a severe illness. Brainboss_7 had come over. He hesitated to take the team leader for proper treatment, waiting to hear if he (Wanyama) could identify the cause of his illness. Brainboss_7 had correctly guessed the reason for the sudden illness.

"I bypassed the limit of my special ability, Combustion Giant," Wanyama spoke these final words before falling into a coma.

It seemed as if he died; his body became still, and his eyes lost focus, staring at a fixed direction.

"Don't panic. He is still alive. He just entered into a coma." Brainboss_7 made his way past the adventurers crowding Wanyama. He cradled Wanyama in his arms and took some steps away from the adventurers. He said to them,

"What happened to him should be a warning for you too. Beware that there can be hidden backlash for bypassing the limitation of special abilities. Yes, your system can mess with you."

Brainboss_7 vanished with Wanyama.

Wanyama stood in a surfaceless, white-coloured void. His thoughts were incoherent. But one thing that stood out was his system info panel.

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Avatar Name: Wanyama

Special skill (1): Combustion Gladiator

Info: You have secured the genetics of a bloodline of renowned gladiators. This bloodline was not renowned for being show gladiators who fought to entertain but for being gladiators who trod across existence, decimating other civilisations for the sole purpose of conquest and glory.

Description: Activate the genes of Runic Giants and tap into the powers of brute strength and fiery fury of a Runic Giant.

Activation period: Five minutes.

Cons: Cooldown period of seven days.

Bypass cost: Thirty thousand Exp points can be exchanged for another period of use.

Another layer of text was revealed on the panel.

Backlash: You will suffer a severe illness, extreme fatigue, and a short-term coma. Death is inevitable if proper treatment is not received.

Sadly, the comatose man couldn't understand the text in the info panel. His being hovering in this void represented his inactive consciousness. He was in his sea of mind.

Ivan pulled up his System info. He summoned every possible information there was to appear on the window.

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System Info

Character Name: Nnamani Ivan

Avatar Name: Black Riot 79 – Reborn

Rank: Base rank.

Core: Adolescent development stage— core is incomplete.

Item Count: 2

Items: (1) Sword (2) Full body armour set

Weapon Name: (1) Black Riot

Skill count: 3

Type: Unique

Weapon Rank: S-rank

Inventory: Player lacks Inventory.

Experience points: 101,554 points

Physical attributes

HP – 350

Vitality-20 (+10)

Strength-26.11 (+10)

Agility-26.2 (+10)

Speed-25.11 (+10)

Stamina-25.15 (+10)

Intelligence-17.11 (+5)

Info: Ten points is the base grading for a regular player. A rating of 10.1 implies that a person is two times stronger at an attribute than a regular human being. If the rating goes higher, the power gap increases at the rate of 0.1 points to +1x power.

Item attributes

Defence – 100. Attack – 1000.

Skill (1): Straight Path Boomerang

Skill description: Your switchaxe becomes a devastating boomerang inflicting damage of 75 points. However there is a catch: cooldown of four minutes or bypass cooldown by spending four hundred Exp in order to use this skill.

Skill Grade: C-rank grade 1

Skill (2): Axe-man's Cyclone

Skill description: An AOE skill that deals with targets within a circumference of fifty metres radius.

Cons: Ten Minutes cooldown.

Damage: 40 points.

Grade: D-rank.

Skill (3): Battle Lord

Skill type: Passive.

Skill description: With every enemy or target that falls by your hands, you accumulate a part of the target's energy. This accumulated can be unleashed in a single burst that spans a period of three minutes. During this period, the strength exhibited is comparable to that of a character who is at the peak of honored bronze rank. There is a chance is could rival the strength of a special character at the bottom level of the Supreme Crusader rank.

Cons: However there is a threshold of how much energy that can be accumulated. Once this threshold has been reached, more energy can't be absorbed.

Grade: C-rank.

Potential damage range: 80 to 200 points.

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Mission: Upgrade your rank to Bronze Ascendant rank.

Requirement for Upgrade: Possess fifteen D-rank skills. Upgrade your physical attributes to the bronze rank (each attribute should not be less than 12 points). Accumulate a hundred thousand Exp points to be used for the ascension