Zero to Peak: Ascension Online

Ivan found himself standing inside a lab. He observed that he was within a contained room inside the lab, and its doors were securely closed. He curiously walked to the door and attempted to open the sliding double doors with his hands, but failed. The doors were electronically locked. He needed a pass key to unlock the doors. He resisted the powerful temptation to simply break down the doors with his fists.

He decided to conduct a meticulous survey of the room. The experiment desk was pristine white and remarkably tidy. The various tools and intricate equipment were neatly tucked away in racks fitted on the wall of the room.

Welcome to the Gamers' realm, Black Riot 79 — Reborn.

You are on the course of completing the Zombie origins mission.

"Hmmn." Ivan furrowed his brows, contemplating the mission's implications.

He continued his observation of his immediate surroundings. The double doors were glass-framed, allowing him to see the chaotic space outside the room. The area on the other side, in stark contrast to the immaculate room he stood in, was a complete mess. Chairs, splintered wood, broken glass, and shattered equipment littered the floor. There were also deep, jarring dents on the walls and on the floor, clearly hinting that a violent altercation had recently transpired there.

'I wonder why the glass double doors were not stained or at least suffered any damage,' Ivan mused, observing the sliding glass double doors for the second time with a critical eye.

Ding! Ding! Ding! A distinct sound of hollow metal deliberately clashing against another hollow metal echoed in the room with a muffled effect. Ivan's brow furrowed intently as he listened, pinpointing the source of the sound. He approached a specific point on the wall and ran his finger across its vertical length.

This tactile stimulus triggered a hidden mechanism on the wall. A defined vertical rectangle, the size of a standard door, lit up with an ethereal blue light on the wall. The rectangle then pushed outwards and glided smoothly to the right, revealing a secret stairwell leading to an unknown destination. The sound of deliberate clashing metal echoed again, this time clearer and unobstructed. Ivan hesitated for a brief moment to consider the potential dangers that could be lurking within this dark, ominous tunnel. Nevertheless, he descended down this shadowy stairwell, his perception pushed to its maximum to detect possibly the faintest of movements.

In the dimly lit chamber at the end of the dark stairwell, a male zombie who sported a vibrant orange-dyed Mohawk haircut sat in a full lotus position, with their hands clasped in a supplicant gesture, seemingly meditating. The metallic noise disturbed the zombie. It opened its eyes, turned around, and gazed intently at the ascending dark tunnel behind him.

"Who dares to disturb Romelus?"

Ivan then met with Nova and the terrified teenage girl. For an unknown reason, Ivan could see them perfectly clearly. The young girl was in tears as she tightly clasped her mouth shut. Ivan deciphered that this was an instruction from Nova — there was something terrifying waiting at the bottom of the stairwell.

"Romelus is down there. If you don't end him, he will grow stronger and will form and call upon a stronger horde of zombies that will inflict worse damage on your civilisation," Nova whispered urgently to Ivan.

Ivan noticed the subtle blank out as the scientist spoke. He theorised that the scientist must have taken a potent potion that helped his body resist and slow the devastating effects of the zombie virus.

"Who is there? Show your ugly face to Romelus, king of the zombies!" the zombie's voice boomed through the stairwell, resonating with a chilling authority.

The intimidating aura carried by the zombie's voice made the teenage girl cry even harder. Ivan pitied the girl. She had been forcibly drawn out of her home and into this perilous realm.

'Hold on? Ordinary humans can't access the Gamers' realm.' Ivan gazed intently at the girl, trying to discern any subtle difference in her appearance.

Analysis complete!

Information Extracted: Teenage girl NPC for New Yolk city, Gamers' realm.

This crucial information was displayed in the viewing field of his visor.

Romelus was visibly losing his patience. However, his immense ego wouldn't allow him to climb the stairs to discern who was along the stairwell. Instead, he leaned into the dark tunnel and bellowed:

"Show yourself now! Don't let me meet you in there! If I do, honestly, it wouldn't be any different from what I would have done to you down here," Romelus declared with a mischievous grin on his handsome, yet terrifying, face.

Ivan attempted to walk past the duo, but Nova held him back.

"Before you meet Romelus, you should know some crucial information about him," Nova said, his voice hushed.

Ivan wanted to protest the delay, but he didn't after he quickly reflected on what he was told. 'Knowing some information won't hurt.'

Information about Romelus appeared as an infographic on his system info panel akin to a video game's story mode: Romelus was a child born from an unusual union of a homeless couple who lived under a bridge in New Yolk city. The couple strived relentlessly, aiming to save enough money to rent an apartment for the family to live in before Romelus would be eight years old.

Romelus' parents were brutally murdered after they refused to hand him over to a rich, childless woman who was desperate to have a child. The assassins had been sent by the wealthy lady. Fortunately, the woman was caught, prosecuted, and jailed for life, losing all her considerable assets to the government.

Unfortunately for Romelus, the Justice system did nothing to aid him. He was discarded onto the unforgiving streets, left to fend for himself as a mere seven-year-old boy. Fortunately, one day he was discovered on the street by Scientist Nova when he was scavenging food from a trash bin. Nova was a bachelor and so he adopted the boy, taking him in as a son. The boy grew under Nova's care, and he frequently visited the lab where Nova worked.

Romelus, deep down, harboured a profound hatred for rich people and the world in general. There was one exception: Nova, because he was the only human to show him genuine love. Romelus later betrayed Nova and his colleagues, the scientists, by altering a somatic repair virus to his own advantage with the limited scientific knowledge he possessed. The virus was a groundbreaking project that Nova and his crew were developing, intended for the benefit of humanity.

This betrayal led to the terrifying rise of the Grade 4 zombies that ravaged Section 2.5. Romelus' sinister plot didn't stop at merely giving rise to zombies; he created giant monstrosities that mercilessly robbed life from bitten victims. The stolen lives were then transmitted to him in the Gamers' Realm, causing his power to grow by leaps and bounds.

Romelus' zombies had already reduced New Yolk to a deserted, apocalyptic region.

'His strength has grown by leaps and bounds? How strong is Romelus?' Ivan deliberated, a grim understanding dawning on him.