Zero to Peak: Ascension Online

Wanyama and his teammates arrived one after the other, a few seconds apart. Every one of them was quick to spot Brainboss_7 seated alone at a wide, round table in a secluded corner of the restaurant. They approached and took an empty seat at the table. When the seven teammates were all settled, Brainboss asked:

"Wanyama is still the team leader, no?"

Wanyama's teammates affirmed that he was still the team leader.

"And no one opposes that he is the team leader?"

The team affirmed that they were content with Wanyama as their leader.

"Good." Brainboss_7 leaned back on the padded seat rest, a subtle nod of approval. "Now, you will meet your new teammates."

The scenery suddenly changed; they were no longer in the restaurant. They were now in a spacious, moderately expansive meeting room within Brainboss_7's opulent glasshouse mansion. The existing team and Brainboss_7 were seated at one end of a long, rectangular golden glass table.

At the other end of the table were the trio who were to join Wanyama's team: Eliot, Paulo, and Lauren, the sole female among them. The trio seemed utterly oblivious to the sudden appearance of Brainboss and the seven strangers.

The trio were preoccupied with a fervent discussion they were having. Paulo, the handsome, green-eyed, light-skinned young man, was engaged in a heated debate against Eliot. Lauren sat close to him, leaning subtly on his shoulder. She would occasionally chime in with words or sentences in support of Paulo's argument. The way she acted gave off the distinct vibe of a girl desperately trying to get validation from the guy she liked, but the guy she liked never truly regarded her.

Brainboss_7 stared with an impassive expression at the trio. He maintained this intense gaze for a few seconds, making Eliot, who had kept his gaze averted from meeting his guardian's, visibly uncomfortable.

"Hey, let's go there. You don't want to piss him off. You wouldn't like his reaction," Eliot audibly whispered to the duo engrossed in discussion with him.

The trio made their way to the other end of the table. As they approached, they scrutinised the strangers seated next to Brainboss_7. The trio's expressions contorted into a mixture of disgust and disdain.

'I hope these peasants are not my new teammates. I hope this is a big joke,' Eliot thought, a sneer forming on his lips as he approached the table.

The strangers were casually dressed. But what truly gave away their humble backgrounds was that the clothes they wore were not from luxury brands, and Onelight, who worked as a painter, had a distinct smear of green paint on the left shoulder of her puffy sleeve.

Brainboss_7 began his address, saying, "I welcome everyone to this meeting in my home. I'm glad that we all could make it here today."

"Guys, the trio over here are Proud Reaper, Behemoth, and Dazzle_flame." He then introduced the arrogant trio to the existing team. He also introduced the existing team members by their avatar names to the new trio.

"Wanyama is the team leader, and if you haven't decoded what I am about to say, you are now his team members."

The trio immediately went into a collective meltdown, raising their voices in furious protest against the decision. Brainboss wasn't fazed by their volatile reaction. He sat quietly, staring at the surface of the table. Paulo angrily kicked away the chair he had been sitting on moments ago, and Brainboss reacted instantly. He stretched his left arm backwards, his hand cupped as if grasping onto something unseen — he cast the skill, 'Collect'.

A ceramic mug came flying into the room with terrifying speed. The mug smashed onto Paulo's head with a sickening thud. Paulo instantly collapsed onto the ground. Brainboss remained impassive, but everyone else gasped, shaken by what had just transpired. Eliot and Lauren immediately calmed down. Eliot quickly returned to his seat, avoiding the gazes from the strangers in embarrassment. Lauren desperately tried to rouse Paulo, whose head was bleeding, though not profusely, from the small cut caused by the mug's impact. Her frantic efforts were to no avail.

Brainboss moved his outstretched arm to the left. A bucket of ice water swiftly hovered into the room and levitated steadily over Paulo's prone body.

"Step away from the idiot, stupid girl," Brainboss said, his voice devoid of emotion.

The girl immediately obeyed, and the icy contents of the bucket cascaded down onto Paulo. He was jolted back to consciousness, struggling desperately to breathe as if he had just been rescued from drowning.

"A warning for everyone here. No one should destroy any property in my house. I value everything here preciously. If I discover you destroyed any of the properties in this house, you will receive a severe beating. Is that clear?"

Everyone, Paulo included, acquiesced, confirming that they understood Brainboss's stringent terms.

Brainboss cast a piercing gaze at Eliot. The gaze then moved from him to the drenched Paulo and then to Lauren.

"You guys were saying something before Paulo decided to be stupid."

Suddenly, the chair Paulo had kicked away returned to its precise place beside the table. The sudden, unexpected action startled the green adventurers.

A brief, tense silence followed the question. The arrogant trio were now terrified to speak up. Eliot, however, gathered his composure and, with a strained voice, said:

"Mr. Brain, surely you are joking about putting us together with these peasants, aren't you?"

Wanyama and his team members frowned deeply at Eliot for his insulting utterance.

Onelight was not having it with the obnoxious mafia scion. She snapped, "Hey, none of us here are peasants. This isn't some feudal kingdom fantasy bullshit you guys are trained with from birth. This is the real world, and people work hard for their daily bread."

Lauren chuckled, a condescending sound. "If you work for your daily bread, that means you are a peasant. Only peasants work for their daily bread. The rich sit at their home and let their money work for them."

Onelight abruptly stood up from her table, her hands slamming furiously at the surface. Am_I_Me and Troy_to_me cringed fearfully, sparing a cautious glance at Brainboss, who remained utterly unfazed.

She barked at Lauren, her voice laced with venom, "Shut up, you pathetic female dog! Clinging to a man like a girl who had daddy issues when growing up. You are seeking his validation when it is obvious he doesn't give a shit about you. Stupid, deluded girl!"

Lauren instantly lost her cool, lunging furiously towards Onelight. Troy_to_me was quick to react, holding her back just before she could reach Onelight.

"Come at me, bitch! You can't handle the truth, don't you? Look at the pathetic twat you are dying for, a fool who doesn't know that he is better off not involving himself with the perilous missions we dive into. I bet you are from a humble background like the rest of us, but because you want to please the twat, you act like him," Onelight ranted further, her voice rising with unbridled fury.