Zero to Peak: Ascension Online

Wanyama and his team walked into the other side of the second gate they were to raid. The Long Claw Rain Forest was the realm that the team had to raid and suppress the growth of the evolving monsters dwelling there.

Eliot and his friends had planned to rebel against Wanyama the moment they landed in the realm. They dared not to cause an upheaval in the presence of Brainboss. The adventurers had arrived two hours ahead of the scheduled raid, having acted on instructions from Brainboss_7. The overlord supervisor had decided not to disclose the details of the monsters and the realm to the whole team. Instead, he had pulled Wanyama aside and given him the details.

Now, it was time for the team leader to share the details with the rest of the team. The adventurers loosely gathered around Wanyama.

Wanyama allowed a brief moment for himself and his teammates to observe their surroundings. The forest was lush, dominated by towering Dinizia Excelsia trees that averaged one hundred and twenty metres in height. The high branches of the trees formed a thick canopy that shielded the forest floor from sunlight. The thick, dark bark of the trees added to the sombre aesthetic of the forest floor. There was a lush undergrowth consisting of a variety of plants.

Although the thick canopy of leaves and branches effectively blocked sunbeams from reaching the ground, it was not completely dark. The adventurers could still see well. The original seven team members, uneducated on such matters, wondered why this was so, but no one dared voice it.

Eliot and his friends, who had received prior education about the realm at their place of residence, were no strangers to the reason why they and their teammates could still see clearly. They discerned the unvoiced curiosity from the sight-testing their teammates were performing to verify they were not under a spell.

Paulo whispered, "Look at them. Poor, ignorant idiots who couldn't afford a teacher to educate them about common realms and monsters."

The trio laughed in amusement. The laughter briefly drew the attention of the others, who wondered what was making these obnoxious newcomers laugh.

Wanyama audibly cleared his throat, attracting the attention of his team members. "The creatures we are about to face are strong. They are called Long Claw Rabbits. We must exercise extreme caution when dealing with these monsters. These monsters gather around pits in groups of varying numbers. The pits they gather around are called mana pits. We are to avoid getting close to those pits to avoid suffering the consequences of mana poisoning from mana radiation. We should note that these rabbits have an acute sense of detecting killing intent. So, we can't use the tactic of taking them down with surprise attacks. We will bait them into our 'killing' trap and finish them within the trap."

"So childish," Eliot sneered.

Everyone felt the weight of the contempt in Eliot's remark.

A flicker of irritation crossed Wanyama's face. He turned his attention to the adventurer clad in silver, regal full body plate armour. "What is childish about what I have said?"

Paulo stepped in to support his friend. "You are the team leader but lack the necessary presence that commands respect. The way you carry yourself is too casual, and you look and sound so unserious to lead this team into a perilous battle."

Eliot and Paulo inched closer to Wanyama. They both fixed a glare at him. Wanyama felt a surge of rage, but he forced himself to remain calm. After the meeting at Brainboss_7's house, Wanyama had promised himself not to be bothered by these rich idiots' annoying attitude.

"I understand," Wanyama calmly replied, easing away the frown etched on his face. "Back to the plan. Black Riot 79 and Proud Reaper will initiate aggro, and that's after…"

"Hey, hold on!"

"What in the world is this lame strategy?"

"Just assigning roles because you are the leader? This is a blatant abuse of power!"

Eliot, Paulo, and Lauren interjected Wanyama's speech with a litany of complaints.

Eliot stepped forward, driving his armoured chest to clash with Wanyama's bare chest. The two stood at the same height. "You are a dumb leader. You don't deserve to be the team leader."

"Aye, step away from him. Don't think that just because you are from a privileged background, you can bully whoever you want," Am_I_Me said in support of Wanyama.

Lauren turned and faced Am_I_Me. "You finally decided to speak. I thought you were a mute, yes-person. Turns out you have a voice, but it doesn't change that you are a silly yes-person who doesn't have a voice of their own."

Onelight barked at the 'pick-me girl'. "Oh, shut up, you slut! If anyone here doesn't have a voice of their own, then it's you. Shamelessly living with Behemoth so that you can live a comfortable life, all because you lack the intelligence and self-assurance to hustle for the resources you need on your own."

Her male friends were not interested in the argument that Lauren was having. They were invested in getting Wanyama to overhaul his decision, or better yet, hand over the reins of leadership to them.

"What do you want me to do?" Wanyama had a guess of what the new members wanted, but he just wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt.

"Obviously, we are the most powerful members of the team. We should be allowed to showcase our abilities before the 'others' band up with us," Paulo said, using the word 'others' with undisguised disgust.

It was obvious that the duo of Paulo and Eliot didn't value the potential of the other team members.

Eliot turned and lightly pushed Paulo. "What was that? You are putting our demands too lightly."

Paulo laughed and said, "I didn't want them to feel left out. You know I have a generous heart."

Eliot returned his gaze to Wanyama and spoke with a loud tone. "My friends and I are the most powerful team members. From the information I have gathered about you lot, you are weak compared to the three of us in terms of raw power and skill. If we factor in the education we received about gate raiding, we don't need a soothsayer to tell us that the three of us are worlds apart from your level. In plain terms, this raid should belong to the three of us. We will take down all the monsters, fight the boss monster, and thereby subdue the threat the gate poses by our own hands. All the rewards, the three of us shall receive them all. In return, you guys will have the privilege of watching us conquer this gate in grand style."

Onelight blurted, "Go eat shit, dickhead!"

She really disliked sociopathic characters.