Zero to Peak: Ascension Online

Ivan was shamefully pulled along like a powerless toddler being bullied by an adult. He struck the boss monster's arms with the most force his muscles could generate, but the effort felt like nothing more than an annoying pat.

The monster was angered by the futile fighting. It leapt forward and high, travelling towards Rock Mountain. Ivan was held firmly, and he collided with the branches of the high-placed tree canopies without falling from the monster's grip.

Ivan crashed hard onto the unforgiving mountain rock. He groaned as his muscles and nerve receptors were too weak to sustain the immense pain. The hulking creature, still holding him hostage, quickly scaled to the flat summit of the mountain.

On the mountain peak, there were a number of three-foot-tall rocks. The monster threw a punch to Ivan's face which connected with brutal force.

"Ouu!" he groaned, helpless and heaped on the ground.

'Why is my armour not tanking this attack? Has its defensive integrity been affected by the mana radiation?' he wondered, his mind reeling in agony.

'This is not the time to lay on the ground in defeat,' he spurred himself, rolling his body onto his right side, struggling to get back on his feet. 'I have my colleagues who are in desperate need of rescue.'

Ivan saw the monster walk away, heading to one of the three-foot-tall rocks nearby. Ivan thought the monster was ignoring him and tried to use the moment to get back on his feet. The monster heaved up the rock and cradled it in its hands. It turned and approached Ivan.

"What the hell!" Ivan voiced his fear in disbelief as he realised what the monster intended to do.

The monster wanted to slam the rock onto him to pry the armour open and consume the flesh hidden within. Inexplicably, Ivan had gotten weaker than when he was still in the mana pit. As the least affected person, he was supposed to regain some strength after he was taken away from the pit. The rock came crashing down with wicked force. Ivan could only stretch out a weak left arm to try and suppress the attack.

The attempt was futile, and the monster furiously and continuously slammed the rock into Ivan's left side. The poor human yelled in pain as his ribs ached tremendously.

Slam! Slam! Slam! The monster furiously pounded in frustration as its efforts failed to undo the armour. The monster showed no signs of stopping; it was determined to consume Ivan.

Suddenly, Ivan felt a significant amount of strength return to his body, though it was still far from its peak condition. He could still feel the toxic, corrosive effects of the mana poisoning coursing through his veins. The monster had raised the rock, about to strike down again. Ivan swiftly rolled, and the monster slammed the rock onto the hard mountain surface.

On his feet, he darted towards the boss with a telegraphed punch aimed for the monster's head. The monster lost balance and stumbled forward, having missed the target it wanted to slam. Ivan's punch connected with the side of the monster's head. It stumbled to the left and fell. Ivan didn't dare fight the monster; he prioritised saving his colleagues. He ran towards the edge of the mountain peak, wanting to descend.

An exaggerated rabbit paw grabbed onto Ivan's shoulder as he attempted to dive off the edge. The paw yanked him back, preventing his escape. Then the paw's limb deftly wrapped around Ivan's abdomen, and with the second limb of its pair, they lifted Ivan up and slammed him back-first onto the hard ground.

The pain wasn't as bad as it would have been a few moments ago, but he still felt a sharp sting in his back. He received a hard kick to the abdomen that rolled him over. He stole a glance at the assailant: it was another regular monster rabbit.

Ivan felt something approach before he was pulled by his cape. It was the boss monster, pulling on his cape. The cape's connection to the armour was tough, which the monster was able to use to its advantage. It whipped Ivan like a rag doll on the floor.

Ivan was disoriented, not knowing how to save himself from this bullying. The monster whipped him with the wrong technique, and he accidentally got his feet on the ground. Despite the thought-numbing, searing pain, Ivan detected an opportunity. He deftly spun around, completing more than ten revolutions in two seconds. The revolutions caused the cape to contort around itself, forming a tight spindle in the monster's hand.

The monster tried to whip him again, but the spindle of fabric in its hand slipped away. Ivan stumbled but quickly got back on his feet. He went the opposite way, trying to escape through the free space he saw.

A third rabbit—a second regular monster rabbit—emerged from this side and swatted its paw at Ivan. The paw connected with the side of his face, giving off a resounding slap that made him fall.

'Not again,' Ivan cursed his luck.

With every delay on this mountain peak, his colleagues were slowly inching towards their death.

At the Portal Zone, Brainboss_7 was counting on Ivan to rescue himself from the situation and proceed to save his colleagues. He couldn't just barge into the gate and save the adventurers; he needed a good reason to do so. The Liberation Force's rule was that supervisors were not to get involved in the raids of new adventurers. Whether they survived or died was not the supervisor's business. Their job was to make sure there was no outside interference that would interrupt the adventurers' raid experience.

However, Brainboss was ready to jump in and save the day if Ivan didn't turn the situation around very soon.

Ivan suffered a brutal group beating. He frequently fought back, but the numbers overpowered him in his weakened state. He lay on the ground, defeated, huffing and puffing heavily. His breathing sounded as if he had suffered a bad injury and his life was ebbing away.

The boss monster leaned in close. "You... dying... slowly... I... will... eat... you... after... I..."

The monster's words got stuck in its throat. A crimson sword was stuck right into it. Ivan had feigned being totally defeated. The monster was deceived and had leaned in close, allowing him to strike at point-blank range.

Ivan drew the sword up, cutting the monster's head in half. The other monsters were slower compared to their top gun. Ivan cleaved them, ending their lives. He then proceeded to descend down the mountain in a bizarre manner that involved tumbling and sliding like a drunk maniac.

In the end, the adventurers exited the forest, all surviving the raid thanks to Black Riot 79.