Zero to Peak: Ascension Online

Brainboss handed every member of Wanyama's team, including Elliot and his cohorts, a vial of healing potion. The vial contained a clear, colourless liquid and was stoppered by a screw cap. The adventurers unscrewed the lid of the vial and emptied the contents into their mouths.

"Is this water?" Ivan asked, his curiosity peaked because of the substance's lack of taste and non-viscous texture.

"It's not water," Brainboss clarified impassively.

Elliot was visibly dejected. He was ashamed that he was saved by someone he felt he was ten times better than. He was emotionally defeated and needed time to recover from the shock and humiliation of this raid.

Brainboss dismissed the adventurers. He hailed cabs that drove them home from the Bangyu restaurant.

Ivan arrived in his apartment just after 3 p.m. His body felt sore; the effects of the mana poisoning had been severe. He knew that his teammates definitely felt worse and would have felt a lot worse if not for the healing vial that Brainboss_7 gave them.

He headed into the bathroom and had a bath. He exited the washroom, feeling refreshed. He entered his bedroom, redressed himself in another set of clothes before he climbed onto his bed.

All the while and even at the moment, Ivan felt a persistent mild headache. He pulled up his system interface. There was a load of notifications on the interface.

You slaughtered ninety five Long Claw Rabbit monsters.

You have gained 1900 Exp.

<<<<

Guardian Boost activated!

You have come up against an adversary that threatens the weak!

Info: Your colleagues have been incapacitated by a lethal radiation poison. The Long Claw King poses the threat of consuming your colleagues.

Info (2): Your physical powers have been raised four folds.

<<<<

Alert! Alert!

Lethal Radiation Poison has a dampening effect on your being. Your infant gene seed is rapidly deteriorating. Escape the mana pit within three minutes to survive the poisoning or risk a severe gene damage that will leave you in vegetative state.

<<<<

Ivan was speechless upon seeing the third notification. He wondered how strong mana must be for it to have a damaging effect on a Black Riot gene. He thought that the gene should have some invincibility towards mana poisoning.

"No wonder many sorcerers don't cultivate their powers to their highest potential," he thought aloud. "Just how potent is mana?"

An information panel suddenly popped up in his perception.

You have gained a new skill.

Information: Your gene rebelled against radioactive annihilation. It fought against all odds stacked against it. At the end you survived. The word mutation is strongly tied to the bizarre and horrific. But for you, it represents a miracle.

Skill (5): Toxin Resilience

Information: When faced with the effect of a potent poison, you receive a sudden boost in vitality and constitution, mitigating the effects of the poison.

Grade: D-rank.

<<<<

Ivan sat up, a wide smile spreading across his face. He was just one step away from reaching the criteria for levelling up. This surprise made him recall the events on Rock Mountain peak. The smile on his face vanished as he recalled a certain detail that left him curious, confused, and made him question the very basis of his reality.

As he was being savagely beaten by the Long Claw King and its lackeys, the boss monster had made a thought-provoking speech.

"I was an ordinary creature living peacefully in this forest. My only desire was to lead my kind to find vegetables that we eat and fill our bellies. I never wanted to eat flesh; we never wanted that. We don't like flesh. But we were forced to change when you cruel beings callously rummaged through the forest. Time and time again, you and your kind wrecked and plundered the forest, looking for god knows what. I was fortunate to have an encounter that made me remember these details despite the constant reboot after your kind's callous raids. I grew and plotted, and now we have arrived at this moment. The moment where I eat you and grow my power."

At that moment, Ivan didn't think much about the monster's words. He was in too much pain and all he cared for was rescuing his colleagues from the clutches of death. Now, alone in his room, he had the luxury to think. The words the monster had spoken carried an air of heavy implication.

He began to question the validity of adventurers dying in the Gamers' Realm. He wondered if the Gamers' Realm was really a virtual space, and if it wasn't, what were the consequences of humankind's actions on the realm? These thoughts were easily brushed away because he remembered that it was human intervention in finding and dealing with gates that prevented frequent dungeon breaks.

But the thought that struck him the most was the idea of a character being able to remember their past life after a realm-level reboot. He wondered if the entirety of the Torn Indigo was like this. He wondered if he and the rest of humanity were all in one big game where certain events and actions caused a reboot that altered reality.

Ivan sat in utter tranquility, thoughts absent, blown away by this idea of the world being a rebootable realm. It seemed very plausible given what was happening around the 'world'. His thoughts returned to him and he wanted to call Brainboss_7 and let him know of his ideas.

'I have stumbled on a big clue. Who knows what it could lead to? What could we unravel with this, or rather, what can I unravel with this information?' Ivan excitedly headed to the living room where he had dropped his kit bag on the couch.

He rummaged through the bag searching for his phone and soon enough found it. He unlocked his phone only to see a software update. A smile appeared on his face; all his interest was suddenly diverted by the update notification. He gently sat down on the couch and entertained himself with internet content.