Ascend Online

Marcus and his friends escape a stagnant society by diving into a revolutionary virtual reality game — but from the moment he logs in, Marcus finds himself separated from his group and thrown into a remote village under attack by goblins. Forced into battle, he rallies the beleaguered villagers and drives off the invaders. With the village in ruins, the survivors turn to Marcus for help rebuilding. Quickly realizing this game is unlike anything he has played before, he is swept up into a whirlwind of adventure as he struggles to defend his new home — and discovers that marauding goblins are the least of his problems.

Fresh off their victory over Graves and his followers, Marcus and the Virtus guild enjoy a few weeks of calm as they continue building Aldford. But when expected settlers fail to arrive, they set out to search — and barely manage to rescue a caravan from bandits in time. Thrust into the middle of Eberian politics, Marcus and his allies uncover a plot that threatens not only their hard-won independence, but the complete destruction of Aldford.

Betrayed by those they had taken in and narrowly avoiding disaster, Marcus and his friends are thrust into a fight for survival against Carver and his band of murderous adventurers. As the conflict reaches a stalemate, both sides scramble for an advantage while battling viciously for every inch of ground. Just as Marcus gains leverage that could end the conflict, an even greater enemy appears on the horizon. It will take every ounce of cunning and courage they have to survive — assuming they can at all.

Against all odds, Marcus and Virtus have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, capturing Carver and destroying the orc advance completely. Yet there is no peace for the exhausted victors. They must pay the price for their desperate triumph, and rise once more to meet a new terror that has revealed itself — one that, if left unchecked, will consume the world.