Ch 1: Mutation
Akhil's eyes shot open, greeted by a bluish sight in front of him.
He felt the strong currents of the wind hit him, leaving him disoriented.
But wait — how could the wind push him so lightly?
Akhil felt... weightless.
'What's this feeling? I can't feel my hands. My legs as well.'
While he was still wondering what in the world was happening to him, a translucent blue screen popped up in front of him.
{Genetic code has been successfully rewritten}
{Mutation complete!}
(Character Status)
«↑Character Name: Nexus↓»
«↑Mutation Status: Genus Mosquito (New Species)↓»
«↑Bloodline: Ex Grade (unawakened)↓»
«↑Lifespan: 1 hour (Absorb blood to increase time)↓»
«↑Strength: F↓»
«↑Stamina: F+↓»
«↑Agility: B↓»
«↑Intelligence: F↓»
«↑World Ranking: 4,357,899,000↓»
«↑Associations: None↓»
Akhil looked through his character status and a wave of realization hit him.
'That's right... This is meant to be the game, right?' Akhil thought, as he felt the air currents push him into disorientation.
'How the heck did I end up in the body of a mosquito? I never got the chance to even choose my character! Suck blood? Doesn't that mean I'm a fem—' Akhil couldn't even fathom the thought.
'I can't lose that as well!'
He took a moment to feel his body, and felt a wave of relief as he felt something twitch under his abdomen.
'Seems I'm a really special mosquito,' Akhil buzzed with content.
The thought of having all those females flocking around him.
Just then, the wind crashed straight into him again.
He was being toiled around by the wind...
'I need to stand somewhere,' Akhil thought to himself, balancing himself mid-air.
He couldn't make out where he was; all he could see was a blur of yellow and red lines all around, vaguely outlining the shapes of the figures around him.
He could make out the shape of the trees that looked like ancient behemoths in front of his small figure.
His vision warped, shifting in ways that made his stomach churn.
He felt light.
Weightless.
Akhil moved to the tree, steering his way through the air.
It was a strange feeling, unlike he had ever felt before and never thought he would.
But it was actually happening.
He was flying.
'At least I can control my body.' The feeling of flying for a moment made him feel a bit more relaxed about his current predicament.
However, it still didn't change the fact that he was a freaking mosquito.
Even if he didn't choose a character, was he really so unlucky that he had to end up this way?
He felt his small six spindly legs attach themselves to the large tree before him.
The long, needle-like proboscis curled up as he landed.
'How did all this happen?' Akhil couldn't help but ask himself, rummaging through his memories, and then it hit him.
How could he forget what happened?
It started right after he wore the console for the popular VR game, Titans Online.
A game released by the Pro Tech industry, right after humans thought they had reached the peak of the gaming industry.
It wasn't just the gaming industry.
Technology as a whole advanced to a whole new level.
Even to the point where people could download food online.
Call it crazy, but it happened.
Travel pods were created; planetary travels were now made possible.
You'd find a man preparing a visa to travel to Mars for a vacation with his family.
It was that crazy.
And after so many years of waiting for another major development in the gaming industry... Since VRs were now a normal thing, with nothing really special about them.
Pro Tech, as promised, launched Titans Online.
A game so real that you could even live inside... well, if you're okay with becoming celibate.
They succeeded, and just from their pre-launch sales, billions of copies were sold.
People were left curious as to what the popular gaming industry had made for them.
Of course, it was generally costly, but the government was kind enough to use tax money to reduce cost and make it readily available.
At least they finally used the tax money for something that benefited everyone.
After it was launched, Akhil didn't waste any time in going to get a copy of his own.
But on that same day, right after he wore it, something terrible happened.
Not just to him, but everyone who had bought the game.
A flurry of codes appeared just as they wore the console.
And following it was the word 'ALERT' written in blaring red.
And then, the message right underneath:
«↑System has experienced a malfunction.
Character syncing will now begin. (Error 101) Using alternative method.
Reading host genetic codes. Genetic decoding will now begin.↓»
{Global Notification: This is the Integrated Artificial Intelligence for game management. Characters will now be fused with hosts as system is malfunctioning.}
That was the last message Akhil saw right before his brain shut down.
But he couldn't tell if he had managed to enter the game.
He could tell something was terribly wrong.
The wind brushing against his body.
The tall trees, even the leaves falling off from the tree.
It felt real.
Too real.
Enough to make him question his surroundings.
'Is this a game or reality?' Akhil couldn't help but ask himself.
But before he could dwell on that, another flurry of notifications blinked into existence in front of him.
{Congrats Player Nexus For Passing The First Scenario!}
{Time Spent: 45d: 2hr: 12mins: 58secs}
{Your Second Scenario Will Now Begin}
{A special species has been created. Genus mosquito! However, your existence is being threatened.}
{Task: Extend your lifespan by sucking blood from a host}
{Time left: 54 mins}
{Penalty: Death}
{Reward: ???}
{Note: Check abilities in system panel}
---
As Akhil read through the system's message, he felt a knot in his chest.
His body trembled.
Fifty-eight minutes.
After that, everything would end.
If the information displayed was true, once his time elapsed that would be the end.
Panic surged through him like a tidal wave.
Just then, something stirred inside of him.
An instinctual awareness.
A strange pull.
He could sense it.
Blood.
Warm blood.