"A level five?"
"He really is a level five?!"
"Who is he? How come I've never seen him?"
Muffled whispers echoed through the field as the orcs stared at Akhil.
Some with curiosity, others with shock and fear.
Akhil, on the other hand, was left rather confused.
From waking up as a strange new species of mutated mosquito.
To sucking blood from someone.
Taking the form of an orc.
And having a group of hunters run from him as though they were seeing a ghost.
Akhil didn't know if the day could get any weirder than it already was.
But to his surprise, now someone was referring to him as king.
While this didn't really sit well with him, he had a little idea of why the orc was referring to him as such.
{Savior of the Orcs}
{Title effect: High reverence and respect from the orcs… you'll be recognized in the clan.}
Akhil looked at the notification, letting out a sigh.
The world was truly being bounded by this system.
He didn't expect the effect to kick in so fast.
"Thank you for helping us," Nibo said.
Nibo looked up at him awkwardly, waiting for a reply.
Akhil, noticing the lingering gaze, quickly regained his composure.
'Well, this definitely has a nice feel to it. But first and foremost, it's high time I have a good idea what's happening here,' Akhil cleared his throat.
"You really don't need to do that. I do have a small request though… I need you to explain to me a bit more about what's been going on," Akhil asked, his voice steady.
Nibo looked at him, raising a brow confusedly.
But a sudden realization hit him as he stood abruptly.
"You just woke up?! No wonder I haven't seen you around the village so far. Leave that to me, I'll explain everything," Nibo said confidently. He clapped his hands on his chest almost as though to show how reliable he was.
"Alright."
---
Akhil sat with Nibo and two others—Aria and an old-looking man.
The four sat around a rocky table with makeshift chairs made from wood.
With clarity from Nibo, Akhil finally had a better idea of the situation he was in.
After the transmission, there was a division between each of the newly formed species.
And that was fostered by the system's first quest.
{Find and secure a domain}
Quickly, each of the races began to form groups and clans.
This caused great strife.
Resources were shared out unfairly.
The stronger forces took larger portions of land.
And the orcs, being one of the weakest among the newly created races, were left with the small domain closest to the forest.
Which was apparently where the next enemies for the second quest would originate from.
They couldn't do anything about this, and they accepted their fate.
But then, the plague came.
It was the aftereffect of the system's gene recoding.
For some reason, most of the orcs had the issue.
And the serum that could help stabilize the side effects was being held by the human settlement.
And they refused to hand it out to the orcs.
"So you're saying that they didn't give you all the serum because now that you look different, you suddenly weren't humans anymore?" Akhil asked.
"Yes, but not only did they not give us the serum, they even attempted to attack us," Nibo replied, his hands curling into a tight fist.
"I'm sure this was all just a misunderstanding, we can talk to them… Perhaps they'll understand and help us," the old man said.
He looked like a shaman orc, holding his staff tightly, his hands shaking slightly.
"Elder Gon, aren't you understanding? These people don't want anything to do with us anymore. They just came here with a squad to erase us… If it hadn't been for Sir Nexus here, we would've been cleared out," Aria said angrily, gritting her teeth.
"Well, who knows what you went to the settlement to do! If you had let me come with you, none of this would've happened," Gon replied, resolute in his thoughts.
Aria scoffed, rolling her eyes and wrapping her hands over her chest.
"That aside though, Nexus. I learned that you're a rank five mutant. Is that true?" Gon asked, squinting his eyes as he looked at Akhil.
"Yes… I guess."
'Or at least I think I am, what does that even mean?'
Hearing his reply, Aria quickly chipped in.
"Mutant level is displayed by the system. It's simply the level of your ability… but since you'd only have one ability, it's used to give a vague idea of how strong you'd be."
"You can increase your mutant powers by training and accomplishments.
Although physical training is a more strenuous route, it's achievable. But there's a limit to how much you'll be able to use your ability.
Mutant points generally show how compatible the said person was with the transmission and how much effect it can have on your body.
So it tells a lot of how much of your mutant powers you'll be able to use without it having other effects on you.
Generally, people who are level one mutants have a twenty percent compatibility with their mutant powers.
And it continues with a multiple of two for each of the levels.
Since the transmission, the highest mutant points that we've seen was three. We've heard rumors that the leader of one of the biggest factions in the human settlement has more, but it's just a rumor like I said… But you're the first with five we've seen! And if the calculations are correct, you should have a hundred percent compatibility!"
Aria's voice was filled with excitement as she spoke.
She looked at Akhil in admiration, scanning him as though trying to note every key difference between him and the others.
Akhil nodded in understanding.
'It's a pretty simple concept… Except I don't have one ability,' Akhil thought, looking at his {system stats}.
∆Abilities∆
↑ Gene Synchronization (3MP)
↑ Blood Absorption (3MP)
↑ Blood Control (3MP)
↑ Skin Hardening (5MP)
That was a mystery for now.
And he didn't really know how to deal with it.
However, he had no intentions of telling this to the others.
He was going to keep this to himself.
A bright smile appeared on Gon's face as he heard the confirmation from Akhil.
"This is great! With your help, we'll be able to stand a chance for the second quest," a delighted look appeared on his old features.
"Firstly, we have to go back and apologize to the human settlement. Then we'll be able to form an alliance with them and get the serum for our members that are having issues," Gon said casually.
Akhil looked at the old man, raising a brow.
He had only been there for barely an hour and the old man was busy bossing him around.
While he was very respectful toward old people, this one seemed a little… unbearable.
'Let's hope he's not an asshole.'
"Since you're the one who scared them away, you'll have to go with Nibo and Aria."
Almost as though mocking him, right after he thought of it, the old man did just that.