Nibo's hand came crashing down like a large boulder.
Akhil looked around with panic.
And then, an idea snapped in his mind as he looked back at Nibo's ears.
Quickly, he flew straight into the ear, hiding inside his cave-shaped hole.
'This is so disgusting!' Akhil thought in disgust as he felt the earwax cuddle up with his legs.
He didn't go too deep so he wouldn't be completely trapped, but just enough to avoid the slap that was coming for him.
He thought that would be the end, but before he could relax—
The slap came down with a booming sound.
The impact of the slap carried a powerful wave that sent him falling deeper into the earwax.
He could feel the earwax gum his body, sticking onto him.
He struggled to get free, but almost all his attempts were null.
The more he struggled, the more he got stuck within the mess.
Akhil felt all his muscles ache as he struggled.
His breathing became ragged and his eyes blurred.
Slowly, he could feel all the muscles in his body grow weaker with each second.
And slowly, his eyes grew heavier.
'Shit, it can't end like this...' Akhil thought desperately.
He had just woken up a while back only to meet such a pitiful end.
He could feel the vibration from Nibo's triumphant laughter, which left him with anger.
But he couldn't do anything.
"That little pest! Now it'll know never to disturb anyone again," Nibo felt excited.
"I don't know why you're getting so worked up over the death of a mosquito," Aria giggled.
Nibo felt a wave of embarrassment hit him. "You won't understand, that little pest made my neck swell... hell, its bite was so painful," he retorted, trying to save himself some face.
But even with that, Aria didn't look convinced.
She laughed. "We should be arriving sooner or later... no need to explain. At least it's dead."
They were right—it was the end of the adventure of the bravest mosquito that ever existed.
Within Nibo's ears, Akhil felt his vision fade.
Yet the system's timer remained in front of him.
That was the only thing that kept him aware of his surroundings—
and left him confused as well.
'Aren't I meant to be dead?' he couldn't help but ask himself.
He couldn't feel his body, yet the system's screen persisted.
The time ticked away slowly.
{5 hours left}
And he had completely lost his perception of pain, touch, or anything at all.
All that stood before him was the system's notification.
It felt like a quiet companion in the boundless darkness.
After what felt like ages, he felt a subtle movement.
It felt like he had crashed into something.
Yet he didn't know what or where that would be.
He could only keep his eyes on the system's notification in curiosity.
{1 hour}
He tried moving, and he could feel his muscles.
Yet, it still felt as though he was bound by something.
His hands twitched, yet he couldn't move them completely.
He was slowly getting a perception of his body and surroundings.
Bones creaked and cracked within his body.
'...bones?' he could feel the weight of his body—
a perception he had lost as a mosquito.
He could instantly tell what was happening.
'The ability works!'
While he was still in his thoughts, he watched the system timer slowly tick away.
3... 2... 1...
Akhil felt the restraints around him weaken.
With a subtle motion, he easily broke through the dried mold that covered his body.
He slowly opened his eyes, a feeling of joy washing over him.
He could hear the chirping of the birds in the distance.
He dragged in the fresh air through his nostrils,
the cool air filling his lungs.
He could feel his muscles twitch—
a feeling he had forgotten over the last weirdest hours of his life.
"Finally!"
Akhil said, happy as he came out of the mold.
However, he noticed something odd.
"Why the heck am I green in color?" Seeing his skin color, Akhil was left rather confused.
His mind railed back to the system's notification.
'Orc.'
Earlier, he had dismissed it.
But what if the blood he had taken back then wasn't that of a human?
He had just moved from being a mosquito into becoming a green-skinned orc.
'Is my luck bad or what?' Akhil let out a tired sigh.
"On the other hand though, this is much better than being an insect," Akhil looked around him.
"Where am I though?" Akhil thought to himself, looking around.
He was in a makeshift wooden house.
It was clearly a failed attempt at making a house—
but it wasn't too bad either.
Akhil looked around him, finding a brown tunic.
He quickly took it, wrapping it around his naked frame.
The feeling of being in a human body was somewhat foreign to him at the moment.
So he took a moment to feel his legs,
with slow, steady steps.
He shifted the ripped clothes that covered the front of the house,
revealing the clear blue skies outside the makeshift house.
But then, as he left the house, a metallic scent assaulted his nose.
The smell was thick in the air.
The smell of blood.
Following the scent was sound.
"What's going on?" Akhil looked in the direction of the noise.
It was just behind the makeshift house.
He noticed that there were other makeshift houses in the area,
apparently belonging to some of the people residing there.
As he walked closer to the source of the sound,
he could make it out more clearly—
The clash of metals.
Whooshing sounds of the air.
Shouts of pain echoing through the air.
"Protect the kids! Hold their forces back!"
The loud voice tore through the scene.
Just as Akhil came out from the corner—
"Die, you green-skinned orc!!!" A loud voice tore through the air.
Akhil looked in shock as the spear was thrust straight at him.