The night went away quickly, and the sun was soon up signifying a new day. It was officially day three since everyone got transported into this other world. Dustin and John were the first to wake up way before the sun was fully up, and Aria followed.
Aria was very scared of the goblins and Horned Boar, but Dustin needed to convince her, as they would need to keep them around frequently.
Dustin led his new companions towards a nearby stream where they found water to drink, and also took their baths. They didn't have the luxury of washing their clothes, so they just put them back on.
"Can I ask you a question?" John said to Dustin as Dustin put on his shirt.
"Sure, ask away."
"I had been meaning to ask, but I felt it would be rude."
"Just ask the question."
"How did you get so much blood on your clothes?" John asked.
This was something that had been bothering him for a while. It had not been up to even a week after they got here, but someone could actually manage to dirty themselves so much, with blood no less. He was curious to know what happened.
"Yeah uncle, how did you get so much blood on you?" Aria asked.
Dustin noticed that Aria had decided to call him uncle, which was fine. Although it made him feel bad, he could only tolerate it. Anything nearing big brother would only make him look like a pervert before others.
Hearing this question, Dustin didn't react in a particular way, he just continued on dressing.
"I will tell you the story. The only thing is if you will believe me or not." Dustin said with his normal straight face.
He turned to look at them, and he could see two pair of eyes that were eager to see him tell them the story. He had thought about this particular scenario even before he met them. He wasn't going to hide the fact that if he didn't need to. He now possessed enough strength to protect himself. If anyone tried anything funny with him, they would only get what was to be served.
"Alright, I can feel your eagerness piercing my skin. Why don't start moving, then I'll tell you on the way." Dustin said, as he brought out a carnivorous rat he tamed on their way to the stream.
John rode on the carnivorous rat, while Dustin and Aria rode on the Horned Boar. The Horned Boar had grown soft fur all over its body, except for its legs, head and tail. The fur resembled the fur of a wild boar, but it was much more full in mass and length, and was a little curly. The texture made for a good cushion.
Dustin began the story of how he alone massacred thousands of goblins. At the end of his story, John and Aria were so astonished by his tale, even their previous view of him had changed. He was a hero before? Pftt! He was now a superhero, unrivalled and peerless, the monarch of destruction.
The whole process was so tiring for Dustin; he swore to never waste his time telling stories again. From then, he would make his stories as short and simple as possible.
Their journey began from there, the whole journey was safe, and they never encountered any danger, not even once. They always ate till they got full bellies, even though their diet was mostly meat and fruits. It was peaceful and memorable.
After two weeks of travelling, they reached an area that Dustin found to be strange. There was totally 0 monsters in the vicinity, and a lot of people had gathered there. 'Is this the safe area? Dustin thought, as he looked at his map from the system.
He could remember that there was a kind of system that was different from the one he had originally before coming to the new world, but after it's first appearance, it never showed again. Just to confirm, the others, John and Aria could access theirs, but for some reason he couldn't. Although Dustin found it weird, he hadn't found time to check it properly. It would also have to wait, since something was about to happen.
Some minutes had passed since Dustin and the other two entered the safe zone, but the stares they were getting from everyone was a bit unnerving. Dustin also noticed that every other person except them had a red clothe tied to their arm. John also noticed this, and they could immediately tell what was going on, though, their interpretations were different.
'It's like a game. The number of people a safe zone can contain is limited, so it's understandable they would look at us like this.' Dustin thought. He and Aria were together, so he kept her close just in case any idiot wanted to try something funny.
'It's like a family dinner. The meat is not always enough, so the last person gets this kind of look. It's normal, but I don't think it'll end so simply.' John thought.
They had gotten off their mounts after Dustin gave the order. He knew as soon as he saw the area on his map that people would be gathered, though not as much as they were at the moment.
They kept moving around the place, until they finally came to a stop, in front of a girl that had stepped up to block their path.
'This girl. Mizu? If she's here, that means they might be the ones in charge of this area, her and her sister.' Dustin thought.
He was too familiar with this scene. Normally, safe zones are supposed to be free for everybody, but people who like to feel important or simply, have the power, might make the entire safe zone their territory. With that, they would now have control over an important place where people are forced to make use of, and those people will have to abide by their rules.
'But this place, nobody has money yet, or any other valuable. If so, what do they really get from this?' Dustin questioned himself. A question he has no answer to.
"Who are you guys, and what are you doing here." Mizu asked.
Dustin at that point, was not feeling too generous with giving long explanations, so he took a while to answer first. After looking around, examining the place, he finally spoke.
"We are only passing through, but see that this is a safe area, we have decided to stop here for a while." Dustin replied, his gaze fixed on hers.
After hearing his answer, Mizu drew her sword and pointed it at Dustin. She was so fast that no one could follow the movements of the blade with their naked eyes. But this was for every other person except Dustin; he could see every single movement. From the point when she moved her hand to draw the blade, up to when the blade was pointed at him. He only had to hold himself from making a move.
Seeing this, some people in the surrounding crowd also drew their blades, like guards following their master into a battle.
Dustin noticed this, an he also saw that Aria had retreated behind him in fear. This made him feel kind of, weird. The feeling he had was not anger, since he understood why they would react that way. Maybe it was disgust? That this nonentities had actually drawn their blade and pointed it towards him, even ignoring the little child.
'Should I just kill these idiots?' Dustin thought.
..
'Uhgg! What is this?? Shit! Did we provoke the wrong person? Who is this guy?' Mizu thought, as her eyes widened, and her expression suddenly turned, sickened.
Not only her, everybody in the surrounding got scared, some even pissing their pants, but non dared to run, not even taking a single step from where they stood. It felt like they would die if they dared. Unlike every other person, John and Aria seemed to be normal, just a bit more confident. Even from the way John was standing, one could see the confidence in his posture.
'No, that'll be too much. Besides, I need them.' Dustin thought to himself.
"Huff. Huff. Huff." 'What manner of aura was that? It was even more frightening than master's, ten times over!'
It was then that Dustin's eyes went over the crowd, realizing what he had done.
'This feeling. Ah, did I just reveal my bloodlust?' Dustin thought.
He had unknowingly revealed his bloodlust, and it's effects weren't what he expected at all, it was far more than he had imagined. Good thing it didn't affect his own people, which would have been bad for the kid, Dustin thought, as he completely suppressed the aura he was emitting, and brought it back to normal.