The First King of Beasts

"Don't worry about that, it's all taken care of." Dustin said as he gave the man and girl a small thumbs up accompanied by a little smile.

At that moment, he looked exactly like the hero from movies that arrived at the crucial moment when all hope was lost, to restore hope.

The two he had just saved seemed to still be scared as their shivering was quite visible. He stretched his hands out to the man and helped him up. The man's palms had deep cuts that looked to be gotten from dragging his hands on a rough spiky surface.

Dustin looked at his wounds briefly, then turned his gaze towards the little girl. He squatted before her as he noticed she was still shaking quite a bit, perhaps horrified. He stretched his hands slowly to wipe the tears off her cheeks and face, but as his hand got closer, the girl flinched. Dustin also saw this, and because of it, he scorned the people who left them for death even more.

'Heh, this child. Maybe I'll have to greet some people later.' Dustin said in his mind.

Although he hesitated a bit, he went on to wipe off her face and the droplets of tears. "It's alright kid. It's ok now." He said, as he gave her a pat on the head.

Dustin went on to inquire from the man about everything that happened prior to his arrival. According to the man, the others in their group that abandoned them earlier were the ones who had come up to them( He and the girl) to form a group. He agreed since it sounded like the best idea at that moment.

'So they were just looking for sacrificial pawns, huh? Good planning ahead.' Dustin thought when he heard that part of the story.

The man and the little girl travelled with the group in the open field alongside others, and had camped there. They only decided to enter the forest because they needed to find something to eat. It hadn't been long since they entered the forest, and before they could find any edibles, they ran into the beast that Dustin killed.

'Pretty basic, nothing much. Those guys must be pissed, having to use their escape card so soon after acquiring it.'

"It's alright. Who's she to you?" Dustin asked as he pointed at the little girl that was still standing on the same spot Dustin found her in, maybe still scared to take a single step from there.

"We were next to each other after everyone got brought here. She didn't seem to have anyone with her, so when those people came, I took her along." The man responded to Dustin's question.

Dustin stared at the man for sometime, then changed his gaze towards the giant rodent they had just killed. As he was wondering just what the creature was, the system gave him an answer, as though it could read his mind.

[Carnivorous Rat]

"Hmm."

'System, is this thing edible?' Dustin asked. He had realized that he could speak to the system through his mind too, which made him feel better. Now, he wouldn't look like a mad man talking to himself when he was around people.

.. 'It is. The meat is just like that of a rabbit, just a bit tougher is all.' The system replied in a cool voice.

'Rabbit? Well, the ears don't look like that of a rat either.'

"But eating rats? I don't know how I feel about that." Dustin said as a bit of disgust seeped onto his face.

He turned towards the man and said. "Do you eat rats?"

"I have no problem with it..." Dustin didn't exactly look satisfied. "In Thailand, you can find rat on stick in some places, where I live has a lot, so..." The man tried to explain.

"It's fine. It was only a simple question. You from Thailand? Yo don't even look it." Dustin said.

"My grandmother from my mother's side is from Thailand. I grew up with her, so I remained there after getting a stable job."

"Oh. I was thinking about the resemblance. You're way off." To Dustin's words the man only chuckled a bit nervously.

Dustin had tried to cut the beast into edible pieces, but that was never his expertise. He had never gone camping before, and grilling wasn't something he had done either. With all his strength, he was useless when it came to these survival stuff.

"You can leave that to me. I'll have it ready for cooking in no time." The man said as he took over from Dustin.

The man's name was John, while the little girl's name was Aria. Contrary to what Dustin thought, John was only approaching 40years, but he was right about the girl. Aria was 9 years old.

Some minutes had passed already, but Aria was still standing in the same position and had not moved a muscle. Dustin wasn't too sure why, but if there was one thing he understood, it was that people were different. At that age, he wasn't sure if was this scared, but that was just his memory. Besides, for a child to get thrown into such predicaments...

"Hey Aria, what's the matter? You haven't moved from this spot ever since. Is there anything wrong?" Dustin asked, in a soft and friendly voice. As much as he could do to sound non threatening, he did.

The little girl stayed silent for a while, then she raised her hand and pointed at Dustin's Horned Boar. Dustin finally realized what he had failed to do. Of course she would be afraid, he grumbled in his thoughts.

How dumb Dustin felt. He could already hear his brother mocking him, as a cloud of Sil's face erected itself in Dustin's mind.

"Don't worry about him. He's my pet, so he won't hurt you. You can even play with him if you like." Dustin said with a smile on his face.

He then tried taking the little girl's hand, but she still wouldn't move a step. 'Heh, fine. Kids and their problems. Who the fuck even had the idea of bringing kids into this place?' Dusting cursed as he withdrew the Horned Boar into the system.

"There, you see. Is this better now?"

Aria nodded in response, before following Dustin.

Dustin prepared fire wood and all that was required for cooking the beast meat, only that, they didn't have a pot. Their only other option, which was the only one, was to roast it.

"Are you sure this thing is good for children? I don't want anything causing the kid stomach upset." Dustin said.

He was a bit skeptical about the whole thing. Dustin had seen his fair number of rats throughout his life. After all, he needed them to do his tricks. He was well aware of how hygienic the things were, -100%. The system said the meat was that of a rabbit, but the damn thing was still a rat!

The amount of disease he could get from just touching a rat was enough, but now he had to eat it.

"..."

"We are not eating it. It's too risky." Dustin said as he looked at the pieces of meat that were already ready to be roasted, with unfiltered disdain.

John more or less understood why Dustin was reacting this way, and apart from that, his hunger would not let him throw away such a delicacy. So, he decided to alleviate Dustin's ignorance.

"It's a rabbit you know? It's safe to eat."

"No, that thing's a rat. A giant rat." Dustin responded immediately, clearly showing his disgust.

"Even though it's a rat, it's a bush rat, not a house rat. It's still safe to eat." John responded, trying to reason it out with Dustin.

"Bush rat? Hmph. A rat is a rat. They are all dirty creatures. Haven't you heard of Lassa fever?" Dustin said, his face showing even more disgust.

"But that doesn't mean anything in this situation. Besides, I'm a cook, so I can guarantee that you are not eating anything poisonous." John said, still trying to convince Dustin.

"A cook? Is that the stable job you got?" Dustin turned to face John with squinting eyes.

"Ye-yeah, it is.. Why are you looking at me like that?"

At that moment, Aria burst into a series of chuckles. Seeing the two men argue like that must have seemed funny to her. Dustin an John turned towards her a bit confused, not realizing how their was projected towards those around (Only Aria). They also laughed lightly, then Dustin allowed John to prepare the meat.

"It better not cause us any stomach upset. The beginner's pack didn't come with any tissue. And that's for you guys." Dustin said, just before a question was shot at him.

"You don't use tissue?"

"Of course not. Real men use water to..." Dustin paused when he realized that the voice he just heard wasn't John's.

'Arai? She finally decided to talk huh? She's getting comfortable.'

Aria smiled at him as he turned to face her, which he gave her a pat on the head before they continued talking and waiting for John and the meat.

...

Here you go, John said as he handed everyone a piece of wood covered in meat. Dustin had cut some wide planks earlier that served as plates. They enjoyed the meat well, and since it was already night, it served them dinner. John and Aria hadn't eaten anything since they arrived, so for them that was their first meal in another world.

Dustin urged both of them to sleep while he stood watch. Although, John had offered to switch with him later, he refused the offer.

"Don't worry about it, I can handle the whole night, no problem." Dustin gave John the assurance, accompanied with a thumb's up.

With Dustin's show of strength, John knew his words were not empty ones, so without debating, he went to bed.

"Goodnight than." John said.

"Yeah, goodnight."

'Now, let's get to business, shall we?'