Chapter 73 Within The Dark Room
"Ahh, my bad, you must not be able to move even a little bit as your vision is completely cut out, here, this will help."
.
.
[You have acquired the skill Sixth Sense]
The message the system displayed was quite puzzling to Dustin, as it made him debate even more about the identity of the being before him. He was sure without being told that this skill had been granted to him by this being, and it was done so easily at that. Could skills be acquired this easily? Dustin thought. Maybe all he needed to do was max out favourability and BOOM! New skill.
"That is all I can do for now. It's just at the beginning stage, but it will serve the purpose well. Maybe you can train it later and increase it's rank."
The moment thought about it, Dustin could almost immediately fell the world around him open up to him as the space became visible to him in a way. It was not visible like when he used his vision, but Dustin could feel with his being where he was and the surrounding area which he stood. The feeling wasn't like seeing, and it wasn't like he could see with his eyes, it was more like walking around in the house you grew up in. Since you already know where everything is positioned, you would move through the layout without any obstruction. Of course if something that was not supposed to be there was placed there, then you might get obstructed, but then he was walking through a familiar house and could tell if there was an obstacle.
It felt foreign, but at the same time very familiar. With this, Dustin couldn't exactly see the surrounding before him, but he could tell what was around, this included the form of the creatures before him, and the first thing he saw really shocked him to no end.
He was a little terrified of the dragon like creature from before, and thought it to be an absolute monster, but then again it turned out to just be what looked like an oversized snake with a draconic appearance which he saw from before... This, wasn't what shocked him. The other creature was.
The snake like creature which approached him before coiled on the ground and looked to be sleeping, or rather resting, while a humanoid figure sat above it. Then, behind the snake and the figure was another creature that also looked like the giant snake, only that this one was much more. The first one that approached him at the door would be something akin to the fabled titanoboa, approaching, if not exceeded the levels of the fabled serpent. The Titanoboa was rumoured to be 50 ft long and 3 feet wide, and though Dustin wasn't sure exactly the measurements this snake had, it was something around those ranges.
The second one there was at least ten time these measurement, making the titanoboa looking snake look like its offspring, and even then, Dustin didn't discredit the possibility. Needless to say, he was still stiff and refused to move even after granting the means to.
"Heh.. Worry not, if I wanted to kill you, you would already be dead by now, feel free." The voice said, which he was certain came from the humanoid figure now. "Here, come sit." The figure spoke as it gestured towards a spot.
The surrounding itself was nothing like Dustin thought it to be. For one, he could not feel any constricts at the edges of his senses at all, almost as if there was no walls to begin with, and there also were no other objects around, just himself and the other three creatures. Maybe the gargantuan creature was responsible for blocking out every possible reverberation. Even more was the fact that this creature seemed to be suspended in air and just floated and elevated above ground, something he had seen in the sea serpent he tamed, so he wasn't surprised.
As Dustin approached the humanoid figure, something of a short table seemed to spawn into existence before them, and the moment he took another step, the texture beneath his feet changed into something soft and comforting, possibly a rug or something. Up till this moment, the texture of the floor he was walking on was something a bit weird, and if he was to explain it, he would probably say it was close to rocks, but like smooth ones instead.
Taking the idea from the figure before him, Dustin also lowered himself and sat on the soft material opposite the humanoid figure. They sat there for some time slowly sipping whatever drink had appeared in a cup before them. Dustin had no idea what it was, but he couldn't stay vigilant for long as it had been months since he had his last drink, at this point, his body was already severely dehydrated. Dustin himself suspected it was due to his strengthened body that he could still move around after all that time.
"I do have some food here if you wouldn't mind, but then, it might not be to your liking." The figure said.
All this while, Dustin had been hesitant to say anything out of fear of the unknown, and even now, that fear still resided in him. But, the fact was that he just couldn't remain silent anymore. According to his deductions, the only reason such a powerful being would allow him into their residence was mostly not because just because of some kindness.
"I can try." Dustin replied stoically, not exposing much of his emotions or intent in his tone.
"Oh really? I warn you though." The voice said.
"I haven't had anything to eat for months now, so I wouldn't mind eating something out of my usual." He answered.
Yet again, another set of plates appeared before Dustin and the figure before him, and Dustin could tell quite well what it was.
"Meat?" He asked a bit unsure.
"Correct. Unfortunately, I have been cursed to eat only meat for eternity, and-" Before the figure before Dustin finished it's sentence, it paused halfway through, realizing that he wouldn't need to be doing anymore explanation regarding the food anymore. Dustin had already taken a bite out of it, and a big one at that.
The first thing he noticed was the rawness of the meat, but he didn't spit it out and just held it in his teeth. He wasn't the most reactive one when it came to surprises and stuff, at least with strangers. He casually took the piece of meat out of his mouth and placed it back into the plate full of it and waited for a while as the blood taste was still fresh in his mouth. Before he could speak though, the figure opposite him began explaining why the meat was so.
According to the figure, he had no means of cooking the meat, and none of them could use any fire magic, so they could only eat it raw. The monsters had no problem with eating their food raw, but as for him it took a while to get used to it, both physically and mentally. Dustin was still curious of the man's identity, but there was no rush. Such information came with time, as he wasn't feeling like he would be leaving this place anytime soon.
After deliberating for a bit and his stomach asking for whatever food was before him without a care as to what it was, Dustin couldn't resist the urge to bite into the raw piece of meat. After sometime passed, Dustin actually managed to finish the meat before him in the plate, and the whole time he was uninterrupted as he did so. The man allowed him eat first before they began conversing about anything else.
When he was done and drank some water, Dustin could feel his stomach making weird noises. It was bad enough that he hadn't eaten anything for so long, but then when he did it just had to be something as shitty as raw meat. Too bad his lighter wasn't with him as he had exhausted it quite a while back if not something like this wouldn't be a problem at all.
"Hmm, you seem to be doing well, although I wouldn't say the same with your stomach with all the weird noises. But then again, its also part of your entire being, so you are ultimately not ok." The man said.
"Yes."
From his voice, Dustin could roughly guess his age to be in his thirties at least, as the voice sounded mature enough, but of course he could be wrong. Not to mention that this guy might actually be one of those gods he had been hearing about ever before they entered the realm of Na'ash. Ultimately, that was the very question Dustin was itching to ask, but he wasn't quite sure how to.
Of course, he could just directly ask the question, but despite how friendly the voice speaking to him sounded, it didn't mean the owner of the voice was some nice guy, and he wasn't sure if such a question would ager the person before him.
"I know what you are thinking, the question you would want to ask. Worry not, like I have said, I am not in any way your enemy or a predator, you can feel fee around here. I will accept that."
"So, can you tell me then?"
"Of course."