Quest End

It has been over a month and some days since Dustin and everyone else, totalling exactly at a billion were brought to this other world. The quest they had gotten when they arrived for the first time was one that required them to survive and travel a great distance towards an unknown destination marked on the map they received.

They were all spawned in an almost endless field that extended for miles on end. The sheer number of the people who were brought to this world of Na'ash, or as the messenger called it, the realm of Na'ash, was magnanimous, so much so that they covered the entire field. Because of this, many people got a head-start and were ahead of others, and many people were more unlucky than others.

Unlike those who were at the back of the field, like Dustin and Mizu, the people that spawned farther up the field got attacked by giant wolves and apes instead of the goblins faced by the people behind. This was an advantage and a disadvantage no matter how one looked at it. The people up field would experience more casualties, but those that survived would grow in strength quicker, also having a chance to reach their destination faster. The people behind would experience less casualties and they could progress a bit slower, but when they entered wolf territory, they would suffer if they are unable to adapt, and were farther away from their destination.

Despite the challenges, after a month and some days after Dustin received the quest, he had finally reached the red marker, and a notification popped up, telling him that he had completed the mission.

..

"Seems like I'll be reaching the red marker very soon." Dustin said, as he ascended up a small mountain.

The mountain Dustin was climbing was so huge, and curved that it resembled a natural demarcation between two points. Dustin was sure his final destination would be on the other side. The mountain wasn't at all steep, quite the opposite. In comparison, it was just the right angle to force a car trying to ascend it down. Dustin could only think of it as a borderline to keep the monsters away. Monsters would be able to climb it, but they would get discouraged doing so.

Once Dustin reached the top, he stopped to take in the amazing view of the beautiful landscape at the bottom, and the town that planted itself below the mountain. It was then that Dustin received the notification that he had completed the mission, and had reached the red marker.

..

-Congratulations ???, you are the first person to reach the town. You will be rewarded according to your achievements. Because you also got here way ahead of time, you will receive additional reward.

-Go to the Town Hall to collect your appropriate reward.

..

A voice similar to the one that took over the messenger's spoke, and almost like the system, directly to him like someone was standing right next to him. Last time the voice spoke to everyone, a screen or interface similar to the system's appeared before everyone, including Dustin, but now his system was the one displaying what was being said instead of that screen.

"What about my reward for killing so many monsters? Aren't there any? Or is there some sort of play going on here?" Dustin said, quite audibly. He didn't know where this voice was coming from, nor whether the person could hear him, neither did he expect a response, he just did this because he could.

Just as he expected, there was no response, and so Dustin didn't push for it, there was simply no point.

'I feel like I'm being watched. I should stop interacting with the system for a bit, as not to draw attention to myself. I can operate the system with my mind, but the problem lies in communication. If only I could talk to the system with my mind.'

.. 'You can.' The system gave a simple answer.'

Hearing the system reply to his thoughts, Dustin wasn't surprised. Actually, he felt he had done this before, he just couldn't remember.

'Great. System, what happened to the other.. system, I saw when I got to this world, you know, the one every other person has?'

.. 'It has been absorbed into the system. Any and all feature it had has been absorbed and added into the system.'

'Oh, is that so. Ok.' Once again, Dustin wasn't surprised. Maybe this was the reason for the changes the system was experiencing? He wasn't sure, but it was possible.

He also learnt that the system couldn't read his mind. If he thought in a way, or directed his thoughts to the system, it would receive them, but normally, it would be unable to, unless he mistakenly did so.

Dustin raced down the mountain, and in no time he had gotten to the town's gate. The town itself was surrounded by an enormous wall that towered at about 30 metres, and the thickness alone was enough to stop a giant rhinoceros dead in its tracks.

'The thickness of this thing is stupid crazy. How did they even build it? How many years did it take?' Dustin thought to himself, as his eyes moved everywhere, taking in the scenery.

Just like the walls, the town's gate was also gigantic., made of wood and metal. By the entrance stood some guards, to be specific, four of them. Each side of the gate had two stationed there.

The moment they saw him, two guards from both sides stepped forward and towards him, almost in perfect sync. Dustin wasn't alarmed by this, as he suspected that they must have been informed of the arrival of those that were brought to this world.

'Never would I have thought that soldiers would welcome me one day.' Dustin thought to himself, as a sense of accomplishment swept through him. He had seen many times how men like Old cub were treated with much respect when they got to a hotel or similar places, and secretly wished he was in that position. Now, Dustin finally had that opportunity.

The guards eventually reached Dustin, and as they got within a good range, one pulled out his sword, while the other pointed his spear at Dustin, stopping the tip inches away from his chin.

"Identify yourself, who are you?" The guard barked at Dustin. At this moment, Dustin couldn't believe what was happening, he was at a complete loss for words.

'What the fuck? Is this?' And he thought he would be received well and all. To think this was the treatment he would get.

Dustin might have forgotten, but all the guards could see was dirty looking boy in tattered clothes walking towards their town's gate. If someone told them this boy was selected among those to become the saviours of an entire race and planet, they would probably put him to clean mammoth shit as punishment for such blatant lies.

"Calm down. I received a quest to come here, and that's why I'm here." Dustin responded, trying to cool the situation. He raised his hands to the sides of his head as he spoke.

He could only hope that they understood him, because he had no other way of explaining how he got here, and he was sure a literal explanation wasn't the answer. Before the guards could respond to him however, someone else appeared in the scene.

"Leave him be! He is someone we are expecting!" A voice barked from behind the guards.

'Erk! The city lord?' The guards thought in unison with cold sweat forming on their backs.