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[Ahote's Point of View] [✅]

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[Faust's Point of View] [ ]

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[Ahote]: "No. Didn't you hear me? I said that I was going to travel after 10 years of preparations."

I watched all life drain from Faust's face and then saw him fall back into a trance of thinking. He had done this multiple times in the middle of our conversation already, so doing it again wasn't much of a surprise for me.

While he was thinking, I decided to indulge in my thoughts as well. Faust truly was strange. Up until today, I had only ever seen a single bald person in my life. Moreover, the things that Faust spoke of and his clothing told me that he clearly wasn't from this land. But his personality, on the other hand, had an uncanny resemblance to [?]. But that was probably more delusion than anything else.

[Faust]: "So by ten years, do you mean 365 days? Days as in sunrise and sunset."

I rolled my eyes. He always talked about something either absurdly obvious or something obscure. I looked at the sky, and sunset was already approaching. To let my curiosity get the better of me and for me to forget my duties made me slightly ashamed but mostly embarrassed at my own behavior.

Then again, he was from a different land, so I would definitely have the opportunity to learn from him. Just the confirmation that there was a strange land outside of my tribe made me giddy with excitement, but I did my best to maintain a neutral expression.

But my giddiness quickly faded in the presence of the lack of rational thought and smug superiority I felt from Faust.

[Ahote]: "Yes. Exactly what you said. And as for what you're thinking, well good luck finding answers on your own."

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I turned around and began walking back home. Any semblance of joy was immediately dashed. I had tolerated his rudeness, but at this point, it was too blatant to ignore anymore.

[Faust]: "Wait! Ahote, what do you mean? What'd I do wrong?"

I sighed. Faust truly knew nothing about Domum or magic.

[Ahote]: "I don't know where you came from, but in our culture, we generally don't tell people that we think we're better than them. You should learn how to repress your desire. Your weak attempts at manifesting your emotions are getting pretty annoying."

If I had to give a comparable example to Faust's behavior, it would be like stepping on someone's feet every few seconds during a conversation. And the flaunting of his feeling of superiority was equivalent to spitting in my face. Multiple times.

However, Faust clearly didn't know any better, so I just allowed him to continue. But enough was enough, and my patience had run out for his behavior. I continued walking.

[Faust]: "Then what am I supposed to do? Just learn how to control magic along with adapting to a new environment?"

[Ahote]: "Yes. That is what my ancestors did."

That seemed to have silenced Faust, perhaps too much. I probably shouldn't have been so harsh towards him.

[Ahote]: "Regardless, although I know a significant amount of theory, it's best for you to find a teacher along with personal experimentation. I'll find someone in my tribe to help you, but you'll have to work to earn it."

I turned back to check on Faust and looked ok, which was good enough for me. After all, he'd have plenty of time to digest what I told him while walking home.

On my way home, I thought about the ways I could exploit an extra pair of hands. From cooking to mundane work to cleaning and picking his brain for information, the possibilities were endless. Although I felt slightly guilty for thinking about ways to exploit Faust, I felt that it was somewhat deserved for how he treated me as a textbook.

I continued to thoroughly justify my exploits along the way home, while Faust surprisingly didn't speak much. Whether he was stunned or trying to control his magic/emotions, either one was fine for me.

30 minutes later

After a short walk, I finally arrived home. It was already night, so my chances of studying were long gone. I decided I would simply resume my normal schedule despite having to skip a few things due to my extended walk outside. I turned to Faust, and to my dismay, his condition was horrible.

Faust was breathing extremely heavily, with sweat sticking to his strange clothing. His choice of patterns was quite strange but appeared somewhat comfortable.

[Faust]: "I think I'm going to die Ahote. I don't think I've ever exercised this much since [?]."

I gave Faust a concerned smile. I thought about retracing my statement on finding him a teacher, but I didn't want to dash his hopes too soon.

And as for my hopes of exploiting him for labor, those would probably have to wait until he adapted to the tribe's lifestyle.