🍁Nine Ancient Obelisks

Asmidul pondered the profound impact of live interaction on a person as he traveled through the hilly terrain. Just yesterday, he had dreaded the upcoming journey, but today, he had somehow agreed to travel across the kingdom, carrying a questionnaire in his pocket. "Will I eventually become just like those ordinary people?" he recalled Nitra's last words. "The ones who flaunt their charisma stats in their social circles?"
His mother had always told him that he was an intellectual and didn't need to socialize with his peers, and the southerner himself didn't doubt it. Every time he thought about friends, he would interrupt himself, reminding himself that he should be above all these simple human pursuits and interests, evaluating everything from a pragmatic and amoral perspective. Science and common sense, and nothing more.
But perhaps, this is the essence of the first trial? To withstand the onslaught of live interaction, to toughen nerves and character, so as to be capable of handling any dialogue later, whether it's with a university professor or an intellectual with a low charisma stat? That's what I should expect from your genius, Mistress Nitra!

There were significantly fewer people in Onkaiha than in Sizki, and therefore, during his journey home, Inaka Asmidul met almost no one.

When he reached the right place, his eyes saw a man playing with a puppy in the yard.

- And why did I even take you in... - he said, wiping dog saliva off himself. - You're nothing but trouble.

—Good day! —he greeted the resident with a wave of his hand. —What a lovely dog, what's its name?