Chapter 177: Chapter 174: Male Bonding

Epecteos

“Why do we even do this?” After waking up on the container ship in the Atlantic from yet another loss to Isaiah in the soul net, Aalam kicked one of the containers on the ship and it went flying toward the ocean. He seemed to feel guilty about littering, however, so he used Telekinesis to stop it before it landed on the water and put it back in place. “It’s not like I’m improving at all.”

“Of course you’re improving, Aalam.” Epecteos, sitting on another container right next to him along with Isaiah, had been watching their battle in the soul net, so he knew what he was talking about. “Isaiah’s just improving faster, so he beats you more easily every time.”

“If I’m never going to beat him, what’s the point.” Aalam was feeling frustrated and his aura, which was usually barely noticeable, was now very much present and filled with irritation.

“Wait. Is that the problem?” Epecteos felt annoyed at himself for not realizing much, much earlier, as it just made so much sense. He’d always thought Aalam was just obsessed with crafting and didn’t like training because it took him away from his lab. But of course the issue was more nuanced than that. “You don’t like martial training because you’re not as good at it as the other people around you?”

Aalam looked down at the deck of the ship.

“Aalam, you spend less than a sixth the time as Isaiah on martial training, you’re missing 30 years of foundation he’s built up, and you’re less naturally coordinated in the first place.” Epecteos immediately regretted saying that last part, but he didn’t let it stop him as he realized he’d possibly figured out just why Aalam was so reluctant to train, so he might actually be able to fix things. “That’s why Isaiah’s your knight and you’re not a specialized fighter.

“You don’t just stop doing things because you’re not the best at them, right? Why is this different?”

Aalam continued looking at the deck, his aura now radiating embarrassment, and Epecteos suddenly realized he was wrong.

Aalam was an absolute genius, on a level where in certain areas he was possibly the most naturally talented person in the entire universe. But he also had some very glaring weaknesses, especially when it came to his social skills.

Looking at his history, he was probably used to either getting things instantly or never truly being able to grasp a topic at all. From talking with Diana, Epecteos knew Aalam had improved with his social skills greatly since he’d been a kid, but a lot of that had to do with Mila, and Aalam had been blindsided by her being an enemy spy the entire time. Then, in the years Epecteos had known him, his sister and Mila didn’t trust him enough to have him openly interact with Earth or even talk in the War of the Chosen.

There was good reason for this. Aalam was much, much more likely to make a mistake than anyone else in their group, while their lives were on the line, and Aalam in truth probably didn’t care that much, not really wanting to talk anyway. There was no way, however, that he wasn’t internalizing the obvious mistrust at least somewhat.

“But it’s not different. You don’t trust yourself with things you’re not good at.”

“I—” Aalam began, but Epecteos raised his hand and Aalam stopped, able to see his action with his Sensory Domain skill even though he was still looking at the deck.

“Were you going to apologize or blame yourself?” Epecteos asked.

“Yes.”

“Then don’t.” Epecteos rose and took a single step to reach Aalam, raising up the younger man's chin with one of his hands. “You might be middle-aged for a mortal, but you’re a kid for an E rank, the development of your brain equivalent to an 18-year-old mortal. You’re supposed to make mistakes and not have your emotions fully under control. I, on the other hand, am the ancient old man who’s supposed to notice when you’re going through something difficult and help guide you through it.” Epecteos pulled Aalam into a hug. “You’ve helped me so, so much. Let me help you with more than just how to fight.”

Noticing Aalam was uncomfortable, he released him and took a couple steps back, sitting down on the nearest container. Then he asked a relatively simple question. “How do you think the members of the Consortium of the Red and Blue Flower view you, Aalam?”

Aalam looked up at him with a confused expression on his face, but he was now more in control of his emotions so Epecteos couldn’t read his aura at all. That didn’t mean much when it came to Aalam, however, as whatever emotion was on his face was the emotion he was feeling. “The crafter who gives everyone powers?”

Epecteos laughed slightly. “Not your role, but you as a person.”

Aalam seemed to start thinking and didn’t answer for almost a full minute. Then he said, “You probably think of me as the frustrating one who doesn’t listen to what you say. Diana still sees me as a little kid needing protection. And Isaiah I think sees me as a friend, which is nice.

“Mila? Well, I can’t read Mila. I think maybe she pities me. But she also might see me as a walking dildo of some kind. I’m very confused.”

Both Epecteos and Isaiah couldn’t help but burst out laughing, and Aalam glared at them both. But then, not one to only half answer a question, he continued.

“Irena seems more formal, maybe thinking of me as a business acquaintance. Nitya seems to hate me for some reason, as she avoids me whenever she can. And Nana Xara appears to like me, which I don’t think is a good thing.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re fully correct on one of those.” Epecteos found himself smiling slightly. “From everything I’ve seen, my apprentice does indeed seem to view you as a friend.”

Epecteos turned to look at Isaiah. “Am I correct?”

“Yeah.” Isaiah nodded and turned to look at Aalam. “You’re open and honest, so I know I can trust you. And I know you have my back, so I have yours.”

Aalam started to smile a bit as well and Epecteos felt his guess was right. The absolute genius everyone was amazed by was having a confidence issue, and none of them had realized as he was always doing such ridiculous and unprecedented things that it never occurred to them he himself might not realize how utterly astonishing they were.

“For myself, Aalam, what you said is only a very, very small part of what I think of you.” Epecteos’s smile grew wider. “You constantly amaze me. And the fact you are so humble I think is ridiculous as you are by far the most talented individual I’ve ever met.

“I think I’m going to make it to C rank thanks to you, but I’m definitely not going to live as long as you or my apprentice, and my greatest legacy when I’m gone will be as a footnote in your many biographies, as the man who was lucky enough to train you and yours during your youth.”

“Um.” Aalam didn’t seem to know what to say, some slight tears entering into his eyes, and Epecteos noticed his apprentice tearing up slightly as well. He’d forgotten for a while, but neither of these two young men had grown up in what could at all be considered stable homes, so what both of them probably needed more than anything was just simple encouragement.

He couldn’t lose his dignity as a teacher, however, so he couldn’t start crying himself. “Your sister also doesn’t just see you as a kid. I can be absolutely sure of that. And she relies on you a lot more than you think.

“You might trust her judgement more than your own when it comes to people and planning, but that trust isn’t one way.

“Take her power set, for example, she took a rune warrior class but she didn’t take the Runescriber skill, and this is because she trusts you more than she trusts herself when it comes to designing her own skills.”

  Epecteos took a deep breath. “As for Mila, she is hard to read, and I’ve interacted with her the least of all of you, but I have spoken to her grandfather, and that man is a bundle of contradictions, so I think I have a good understanding of her life growing up.

“From my impression, she’s one to hide her emotions behind a facade, but she’s different around you, or at least she tries to be. I think her time living with you was honestly the happiest time of her life and I think she misses you. I don’t think it’s more complicated than that. Your planet undergoing the integration and everyone gaining powers, I don’t think it really affected the relationship between the two of you at all, other than it gave her an excuse to stay in your life.

“She definitely doesn’t pity you.” Epecteos found himself smiling much wider. “But it is entirely possible she sees you somewhat as a walking dildo.”

Aalam laughed along with him and Isaiah, and then Aalam took a seat on another container.

“As for Irena and Nitya, they’re much easier to read,” Epecteos continued, “as I’ve seen most of your interactions given you have less history with them.

“Irena finds you very impressive, and is even happier working with your sister due to your existence as your sister’s silent supporter. But she’s also trying to form a relationship with her granddaughter, and she feels if she forms a good relationship with you first Mila would view it as manipulative, so she keeps you at a distance.

“As for Nitya, she has a crush on you. It’s very obvious.”

“Wait, what?” Isaiah looked even more incredulous than Aalam and Epecteos found himself audibly sighing.

“Well, to everyone but the two of you.” He couldn’t help but start to smile again. “I should really take some of the time we would normally practice close combat to train you two in social cues and reading auras. My Aura stat is barely higher than Nitya’s while yours are way beyond either of ours. How am I the only one who noticed this?”

“But she never said anything.”

Aalam’s expression of surprise and mild panic really made Epecteos want to laugh again, but he held it in. “Of her two best friends, one is your sister and the other is your ex-girlfriend who has openly said she’s still in love with you.”

“So?”

Epecteos just looked at Aalam’s face of honest confusion and didn’t know whether he wanted to laugh or cry, so instead he just ignored the question. “As for the Yin Yang Sage, you’re a source of power for both her apprentices and the most important person in both their lives. Of course she views you favorably. As for whether that’s a good thing or not, I’m not one to judge.”

Epecteos took a deep breath. “Now, switching subjects a bit. Can you repeat for me again the arguments for why we all want you to train in close combat?”

“It’s about safety. I might be a crafter, but if I’m attacked it is important I know how to defend myself.” A slight hint of annoyance entered into Aalam’s voice again, but then it quickly began to fade as he seemed to finally understand the arguments Epecteos had made literally hundreds of times over the years. “So, even if I don’t enjoy it, I need to train anyway to make everyone else comfortable enough that they don’t feel the need to always be by my side to protect me. My ability to fight and to run away doesn’t just affect me, but the people around me.”

Aalam started looking down at the deck again.

“Alright.” Epecteos clapped his hands together. “We still have a couple hours before the others get back from their meeting. So let’s do some social skills lessons instead of any more combat.”

Aalam looked up again, appearing quite excited, and Isaiah’s expression was pretty much the same, causing Epecteos to realize he should have thought about other types of training a long time ago.

“First, I want you both to understand why you and others think your social skills are bad and how there really isn’t that much you have to change. So, let’s start with the fundamentals.”

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He looked at Aalam. “Aalam, what does the word empathy mean?”

They’d fallen into the habit of speaking Earth’s main local language when on the planet, so it was the language Epecteos defaulted to for explaining this concept as well.

“The ability to share and understand the feelings of another.” As expected, Aalam immediately gave the dictionary definition.

“And that becomes easier if you’ve shared experiences with another person, right?”

“Yes.” Both of his trainees nodded.

“And it’s also easier if you think like another person, correct? For example, the two of you find it much easier to be empathic towards each other.”

“Yes.” He could see hints of enlightenment enter into Isaiah’s eyes, but Aalam’s were a bit conflicted, Epecteos guessing Mila had given him a similar lesson in the past.

“The main reason the two of you find it hard to be empathetic with most people is twofold. One, you’ve had very different life experiences than most. And two, you naturally think differently.

“For example, you are both very honest, so you assume everyone who talks to you is telling the truth, when in reality most people lie all the time, and not always to their own benefit.”

Epecteos smiled. “The first thing you need to understand if you want to improve your social skills is that most people aren’t like you. They’re much worse.”

Aalam seemed to be thinking about something and Epecteos decided to just ask the question. “Has Mila told you the same type of thing before?”

“Yes.” Aalam looked startled and seemed to be about to ask a question, probably how Epecteos knew, but then he stopped himself and said, “But please continue.”

“Alright.” Epecteos nodded at Aalam. “The second item is that people are generally pretty simple when you take away all the lies.

“People have desires, and they try to get what they want. If you know what someone wants, you can then predict their actions. And if you study a person’s actions, you can generally figure out what they want. This is pretty much the basics of social skills.”

“Oh.” Aalam seemed to have realized something. “Like Tyrion Lannister. He often literally asks ‘What do you want?’”

Epecteos felt a little lost, but Isaiah seemed to realize something as well. “Oh, yeah. He does do that. And then he figures out what they want and offers that so they do what he wants.” Isaiah looked thoughtful for a few seconds. “But he also seems to figure out what they want in other ways as well.”

“Yeah.” Aalam nodded. “But that’s like cold reading right? I don’t think I can do that..”

“Who is this Tyrion?” Epecteos didn’t like the feeling of being lost. “I don’t believe I’ve heard of him.”

“He’s a dwarf,” Aalam offered. But this confused Epecteos even more as dwarfs were generally known for not having the best social skills. Then, however, Aalam said something that made it make more sense. “He’s from a book series that was turned into a TV show. My sister likes the show, so she watched it again with Isaiah.”

“Got it.” Epecteos nodded. “This Tyrion is likely a good role model then. But for now let’s focus on the real world.”

Epecteos felt a bit giddy as he thought of a good real world example. “Isaiah, about how often do you spend time alone with Diana?”

“Two or three times a week, for at least two to three hours at a time.” Isaiah answered normally, and Epecteos started to feel a bit bad, but only a bit.

“And have you done anything more than just hang out?”

“No. What do you mean?” Isaiah looked confused, but Epecteos could tell Aalam was catching on to where he was leading.

“You’re dating, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“And dating often involves things other than just spending time together, right?”

“Oh.” Isaiah finally seemed to realize what Epecteos was talking about and he blushed slightly. “Given how long our lives will be, Diana wants to take things slow.”

“Alright.” A wide grin spread on Epecteos’s face. “Here is the question I want the two of you to answer. Was Diana lying when she said that?”

“No.”

“Definitely.”

Isaiah turned to look at Aalam with a shocked expression. “What do you mean ‘definitely’?”

“Diana does not like taking things slow. Also, ”—Aalam waved his index finger up and down at Isaiah, indicating Isaiah’s body—“you’re like a character from one of her books. There’s no way she’d want to wait to have sex.”

“And what makes you so sure of this, Aalam?” Epecteos asked, trying and succeeding to hold back his laughter.

“My knowledge of her and her past relationships.” A big grin came onto Aalam’s face as he likely realized he knew his sister well enough to predict her actions.

“But why would she lie to me?” Isaiah sounded worried and Epecteos almost immediately started to feel worse.

“To hide something, to protect someone, to stave off embarrassment. Ooh.” Aalam seemed to realize something as he tried to figure out the answer. “To hide something and to stave off embarrassment.”

“What do you mean?” Isaiah seemed even more worried.

“You’re the first boyfriend she’s had since the integration.” Aalam’s tone darkened a little, but Epecteos could easily tell his anger was aimed at someone other than anyone on the boat. “And also since she became Nana Xara’s apprentice and the old witch gained the ability to spy on her whenever she wished.

“Mila can block that ability, but Diana can’t. And, given what Mila’s said about Nana Xara, Diana probably doesn’t trust the old witch not to watch.”

“Oh.” Isaiah seemed more disappointed than angry, but he was still blushing slightly. “That sucks.”

“Give me a few years and I might be able to make something to temporarily block their connection.” Aalam had a contemplative look on his face and Epecteos was positive a good majority of his minds were focused on trying to figure out how to fix the issue.

But, still, Epecteos was going to continue the lesson. “So, Aalam, what did you just do here?”

Aalam’s expression changed as the mind in control of it focused back on Epecteos. “You asked a question about an action. Next, from my knowledge of my sister’s normal wants, I found an incongruity which didn’t match my existing model of her, allowing me to know she was lying. Then, with my knowledge of different wants of hers, along with other information I had access to, I figured out why she was lying. And, finally, I realized I might be able to help my sister and friend, something I want, and started on the path of doing so.”

Epecteos drew his sword and used it to send fire up into the sky, effectively creating a small fireworks display. “And there is our first example of social insight.

“Let’s start on the second.”

They had several more days before they’d have to leave the planet to go get his students levels, and Epecteos decided to use that time for lessons they likely needed more than extra combat practice.

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