Sajid decided to do a checklist mentally.
First of all, he needed to gather knowledge about mysticism, geography, what era he was living in, and are common practices of this time. He thought of one place where he might get all these answers. That is the library of the capital city. The Mughal sultans liked to keep track of history and other things. There was a saying that there was a hidden chamber beneath the castle of the Mughal sultans where every kind of knowledge was gathered. He hopes to get there to obtain knowledge.
Secondly, he needs to learn about weapons. Times have changed. Things are much more dangerous now. There is danger everywhere. He needs a weapon, and he needs to practice with it to be effective with it.
Thirdly, he needs money. He now needs a new stable job that can earn him some money and bear his expenses during his journey to the capital city. He also needs to learn the currency value at this time.
He realized that getting all these things done in a short period of time is not possible for him. He needs to do things steadily. So he decided that he needed a job to maintain his daily expenses and make enough money to support his journey to the capital eventually. For now, he thought about asking the village chief if he could stay here with them and become familiar with this era and their practices.
He also thinks about doing blacksmithing for the villagers, but decides against it. Till this time, He lived in a time loop. Though his blacksmithing skills are good but they might be outdated compared to this time, and there might be new devices and new and more ways of doing things in blacksmithing. So he might get exposed.
Besides, he told Ananya that he lived as an orphan till now, but then suddenly told them that he knew blacksmithing kinda looked like he was lying. So he decided that he would be a hunter like Rajesh, with whom he could kill two birds with one stone. First, He would get to know hunting, which would prepare him for his journey to the capital. Secondly, He would also get to know some weapon skills and build his body over time.
But all of these hinge on the most important thing, that if Ananya will let him stay in this village and whether other villagers will accept him. Then the hunter will teach him all the hunting skills he needs to survive.
All these questions gnawed on him. For now, he decided to rest and go to Ananya to talk about these things.
It was still afternoon, but despite that, Sajid still went to sleep, and he woke up in the early morning. Sajid now felt much more refreshed and much more energetic. Thus, as previously planned, he decided to go to Annaya to talk to her about his decision. Since it was preety early in the morning, he decided he would first walk around the village, get himself familiar with it and its people, and then he would talk with her.
So Sajid walked out of his hut, and for the first time took in the scenery of the village. In this village, there was no concrete house, only huts. Though it was still early, many people could be seen walking and working around the village. The people's dress was very weird to him; most males wear dresses like sufis, and women wear hijabs. Children were also wearing dresses like their parents.
Sajid did not know where the village chief lived, nor did he know the whereabouts of Rajesh. So Sajid randomly decided on a direction and started walking. While walking, Sajid noticed that the village was surrounded by fences. There were bamboo fences all around the perimeter. Some guards could be seen at the entrance gate . There were huge trees surrounding the village, which sheltered the village people and some unknown fruits hanging from them.
Around the corner, He could see teenagers and adults training with their weapons. Their weapons looked poorly made. Some were also doing push-ups and other kinds of body-strengthening activities. Then, in another corner, he could see women working in the fields and children going with their parents. Though they looked poor and they had smiles on their faces. Sajid guessed that they were content with what they had and did not have any grand desire in life. All the people Sajid came across while walking wore happy smiles, they nodded at him, and some even tried to have a conversation with him. But Sajid could not speak their language despite trying. It seemed that whatever effect the spell had on him had run out. Sajid could nod at them and use sign language to tell them he was okay.
Sajid was walking and taking in the view and information. While walking, Sajid came across something that looked a little different than the rest. It looked like a temple with concrete walls surrounding it and a huge altar in the middle of it. The altar had some strange designs, and there was something written in that language.
Sajid could not figure out what was written. The temple was giving him a very solemn and ancient vibe. Like the temple had been there for ages. Just then, he heard a voice calling out his name. Turning around, he saw that it was Ananya. Ananya was telling him something, but he could not understand it.
Seeing his confusion, she again used her ethereal voice and chanted something again to magic, and the chant seemed to have been implanted in his brain. Sajid lost focus for a second or two. After that, he could hear that she was saying not to go near the temple as it is sacred and it is strictly prohibited to enter the temple without permission.
Sajid nodded with his head to let her know that he understood and walked towards her to discuss if he could live in this village and learn something about the outside world.