A few hours later, having eaten some cheap but delicious food from a stall, Aidan found himself in an inn. Located on the side of the main street it was well placed. Made of pale brown wood and with clean windows, the inn gave a welcoming feeling.
Entering the inn, the first thing that came into his view was a few tables with clients who were most likely adventurers due to their outfits. With four chairs per table, they seemed pretty solid, at least more solid than the previous shops he had visited. As the young boy looked over the inn, he noticed a counter at the far end of the room, behind which a young man was standing. With two wolf-life ears which put him in the beastman race, he wore a clean white uniform with the name 'Quaint inn' written in big letters on the front. With brown hair and sharp eyes, he seemed to see through Aidan as they evaluated each other in the distance.
As Aidan looked at the inn's worker, the worker also eyed the golden-eyed silver-haired boy holding a sword in its blue sheath over his shoulder. It wasn't every day that one would see these colours in the eyes and hair of a person, even in a city such as Orario which was known for its openness to ethnicities and differences. Yet, despite the peculiarities, the man didn't bother to care as no one was the same in this world and in this world, everyone's difference was well accepted.
"What can I do for you?" Asked the worker after sizing Aidan up for a moment and returning to his professional attitude seeing the young boy making his way to the counter.
"Hi, I'd like a room for tonight if possible." Replied Aidan, smiling at the young man who had two short fangs visible when he talked.
"It's 2000 Valis a night. If you add 300 Valis, we'll also have breakfast prepared for you tomorrow morning." Answered the wolf man as he looked through the register confirming that there were indeed some rooms left for the young boy.
"I'll only take the room for the night." Answered Aidan, tight on funds as he handed over two thousand Valis. After eating the previous food at the stall, he couldn't keep it out of his mind as it tasted too good. As such, he had planned on buying it the following day. Besides, the food at the stall only cost 30 Valis for one serving. With his appetite, he could eat three maximum, which would cost him 90 Valis instead of 300, and he would be sure of the taste. Overall, it was a win no matter how he saw it.
The young man gave him a look and nodded as he said: "No problem. Your room is on the second floor, the third room on the right. Here's the key. Tomorrow, you have until eleven to bring back the key and leave the inn unless you extend your stay." He explained as Lux nodded his head. He doubted he would have to return but if he failed the Loki familia test, he would have no choice but to take another day to find another familia.
"Alright, thanks," The young boy replied said as he took the key from the young man's hands. "Ah, right. By any chance, do you know where the recruitment of the Loki familia will be tomorrow?" He asked before leaving the counter. Since he had no idea and the familia seemed to be renowned throughout the city, he figured asking would get him the answer he needed.
"Eum, no. I'm not following the news of the familias." Replied the wolfman negatively, shaking his head from side to side.
Right as Aidan frowned, wondering where he could go to get the information, a dwarf sitting at one of the tables turned towards Aidan before sizing him up. "You kid want to join the Loki familia?" He asked as he looked at Aidan seriously, his eyes sizing him up.
"Yes. I want to become strong. I heard that the Loki familia is strong and explore the dungeon a lot. So, I want to join them." Aidan nodded as he looked at the intimidating man unwavering. Despite the roughness on the man's face and it's gruff voice, Lux could tell that he was kind and he didn't need to fear him.
"I see. You're right about the Loki familia being strong and exploring the dungeon. After all, they are an exploration-type familia. So, if you wish to become strong, that familia is indeed a good choice. The recruitment location is set at the Twilight manor tomorrow morning at 9."
Seeing the confusion in Aidan's eyes, the dwarf continued. "The twilight manor is the headquarter of the Loki familia. To reach it, you have to go to the tower of Babel, the tower in the center of the city, and when you reach it from here, you turn right. You'll be able to see the Twilight manor from there. The manor has high towers. You won't miss it. Anyway, if you're lost, you can ask any adventurers. They should all know where it is." He said before turning back to his drink, ignoring the thankful Aidan.
"I see. Thank you, mister." Aidan said while smiling at the man who answered his question before going upstairs to his room. Since he wanted to pass the recruitment, he had to put all the chances on his side and for that, he would have to work on his card magic before the recruitment. If he managed to use his magic, he was certain it would increase his chances of being accepted in the familia.
Pushing open the door to his room and closing it behind him, he dropped his sword on his bed and sat next to it before taking out the deck of cards he received along with his few items. Opening the deck, he took out all 54 cards. From the information he had about his innate magic, there were a few conditions to complete before using it.
The first condition was to be the owner of a deck of cards, which he currently was and bind it to himself. It was necessary since he could only use his magic through the cards. The second condition was to infuse the cards with the magic he wished the card to hold. According to the information he had, it meant that he had to focus on the card and imbue his magical power inside of it. Easier said than done. However, after this, he would be able to prepare his magical cards.
So, for the next hour or so, Aidan, with his eyes closed, gave every once of his attention to the card as he tried to control his magical power to enter the card. It wasn't easy. However, after a while, he felt a bit of heat on the tip of his finger, which was slowly entering the card. Opening his eyes, Aidan saw as the card's image gradually faded and instead, some markings gradually began to appear on it.
With a smile, the young boy continued to pour his magical power on the card as the first stage of card magic was to transform the card and make the markings appear which were the way to control the card.
The markings began appearing from the four corners of the card before slowly encroaching upon the card, taking the edges, linking together before taking the entire sides of the card.
It all seemed very mysterious, but Aidan knew that this step was only meant to bind the card to him and help him control the cards from the distance or even draw the card he needed from the deck of cards. After all, he couldn't be expected to search the cards one by one until he found the card he needed at that moment. It would be a great weakness in battle.
As he continued to insert his magical power in the card, the black markings became more apparent until it finally stopped changing. Thinking about the second of third stages in preparing his card magic, he turned the card around. After having received his magic, the base colors on both sides of the card had become entirely white. One side had the black marking akin to a seal imprinted on it, his personal seal, while the other side was completely empty.
Before the second stage, he had to decide the kind of card he wanted it to become. If he decided that the card would store a 'Fireball' spell, then, for the second stage, he would have to write the words 'Fireball' with his magical power on the empty side of the card. Yet, even when this step was completed, the card wouldn't hold any power. It would only become an empty shell of the magic card.
From there, the remaining step would be to insert magical power in the card once again. However, this time, inserting the magical power wouldn't write anything or change the markings. Instead, it would store the magical energy to release the fireball when necessary. So, when he fought, he would only have to throw the card at the opponent, and once he decided, the card would throw the spell at the target. The most astonishing thing about this magic was that once Aidan threw the card and cast the attack, he could control the card to come back to him, albeit empty of the magic power used.
After thinking of the two last stages, he talked to himself. "Tomorrow is the Loki's familia recruitment. They are probably going to have us fight to test us. I can't see how they would test us otherwise. So, the fireball spell is probably a good idea right now. It is a pretty basic spell so, it won't take too much magic power to make, and it's destructive will be enough to show it's use to the goddess of the familia." He muttered before continuing, planning for the next day.
"With this card, I should be able to be accepted into the familia. However, seeing the time, if I skip an hour or two of sleep, I should be able to create a second magic card for tomorrow." He concluded as he smiled, turning back to his card and using his magical power to write the word 'Fireball.'
Half an hour later, the decided word appeared on the card. The amount of magic and concentration it took to write the word in magical power was enormous. Firstly, he couldn't make mistakes in the word, which was not the hard part as the word was pretty simple overall. The hard part started when he had to make the word appear the first time on the card with his magical power. He had to use the exact same amount of magic for each letter as otherwise, this step would fail, causing the gradually formed word to disappear.
Finally, once he wrote the letters in magical power, he had to retrace it flawlessly to make it more apparent until it became a bright red color which represented the cards use.
Resting for a moment, Aidan soon began the final step of card production. Magic power concentration. The more magical power inserted in the card, the more powerful the spell would become and the more the picture of a fireball would appear behind the word on the card.
From what he understood, no maximum existed. He could slowly strengthen the card until the fireball could decimate the entire city. However, with the amount of magical power that would be needed, he doubted he currently would be able to do it even if he worked for his entire life.
With the first card completed, he placed it on the side, closing his eyes to recuperate his expended magical power. He still had another card to create before the Loki Familia's trial.
"Shield." This card would not only protect him from some attack depending on their strength but materializing a shield out of thin air was bound to surprise an opponent, allowing him to take him by surprise.