The glowing word NEUTRAL burned across the cover of the Card Collection Book.
For a few seconds, the room fell completely silent.
The Royal Magester stared at the book in disbelief.
His brows slowly tightened.
"Neutral…?"
The word left his mouth quietly, almost like he did not believe it himself.
Affin looked down at the book.
"Is… something wrong?" he asked cautiously.
The Royal Magester did not answer immediately.
Instead, he leaned closer to the pedestal, studying the glowing letters carefully.
Neutral affinity.
It was something he had only heard about in old records and forgotten stories.
Most people in One World were born with a single elemental affinity.
Fire.
Water.
Lightning.
Wind.
Shadow.
Light.
Each affinity allowed the mage to use cards belonging to that element.
But Neutral affinity…
It did not belong to any element.
Which meant something unusual.
The Royal Magester slowly straightened.
His face had become serious.
"You… have a Neutral affinity," he finally said.
Affin blinked.
"Is that good?"
The Royal Magester sighed quietly.
"It means your mana does not align with any single element."
Affin frowned slightly.
"So… what does that mean?"
"It means," the Royal Magester replied, "your Card Collection Book cannot generate strong elemental cards."
Affin felt his chest tighten.
"But it will still generate something… right?"
The Royal Magester nodded slowly.
"Yes."
He gestured toward the book.
"Open it."
Affin took a deep breath.
Slowly, he lifted the cover of the Card Collection Book.
The moment the book opened—
A soft glow filled the pages.
Magical symbols began forming across the paper.
The book was creating his starter cards.
Affin watched carefully.
The first page shimmered.
Then suddenly…
A card appeared.
The image on it showed a small swirling orb of energy.
Text formed beneath it.
Neutral Pulse
A basic magic attack card.
Affin blinked.
"That's it?"
The Royal Magester looked at the card quietly.
"That is a very weak card."
Affin turned the page.
Another card appeared.
Neutral Guard
A basic defense spell.
He flipped another page.
A third card appeared.
Neutral Step
A simple movement enhancement.
Affin looked confused.
"Only three?"
Most mages received five or six starter cards.
The Royal Magester crossed his arms.
"Neutral affinity rarely produces many cards."
Affin forced a small smile.
"Well… I guess three is still something."
But the Royal Magester did not smile back.
Instead, he looked worried.
Very worried.
Outside the hall, vilgers waited impatiently.
The door finally opened.
Affin stepped out holding his Card Collection Book.
Immediately, several vilgers approached.
"What affinity did you get?"
"Was it fire?"
"Lightning?"
Affin hesitated.
"Neutral."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then suddenly—
"Laughing erupted."
"Neutral?!"
"You got Neutral?!"
One of the boys nearly doubled over ughing.
"That's basically no affinity!"
Another vilger shook his head.
"Poor guy…"
Someone whispered loudly.
"I heard Neutral mages can't even use real elemental cards."
Another voice added,
"They're basically useless."
Affin felt the words hit him like small stones.
He tightened his grip on the book.
A tall boy with red hair stepped forward.
His Card Collection Book glowed faintly with heat.
Fire affinity.
He smirked.
"Looks like the orphan got the worst affinity possible."
More ughter spread through the crowd.
Affin didn't respond.
He simply walked past them.
But inside…
Something burned quietly in his chest.
As the crowd continued celebrating their new powers, Affin walked toward the edge of the vilge.
The noise slowly faded behind him.
The sun had begun setting over the Barrens.
Orange light stretched across the dry nd.
Affin sat down on a rge stone near the outskirts of the vilge.
He looked at the Card Collection Book in his hands.
"So this is it…" he murmured.
He opened the book again.
Three cards.
Just three.
He stared at the first one.
Neutral Pulse
A weak attack.
Even beginner fire spells were stronger.
Affin sighed.
"I guess they were right."
Maybe Neutral really was useless.
But as he flipped through the pages again…
Something strange happened.
One of the empty pages suddenly trembled.
Affin blinked.
"Huh?"
The page glowed faintly.
Dark symbols slowly appeared across the surface.
But these symbols looked different.
Older.
Stranger.
The book began to shake.
Affin quickly grabbed it.
"What the—?!"
The glowing page suddenly burned with bright light.
A card slowly formed.
But this card looked nothing like the others.
The edges were bck.
Ancient runes surrounded the artwork.
And the image on the card showed something incredible.
A swirling vortex made of multiple elements.
Fire.
Water.
Lightning.
Wind.
All spinning together.
Affin's eyes widened.
Text appeared beneath the image.
Elemental Merge
A forbidden-type Arcana Card.
Affin stared at it in shock.
"A multi-element card…?"
That should not exist.
No mage could control multiple elements at once.
Except…
His heart suddenly skipped.
Except someone with Neutral affinity.
The card glowed softly.
As if it had been waiting.
Waiting for someone like him.
Affin slowly smiled.
"Maybe… Neutral isn't so useless after all."
But far away…
In a dark hidden chamber deep within the Barrens…
A tall figure wearing white robes covered in skull symbols slowly lifted his head.
Blood-red magic flowed across his body like liquid shadows.
Behind a cracked skull mask, glowing crimson eyes opened.
He had felt it.
A strange new mana signature.
Something rare.
Something dangerous.
The figure spoke quietly.
"Interesting…"
The leader of the Crimson Skull Order stood slowly.
"Find the source."
His voice echoed through the darkness.
"Someone… has awakened a very unusual power."
And somewhere in Vilge Out-1…
Affin unknowingly held the first piece of a power that could change the entire world.
Buy me a coffee : https://buymeacoffee.com/krishnamohanz
