"Issei I know you're sad about what happened to your mother but try to have a good time, for Irina's sake. Remember their family's moving tomorrow," requested his father.
"I'll try dad," replied the ten-year-old Issei as he approached his friend Irina.
"Come on Issei-kun let's go!" cried Irina as 'he' rushed towards the festival stands.
Issei was going to follow 'him' when a specific stand caught the boy's attention, the 'Throne of Heroes.'
Shrugging he walked over to it and was immediately greeted by an old man whom quickly offered Issei a seat. "Hello boy, what can this humble magician do for you?" greeted the man.
"I was just wondering what this stand does," replied Issei.
The man just gained a smug smile, "we make heroes boy. Would you like me to do the same to you?"
Issei's eyes widened and he nodded eagerly, he wanted to become strong and heroes were strong weren't they?
He would definitely do it so that when Irina came back he would be strong enough to protect himself, he wouldn't have to rely on his friend to bail him out all the time.
"Very well then let's begin shall we?" grinned the man before he chanted something in a strange language Issei couldn't recognize and reached into his pocket to pull out several objects.
The boy looked at the old man in confusion as he held up seven cards that reminded Issei of tarot cards and placed them along the table, "there are many types of heroes in this world and I wonder which one are you hmm?"
The old man then pointed at the first card showing a Knight with what looked like a claymore drawn and ready, "first there is the Saber class, fighters whose skill with swords were so great that they rivalled even the gods!"
"So they're like noble knights protecting the innocents?" asked Issei.
The man nodded with a frown, "some are but not all. Don't forget knights aren't the only ones skilled with a sword young man, and not all knights are noble ones in fact there is one who is even called the Knight of Treachery..."
"Even if they weren't noble I'm sure they had reasons for doing what they did, knights are people too after all,"
argued the boy as he looked up to the old man with a determined expression, not noticing the Saber card light up slightly at his reply.
The man just raised an eyebrow at this as he replied, "Indeed they did have reasons but what is better boy?
To do the wrong things for the right reasons or doing the right thing for the wrong reasons? If you truly want to be a hero then you need to learn this."
The boy just frowned as he stared at the Saber card, almost feeling his hand closing around the hilt of an imaginary sword before nodding in understanding, seeing this the old man moved on to the next card that had a man holding a long spear ready to strike.
"Next we have the Lancer class, heroes that like the Saber class have mastered spears to godly levels."
An amused grin spread across his face as he leaned forward and whispered to Issei, "but just between you and me they seem to have the worst luck of the bunch."
"Who needs luck when you have skill? After all they wouldn't have been able to become heroes if something as minor as bad luck stopped them,"
replied Issei as he looked down on the Lancer card, the image of a blood red spear appearing in his mind as he touched it.
"Quite so," agreed his companion, snapping Issei out of his daze and drawing his attention back to the conversation, the boy once again not noticing a small light coming of the Lancer card.
The man seemed to frown slightly in confusion as he examined the two cards but the moment passed quickly and Issei was left wondering if he had imagined it as the old man moved on to the third card with a smile on his face.
Looking down on the third card Issei saw it appeared to be a rider in some kind of chariot, preparing to ride after his enemies.
"Now we come to the Rider class, they are heroes who are known for their amazing mastery of mounted combat or have a mount so famous they can't be pictured without it," continued the old man.
"What does that mean?" asked Issei in confusion.
"Hmm…ah I got it! Tell me when you think of Batman what do you picture?" asked the man.
"Batman riding down the street in his Batmobile, chasing after the bad guys," replied the boy, eagerly.
"Exactly! You see Batman would be considered a Rider hero," he explained, giving Issei an approving nod.
"So I could be Batman!" shouted Issei in excitement, drawing the attention of others celebrating the festival.
"Indeed," laughed the man before fixing a stare on Issei. "However be aware that Riders are usually at a disadvantage in most fights, after all most circumstances don't let them use their mounts."
Issei just looked up at him with an eager smile as the feeling of reins appeared in his hands and he heard the booming of thunder,
"the harder the fight, the greater the prize. After all that's what conquering is all about."
Like the two before it, the Rider card glowed softly at this while the man nodded as his grin grew wider and he lead Issei over to the next card.
Examining it Issei saw what appeared to be a man with his bow and arrow drawn, sighting down on some imaginary enemy.
"This is the Archer class, the masters of ranged combat. Simply give them a target and they will be able to hit it even from miles away,
they usually are very independent from others though," grinned the man, eager to see the response he would get.