Krad was sleeping peacefully in his bed when suddenly his door slammed open. He was started silly as he jumped in surprised. 

"YOU DAMN OLD FART!"

"Eh? Why so cranky? It's past bedtime already so don't yell like this! Tsk tsk, young ones truly are energetic." 

Krad was overwhelmed by the old man's words, unable to refute. He clicked his tongue and sighed in submission.

"You disappeared for years, and suddenly came crashing to my room. What the hell do you want now?" he said to the old man, seemingly not impressed.

"No need to be like this, kiddo! I only came to give you the rewards for completing the tasks I had given you. Not interested?"

"Give it to me and leave. I must depart early tomorrow."

The old man sighed as he heard this brat spout cold treatment. He then rummaged his pocket, looking for the reward.

After a few breaths of time, he brought out a small piece of dark purple, circular shaped, flat surfaced metal resembling a disc. He threw it towards Krad's bed and smiled.

Krad picked up the metal and examined it in curiosity. This 'piece of metal' doesn't seem to be ordinary.

"Rejoice, kiddo. That thing was personally created by this grandpa! It's a type of armament that grows along with the wielder! I painstakingly crafted it for 4 whole years and used rare, precious materials! Take good care of it, understood?"

Krad was surprised by this old man's words. A type of armament that grows along with the wielder? How cool was that?

"How do I use this?" asked Krad.

This piece of metal is like a disc. Is this supposed to be used as a projectile weapon? A shield?

"Simple. Place it on top of your chest and voila! It will transform to a piece of armour!" the old man said with a ascending tone. He seems to be more excited than Krad!

'Transform to a piece of armour ?' 

But the image that came to his mind was different. He imagined those girls in sailor uniform with magical wands.

Uneasiness swept through Krad's heart. He looked at the old man's eyes with a serious face.

"It's not like them, trust me. Why don't you try it and see for yourself?" laughed the old man as this kiddo seemed to be suspicious of him.

Krad hesitatingly placed the small disc on his chest.

He closed his eyes and suddenly, series of lights shined from it and 8 colors of mists enveloped his body.

Colours of red, blue, green, brown, gray, white, black, and yellow madly spun around his body as it slowly transformed into a white, tank shirt and boxers.

Krad opened his eyes in excitement. But his face contorted upon wearing this 'piece of armour'.

"You damn old fart. Are you playing with me?! Stop laughing! You think this is funny?!" he said frantically to the old man.

The old man burst in laughter. The look on this kid's face combined with his silly gestures and clothing. It was simply priceless!

"I told you right? It grows along with the wielder. It's like this because your power is just simply too mediocre." said the old man as he slowly stopped laughing. A serious look suddenly appeared in the old man's face.

"You trained for 10 years using the booklet I gave you. But the fruits of your hard work only resulted to such mediocrity?"

A look of disappointed on the old man's face as he shook his head sideways.

Krad couldn't help but lower his head. He clenched his fists; his knuckles turned white. He grit his teeth and raised his head.

"What should I do then, old man? The contents of the booklet is unfathomably complex. Training only became harder as I went further. I have long reached a limit, a bottleneck! I have no idea how to advance further. Please tell me what I must do."

Determination and eagerness filled Krad's face as he resoundingly said his words unhurriedly and calmly. He is unwilling to stay like this. He wants to improve! He wants to be as carefree as the immortals and buddhas!

The old man gazed at this young man's eyes for a short moment and sighed helplessly. He walked towards Krad and raised his hand  in front of him.

"Come here." 

Krad walked forwards also and knelt on his knees. The old man placed his palm on top of Krad's head.

Bright colours of lights and mists spun around the old man's hand and Krad's head as thousands information madly entered his mind. He clenched his teeth and fists tightly to withstand the surging pain.

After a few minutes, he lights dimmed down as the old man removed his palm on Krad's head.

Krad slumped on the ground, unconscious. His face is pale and sweat pervaded his body.

The old man gazed at the small figure sleeping on the soft, wide sofa. It's  the winged, black tiger cub.

The tiger cub's injuries are almost healed, thanks to Krad's money. It only needs time to recover its strength.

He slowly walked towards it and reached his palm on top of its head. White lights enveloped the cub's body, its injuries completely healed and its strength completely recovered. 

The tiger cub woke up in surprise as its body is surging in power. He meowed in thanks to the old man in front of him.

"You are not supposed to appear yet. But why did you suddenly come? Are the undercurrents of the realm becoming more savage?" the old man murmured as he looked at this little furry thing.

..

Krad was laying on the cold ground, asleep.  A continuous loud snore filled the room. He woke up from his sleep as the loud snore interrupted his rest. 

It's already morning. He stood up and saw an old man snoring on his bed. He sighed and shook his head and walked to the kitchen to cook food.

As the three finished eating their fill, the old man put down his cup of tea as he looked straight to Krad's eyes.

"Listen, kiddo. This will be the last time I'm going to say that you must only train on the ways of the booklet. The method of accumulating mana according to the booklet is the best possible way for you, especially for that body of yours. The information I imparted you last night was only the knowledge on this world. They might come in handy in the future."

"Understood."

"Also, the reason I have come is to bring you back to your momma's home, the Arceuss Duchy. They also have a surprise for you!" said the old man  as he chuckled.

"Surprise? Oh. right, can we use the teleportation array here?" Krad said in excitement.

He had not seen nor experienced teleportation. When he was little, he would place his 2 fingers on his forehead and imagine teleportation. He truly want to experience it at least once!

"Teleportation array? That array is very expensive. It's thousand times the cost of an airship ride. Hmph, how can that compare to my 'Wherever Door'?"

"WHEREVER DOOR?! Y-you... are you.." he cried in surprise. The Wherever Door. That's a thing straight from cartoons!

To actually exist in reality... truly incredible! He couldn't help but get excited over this 'wherever door'.

"Haha! Praise me! Praise this granpa right here! Ahaha! Come get your things, we're leaving!" the old man said smugly.

A few moments later, the old man lead the two through the door.

The next moment, they entered a familiar room. It's the room Krad when he was a baby. They had actually arrived to the Arceuss Duchy within a time of passing through the door! Amazing!

"It truly exists! Haha! Unbelievable!"

"Hehe. Alright, gotta run. Ciao!" said the old man as he ran out and shut the door close.