"I'm back," Lux said softly as he reappeared inside the Training Room of their residence.
Before he could even take a step forward, the door of the room opened and Vera appeared with a surprised expression on her face.
"I'm back, Grandma." Lux walked towards Vera and gave her a hug.
"Welcome back." Vera hugged her grandson in a loving embrace. For some reason, she felt that Lux's presence was different compared to what it was before he went to Elysium.
As someone who had experienced many things, she had a hunch that the red-headed boy had experienced something in Elysium that made him decide to go back home and see her.
"Are you hungry?" Vera asked. "I just had lunch, but I can easily prepare something for you."
Lux pulled back and shook his head. "It's fine, Grandma. I ate before coming here."
"Alright, let's go to the living room," Vera proposed as she lightly patted her grandson's shoulder. "Tell me about your adventures in Elysium."
"Okay." Lux nodded.
—-
"It must have been a scary experience," Vera said as she pulled her grandson close to her. "I'm just glad that you survived."
Lux had just finished his tale of the Monster Outbreak in Leaf Village, which made Vera's feel as if her heart was being squeezed inside her chest. Lux was one of her three remaining family members, and the thought of losing him made her feel very anxious.
"I'm glad I survived as well, Grandma," Lux replied with his eyes closed. "During that time, I felt very sad about the possibility of leaving you all alone. In fact, I was more scared of you being alone than the thought of me dying. It's so painful that it hurts."
Vera held Lux tighter. It was not only Lux who felt that way. She was also very scared of losing the grandson that she had raised since he was a baby.
"Will you return to Elysium?"
"Yes. I need to go back. There's still many things I need to do."
Vera sighed, but she didn't try to dissuade her grandson from his decision. The only thing she could do was give him her support and pray that he would be safe as he explored the world that she had journeyed through several years ago.
"Is there anything that I can help you with?" Vera asked. "As long as I have it, I will give it to you."
Lux nodded. "Grandma. I need weapons, armor, and other equipment."
"How about Beast Cores?" Vera asked. "I have some as well."
"Um, Grandma, don't the rules of Wildgarde Stronghold state that giving beast cores to beginners is not allowed?" Lux asked.
Gerald, the Guardian of Wildgarde Stronghold, had made a rule that the adults couldn't spoil their children and give them Beast Cores to increase their stats at an early stage. He believed that this kind of practice would only prevent the children from striving to reach a higher rank.
If they could jump tiers at the get go then they would not develop the proper mindset of warriors who had undergone the baptism of blood.
It was similar to the spoiled second rich generations, who enjoyed their current status due to their parents' achievements and hard work.
Gerald wanted to have a strong community. He had no use for useless people with high stats who would only serve as cannon fodder when the real fighting began.
Vera frowned because she understood what Lux was trying to say. However, she cared about the survival of her grandson, so she decided to reach a compromise with him.
"I will only give you Four Rank 1 Beast Cores," Vera replied. "Don't worry. Having that many isn't a big deal. Gerald's rules are there to remind the adults to not spoil their kids too much. I'm sure that he will not raise a fuss if I give you four low-grade beast cores."
Lux pondered for a bit before reluctantly nodding his head. He thought that it was indeed not a big deal if he had four low-grade Beast Cores. Besides, he was also itching to raise Diablo's strength to the next level.
"Good. Now, let's talk about equipment," Vera said. "Let's go back to the training area. The living room is not big enough to unload the items I want to give to you."
Lux was very keen to see what items his Grandma had prepared for him.
Gerald didn't forbid the adults from giving their children equipment to be used in Elysium. His reasoning behind this was very simple. Certain requirements must be met before certain types of equipment could be equipped.
Take Lux's shield for example. Dawne needed 10 points to Strength before it could be used.
Twelve year olds weren't that strong at the beginning. It would take them a while to "level up" and gain the strength necessary to equip the weapons, armor, and other artifacts that their parents had prepared for them.
Also, these things could also be obtained in Elysium, so Gerald didn't see any problem in letting the kids have them. Since that was the case, the adults had an unwritten agreement that supplying their children with equipment was allowed, as long as they didn't blatantly announce it to the world.
Lux's eyes widened in shock at the sheer number of equipment that Vera presented to him.
Truthfully, Vera was only planning to give them to Lux if her grandson asked for her help. The things that she had prepared for him were all rare and unique weapons.
The Half-Elf appraised these items one by one. He found out that he could only use most of them after he had stepped into the Apostle Rank, which was still quite a distance from his current state.
Even so, he still found some Set Equipment that made him smile from ear to ear.
Set Equipment were items that gave decent boosts to attack, defense, and bonus stats when two or more of them were equipped.
"Come forth, Diablo!" Lux shouted and his trusty companion appeared beside him wearing the Fox Leather Armor, Dawne, and Tranquility.
"Change your armor to this!" Lux ordered as he pointed at a black set of armor that he had specially chosen for his partner.
Diablo nodded and took off the Wolf Leather's armor and returned it to Lux.
—--
< Wandering Knight Set >
Set Requirement: 22 Points to Strength
– Wandering Knight Greaves
+15 Defense
– Wandering Knight Tassets
+15 Defense
– Wandering Knight Breastplate
+15 Defense
– Wandering Knight Bracers
+15 Defense
– Wandering Knight Helmet
+15 Defense
< Wandering Knight Set Bonus >
– 2 Pieces of Equipment
+1 to Strength
– 3 Pieces of Equipment
+2 to Vitality
– 4 Pieces of Equipment
+2 to Dexterity
– 5 Pieces of Equipment
+50 Health Points
+25 All Elemental Resistance
+ 2 to Agility
20% Damage Reduction from Physical Attacks
—--
Diablo had a complete makeover after putting on the black set of armor. His glowing red eyes could be seen through the helmet's eye slits, which gave him a very intimidating presence.
"It would have been perfect if his sword and shield were black as well," Lux muttered as he rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Still, this will have to do for now."
—--
< Diablo >
Health: 165 / 165
Mana: 110 / 110
Attack: 18 - 27 (+20 Damage from Tranquility)
Attack Type: Ethereal Damage.
Strength: 23 (+1)
Intelligence: 22
Vitality: 21 (+2)
Agility: 22 (+2)
Dexterity: 22 (+2)
Defense: 98
Title: Firstborn
Skills: Slash
—--
Vera was surprised when she saw that the White Skeleton was capable of equipping one of the armor sets that she had prepared for her grandson.
She didn't expect Lux's Named Monster to have grown to such a degree. This gave her a feeling of comfort, knowing that there would be a dependable bodyguard following her grandson around in the world of Elysium.