The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

Immediately the Nine Stars Ice Lotus Bloom appeared, the entire battlefield froze, dropping the temperature to an extreme low.

Klaus didn't waste any time. He quickly activated the Absolute Ice Domain, enveloping the Mecha Zombie. The Mecha reacted instantly, raising fire in defense, but Klaus was faster.

He activated the Ice Beam skill of the Ice Lotus, shooting a beam of ice that instantly froze the Mecha in place. It was just a split second of freezing, but Klaus countered quickly with a Moon Slash, sending a crescent-shaped fire arc.

Before the Mecha could break free from the ice bind, the fire arc connected, severing its sword-wielding arm. Klaus aimed for its head, but the Zombie broke free at the last moment, shifting its body slightly.

This showed that the awareness and adaptability they were working on, was a success. Despite the quick attack from the moment the Ice Lotus appeared to Klaus's strike, the Mecha managed to adapt and nearly evade his attack.

But with one arm gone, it was practically finished. Still, the Mecha didn't give up. It retaliated by sending all its spirit weapons at Klaus. But he was a step ahead. The Void Piercing Needle flashed forward, striking through the Mecha's head.

It whipped through countless times, each strike drawing holes in its body. Within a second, hundreds of holes littered the Zombie's form, making it dissipate into nothingness.

Klaus sighed, feeling his body ache from the battle. The fight had proven that he needed to take his mastery of both hand-to-hand weapons and spirit weapons seriously.

Although the Mecha was programmed to use three spirit weapons, Klaus knew it would be incredible if he could do something like that himself.

He thought about Lulu Arcadia. She would definitely be able to pull off such impressive feats. Lulu's mental strength was higher than his, but he was making progress.

Feeling his body ache, Klaus realized that if it hadn't been for the Blood Moon Transformation during his fight against the Demon Zombies, he would have likely died.

Although the Mecha Zombie was a blend of two of the strongest zombies he had faced, augmented with fictional adjustments, it was enough to remind him that he was not invincible.

With a sigh, he exited the Oracle, waking up in the game chair.

"Klaus, we have gathered all the data for the last phase of the design. We will need at least a whole week to make the necessary adjustments. It's all thanks to you." Lucil was there to welcome him like always.

"That's great, I guess," Klaus said with a smile. He had achieved what they wanted in just two weeks, which was a huge win for both of them.

"So, will you leave now that you've fixed the problem?" Lucia asked, her voice soft. It was clear she wasn't ready to say goodbye to him.

"No, I'll be staying for the next two weeks," Klaus replied. "Even after fixing everything, I still need to test a few things. I can't just leave yet. Plus, I'm not done with my other project, so I'll finish that before I head out." His words made Lucil smile brightly.

"Great! Then I'll wrap up setting the next challenge for the Union Trial quickly, so I can join you and see more of what you're working on," Lucil said, clearly excited.

Klaus nodded, then briefed the tech team on a few adjustments they needed to make before retiring to his room. He still had some modeling to complete to finish the Monastery, so he wasted no time getting back to work.

A week passed quickly, marking Klaus's third week at Stone Valley. During this time, he achieved significant progress.

He had managed to model about 98% of the Monastery, with the remaining 2% consisting of techniques he hadn't added yet and some final details he planned to incorporate.

He even went ahead and modeled the mysterious place where he had received the Nine Divine Soul Beads. Naturally, he made that location private, accessible only to him or those he granted permission to.

Klaus intended to fill it with valuable resources, so those granted access would have a variety of options to choose from.

Beyond that, Klaus had also made strides in his Spirit Master training. Three weeks ago, he could only control 120 needles; now, he has increased that number to 130. Progress was slow due to the lack of proper facilities for his mental training, but it was progress nonetheless.

He also made headway in his attempts to use the Ice Lotus and Flame Dragon to absorb the golden energy within his soul sea.

However, he hadn't tried it yet, as the senior had warned him that any reckless attempt could result in injury or, worse, destroy his element entirely for an unknown period.

Because of this, Klaus had spent the past week observing and studying the golden energy, trying to understand it better.

After careful analysis, he believed he had found a safe way to absorb it—or at least, he hoped it was safe. He planned to attempt the absorption as soon as he returned home.

Aside from the Monastery modeling, training his mind, and meditating, Klaus never missed a day of watching the sunset. Even after Queenie left, he always made his way up to watch it. It was a deeply calming moment for him.

It helps him calm down after a hard day of work.

Then came the fourth and final week of his stay at Stone Valley. Early in that week, he once again battled the newly upgraded Mecha. After a hard and grueling fight, he managed to defeat it.

He went on to test other combat forms once the fixes were implemented, and after some adjustments, they managed to complete everything by the third day of the fourth week.

Klaus spent the remaining days adding the final details he wanted for the Monastery before handing it over to the Nerds, who were shocked when they saw it.

The entire structure spanned several kilometers, and Klaus made sure to include as much as he could remember. The Nerds, and of course, Lucil, were thrilled to see such an ancient design brought to life in the Oracle.

They even promised Klaus they'd send over a modeling table once he returned home, so he could continue adding features whenever he wanted.

Before long, Klaus's final day in Stone Valley arrived. He finished everything he needed to and even took a quick tour around the area with Lucil as his guide. Once that was done, he made his way to the landing pad, ready to get back to Ross City. Chapter Your:

"Nice working with you, Klaus. Without your help, we wouldn't have been able to fix the issue anytime soon. Thank you," Joon said, extending his hand for a firm handshake as they stood near the landing pad.

Klaus returned the handshake with a smile. "It was a team effort, but I'm glad I could help," he replied.

"Thanks again. Very soon, we'll be launching to the general public. We'll send you a helmet when everything's ready, and you'll get an invite to the launch as well.

I know you'll say it's not necessary, but your name will be added as a co-creator, so be sure to attend the launch," Joon added with a grin.

"I'll keep my schedule open for that," Klaus said.

"Take care, Lucil, and give Joon a break—he's a great guy," Klaus said before boarding the jet. Before long, he was on his way back to Ross City, ready to spend the next month strengthening his Flame Dragon and Ice Lotus in preparation for the Genius Gathering at Sinji Valley.