The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

A dense red star energy gushed out, flooding Klaus’s soul sea with an overwhelming and terrifying power. Outside his body, small runes began revolving around him, while his aura surged higher by the second. Inside his body, his bones started glowing golden as ancient runes lit up along them.

“How is this possible?” the Senior muttered, wide-eyed as he observed the changes.

“Senior, what’s happening?” Klaus asked, feeling his strength soar and his Star Qi rising to unfathomable levels.

“You’ve merged with the star energy,” the Senior replied, “and now it’s reforming your bones.”

“Reforming? Does that mean I’m getting new bones?” Klaus questioned, but the Senior remained silent. Klaus quickly realized the answer for himself. He could feel it—deep within his body, his arm bones were turning transparent. As more energy flooded in, the rest of his bones began to shift, becoming clearer with every second.

Once all his bones had turned transparent, blood-red runes started merging with them, pulsing with ancient power. Then, a sudden agony overtook him. Klaus felt as if every bone inside him was being crushed, shattered, and reformed from scratch.

“Endure, Klaus!” the Senior urged. “This is a blessing. If you manage to reform all your bones, even the gods will envy you!”

As the Senior spoke, the heavens on the outside roared above. Dark clouds formed ominously, but just as quickly as they appeared, they dispersed, leaving behind an eerie calm.

As more blood-red runes merged with Klaus’s bones, they gradually turned translucent, their hue shifting from normal white to deep crimson. The runes circled around them, pulsing with power, while more Star Qi surged into his body, filling his bones with immense energy.

“This feeling…” Klaus muttered, sensing his body becoming several times stronger. Then, a grin spread across his face. “Hahaha! This is great! This is truly incredible!” Klaus was beyond overjoyed.

The searing pain that had wracked his body began to ease over time, but he didn’t focus on it. What consumed his thoughts now was the transformation within him. His energy source had changed —from Spiritual Qi to the much more powerful version, Star Qi. He could feel the vast difference.

Where once he needed to use 40 percent of his energy to unleash an attack, now, with just 2 percent of his Star Qi, he could achieve a far more devastating effect.

With this shift, Klaus realized that whenever he leveled up, his Star Qi pool would continue to grow. However, he also understood that the power of his new energy would limit how much of it he could accumulate. Star Qi was several times stronger than Spiritual Qi, but it would take a lot more effort to expand its reserves. This thought brought a twinge of frustration.

“What are you being gloomy about?” the Senior interrupted. “You’ve reformed your bones, gaining something, not even gods, humans, beasts, or demons have possessed since the dawn of time. Don’t underestimate yourself, Klaus. The current you is a terrifying existence. Just having these bones is a gift. With minimal energy, you’ll be able to unleash attacks that would make others tremble.”

The Senior’s words made Klaus’s heart race. He had never imagined his bones could be so powerful. It was hard to wrap his mind around it.

“Senior,” Klaus asked, still in awe, “can you tell me more about these bones of mine?”

“I can’t say much,” the Senior replied, “but know this: you no longer need to cultivate the star diagram like before. These new bones of yours have evolved to the point where they will constantly temper themselves using your energy. Fortunately, you have more than enough Star Qi to sustain this ongoing evolution.”

He paused before continuing, his tone firm, “Focus on raising your cultivation base. That should be your priority now. With your current cultivation level, you can only access less than 5 percent of your full strength. But as your cultivation rises, so will your ability to harness the full power of your bones.”

Klaus’s mind buzzed as he absorbed the Senior’s words. Just 5 percent, yet he could tell the current him is about twenty times stronger than before he started cultivating the star diagram.

“This cultivation method is more terrifying than I thought,” Klaus muttered to himself, clenching his fists with determination. “I have to enter the Forbidden Zone soon. This time, I won’t come out until I’ve leveled up a few times.”

With that, Klaus focused inward, letting his consciousness reenter his body. When he stood up, he immediately noticed how much stronger he felt. His muscles were taut with power, and his bones hummed with energy. Curious to test his new strength, Klaus walked over to a strength-measuring machine.

Clenching his fist tightly, he punched the plate without hesitation.

BOOM.

The entire training ground trembled from the force of his blow. Klaus’s eyes widened as a number flashed on the display: “9,000Kg”

“This… this is too good to be true,” Klaus whispered, staring in disbelief at the result. He couldn’t believe how much stronger he’d become.

After a moment, he sighed and left the training ground. What he needed now were live targets to truly test how far he’d progressed. But there was one issue—he had promised his mother he wouldn’t go hunting for at least a week, and it has only been less than three days since his last hunt.

“I’ll have to convince her somehow,” Klaus muttered to himself as he entered the bathroom to freshen up. Once he was clean, he ate a quick meal, then took a slow walk around their home, taking everything in, deep in thought.

Eventually, Klaus returned inside and went to his loving mother. He approached her with a small, hopeful smile. “Mom, I know I said I wouldn’t go hunting for a while,” he began, using his most innocent voice. “But I need to get used to my recent cultivation. I promise I’ll be careful.” He finished with wide, pleading eyes, hoping to sway her decision.

Klaus’s mother looked up from where she was sitting, her eyes narrowing slightly as she studied her son. She knew him too well, and his attempt to use his puppy eyes wasn’t lost on her. She sighed softly, placing her hands on her lap.

“Klaus,” she began gently, “you’ve barely had time to rest. I can see how much you’ve grown, but you promised me you wouldn’t rush back out there.”

“I know, Mom,” Klaus replied earnestly, stepping closer. “But this time is different. I’ve gained so much strength in these last few days—more than I ever imagined. I just need to see what I’m truly capable of now. I need to test myself so I can protect us better.”

His mother’s expression softened. She could see the fire in his eyes, the same determination she had seen when he first awakened. It was hard to argue with his reasoning, especially knowing how much Klaus wanted to improve their lives. She could feel the sincerity in his words, and though she worried, she also knew that Klaus wouldn’t let his new power go untested for long.

With a heavy sigh, she nodded. “Alright, Klaus. You can go. But,” she added firmly, “you must promise me you’ll be cautious. I don’t want you to take unnecessary risks.”

Klaus grinned, relieved and grateful. “I promise, Mom. I’ll be careful. I’ll stick to areas I know are safe.”

His mother smiled softly, though her eyes remained serious. “You’re stronger now, Klaus, but that doesn’t mean you’re invincible. Don’t let this power make you reckless.”

“I won’t, I swear,” Klaus said, hugging his mother tightly. “Thank you, Mom. You’re the best.” He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before running to his room.

Once there, he called Uncle Ziggy, excitedly informing him that he had obtained his ID and could now officially join the Bloodaxe Mercenary team. A few minutes later, Klaus received a message confirming his membership with the team. His joy was palpable, and he went to bed that night with a sense of satisfaction, looking forward to the wild adventures ahead.

The next morning, his mother prepared various dishes for him, which Klaus stored in his space ring. But despite his protests, she insisted he also take his bag filled with snacks. After a final, heartfelt hug, he left with Kofi, who drove him to the Hunters Guild.

Inside the Guild, Klaus quickly bought a hunting pass. He was given a watch-like device that could identify monsters, their grades, and classes. It also recorded points for each kill.

The points system was as follows: killing a Tier 2 monster earned 100 points, a Tier 3 monster earned 500 points, a Tier 4 monster earned 10,000 points, and a Tier 5 monster earned 100,000 points. In the Forbidden Zone, however, monsters came in different classes, each with its own point system.

Lesser monsters earned twice the base points, great monsters five times, Dark monsters ten times, and Terror monsters twenty times.

Klaus frowned at the complexity of the points system. He knew he couldn’t change the rules, so he resolved to follow them and see where his newfound strength would lead him. Thankfully, only those under the Saint stage were allowed to enter Tier 2 and 3 Forbidden Zones. Klaus bought a Tier 2 pass, where the strongest monsters were Tier 5 Terrors.

With everything in place, Klaus felt a mix of excitement and nervousness as he prepared to head into the forest. He was led to a waiting area. After a while, many more hunters appeared and sat in wait.

After three hours, the place was filled up. Klaus sensed almost everyone was a grandmaster stage expert. Some even sneer when they sense his cultivation base. Clearly, they are looking down on him. After a while, the last person came. They were led into a huge armored shuttle which quickly drove them away.

Three more hours later, they appeared in a ruined City. “From here onwards, you are your own. Transportation will arrive a week from today, those who survive should be here by then”

Klaus clenched his fist and then disappeared into the ruined city ready to hunt.