The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

Because Icon didn’t want Klaus and the others wasting too much time, she led them through a path that had little to no treasures. This hastened their journey through the various floors.

Of course, she was not stingy, so she made sure every last one of them found something that was better suited for them.

By the time they got to the 6th floor, only Klaus and Princess Evren remained without a treasure.

However, now that they had reached the 6th floor, she would be gaining a treasure too, and Klaus’s is waiting for him on the 7th floor.

Rory got her hands on a stone-like item that could be used to refine her bow. While it had become much stronger after the Burning Angel blessed it, now that it had become a soul weapon, feeding it treasures would greatly improve it.

Icon made sure she had that. She knew all the treasures in the jade vault, and so she picked the ones better suited for people following her master.

This was so the upcoming battles would be tilted in their favor somehow.

Oman got a sword sheath that once belonged to a legendary sword god. Contained within it was the sword intent of that person. By inserting his sword into it, he had started to absorb some of that intent, sharpening his sword greatly.

Slate received a pair of boots that enhanced his speed by 120%. Since he wielded the wind element, these boots made it so he could move much faster and become more deadly.

Echo received a crown-like treasure that boosted her imaginative abilities. As someone who could bend the Ice element to her will, she needed all the creativity she could muster. Having the imagination to envision creative scenarios would come in handy.

Crux received a whip, which she seemed to have developed some form of fascination with. When she fought Klaus with her clone, she wielded no weapon since she fought in her beast form. However, now that she had a weapon, she could use her demi-human form more often.

Princess Evren’s teammates also received their fair share of the treasures. Now, it was her turn to get something.

”We are here now,” Klaus said, looking around him. The 6th floor is an island with green water surrounding it. While he won’t be spending much time there, he let the beauty of it all imprint on his mind.

He would be heading to the 7th floor while the rest would spend some time exploring the 6th floor. Once he was back, they would leave and return to planning how best to handle the incoming threats.

He pointed at a certain mountain. ”The Jade Pendant is there. You can take your teammates with you since they have recovered now.”

She nodded and turned to her four teammates. ”Rest for an hour before we head out.”

Turning away from them, she regarded Rory before turning to Klaus. ”Where do you plan on going?”

Klaus pointed at the green water. ”I will be going for a swim. Just like you, I am also here for something, so I will go look for it. Once I return, we can head out before this place is opened to everyone.”

She had no reason to question him any further, so after a few more exchanges, Klaus moved away to talk to Rory.

”Use the time you have now to enhance your bow. I am afraid when I return, we won’t have much time to do anything else.”

She nodded and hugged him.

Since they could talk telepathically, he had already informed her of where he was going once they reached the 6th floor, so she didn’t ask any questions.

”Be careful over there. I will be waiting for you here.”

Klaus nodded and kissed her. A few seconds later, he dived into the water and started descending.

Icon had located the doorway to the 7th floor hidden somewhere in the ocean, so he started swimming toward it.

Luckily, just like the other floors, there were no dangers here either, so he rapidly advanced, moving deeper into the ocean. It took two hours, but eventually, he came to a stop in front of a glowing portal.

Klaus wasted no time and entered the portal.

The next second, he appeared in a room large enough to fit over 400 people.

There were no chairs, tables, or beds; rather, the entire floor and walls had been decorated with one rune after another.

Klaus was taken aback by this sight; however, he started to examine the runes soon enough, making sure he at least understood them before ruling them out as useless.

It took him a few more hours to decipher them. When he did, a smile formed on his face.

”Such a headache.”

The runes were actually coordinates that pointed to three places.

The first coordinate pointed toward a tree that bore a fruit called the Divine Apple. It could not be consumed by just anyone since it was extremely poisonous. However, while it was only useful to a select few, just one was enough to fetch a substantial amount.

Klaus knew he needed the fruits since he had poison affinity.

While he might be immune to poison, if a God-level poison or higher were to get into his system now, there was a chance he would be affected, so he wanted to improve his Poison Resistance and, if possible, boost his understanding too.

The second coordinate led to a storage space where his severed arm, leg, and eye had been kept. Klaus was a bit taken aback when he saw how much trouble the Jade Ant Queen went through to preserve his severed limbs.

He was even grateful she did. Because if he were to refine them, he could use those bones to enhance his current body.

The last coordinates were unknown, so he first went to the Divine Apple tree to see if he could find a few ripe ones.

***

While he was on his way, outside the vault, the five assassins arrived, their breath coming in ragged. It had been days since they destroyed the seal and began searching for Klaus and the 7th Jade Princess.

They tried all kinds of means but couldn’t find even a trace of them. This left them disturbed and a bit angry. However, their worries were soon turned into fear when they mistakenly walked into the domain of a rather dangerous, immortal Lord-level calamity beast.

It was purely by mistake; however, looking at how miserable they looked now, it was plain as day that they had it worse over the past few days.

”Damn it. When I get my hands on those two, I will be sure to savor the moment when killing them,” the blue mask assassin said, his voice cold.

The green mask assassin placed his hand on his shoulder and said:

”Relax. With the seals coming undone soon, this vault will open. When it does, they will show up. Nobody can deny the allure of getting their hands on some treasures. Especially, once that used to belong to the Jade Ant Queen.”

”Green is right. We just have to wait for them to come to us,” the red mask assassin added, making the blue mask assassin nod in acceptance.

”I wonder if we can even record the renegade hunter’s death and later share it. I am sure the company will be pleased to take credit for his death.”

The other assassins nodded.

”When the connection is established, we will think of what to do. For now, let’s wait for them to come to us, unaware that they are walking into a trap. The rest will take care of itself.”