The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

Klaus stood there for a few seconds before asking a question...

”Are there rewards for completing a trial?”

Supreme Engineer Winnie blinked a few times, and so did the rest of the dignitaries gathered to watch his assessment. The question came as a surprise to them.

Seeing this, Klaus smiled weakly...

”I only asked because my overly enthusiastic tour guide told me there are secret rewards for completing a trial, so I wanted to know before I start.”

Supreme Engineer Winnie smiled and nodded.

”Indeed, she spoke the truth. There are rewards for completing a trial. However, to receive them, you must obtain at least an 80% pass from both the evaluation system and all seven elders.

You must know this: the trials you have been given are real-world problems, so by fixing them, you are aiding not only the academy but the universe out there.

You will understand when you see the content of the trial.”

Klaus nodded. ”In that case, I am ready.”

Supreme Engineer Winnie waved her hand, and a projection appeared before Klaus.

”On this screen are three trials from different rankings.

As you can see, the lowest rank is Class E, indicating the problem will affect Class B weapons and below. Passing only that and failing the rest will put you at the rank of Senior Engineer.

We have up to Class X, which is the highest class in this academy. You can choose trials from multiple classes. This means you can pick the first one from Class G, the second from Class E, and the third from Class X.

But I must caution you. The moment you pick a trial, you cannot change it. So choose wisely.”

Supreme Engineer Winnie gave a more detailed explanation, and Klaus finally understood the kind of trial he had found himself in.

”Thanks for the details, Headmistress.”

”You can make your first pick and start working on it. Remember, your time starts the moment the first trial is picked.”

Klaus nodded and scanned the projected trials.

’From what I know and have accomplished before, limiting myself is not wise. However, I also cannot jump into the shark tank without first knowing if it can bite. Let me take a much easier trial first and get the hang of things.’

A smile formed on his lips, and without any hesitation, he made his first pick.

”Class H.”

Klaus picked Class H, which is the rank where SSS-Class weapons are made. The kind of weapons that even gods run away from. One must be a Tier 8 Array and Formation Expert to handle such a trial.

Klaus, who had absolutely no accomplishments in the field of engineering, picking such a trial came as a shock to everyone, especially the disciples watching.

”He is biting off more than he can chew,” some of them remarked as they looked at Klaus’s handsome smile on their screens.

”We have yet to see what he can do, so let’s not judge him too soon...”

The moment he selected the trial, descriptions appeared...

---

[First Trial: The Fractured Starfall Bow]

[Class: H]

[Difficulty: Saint Engineer (Tier 8)]

[Description: Three years ago, a Saint Engineer crafted the SSS-Class weapon known as the Starfall Bow. The weapon performed flawlessly until its Array Core began destabilizing during combat.

The bow can currently unleash only 37% of its intended power before the internal formation collapses, risking the death of its wielder.

Your task is to identify the flaw within the Array-Formation Network and restore the weapon to at least 95% operational efficiency.]

Success Conditions:

1. Locate the source of instability.

2. Repair or redesign the Array-Formation Network.

3. Achieve 95% or higher efficiency.

4. Ensure the weapon can safely withstand Supreme-level energy infusion.

Failure Conditions:

1. Weapon efficiency remains below 80%.

2. The Array Core collapses during testing.

3. The Formation Network becomes unstable.

[Reward: Hidden]

---

A golden bow materialized before Klaus.

The moment his eyes landed on it, a smile formed on his face.

”Flawless.”

He admired the craftsmanship with an open mind and an impressed look. As someone who had created weapons that even the heavens became jealous of and stole, he was indeed impressed.

He reached for the bow and brushed his hands against it.

Up on the platform, the seven elders furrowed their brows, watching as Klaus admired the bow as if it were a woman.

”What is he doing?” one of them asked, looking puzzled.

”I don’t know, but I guess we will find out soon enough.”

A few minutes later, Klaus tapped the side of the bow, and a large, intricate core materialized in the air. Klaus set the bow aside and focused on the core.

He reached in and pinched, and the core expanded, revealing interconnected arrays and formation pathways.

”Interesting.”

Klaus was once again impressed by the core’s complex nature. However, instead of feeling pressured, his hands moved, and he began manipulating the core structure, examining everything with an open mind... Hivemind.

Everybody waited to see if he could identify the problems within the core structure.

Twenty minutes later, Klaus smiled and turned to Supreme Engineer Winnie.

”Am I to explain the problems with the core structure to everyone, or can I go ahead and fix them?”

”Because of time, fix them first and explain later.”

Klaus nodded and then asked one last question.

”Am I allowed to use any technique at my disposal to work?”

”As long as it has nothing to do with the Uniweb or Dark Space, then it is fine.”

”Thank you for the response.”

Klaus walked to the center of the stage and compressed the core structure, allowing it to hover a meter away from him.

’I have identified three problems. Once I fix them all, this bow will be reborn and even surpass the previous efficiency level.’

He closed his eyes, and then, when he snapped them open, eight additional hands appeared, each holding a rune knife.

Many disciples widened their eyes when they saw the eight hands appear. However, when the hands moved and array symbols—or, as most called them, runes—started to appear, their jaws dropped.

Supreme Engineer Winnie, who had seen Klaus draw runes before, smiled and said inwardly,

’Ah, the ancient runes. He is drawing the ancient runes. Just who is this kid?’

Klaus started slowly. However, as the seconds passed, he began to enter the mindspace of an engineer—the same space Efad, his ninth incarnation, and Paragon, his first incarnation, had spent a great deal of time in several years ago.

His speed picked up, and all 10 hands holding the knives went to work. With thousands of minds working together, he could summon more hands, and he wouldn’t feel out of focus or pressured.

”This is unreal. How can he control that many hands and still remain focused?”

”Beats me. The most I can control is two hands, and even then, I sometimes lose control over them after a couple of hours.”

”It is either his mental strength is on another level, or he has a special technique that allows him to create hands.”

”What kind of technique would allow someone to create that many hands?”

Unbeknownst to the disciples, the technique Klaus was using to create his extra hands was one of the legendary techniques that countless warriors had died pursuing.

In fact, if the creator of the [God of War Art] learned Klaus was using his creation to produce extra pairs of hands for drawing runes, they would be furious.

The extra hands were meant to wield weapons and cut down powerful foes, not hold rune knives.

But thanks to Ares, the god of war and brilliance, Klaus got to show off his power, letting everyone know he was both a monster in combat and in engineering.

Two hours later, Klaus had filled the hall with over five million runes.

The moment he set down the rune knives, he started forming arrays and formations to solve all three issues at once.