The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

The moment Klaus touched the first blueprint, his consciousness seemed to sink into an endless ocean of information. Within that information, he saw...

Millions of runes.

Hundreds of thousands of formations.

Tens of thousands of interconnected arrays.

Every component of the reactor had been designed by Immortal Engineers whose names he did not know. Yet, judging by how complex and intuitive the runes were, he found himself wishing to meet them one day and collaborate on a project together.

Klaus always said he hated weakness and aspired to perfection. Moments like this, when perfection is shown, make him proud, and seeing the blueprint’s complexity left him taken aback. More accurately, he was impressed.

”This thing is absurd. It is as if the creators of this reactor deliberately ensured that every aspect of it was handled with absolute care and dedication. They did a very good job,” he let out a sigh. ”Too bad their work is now failing.”

A thought popped into his mind.

”I wonder where they are now.”

His question was heard by many, who all sighed.

The field of engineering had become so vast that engineers constantly aspired to greatness and sought more knowledge. The creators of this reactor had vanished into a ruin said to date back to the Primordial Era years ago and had yet to return.

Perhaps if they were still around, fixing the bugs in their creation would have been simple. But they were not, and frankly, even if Klaus failed, the people could still be evacuated.

However, that would be difficult given the sheer amount of resources required.

So he knew he had to succeed no matter what.

Meanwhile, outside the trial space, the seven elders and Supreme Engineer Winnie were experiencing a shock of a different kind.

Most disciples, and even they themselves, would spend several days simply familiarizing themselves with the reactor’s architecture before attempting a diagnosis.

Yet Klaus had already begun dissecting every subsystem simultaneously.

Energy distribution.

Shield networks.

Flight arrays.

Gate stabilizers.

Divine collector systems.

His mind was split among them, working in a state of absolute focus and clarity. His thoughts had already reached the realm of complete understanding and endless curiosity, especially whenever he encountered something new.

Two hours passed, bringing the total elapsed time since the trial began to roughly five hours.

The elders held their breath as they watched Klaus work his magic.

”I honestly don’t know where this kid learned his style of engineering from or how any of what he is doing is possible, but if he can handle this second trial, I would appoint him to an elder position.”

One elder spoke calmly, though inwardly he desperately hoped Klaus could handle the second trial as successfully as he had the first.

”I was thinking the same thing. However, unless he can handle a Class X trial, making him an elder would be a bit controversial. Besides, I want him to compete in the upcoming Engineers Meet.”

The elder’s eyes remained fixed on the projection.

”With what he has shown so far, I think we have a good chance of winning. He might even get the opportunity to enter the Dwarven Engineering Academy.”

”I hope so too.”

Supreme Engineer Winnie remained to the side, her expression calm as she watched Klaus work to identify the core issue and fix it.

’If you manage to handle this error, I will personally write a recommendation letter to Universe Grand Architect Yorik on your behalf. With so much research being poured into developing the first-ever XX-Class weapon, your enormous mind would come in handy.’

A smile appeared on her face.

Thanks to her position and status, she knew more than most.

She was aware that Class X weapons were known as Doomsday Weapons, and so far, three classes of Doomsday Weapons had been created.

The dwarves had created the first-ever XSS-Class weapon 400,000 years ago.

They claimed it was a weapon capable of destroying galaxies and killing several Celestials at once.

Of course, it existed, but powering it was the real problem. It takes a lot to power it. For now, they only have enough energy source to power it once.

They claimed it is the next step in human evolution and that every warrior must adapt to the use of external weapons to stay ahead in battle.

Based on recent discoveries from the enemy front, they knew that relying solely on warriors would be a mistake.

As a result, new weapons were being developed every day, and with more dangers lurking beneath everyone’s noses, there was no telling when they might be needed.

Thankfully, the Dwarven Galaxy had chosen to remain neutral, meaning their weapons were not in the hands of either the Heavenly Court or the Demon Court.

They stood on humanity’s side.

And with them fully committed to creating weapons to aid humanity, Supreme Engineer Winnie wanted Klaus to join them. With his mind, humanity would have a chance against the Foreign race, known for their technological advancements.

Suddenly, her attention snapped toward Klaus.

He had abruptly stood up and walked toward the table holding the three formation discs.

Reaching out, he picked up one of them and returned to the center of the stage.

He summoned the hands again and, this time, added two more, bringing the total to twelve, including his own two hands.

Forty-five minutes later, intricate arrays and formations filled the air, leaving everyone stunned.

Klaus ignored their reactions and arranged the arrays and formations into a core before storing it inside the formation disc.

He then turned to Supreme Engineer Winnie and the elders.

”I have solved the energy loss issue, which was caused by leakage within the Divine Energy Collectors orbiting Astravia. I also reduced energy consumption, allowing the reactor to use 21% less energy while maintaining high efficiency. Its overall performance has now been boosted by 24%.

”Lastly, I added a self-repair function capable of detecting and resolving future issues before they become serious problems.”

Klaus placed the formation disc on the table.

Ignoring the stunned and shocked looks on everyone’s faces, he turned his attention to the third and final trial.

---

[Third Trial: The Eternal Void Lock Formation]

[Class: X]

[Difficulty: Divine Engineer (Tier 10)]

[Status: Unsolved]

[Description:]

One thousand three hundred years ago, an ancient spatial prison hidden within the Devil’s Maw began showing signs of collapse.

The prison contains an unknown entity said to have existed during the Primordial Era.

The records describing the prisoner have long since been erased by an unknown force seeking to harness the power of this mysterious entity.

However, while the records had been deleted, all surviving accounts agreed on one fact: The prisoner must never be allowed to escape.

The original formation responsible for sealing the prison was destroyed during a Void Storm. Since then, countless engineers have attempted to recreate a replacement.

All of them failed.

Your task is not to repair an existing formation, but to create an entirely new Divine Formation from scratch.

[Requirements]

1. Seal a space measuring 100,000 kilometers.

2. Suppress Spatial Laws.

3. Suppress Void Laws.

4. Suppress Divine Energy.

5. Automatically repairs itself.

6. Remain operational for at least 100,000 years.

7. Function without requiring an external energy source.

[Available Resources]

1. One Empty Divine Formation Disc.

2. Infinite Simulation Materials.

3. Historical Prison Data.

[Success Conditions]

1. Formation passes simulation.

2. Formation remains stable for 100,000 simulated years.

3. Seal integrity remains above 99%.

4. Receives approval from all seven elders.

[Failure Conditions]

1. Formation collapse.

2. Energy instability.

3. Seal degradation.

4. Failure to suppress the prison’s internal energy.

[Reward]

Unknown (To be awarded by the Dwarven Engineering Council)

---

”What in the hell?” Klaus shouted.

It wasn’t because of the trial’s difficulty, nor because of the terrifying requirements.

It was because one of his incarnations was currently inside the Devil’s Maw.