The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

After roaming around the valley for a while, Klaus and his friends returned to their resting area. They had dinner, and an hour later, all 1,000 young warriors from the Eastern Region gathered in a large conference room for their first meeting to discuss the possibility of working together for whatever the academy was planning.

Anna walked to the front and began addressing the 1,000 youngsters, all eager to be part of the top 100 to represent their region.

"I think we all know why we're here, so I won't say much. But for those who still don't know, we've gathered today to decide how we're going to select the top 100 who will represent the Eastern Region in the competition organized by the Academy,"

Anna said with a calm expression—something she had learned from her sister, who was also known to be an excellent leader on the battlefield.

And thanks to her affinity for the ice element, she didn't need to do much to maintain that icy, calm demeanor.

"Now, since this is an open discussion, I'll allow every one of you to suggest how we should proceed," Anna said, prompting almost everyone to raise their hand—Klaus included.

However, Anna knew Klaus was just looking for trouble, so she didn't call on him. Instead, she pointed to a young lady sitting in the middle. "You, introduce yourself and share your suggestion," she added.

"I'm Sophie Hanks," the young lady introduced herself. "From my perspective, we should follow the list posted after the regional trial. The top 100 from that list should represent the Eastern Region," she suggested.

Many nodded in agreement, mostly those who knew they were already on the list. Even Miguel seemed to support the idea, as they all wanted to rely on the elite rankings from the regional trial.

"That would be unfair," a young man interjected. "The list is from three months ago, and some of us have made progress since then. I suggest we hold duels in an arena to select the top 100." He paused for a moment before adding, "By the way, I'm Teye Happy."

His suggestion was met with many votes of approval. "Yes, some of us made mistakes during the regional trial, which is why we aren't on the list.

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"So I suggest we organize a duel to determine who gets to be on the list of 100 representing us," another young lady said. Soon, the idea of holding duels was welcomed by most of the group.

However, it wasn't the only suggestion made. After an hour of intense back-and-forth debate, three main proposals emerged.

The first was to go by the list of the top 100 from the regional trial three months ago. About 80 people supported this idea, unsurprisingly, all of whom were already on that list.

The second suggestion was to hold duels, giving everyone an equal chance to prove themselves and represent their region in dominating the others.

This received the highest number of votes, as most agreed that they had grown stronger in the three months since the regional trial.

The last suggestion, though rather unusual, proposed numbering everyone from one to a thousand and drawing lots. Those who drew numbers from 1 to 100 would represent the region. Strangely, this idea also garnered quite a bit of support.

But in the end, they would have to depend on their leader to make a solid decision. Anna knew that choosing any of the options would leave some people unhappy. For a moment, she felt at a loss, but then she noticed Klaus still had his hand raised after the entire hour of debate.

"Yes, Klaus, what do you have?" she asked, crossing her fingers, hoping her white-haired boyfriend wasn't up to any mischief.

Klaus stood up with a smile on his face. His gaze shifted to Miguel, and his smile widened, but he didn't say anything to him directly.

"I hope I don't need any introductions," he began with a smirk, "but in fairness to our leader's instructions, I am Klaus Hanson."

"From everything that's been said, I think your suggestions are valid, but I also think they're flawed," Klaus continued. "While going by the top 100 list may seem like a great idea, that list became irrelevant the first week after the regional trial.

"As for the suggestion of duels, do any of you know how long it would take to organize them? We have less than four days, so we don't have time on our hands here.

"And for the third suggestion, relying on lady luck is a terrible idea. We all know the Eastern Region is considered the weakest according to the records available online. We have fewer resources, but that doesn't mean we should face those pompous bastards relying on luck." Klaus grinned, clearly enjoying himself.

"Then what do you suggest?" Lin Zhou, one of the Zhou twins, asked with a flat expression. "I assume you didn't raise your hand just to insult our suggestions."

"I know most of you already know I'm a co-creator at Oracle, which means I have some influence and authority there. And, as it happens, I contacted one of the creators and asked them to grant us access to two Trial regions." Klaus's words caused a ripple of surprise among the crowd.

Everyone had been using Oracle over the past few days, gaining valuable experience. Since death in Oracle wasn't permanent, many had started taking risks and exploring dangerous areas.

But trials were something rare. It's not yet popular in Oracle— so only the boldest ventures into zones where monster tides and other challenges could mimic real trials. So, hearing that Klaus had arranged access to actual trials was a game-changer.

"No need to look so shocked," Klaus continued with a grin. "The first trial was the City Selection trial, and the second was the Regional Trial. Since we've all improved over the past months, I believe our leader can make good use of these trials to help select the top 100."

He finished his explanation, glancing at Anna, who stood in stunned silence. In truth, Klaus already had access to additional trials that he and Lucil had developed.

Now, all he needed to do was add the names of the 1,000 warriors from the Eastern Region, and Lucil would handle the rest, ensuring they all had access. Being a co-creator of one of the most revolutionary inventions of the century certainly had its perks, and Klaus was thoroughly enjoying them.

Oracle had become the premier training space, and Klaus knew the value of embracing it, though he still valued real-world training. In fact, with his Slaughter Aura on the verge of awakening, he knew he'd need to hunt more to fully unlock its potential.

Anna, now recovering from her initial surprise, addressed the group.

"Then it's settled. We'll spend the next two days training inside the First Trial space. In three days, we'll organize another trial within the Endless Tide trial. This should help us determine the top 100 warriors who will represent the Eastern Region."

"Any complaints or further suggestions?" Anna asked, scanning the room. But no one spoke up. Running the trials again was clearly the most logical and efficient solution needed to select the top 100.

Klaus smirked, knowing the upcoming competition would be anything but straightforward. All they could hope for was that the top 100 selected from their region would be strong enough to face whatever challenges lay ahead in the competition.