Because of the heavens, Klaus fought many different kinds of people. Many are the unique kinds of people that one just doesn't understand.
He saw the lengths the heavens had to go to bring him down.
One such person was the Ancient Shaman.
Back then, he was pursued by a being that didn't need weapons to kill.
All this person used were short stories that could make you wish he were a weapon wielder.
One fateful day, when Klaus, who was known as Fruity back then, fell into his trap, he spent three days trying to survive many stories.
The Shaman called it the Ancient Story Game.
Three days inside the stories made Klaus understand the horror. He tried everything, but even after three days, he couldn't escape.
That was when he decided to learn the stories and fight back. Thankfully, a paragon does best by learning new things—or, more accurately, stealing from people.
So he learned the Ancient Tongue, and that was when he could escape.
This, of course, traumatized him to the point that Klaus didn't go back to kill the Shaman. Of course, that doesn't mean he forgot about him or the lessons he learned from those harrowing moments inside the stories.
Because of the traumatic experience, he learned and mastered the art, which allowed him to use the same trap on the spider demon.
This was the only way Klaus could use the Ancient Stories. He aimed for the spider demon to drop two realms, which would have given him more time.
However, it was only trapped for the next 25 minutes, and within these minutes, the spider demon would be at the peak of the Ascendant Stage, which means it had dropped only one realm.
Klaus made sure he distanced himself, for the variables he was playing around with here weren't going to be easy.
He gazed at the trapped spider and sighed just as the senior's voice entered his head.
⟦Brat, are you sure you want to do this? Your life force is almost exhausted. In fact, you have less than nine months to live, so do you really want to exhaust it further?⟧
'That's the thing, senior. I can't use my trump cards until the spider reveals its true trump card. They said it's a dual-headed demon face spider, but I see only one large head with 14 eyes.
This means it's still hiding something, so I have to force it out. Of course, I will further exhaust my life force, but it won't be more than two months of the remaining.'
⟦Just be careful. The Ancient Tongue can be very dangerous to the user,⟧ the senior warned.
'I know, senior. I will be careful.'
Klaus sighed heavily and started telling the first story. Since he was the only one using the Ancient Tongue, he had to sacrifice a part of his life force whenever a round ended.
If he were playing with the spider directly, he would have used his determination to handle it. And all this was happening in the real world.
"They called him the Divine Archer, the hunter of demons. He wields the bow, and his arrows are forged from the maw of the abyss.
His precision is priceless, and his determination is unwavering. Here he comes, the spider hunter."
Suddenly, a thin arrow flashed from the clouds, landing on one of the spider's legs. It was a powerful arrow that came without warning and struck one of the spider's many legs.
It exploded, sending the spider flying back several kilometers. Considering the tough nature of the spider's legs, this time, a crack appeared in the hardened leg that wasn't supposed even to dent.
But it cracked, and a figure clad in white armor, wielding a large bow, appeared from the clouds and flew through the air. His face was covered by a metal mask, and his eyes burned blue.
The moment he appeared, another thick arrow materialized in his bow, and he shot it at the spider again, striking the same leg and creating another crack.
"I saw the hunter gain heaven-defying speed, arrows lit with flames and lightning. They exploded, consuming their foes in an unholy radiance."
Klaus added a few lines to the story.
Up in the air, the archer's body lit on fire as lightning danced across his terrifying form. The bow was also aflame, and when he unleashed yet another arrow, the entire forbidden zone shuddered upon impact with the monster.
A powerful explosion rocked the spider, completely breaking one of its legs off. But that wasn't all—a part of its body was burning, and from the explosion's scale, Klaus could tell the spider had sustained more than just flesh injuries.
But it didn't have a moment to recover, considering the archer had gained such fast speed that he appeared within lethal range and unleashed another arrow.
This time, the spider dodged and jumped into the air, stabbing its sharp talons at the archer, pushing him back. Then the spider unleashed thirteen piercing strings that latched onto the archer's arms.
However, instead of Klaus being alarmed, he smiled and looked at the spider dragging the archer toward it.
"In the end, the archer self-destructs into a piercing arrow."
The moment the words left his mouth, the archer turned into a piercing arrow bathed in flames and lightning. The arrow shot forward, causing the spider to cross its thirteen remaining legs to defend.
However, upon impact, the arrow exploded, breaking two more legs.
When everyone saw the spider lose three legs, they started to cheer for Klaus, knowing he was making headway in the battle against all odds.
The spider was terrifying.
Its body was a grotesque blend of flesh, metal, and maybe stone. Its height alone was about seventy meters, with one leg tall enough to overshadow Klaus.
So, battling such a monstrosity wasn't something Klaus should have been able to do, and as such, they never expected him to win.
But he did, and now, he was seated on a prayer mat, looking at the spider that had risen back into battle and was lunging at him.
He smiled and then started the second story despite blood seeping from the corner of his lips.
"They call him the Beekeeper..."
The sound of millions of buzzing bees filled the air.