Klaus

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Klaus (克劳斯)
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Night Watch
Occupation/Role	Deputy Chief of the Night Watch branch in Bronze City
Status	Active
First Appearance	156

Power Progression

Order / Stage	Status	Details	Chapters
Fourth Order Weird Extraordinary	Confirmed	A highly unusual Fourth Order Weird Extraordinary who has retained a mostly human form and substantial sanity. His contracted Eerie is described as extremely rare.	240 241 309
Amber Path	Active path	Uses the Amber Path's practice of excavating, extracting, and sealing his internal Divinity to resist degeneration. The method's cultivation is based on Amber.	281
Fifth Order path	Prospective	Has touched upon a route to the Fifth Order, though he fears he lacks sufficient time to complete it. Leike later identifies Klaus's path as unusually clean and believes he still has a chance of reaching a true, uncorrupted Fifth Order.	438 472
Fifth Order Eerie core advancement	Considered but not undertaken	Prepared to consume a Fifth Order Eerie core to save Bronze City despite the permanent restrictions it would impose. Leike seized the core and Potion before Klaus could use them, leaving Klaus's own Fifth Order advancement unconfirmed.	472

Background / History

Klaus serves as the Deputy Chief of Bronze City's Night Watch branch. He monitors threats within the city, including the Tower of Erudition, the Ascension Society, the Gray Covenant, and corruption among the nobility. He is willing to use surveillance, concealed assets, and political pressure to protect the city. 169 236 398

Before the Inner City disappearance investigation, Klaus intervened personally to protect Laurina after she became a Night Watch contractor. He threatened the Tower of Erudition with heresy charges and execution if it attempted to seize her. 156

He is a Fourth Order Weird Extraordinary who has retained an unusually human appearance and much of his sanity. Like other Weird Extraordinaries, he borrows power from the darkness and faces eventual loss of humanity; he admits that he may be nearing this fate himself. 240 241

Klaus follows the Amber Path, a method inherited from a person named Qiao, whom he later calls his master. Its core practice is to excavate, extract, and seal one's own “Divinity” in order to preserve sanity while confronting Aberrations. 281 438

Before the Copper Pillar expedition, Klaus suspected that Wolf knew about his own Mycelium infestation. He assigned the concealed Fourth Order Reke to watch Wolf, both to restrain him if necessary and to identify anyone manipulating him. Klaus also supplied Lu Yuan with a Sealing Disk, reserving one of its three uses for Wolf and the other two for emergencies. 236

During the Pipe Network investigation, Klaus led Lu Yuan, Reke, and Bolen to investigate a Copper Pillar. When the Gray Covenant attacked, he and Reke remained behind to fight, defeating or capturing most of the attackers while the leader escaped. 240 241 242

After the Gray Covenant leader escaped, Klaus's individually arranged detection Runes failed to locate him. Klaus suspected assistance from within Bronze City and directed Hogarth to investigate Inner City connections beginning with Von Klein. The investigation subsequently identified Baron Von Linde's involvement in transport, information relay, and hiding places for the faction. 249 262

Klaus subsequently assigned Lu Yuan to lead the Night Watch contingent at the Tower of Erudition's harvesting operation. Their task was to construct a Rational Barrier that would contain threats emerging from the harvesting zone, including corrupted people. 269

Following the underground battles, Klaus informed Lu Yuan that Leike's compatibility with his Swarm Insects had improved and that he might eventually reach the Fifth Order. He also first proposed advanced study at the Knight Academy, mentioning a senior figure there who used the Time-Granting, before assigning Lu Yuan to lead a recruitment team to Guber Town. 302

After sustaining an injury involving Glazed Water and a residual mark of the Sea of Knowledge, Klaus accepted treatment from Lu Yuan's Worm of Knowledge. The damage included an older injury aggravated by the Sea of Knowledge. The worm consumed the residual contamination, and Lu Yuan estimated that recuperative potions would complete Klaus's recovery in two or three days. Klaus also asked whether the symbiote could help Franz, whose Sanity damage was more severe. 309 310 312

Later, Klaus survived an ambush by J, Jie, and Nine of the Gray Covenant despite Bronze City's inscriptions suppressing his power. Lu Yuan's use of Inscription Silver Sheets briefly lifted the suppression, allowing Klaus to wound the attackers. When Klaus's defenses were nearly exhausted, Lu Yuan used the Time Bestower to carry him away; the Guardian and two hooded Night Watchers arrived and forced the attackers to retreat. 318 319 320

Klaus eventually uncovered evidence that the Gray Covenant's actions were connected to the Person on the Wall and the Tower of Erudition. He helped dismantle a Gray Covenant stronghold, captured Nine and J, and reported the seizure of Wooden Men and a Seed to the Guardian. 339 340 341

The assault also resulted in Q's capture. Klaus had decided beforehand to preserve captives, recognizing both their value to the Empire and the possibility that the Person on the Wall was directing the faction's actions. Jie was killed as a condition imposed by the Earl's Mansion in response to her actions there. 340

After Lu Yuan treated the Guardian, Klaus recognized that his ability to devise effective prescriptions from a patient's Root was more valuable—and more dangerous to expose—than the ingredients themselves. He agreed to conceal the ability and asked Lu Yuan to help senior Night Watchers once his own advancement made that possible. 385

As Bronze City's underground threat grew, Klaus ordered Lu Yuan to escort skilled craftsmen to Oak Forest City. The assignment also kept Lu Yuan away from the immediate danger in Bronze City; Klaus insisted that a Second Order Knowledge Transcendent should not be treated as a front-line combatant. 391 402

After personally descending into the Abyss, Klaus confirmed that the Bronze Pillars had merged with a conscious mass of Flesh. He also stated that he had touched upon a path to the Fifth Order, though he feared he might not have enough time to complete it. 430 438

During this descent, Klaus and Lu Yuan reached the Flesh-covered depths while their allies held off the Colossus. They fled after Lu Yuan obtained the fourth Fragment and the Flesh became agitated. Klaus later reported that the Flesh had sensed his actions and attempted to kill them, and that Selina Winter had tampered with the Copper Wall using something suspected to be a Key. 432 433 438

Imperial decrees subsequently forbade evacuation and ordered Bronze City to be defended at all costs. Klaus retained the decree and received an emergency delivery from Pathfinders containing the Empire-supplied Potion. 438

During the later collapse of Bronze City's defenses, Klaus remained on the front line against Ghouls, Flesh, and the spreading white mist. He returned to the Night Watch branch to rally frightened residents, then entered the Flesh-surrounded Inner City aboard the Sky-Seeking Fortress to bring a Fifth Order Potion to the Guardian and evacuate survivors. 450 459 466 467

Klaus ultimately did not consume the Fifth Order Eerie core he recovered during the final crisis. Although he was prepared to accept the cost of becoming permanently bound to Bronze City, Reke—also rendered as Leike—took the core and the Fifth Order Potion to attempt the advancement himself. 472

Following Bronze City's survival, Klaus oversaw reconstruction arrangements, received news of Imperial support and tax concessions, and planned to send Lu Yuan to the northern Knight Academy so that he could avoid Imperial scrutiny and study under experienced Knight Commanders. He also checked on Leike's continuing fusion with Hope and intended to rebuild structures around Hope's tree. 502

After Lu Yuan reached the Northern Territory Night Watchers base, his verified point total was unexpectedly high at 573 points, despite the Bronze City Sea of Knowledge battle being excluded from the calculation. Lu Yuan suspected that Klaus had used his influence to assist with the calculation, although this was not confirmed. 523

Appearance

Klaus normally retains the appearance of an ordinary human despite being a Fourth Order Weird Extraordinary. He usually dresses in dark shirts or gray clothing and keeps his sleeves rolled to his elbows. 240 241 255

• Wears a dull, withered-bone-colored ring on his left ring finger, carved with fine patterns. 177
• His eyes gain a faint green glow when he uses his power. 241
• Cyan light can appear across the back of his hand. 255
• His transformed equipment manifests from the ring as bone weaponry and armor. 255 318 430
• While testing Lu Yuan's Greater Ghoulification cores, he could temporarily develop pale cyan-gray scales and a Ghoul-like aura. 258
• His Bone Armor can encase his entire body when facing major threats. 320 430 441
• During his contamination-related injury, his complexion became unusually pale, and his tightly bandaged right wrist showed slowly spreading cyan patterns. 309

Personality

Klaus is controlled, pragmatic, and habitually restrained. He speaks in a flat, measured manner even under pressure, but his calmness conceals a readiness to act decisively against threats to Bronze City. 169 240 241

He is highly strategic. Klaus keeps Reke's true rank hidden, places tracking marks on enemies, prepares evacuation contingencies, and coordinates forces from multiple factions when the city faces a larger crisis. 236 257 323 356

Despite his bluntness, Klaus is protective of the Night Watchers under his command. He gives Lu Yuan defensive resources, shields the secrecy of Lu Yuan's prescription-making ability, worries about Franz's Sanity damage, and orders Lu Yuan out of Bronze City rather than treating a Second Order combatant as expendable. 236 312 385 391

Klaus has a strong sense of responsibility toward Bronze City's civilians as well as its defenders. He personally addresses panicked residents to encourage them during the city's collapse, prioritizes evacuation from the Tower of Erudition, and continues to seek treatment for the Guardian despite the danger involved. 450 466 467

He respects the privacy of trusted subordinates' unusual abilities when further questioning would be inappropriate. After the Worm of Knowledge treated him, he acknowledged that Lu Yuan possessed more than he had imagined but did not demand an explanation of its source. 312

His pragmatism includes keeping defeated enemies alive when they retain intelligence or exchange value. Conversely, he has little patience for obstruction: when Kame interrupted his confrontation with Arthur Heinz to defend cooperation with the Person on the Wall, Klaus struck him aside and resumed questioning Arthur. 339 340

Abilities & Skills

Fourth Order Weird Extraordinary

Klaus is a powerful Fourth Order Weird Extraordinary who has remained mostly human despite deep involvement with the Weird path. His contracted Eerie is described as extremely rare. 240 241 309

• Can release a high-risk contamination aura. 241
• Retains his human form rather than undergoing an obvious bodily transformation. 241
• Is vulnerable to Bronze City's inscription-based suppression. 318 319
• Is vulnerable to corruption from Rotating Inscriptions, which can invade and distort his Transcendence. 441
• His path carries the long-term risk of degeneration into a monster. 240
• Can temporarily assume a pseudo-Ghoulified state through Lu Yuan's linked Ghoul Brain Core inscriptions, though the transformation consumes one of the cores after use. 258
• Can suppress reactions from the Eerie power within his body during treatment. While the Worm of Knowledge worked inside him, the ring briefly trembled and Klaus restrained the reaction. 312

Green Crystallization

Klaus channels green energy that crystallizes targets and contaminated matter.

• Crystallizes wounds inflicted by his Bone Sword. 319
• Can spread crystals through liquid-based attacks and force opponents to shed affected material. 319
• Used green crystals to restrain a special Ghoul. 419 420
• Crystallized a Gray Covenant deputy during the Pipe Network battle. 242
• Can fire green crystal fragments as projectiles, using one to pin and kill a Great Ghoul. 441
• Can crystallize portions of his own corrupted power or armor to prevent contamination from spreading further. 441
• Can use the ring's green energy to hold contamination in an injured limb in check, although withdrawing that protection allows the contamination to spread. 312
• Can coat his full Bone Armor in green light, crystallizing corrosive liquid and attacking spikes on contact. 320
• Its spread is not unlimited: J countered it by discarding crystallized material and, later, overwhelming its rate of spread with greater volumes of black liquid. 319

Afterimages

Klaus creates multiple delayed afterimages during combat.

• Uses afterimages to evade attacks and confuse opponents. 241 319
• Can sacrifice an afterimage to reverse damage inflicted on his body. 319 320
• The number of remaining afterimages limits how many severe injuries he can negate. 319
• Used afterimages to block Nine's escape routes during the Gray Covenant stronghold battle. 337
• Can position an Afterimage at a distant location and use it to move himself and a nearby ally deeper into the Abyss. 430
• After the ambush depleted his afterimages, they gradually recovered; he had two visible again during the assault on the Gray Covenant workshop. 330 334
• Manifested four overlapping afterimages when Lu Yuan temporarily removed Bronze City's suppression during the ambush. Sacrificing one reversed injuries to his back, arm, and ankle together. 318 319
• His teleportation can be prevented by sufficiently powerful suppression. In the Flesh-filled hollow, pressure from the Bronze Pillars and the surrounding Taboo aura stopped his attempt to transport the group to safety. 434

Amber Path

Klaus's personal path centers on managing the Divinity within himself.

• Extracts and seals Divinity gradually to maintain sanity. 281
• Was developed from teachings associated with Qiao and refined through Klaus's own long-term notes. Klaus later refers to Qiao as his master. 281 438
• Its cultivation depends on Amber. Lu Yuan therefore cannot directly adopt the method, although some of its suggestions resemble his Defense Technique and offer useful reference material. 281
• May provide a route toward the Fifth Order. 438
• Leike considers the path and its direction unusually clean, giving Klaus the possibility of reaching an uncorrupted Fifth Order rather than degenerating as the Guardian did. 472

Leadership and Strategy

Klaus is an experienced operational commander and political negotiator.

• Secretly deployed Reke as a Fourth Order bodyguard and observer. 236
• Arranged individual detection Runes in Bronze City and investigated possible interference when they failed to locate the escaped Gray Covenant leader. 249
• Organized reinforcements, noble negotiations, and possible evacuation plans when Bronze City became unstable. 257
• Assigned Lu Yuan to command the Night Watch contingent constructing a Rational Barrier during the Tower of Erudition's harvesting operation. 269
• Entrusted Lu Yuan with independent recruitment-team leadership and observation of the Bottom-Turning Operation at the Earl's Mansion. 302 312
• Gathered hidden Night Watch combatants and sought support from the Church, the Earl's Mansion, and the Guardian for the assault on the Gray Covenant. 331
• Coordinated the descent into the Abyss between the Night Watch, Church, Ascension Society, and other Fourth Order combatants. 356 357
• Advocated retaining Fourth Order reserves on the surface rather than committing every powerful defender to the initial descent. 357
• Pressured merchants and nobles into committing resources to Bronze City's defense. 398
• Prepared specialized anti-Forest Seed weaponry before the planned assault. 404
• Led the second assault team against the Forest Seeds. 404
• Directed the evacuation of Tower of Erudition survivors through the Sky-Seeking Fortress during the Inner City crisis. 467
• Oversees post-crisis reconstruction and the reorganization of Night Watch personnel. 502

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Withered Bone Ring — A patterned ring worn on his left ring finger; manifests and retracts Klaus's bone weaponry and armor. Lu Yuan later identifies a headquarters weapon-catalog entry as likely describing the ring: a weapon refined from a Bone Demon, available through application by Fourth Order Transcendents and capable of rapidly switching between offensive and defensive forms. 177 255 313 320
• Bone Sword — A man-height bone blade infused with green crystallizing energy. 318 319
• Bone Hammer — A weapon form that retracts into the Bone Ring after use. 255
• Bone Armor — Full-body armor manifested from the Bone Ring during the Gray Covenant ambush and his deeper descent into the Abyss. 320 430
• Ghost-Suppressing Bell — A bell used alongside his Bone Sword against a special Fourth Order Ghoul. Its ringing slows nearby Eerie and polluted entities and is especially effective below the Fifth Order. 415 419
• Sealing Disk — A headquarters artifact Klaus borrowed through personal connections and gave to Lu Yuan. It suppresses Extraordinary activity within ten meters for thirty seconds per use, with three total uses. It affects allies and enemies alike and requires approximately ten minutes to cool after activation. 236
• Tracking Marks — Marks placed on Jie and Nine after their ambush, intended to lead Klaus to the Gray Covenant. 323
• Tracking Crystal — A tracking tool used by Klaus's force to identify the location of the Gray Covenant's Inner City workshop. 333
• Inscription Silver Shard — A shard Lu Yuan gave Klaus to weaken Bronze City's suppression while investigating the Copper Wall. 330
• Fifth Order Potion — An Empire-supplied potion Klaus carried into the Inner City in an attempt to save the Guardian. Leike later seized it together with the Fifth Order Eerie core. 438 457 466 472
• Amber Path Booklet — Klaus's long-used personal booklet, containing Qiao's dedication and teachings alongside years of Klaus's handwritten observations, revisions, and notes on extracting and sealing Divinity. Klaus left it for Lu Yuan to study. 281
• Fifth Order Eerie Core — A core Klaus caught during Bronze City's final crisis and considered consuming to protect the city. Leike took it before Klaus could attempt advancement. 472

Relationships

• Lu Yuan — Subordinate and trusted operative. Klaus equips him for dangerous missions, assigns him independent command, protects the secrecy of his unusual medical aptitude, and relies on his intelligence reports. He later arranges for Lu Yuan to enter the northern Knight Academy for safety and further study, having raised the prospect with the Blue Knight before Bronze City's final crisis. Lu Yuan subsequently suspects Klaus may have used his influence to increase or verify his Night Watch point total, though this remains unconfirmed. 236 302 385 391 442 502 523
• Reke / Leike — Klaus's concealed Fourth Order Weird Extraordinary operative. Reke poses as an ordinary Second Rank Night Watcher and serves as Klaus's watcher, bodyguard, and combat ally. During the final crisis, Leike defies Klaus by seizing a Fifth Order core and Potion to advance himself in an attempt to save Bronze City; Klaus later remains concerned about his condition during his fusion with Hope. 236 241 242 472 502
• Glock — Night Watch associate who coordinates branch operations with Klaus and remains involved in major investigations. 220 240 321
• Bolen — Inscription specialist and expedition ally. Klaus accepts Bolen's expertise during Copper Pillar investigations. 240
• The Guardian — A senior Night Watch predecessor and Fifth Order Weird Extraordinary. Klaus respects his authority, reports major discoveries to him, and seeks ways to help his failing condition. After learning of Klaus's possible route to the Fifth Order, the Guardian offers to buy him time. Klaus later attempts to administer a Fifth Order Potion to him, but the Guardian refuses it. 240 341 438 466
• Laurina — A Night Watch contractor whom Klaus personally protects from the Tower of Erudition's attempts to reclaim her. 156
• Adrian — Church representative who plans the Abyss descent alongside Klaus and the Great Ascendant. Adrian's Blessing also protects Klaus's assault group from Bronze City's inscription suppression during the Gray Covenant workshop battle. 334 356 357
• The Great Ascendant — Ascension Society leader and strategic counterpart in operations beneath Bronze City. 356 404
• The Blue Knight — Earl Helmut's Fourth Order Believer Transcendent and a key combat ally during the Abyss and Inner City crises. Klaus works alongside her in the battle against Ghouls and Flesh, and she accompanies him into the Tower of Erudition to rescue the Earl and the Guardian. Klaus had also spoken to her about recommending Lu Yuan to the Knight Academy and later arranges for them to travel there together. 419 430 442 459 466 502
• Arthur Heinz — Imperial special-appointed Inspector initially suspected by Klaus of collaborating with the Person on the Wall. Klaus cautiously accepts Arthur's explanation and works with him during the Abyss crisis; Arthur later sacrifices himself to complete the fourth fishing operation. 339 356 466
• Earl Helmut — Noble ally who supports Klaus's authority and contributes private knights to Bronze City's defense. 398 439
• Jie, J, and Nine — Gray Covenant Fourth Order enemies who ambushed Klaus; he later hunted them through the tracking marks he left on Jie and Nine. 318 323 337
• Qiao — Klaus's master and the author of the Amber Sealing Method preserved in Klaus's long-used booklet. 281 438
• Margaret — A concealed Fourth Order Night Watch combatant whose ordinary assignment is in logistics. Klaus reveals her true strength while organizing the assault on the Gray Covenant and relies on her during the later Abyss operations. 330 331 334 430
• Hogarth — Night Watch subordinate whom Klaus directs to investigate the Gray Covenant's Inner City support network. Hogarth reports evidence concerning Von Linde and the disappearance of his alienation core. 249 262 269
• Wolf — Iron Guard Battalion expedition participant whom Klaus suspects of knowing about his own Mycelium infestation. Klaus arranges Reke's covert surveillance to determine whether Wolf is acting independently or being manipulated. 236
• Franz — Injured Night Watch associate whose severe Sanity damage concerns Klaus. Klaus asks whether Lu Yuan's Worm of Knowledge can treat him, but Lu Yuan estimates only a ten percent chance of success. 312
• Kame — Tower of Erudition Vice Dean and political adversary. Klaus forces him to admit the Night Watch investigation party into the Tower and later strikes him aside when he defends cooperation with the Person on the Wall. 255 339
• The Person on the Wall — A sealed entity whose influence Klaus investigates through the Gray Covenant and the Tower of Erudition. Klaus questions it about Selina Winter's interference with the Copper Wall; it admits ordering her action but claims to have halted it. 329 339 438
• Green — Dwarf craftsman and rescue ally whose Sky-Seeking Fortress gives Klaus a way into the Flesh-surrounded Inner City. 459

Story Role / Major Arcs

Pipe Network and Copper Pillar Investigation

Klaus personally joins the investigation of a Copper Pillar after reports of Seeds and Alienation Extraordinaries. He reveals Reke's true identity to Lu Yuan and confronts the Gray Covenant in the Pipe Network. 236 240 241

His preparations include covertly monitoring Wolf and obtaining a limited-use Sealing Disk through headquarters connections. During the ensuing battle, Klaus and Reke coordinate within the Insect Nest, where Klaus's crystallization and Bone Sword overwhelm the Gray Covenant attackers; the leader escapes, and Klaus chooses not to pursue. 236 242

Tower of Erudition Crisis

Klaus confronts the Tower of Erudition over the River of Light and its forbidden experiment. He refuses to immediately destroy the Tower, instead preparing Night Watch contingencies while investigating its connection to a Forbidden Land. 255 257 259

For the Tower's subsequent harvesting operation, he places Lu Yuan in command of the Night Watch team assigned to build a Rational Barrier at the entrance. Klaus later suffers contamination-related injuries while helping address a Sea of Knowledge leak and receives treatment from Lu Yuan. 269 309 312

The treatment strengthens his trust in Lu Yuan's unusual capabilities. After Lu Yuan later helps the Guardian, Klaus identifies the danger posed by exposing his prescription-making ability and agrees to keep it secret rather than allow powerful, desperate patients to compromise Lu Yuan's future advancement. 312 385

Gray Covenant Conflict

After the Gray Covenant's assassination attempt, Klaus survives a three-on-one Fourth Order ambush, uses his Afterimages to reverse lethal damage, and later helps dismantle the faction's local stronghold. 318 319 320 337 339

Before the stronghold assault, he assembles Night Watch combatants and seeks cooperation from the Guardian, Church, and Earl's Mansion. Adrian's Blessing enables his group to fight without Bronze City's usual inscription suppression. 331 334

After the battle, Klaus confronts Arthur Heinz over cooperation with the Person on the Wall but provisionally accepts the Inspector's explanation concerning the Empire's northeastern defensive crisis. He orders the workshop searched and has surviving Gray Covenant members detained separately. His decision to preserve captives reflects both their potential value to the Empire and his suspicions concerning the entity's manipulation of them. 339 340

Abyss Descent and Bronze City Defense

Klaus organizes the descent into Bronze City's Abyss, investigates the Flesh beneath the Bronze Pillars, and assumes a central command role as the city's defenses collapse under Ghoul attacks, spreading Flesh, and Eerie phenomena. 356 357 430 438 439

While his allies contain the Colossus, Klaus uses a distant Afterimage to take himself and Lu Yuan deeper into the Abyss. The pair reach the mass of Flesh connected to the Bronze Pillars and escape after the recovery of the fourth Fragment. His subsequent attempt to teleport the entire group fails under the hollow's suppression, requiring another means of escape. 430 432 433 434 435

He continues to fight during the city's later collapse, confronts the danger posed by Rotating Inscriptions and the Mist Traveler's fog, and rallies civilians at the Night Watch branch while the Guardian and the Person on the Wall clash over the Inner City. 441 450

During the Flesh's assault on the branch, Klaus fights alongside the Blue Knight to buy time for residents to evacuate underground. When Lu Yuan's Sea of Worms takes over the front, Klaus returns to him without questioning the newly revealed power and instead focuses on the Guardian's failing condition. 453 457

Inner City Rescue

When the Inner City becomes surrounded by Flesh, Klaus chooses to enter it via the Sky-Seeking Fortress to deliver medicine to the Guardian and rescue trapped residents. 459

At the Tower of Erudition, Klaus finds the Guardian almost wholly transformed into an Eerie and unsuccessfully attempts to make him take the Fifth Order Potion. He then signals the Sky-Seeking Fortress to evacuate the Earl, Hilde Winter, the Guardian, and other survivors as Lu Yuan remains behind to delay the Crown of Ten Thousand Kings. 466 467

During the final crisis, Klaus recovers a Fifth Order Eerie core and considers sacrificing his future freedom to protect Bronze City. Leike intervenes, seizing the core and Potion and arguing that Klaus's clean path still offers a chance of genuine Fifth Order advancement. Klaus attempts to dissuade him, but Leike consumes the core himself. 472

Aftermath and Reconstruction

After Bronze City's victory, Klaus coordinates the rebuilding effort, receives Imperial promises of reinforcements and economic support, checks on Leike's fusion with Hope, and arranges for Lu Yuan to continue his growth at the Knight Academy. 502

He specifies the Academy's northern branch and plans for Lu Yuan to travel with the Blue Knight so they can look after one another. In addition to providing distance from Imperial scrutiny, the Academy offers experienced Knight Commanders and a Time Bestower user from whom Lu Yuan can seek guidance. 502

Trivia

• Klaus's ring reacts to the strange stone recovered near the Copper Pillar. 240
• His booklet preserves a handwritten dedication from Qiao, suggesting that Qiao was personally important to him. 281
• The final recorded sentence in the booklet is “I wonder if there is still time,” prompting Lu Yuan to suspect that Klaus was approaching the Fifth Order even before Klaus explicitly confirmed finding a route. 281 438
• Klaus keeps extensive preparations for major threats, including Alchemy Cannons, Mithril-infused armor, Furnace Fire Sprayers, and Copper Bait Minefields. 404
• He began preparing and improving these weapons immediately after the first Great Ghoul invasion, storing them until they were needed. 404
• Lu Yuan regards Klaus as efficient and reliable in awarding earned Night Watch points, noting that he neither delays payment nor gives less than is owed. 246
• He was prepared to consume a Fifth Order Eerie core during Bronze City's final crisis, despite knowing that doing so would bind him permanently to the city and restrict his future path. 472
• Lu Yuan suspects Klaus may have intervened in the verification of his unusually high Night Watch point total, but no direct confirmation has been given. 523

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