"Hello, fancy meeting you,

" Klautz adorned a fake smile on his face.

Benton's brows twitched as she seemed too weary of Klautz. How unlikely was it for someone to reach so close to him?

Benton was on his guard due to Shizu's threat at least. But even then he wasn't able to gauge Klautz's incoming steps from his blind spot.

And how could he? Both Klautz and he were 'more or less' equal in strength. As long as it is not someone stronger than Klautz with greater senses, they can never gauge his silent steps. But Benton was completely unaware of the fact. Therefore he could reach only one conclusion.

"You… Are you one of 'them'?

" Benton asked with a pinched expression.

His face turned grim as he glared at Klautz always being on his guard.

But Klautz raised his brows. He wasn't sure what Benton meant by 'them', but he had his own hunch that he was referring to the ninjas.

'So little Benton does know of the ninjas from a young age, I see?'

Not many knew of the existence of the ninjas. The adjective 'hidden' tied to them wasn't for show. Only those who were politically active in hell knew of their existence. For it is them who would need their assistance the most for protecting their own lives and to take others.

This only further fortified Klautz belief that Benton was well invested in the field of politics.

"Indeed, you are right. I am one of the 'newbies' that were summoned here this year.

"

Klautz majestically changed the direction of the question. With his way of speech, no one would have doubted him at all!

But this caused Benton to be even more surprised as his eyes widened. He might have a lot of theories of Klautz's identity, but he didn't think of him to be a newbie at the very least.

He extended his hand and shook it with Klautz. There was no harm in shaking hands, was there?

"You are really a newbie?

" Benton asked with a wry smile as he felt the clauses on Klautz's hands. His hands were too rough for an earthling who was known to be piling up on fats.

Benton thought of the newbies as naive. It was not only their poor stats that made them weak but also their soft hearts. He had thought that after his little show all of them would be cowering in fear for days and some of them would be so scared ** that they would actually start training seriously.

Little did Benton assume that one of them would be so carefree as to come up ahead and shake hands with him. He was still having trouble believing in Klautz's identity. But it wasn't really something he couldn't research on at a later date, so he wasn't too much worried.

'What kind of newbie is he?'

But the thought kept lingering in his mind.

Klautz was a mysterious being for him. Something that caught his attention at first glance. Not only was Benton not able to detect his presence but also he was struck with awe at his confidence which was considered a rare trait amongst the privileged earthlings.

'No… it's not confidence. He seems to have no fears.'

There were only two kinds of people that could stand against Benton at such a stage after a show. One who was extremely confident or the one who feared no death.

But Klautz composed face that didn't seem to give away any information on him directed that he was the latter

"Of your course, why would I be in the newbie camp otherwise?

"

Klautz's voice seemed to have no stuttering and no fear. In front of Klautz, Benton seemed like a kid. Indeed, Benton was still in his growing phase.

One must note that the mercenaries of Gozoto were all heavily armed, unlike the lightly dressed Klautz who seemed to have no money to buy armor.

And, while the ninjas themselves were lightly dressed as well, either to keep themselves hidden or to merge with the crowd. But their existence was unknown to most people present at the site. Thus Klautz appeared as nothing but a newbie.

One must note, that not all the second gens were as politically active as Benton making them unaware of the ninjas. Even the second gens didn't know about them, let alone the newbies.

Take Shizu for example, she seemed to not know the same either.

Klautz calm demeanor was indeed an interesting trait that was soon to catch onto Benton's eyes.

'Hmm, interesting. Makes me wonder what's the limit of his tolerance?'

Benton was certainly not expecting to find a diamond amongst the pile of black coal.

All he was expecting was a lump of slightly denser coal than the rest. Hoping for the best he executed a small trick.

'Let's see, how long you hold.'

Benton applied force in his hands as he pressed onto Klautz intending to crack his bones. His gaze shifted to Klautz face as he checked for the minute details of pain that might come up due to his hand being crushed under his strength.

Of course, Benton made sure to control his strength for fear that he would crush the hand of such a rare find newbie.

But his eyes soon widened in surprise

'What?'

Klautz's face showed no signs of distortion. He watched as Klautz, who had sensed Benton's light play had his lips arch into a half-moon smile.

Benton raised his brows.

'Are you mocking me?'

Benton's brows creased almost joining together.

Klautz's cheeky smile seemed to be challenging him instead of commencing a warm handshake.

Of course, Klautz was doing it out of arrogance either. He wasn't sure how good Benton was in his receptive skills at his current age. But he had to make the best of the situation.

***

Author: Creation is hard for authors. Cheer me up with your power stones.

Let me know about your thoughts on the chapter in the comments sections.