'Are you mocking me?' Benton thought.

But he didn't push the matter further and retrieved his hands. It would be unmannerly for him to pursue it. He had only applied part of his strength after all but it should have been greater than the average newbie.

Little did he know that no matter how much strength he applied it would have been of no use. Klautz's strength wasn't as miniscule as he thought it would be.

'You will be getting quite a few surprises.' Klautz thought.

The best fate for a newbie was to be a follower of one of these second gen. That was the easiest way to enter any of the top guilds.

Those who could not become their followers would either have to go through the gruelling competition which wasn't anything better than a rat race, to enter the guilds or would have to die in peace. Not everyone was like Gozoto and his mercenaries who could survive all on their own in the world of hell.

But Klautz? He didn't need to follow anybody. In fact, he was at a level where he could stand toe to toe with the second gen.

While he wasn't hoping to get any followers due to his lack of backing, he was definitely expecting Benton to have the least bit of decency that he should have with a stranger. Being treated as an ant wasn't a good thing for Klautz. It stripped him of some of the priviledges that the second gen received that could have been very beneficial for him.

But he wasn't out to completely expose his secrets either.

It was a matter of scout and hunt.

'Take what is good. Leave what is not.'

The second gen came to the newbie camp mainly to build connections and to gain followers. There was no opportunity for the newbies to stand as their equals. Simply because of their disparity in strength.

But Klautz was the only exception.

It was then…

Gozoto finally noticed Klautz's annoying presence causing him to crease his forehead..

"Aren't you…

"

Gozoto squinted his eyes as he recalled him to be the same man who he was about to imprison as suspect for the murder case. This was the second time he had met Klautz if one were to not count the testing that every newbie had to go through at the start of the 'drill'..

"Do you know him?

" Benton interjected clearly interested.

The more he thought about the man in front of him, the more his presence piqued his curiosity.

"Ah yeah… of course. I know about every newbie that is in training in my camp. They are all in my care

" Gozoto worked out some fake words of pride. He hid the truth that as long as he stays in business he doesn't care about most of them and already caused many of them to die.

Gozoto changed the question as he moved awa. He wanted to avoid the murder case being brought up, If push comes to shove he would have to silence Klautz. But since he had Akihiko's trust, Gozoto was holding back for now. But he didn't forget to give Klautz a last casual glance as he eyed him from top to bottom.

"I am sorry. I must be coming in between the two of you. I will take my leave then and hope we meet again.

"

"Yeah… sure.

"

It is said that one has only the first 3 minutes to make a good impression on his audience. And Klautz's meet which lasted for no more than 3 minutes did leave a profound impression on the two of them making them re access the opinion of the man.

While Benton began seeing the newbies in a new light, Gozoto got more and more suspicious of the man.

***

A boy bent low with a candle in hand as he lit the other candles with the same one after another. The fire of one candle was passed onto the rest creating a change in the room. Just a moment ago the room which was as dark as it could be with little to no sulight creeping in through the curtains suddenly became lit up in the glory of the ceremonial candles.

And in the dead center of the room was a potrait of a smiling man whose brilliance seemed to be as great as it could be with all of the candles failing in comparison.

*Clasp*

Benton clasped his hands together and prayed for the peace of his soul.

'May your soul be in peace. May you find your joy and love in your afterlife.'

The second gen weren't too fond of such concepts. They weren't fond of the idea of the soul and the continuance of its existence. Facing hell every day in day out, they were certain that god didn't exist and thus neither was their existence any after life. The cycle of reincarnation was foreign to them.

And thus even though there were many earth borns who continued to hold onto their faiths, the second gens only found it foolish to believe. What was the point of believing that you can continue to live even after you die? That would only make their souls weaker and make them wish that they were dead and reborn into a world that was better than hell.

'I hope that you find a world that is much better than hell.'

Benton too was no exception. He too didn't believe in reincarnation either. But there was one person… a person so dear to him that he wanted believe that she was alive somewhere out there even if it was a place that he could never hope to reach. Benton prayed for her well being and his health everyday even if he believed in no God.

That was just how dear that person was to him.

*Sigh*

***

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.