Chapter 94: Meeting Victor Frank One More Time

[Host has found a safe shelter!]

[Host has found edible food!]

[Host has found drinkable water!]

[Host has found a usable communication device!]

[Host has found items for hygiene!]

[Host has gained meaningful knowledge!]

The next day, Klaus stepped out of his house while wearing a high-quality deep blue two-piece suit, a face mask, and a cap over his head.

He was barely recognizable.

The suit fit him perfectly, making him look like a businessman. The mask covered most of his face, while the cap hid his hair and made it difficult for anyone to get a proper look at him.

Yesterday, he had booked an appointment to meet Victor Frank, and it had been approved within minutes, which meant Victor was also waiting to see him.

He still didn't know what kind of conversation they were going to have, but he had spent the entire night thinking about Martin's words.

Sometimes we are unable to see part of ourselves which others can.

Those words had remained in his mind.

As usual, Klaus walked to the main road and took a taxi.

He leaned against the seat and stared out of the window as the city passed by.

He didn't speak much during the journey. His mind was occupied with yesterday's conversation, the system's words, and everything that had happened with Sarin and Trina.

He had always believed that he understood himself.

Now, he wasn't so sure.

Minutes later, the taxi came to a halt before the tall building of Miracle Law Firm.

Klaus paid the driver and stepped out before looking at the gates separating him from the building.

"I had never thought that I would ever return to this place," Klaus mumbled with a faint smile, his eyes softening slightly before he walked past the iron gates.

The guards standing on the left simply glanced at him before they resumed chatting between themselves.

Klaus also ignored them and walked into the building.

The familiar interior greeted him. The polished floor reflected the bright lights overhead, while several people moved through the spacious lobby with files in their hands.

Unlike the last time, he didn't wait for any staff member to help him out because this time he had an appointment.

His steps continued toward the reception, his eyes fixed on the woman standing behind the desk.

Seeing him approaching, the woman smiled brightly as though she had known him for years and said, "Welcome. How can I help you?"

"I have an appointment," Klaus stated, instantly skipping all that was unnecessary.

A look of realisation appeared in the receptionist's eyes, and she mumbled. "Oh..."

She opened a binder placed beside her small computer screen and asked, "Whom are you seeing?"

"Victor Frank."

The receptionist stopped and put the binder down before she looked at him with suspicion and asked, "Are you sure that is the right name?"

Klaus frowned behind the mask. "Are you really asking me whether I remember whom I have come to meet after leaving behind all of my work?"

The receptionist shook her head. "I didn't say it to offend you—"

"It doesn't matter what you meant. I am not here for you. Open your little systems and check if I, Leo Maker, truly have an appointment with Victor Frank or not."

Her eyes turned sharp, and she said in a clearly offended tone, "If that's what you want."

She lowered her gaze to the computer screen, and her fingers moved rapidly on the keyboard as she searched for the correct timings and all the appointments.

It wasn't that hard to find because Victor rarely had any appointments. Most of his cases were given to him by the firm so his image as one of the best attorneys of the current era could be kept untainted for a bit longer.

Soon, her expression changed, and her lips dropped in a deep frown.

She raised her head and looked at Klaus before she once again lowered her head and said in a low voice, "I-I am truly sorry, Mr. Maker."

'I don't want to deal with this ever again,' Klaus remarked inwardly and said, "Can you take me to him, now?"

"Of course," she said as she quickly stepped out from behind the reception desk and walked toward the elevator while Klaus followed behind her.

The elevator chimed as its door slid open, and the two of them entered it.

A few seconds later, it chimed once again as it opened to the floor where Victor's office was.

The receptionist quickly stepped out with panic clear on her face.

She had truly done something very stupid by questioning the person whom even that strange Victor Frank wanted to meet.

Seeing her, an amused glint crossed Klaus's eyes, and he smiled faintly.

'She is acting like there's a bomb strapped to her.'

He chuckled ever so faintly, and the two stopped before a wooden door.

The receptionist knocked on it and nervously glanced at Klaus.

A few moments later, Victor's voice came from inside.

"Come in."

She instantly pushed the door and said while looking at Klaus with a forced smile, "Please."

He stepped inside, and his gaze immediately fell on Victor Frank sitting behind his desk, which was covered with files, papers, folders, and several documents.

There were shelves filled with law books against the walls, a few framed certificates hanging above them, and a large window behind Victor that overlooked part of the city.

Victor was a man in his thirties; his deep bluish hair had a few strands of white, giving him an appearance that was slightly older than his actual age. His brown eyes held the calm that came with experience. He wore a dark gray white-striped two-piece suit over a white shirt and a black tie.

He smiled at Klaus and said, "It's nice to see you again, Mr. Murrow."

Klaus didn't answer immediately; instead, he took off his mask and hat and stared at Victor's face for a few seconds, then he mumbled, "What did you do to me?"

Victor frowned and tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Klaus took a few steps and shifted into the chair placed opposite Victor.

"Since the last day I met you, I have been unable to make a solid decision... everything seems harder and unachievable. Why?"

Victor leaned back in his chair and shrugged, "How would I know that?"

Klaus frowned.

Victor smiled at him and asked a question that Klaus himself hadn't thought about that much, "How many times have you failed?"

Klaus furrowed his brows as he thought of an answer.

He hadn't actually tasted failure that much. Even before awakening the apocalypse system, his life was peaceful, and he had everything that he needed.

After awakening the apocalypse system, he had done various things, and almost all of them were successful.

His first attempt at abusing the system's leveling-up method was successful, as was the creation of The Maker, Leo Maker, and Maker Finance.

Except for Victor, he had recruited every person that he wanted to without any failure; instead, he had ended up gaining more.

As he continued thinking, the conclusion formed on its own.

He had only tasted failure once, and that was when Victor Frank had denied joining him.

He had failed when Victor didn't meet his criteria.

Klaus's eyes trembled as the realisation struck him like a thunderbolt.

Victor noticed that and said, "The last time I saw you, I didn't see a competent leader or businessman but a young man who had gotten overconfident because things never went the wrong way for him."

Klaus frowned.

"Now I see a man who is burdened by the weight of his own ambitions and does not know how to move further. What you consider to be the right way is affecting you negatively when it shouldn't have."

"You are right..." Klaus whispered, a stunned expression on his face.

Even Marcel wasn't this good at reading people. But the two of them were very distinctly different.

While Victor could understand one's inner self through how they acted, Marcel could understand their thoughts and motivations through acts as small as looking slightly to the side instead of the center.

Both of them were monstrous on their own.

"Why are you so silent today?" Victor asked.

Klaus's lips opened and closed a few times, but he had no answer.

Seeing that, a wide smile appeared on Victor's face, and he said, "Is it because you no longer have the same confidence? Or is it because you have started to lose yourself?"

Klaus blinked. "What do you mean?"

Victor's eyes moved to the mask and cap in Klaus's hand, then to the name he had used for the appointment, and he asked, "Why do you hide yourself behind a mask?"

"The things I am doing require secrecy," Klaus answered.

Victor shook his head. "You are doing it wrong then."

Klaus fell deeply confused.

"You have to grow up, Mr. Murrow," Victor said seriously.