Inside a locked room, Hunde puts all of his strength into punching the wall, when the dust eventually settles, the group is startled to see that there isn't even a scratch put on the wall
Hunde
Huh, I really thought that would work…
Ada
Ugh, the floor's too hard to sleep on…
What am I supposed to do…?
Fred stands off to the side as he watched Hunde continue to pound away at the door and Ada crying on the ground as she slowly drifts off
Fred
(I think I got locked in a room full of idiots…)
Gou
By now, I'm sure you've all realized that these rooms are locked and there's no way out.
This is the challenge of round two, using your wits and patience, solve the puzzles in your rooms and escape!
When out in the wild, you'll be required to evade intelligent opponents and recognizing patterns of Infected could prove vital.
Also, one of the most important qualities of a hunter is to be patient, and let your prey fall into the traps you've set.
So, with all of that said, good luck everyone!
Gou's voice stops projecting as he puts down a small object and lies down on the wooden platform
Gou
Wow, these devices sent from the Hunderpublik sure are something else.
With just a bit of pressure, I'm able to make my voice loud enough for each of those rooms to hear me.
Not to mention, you made all of those rooms using your pressure, right?
Not the kind of work I'd expect from a single-star, they really should promote you.
The hunter with the prosthetic arm sits next to Gou, his eyes are closed and his hands are currently making an odd sign
Hunter
Thank you, my lord, but your praise is wasted on me. It's all because of my family's Pressure Model: Dreadnaught.
With it, I've set the clear conditions to be solving the puzzle, however if any of the examinees were to exert enough Pressure, they could force the door open.
Gou
I'm being serious here, you'll go far, and don't worry, I doubt any of those little snots have more Pressure than a single-star!
Hunter
I wouldn't be so sure, there were certainly more than a handful of them that I believe would be able to pull it off…
Inside his chamber, Hunde is still punching the wall
Fred
Ok, everyone, let's calm down!
Hunde
Ugh, my fist is starting to hurt…
Fred
Did you even listen to what Lord Raubtier had to say?
Hunde
Huh, no, I couldn't hear him over the sound of me punching the wall.
Fred
Sigh, that's what I thought…
He said that if we want out, we'll need to solve the puzzle in this room, so, should we get started on that?
Hunde
I dunno, my plan seems easier…
Fred
Trust me, it's not.
Fred and Hunde start to explore the room while Ada continues to sleep on the floor.
The room is large, yet claustrophobic with a stoney cold floor, and walls decorated with documents and art pieces depicting various historic scenes.
The room has various chairs and desks placed seemingly randomly, with a fireplace on the wall farthest from the entrance, with a bookshelf on either side of it. Hanging on the wall is a document titled the Hunt…Doc…, surrounded by portraits of various royals and nobles.
Hunde
Hey, Fred, I found a key hole!
Fred
Great!
So that means that somewhere in this room, there must be a key to opening that door!
Hunde
Where?
Fred
If we knew that, it wouldn't be much of a test, would it?
Fred makes his way over to the desk and picks up a strange looking box from the desk. As Fred lifts up the box, an eye appears on the box before it begins to speak.
Gou
Hello examinees.
This is a prerecorded message, I've had one of these Sprecsten placed in each chamber.
You can use them to communicate directly with my Sprecsten if you want to get out.
Keep in mind, leaving the chamber via Sprecsten is considered a failure, and you will be unable to move onto the next round.
If even one member from your team decides to leave using a Sprecsten, then the whole team will fail.
So, make sure you don't end up touching the Sprecsten, because the future of your whole team relies on you to work together!
The eye closes once Gou stops talking, leaving the three in a quiet room once again
Fred
Let's make sure none of us touch this thing!
We don't want to accidentally fail each other.
We'll only use this Sprecsten in the small chance we all agree to quit the test.
Hunde
Right, sounds good.
Ada
No…I don't wanna get outta bed…!
Ada starts swinging her arms wildly in her sleep, and almost hits the Sprecsten
Fred
Woah, Hunde!
Do something before she breaks something!
We won't be able to do anything with her tossing and turning in her sleep!
Hunde looks around the room before grabbing a pillow off of the chair and giving it to Ada for her to hold.
After a few seconds, Ada calms down and falls peacefully asleep
Fred
Phew, good job.
Now, let's get to work and start searching for the key!
Fred and Hunde start pulling out books from the shelf, searching through couch cushions, and looking beneath the desk to see if anything was left there
Hunde
Sigh, this is my tenth book, and it still won't open!
Fred
What do you mean it won't open?
Hunde
Well, the pages are all stuck together!
What's the point of having the books if they can't be opened?!
Fred
Keep looking.
They wouldn't give us an impossible task, it's not like they want us to fail.
There's gotta be something we're missing!
Ada
Ugh…
Hunde and Fred turn towards Ada, who, while still drowsy, seems to be awake enough to talk.
Hunde
What's wrong?
Ada
This pillow is uncomfortable…!
Fred
What do you mean?
It looks pretty normal to me.
Ada
No…
When you've slept with as many pillows as I have, you notice things like this…
There's something inside the pillow…!
Fred
Something inside?
Could you hand that to me for a second?
Ada
Alright…
Fred finds a small patch on the pillow made with a different pattern than the rest of the pillow, and tears it off.
From the freshly opened hole in the pillow, Fred pulls out a small handle that looks as though it's part of a puzzle with a small joint to connect with a matching piece
Hunde
Is that the handle for the key?
Fred
Ha, it looks like they won't make this easy for us…
We'll probably need to turn this whole room upside down in order to find the remaining pieces.
At least now we know that we aren't looking for something that could fit a whole key, but only a part of it.
Hunde
But how many pieces are we looking for?
If they're all the same size as that handle, it could take us around an hour, but what do we do if the other parts of the key are smaller?
Fred
I think they will probably be around the same size as this.
Hunde
Why?
Fred
Well, keys all have at least four sections: the head, the shoulder, the blade and the tip.
What we just found was the head, and so I think that what they probably did was divide the key into these four sections for the test.
Hunde
Wow, thanks Ada!
You really helped us!
Ada
Well, I wouldn't call myself a hero, but if you insist…
Fred
Trust me, no one is calling you that.
Anyways, let's get back to looking for possible locations of the key parts.
Just like that patch on the pillow that looked out of place, let's look for anything in this room that looks out of place.
Hunde
Hm…
I bet there's a secret switch behind one of these books!
Hunde starts pulling out books at random from the shelf
Fred
You're not even looking inside the books anymore…
Hunde
I have a sneaking suspicion it's behind…this book!
Hunde pulls one out and holds it in the air…
Hunde and Fred stand in silence for a few minutes as Hunde dejectedly puts down the book.
Hunde
I'm starting to think there might not be any secret switch…
Fred
You think?
Hunde
Ugh, and I was so confident too!
Hunde throws the book against the floor, Fred flinches in surprise from the loud crash and Ada sleeps peacefully unaware.
Fred looks at the collection of books around Hunde before seeing one of them had fallen open
Fred
What's in this one?
Hunde
Hm? Oh, that one's worse than the others!
Someone removed parts of the book!
It's the only one that opens and you can't even read it!
Fred
…ter…trine?
What's with this title?
It's like someone just cut out half the words.
Wait, I think I saw something similar before!
Fred turns towards the document hanging on the wall, matching the titles of both the document and book forming the complete title "The Hunter's Doctrine"
Hunde
What's up, did you find something?
Fred
Maybe…
Fred opens the book to the section with removed parts and lines the page up to match the doctrine hanging from the wall
Fred
Hunde, can you write some things down for me?
Hunde
Probably, why?
Fred
I think this is giving us the hint to how we can get the next key!
Hunde
Oh!
Good job!
Fred
Don't say that just yet, wait until we've actually found the key.
Are you ready?
Hunde
Yup!
Fred
Alright, it goes E…m…b…e…r…s.
Embers…
Hunde
What does that mean?
Does it want us to start a fire in here?
I think the smoke would probably kill us…
Fred
No, I think it wants us to look for something related to embers.
Hunde
So that would mean, a campfire, a torch, a firepit, an oven–
Fred
Okay, I meant things that could be found in this room.
So, I guess the fireplace is the only option.
I guess we'll just dig through the soot and ashes until we find the key piece…
Hunde
We don't have to do all of that though.
Fred
What do you mean?
Why wouldn't we?
Hunde takes a deep breath in before blowing away the ashes, leaving a large metallic object at the bottom of the fireplace
Hunde
There!
Second key piece!
Hunde's white hair and robe are now covered in soot and ashes, as he turns towards Fred with a proud smile across his face. Hunde looks at Fred like a dog looking for attention.
Fred
Uh, wow, that was…unorthodox…
Hunde
Gee, thanks!
Fred
I'm not sure if you should take that as a compliment…
Anyways, we're halfway done!
Good job team!
Hunde
Yeah, go us!
Ada
Ugh, can you keep it down…
Fred
Oops, sorry Ada…
Hunde
I kinda forgot she was here.
It was kinda like she had just become a part of the room, you know?
Ada
Thanks, that's what I was going for…
Fred
Now, where in the room have we not looked yet?
There's only so many spaces that it could be hidden in…
Hunde
Oh!
I've got an idea!
Can I see the other key pieces?
Fred
Oh, you want to try and figure out the size of the next piece, that's a good idea!
Hunde
Huh?
I'm not doing all of that.
I'm just gonna sniff them.
Fred
…
…what?
Fred stares at Hunde for a few seconds, confused and unable to process the absurd statement he just heard.
Fred
I don't know if that–
Before he is able to say anything, Hunde brings the pieces of the key to his nose and begins to smell them.
Fred
H-hey, Hunde, what are you doing?
Hunde
Learning their scent
If it's part of the same key, then it should have the same smell, right?
Fred
No, no, there's no way that was the intended solution.
This is a test to prove our capabilities as hunters.
We should be able to do it without resorting to such…strange means.
Hunde
Says who?
I think a good hunter uses all resources at his disposal, including their nose—oh, I got something!
Hunde steps over Ada and makes his way towards a large portrait on the wall
The figure in the portrait is seated in a throne dressed in purple and silver robe, a crown is placed around his head as five figures in crowns are depicted kneeling before the man in the throne.
Fred
What are you doing now?
Hunde
Well, the scent is the strongest here, so…
Time to start looking!
Hunde tosses the portrait off the wall with no regard for its well being
Fred stumbles over himself to catch it, accidentally tripping on Ada, causing the portrait to break
Fred
No!
Hunde
Hey, look at this, I found the next part of the key!
That was easy!
Woah, what happened!? Are you alright?!
Ada
Maybe he hasn't slept enough…
That's usually the case when I cry…
Hunde crouches down and places a hand on Fred's shoulder
Hunde
It's ok if you want to lie down for a while, Fred.
Just leave the rest of it to Ada and I–
Fred
Stop that!
The reason I'm crying is because we broke the portrait of the Emperor!
Hunde
Oh…
So…who exactly is that?
Is he like a relative of yours or something?
Fred
W-what do you mean?
How can you not know who the Emperor is?
Hunde
Well, I grew up in the middle of nowhere, so my geography is pretty bad…as are most of my subjects…I'm good at biology though!
Fred
Ada, back me up, this is a normal reaction, right?!
Fred looks to Ada for help, only to find her asleep, drool spilling out from her mouth.
Fred face palms before standing up, exasperated
Fred begins to speak to Hunde in a condescending manner
Fred
Hi Hunde, so, we live in the Heimat Empire, right?
Hunde
I thought we were in Stadt der Prufungen or whatever it's called.
Fred
No, you see, that's the town name, the town is inside the kingdom of the Hunderpublik, within the Heimat Empire.
Hunde
Uhhh…sure…right…
Fred
Ok, I think that was too many words for you.
Let's make this simpler.
Fred places the broken portrait in front of Hunde
Fred
You see those five men kneeling down?
Hunde
Yeah?
Fred
Those represent the five kings of the kingdoms found within the Empire: Hel to the North, Archaea in the South, Eldorado in the West, Rusad in the East, and Eden/ the Hunderpublik in the centre of the continent.
Do you get it so far?
Hunde
Mostly…but I don't get why this painting being broken would make you start to cry…
Fred
Well Hunde, do you know why these five men, all of which were powerful enough to control their own country, are kneeling before the Emperor?
Hunde
No…
Fred
That's because the Emperor was a divine entity! He was able to unite the continent in order to fight against Lycanthropy! These six were the first Hunters in history.
Do you get it now? Not only did you disrespect God, you disrespected the first Hunters!
Do you get it yet? Huh? Huh?
Hunde
I-I get it already!
I-I'm sorry! I didn't realize this was so important!
Please forgive me!
Fred
It's not me you should be apologizing to, is it?
Hunde
!
You're right! I'm sorry, Emperor! Please, punish me for my mistake!
Fred
That's right, repent for your sins!
As Fred continues to berate Hunde, and Hunde is now the one on the floor crying, Ada rolls over and grabs the key-piece. She waves her arms to get the attention of Hunde and Fred, before quickly tiring herself out.
Ada
Uh, guys?
Did you forget, we got the key piece…Z Z Z…
Fred and Hunde seem to snap out of it when Ada falls back to the ground, asleep, dropping the key piece in the process.
Fred
Whoops, sorry, I got a little sidetracked!
Thanks Ada…
Hunde
Thank you!
Isn't this great, we already have three of the key pieces!
Fred
That's right, but we've already been here for a long time. I wonder how the other groups are doing…
Outside, Gou senses something is off and wakes up before turning to face one of the locked rooms. Gou steps in between the single-star hunter and the room.
Hunter
Um, sir? What are you doing–
Suddenly, the room shatters, as if a rock had just hit a window. Gou looks down from his platform to see several figures standing where there used to be a room: The boy in rags, Frank, and the middle-aged man with an axe.
Axe Hunter
Pyha…I did not think that would really work…
I was scared when you started charging your Pressure like that, but I guess it all worked out!
Hohoho!!!
Frank
Ha ha…
It was definitely something…
(What's with this guy? Wasn't that room created with Pressure? To destroy it from the inside, he must have even more Pressure than whoever made it!)
(Is that even possible for some no-name?)
(Seriously, I hope I never have to see him again, this guy gives me a bad feeling…)
The boy in rags stares daggers into Gou, who responds in kind. The boy scowls as he feels Gou look down on him.
The boy lets out an immense amount of Pressure, causing Frank and the Axe hunter to stumble. However, less than a second after, Gou unleashes his own Pressure, causing the Boy to fall down, his face now buried in the dirt.
Gou
Impressive stuff, boy, but still immature.
Gou walks up to the Boy and crouches down to be able to speak at his level.
Gou
Tell me, what's your name?
Boy in Rags
J-Johan…
Gou
Johan, huh? I'm sure you've learned your lesson now.
In an instant, Gou returns to sit next to the single-star hunter, as his pressure releases, allowing Johan to breathe again.
Johan continues glaring at Gou, however Gou pretends not to notice.
Gou
Congratulations on clearing the second round of the Hunting exam!
If you still want to continue, take a seat anywhere and wait for the others to finish.
As the first ones to win, you get nothing. Though, I suppose I should encourage the others to finish quickly…I don't have all day afterall…
Frank
(Isn't it your job to be here?)
Gou picks up his Sprecsten before he starts to speak.
Gou
Hello all examinees, can you hear me?
Suddenly, all attention across the different rooms shifts towards the Sprecsten located in each room.
Gou
I'd like to formally announce that the first team has passed the second round!
I'd also like to add I'm disappointed how few of you have dropped out…so, to speed up the inevitable, we're gonna set a time limit!
Suddenly, in each room, a small hourglass manifests itself out of the wall, and hangs above the examinees' heads.
Gou
Once that hourglass is finished, this round will be too.
I'd suggest hurrying up if you aren't already finished, cause I've already wasted enough time here!
Good luck, and may you be in the Emperor's favour.
Every examinee is terrified at Gou's sudden announcement, and a mad scramble begins within the rooms.
Single-star Hunter
Excuse me, my lord, but was that really necessary?
Gou
Of course it was. A good hunter is able to stay calm and collected under life-and-death circumstances.
If they can't handle a little bit of a deadline, then there's no way they can become hunters.
Besides, one group of nobodies already passed, so who's to say none of these brats can do it too?
Maybe taking this job isn't so bad…
This is shaping up to be much more fun than I ever expected!
Gou's face twists into a devilish grin, as within Hunde's room, Hunde and Fred are panicking, with Ada still lying comfortably asleep.