No wonder this guy survived 35 exams—he's seriously talented.
"Turning bad luck into good luck"—what a natural ability to seek advantage and avoid harm…
Such talent is wasted in something as small as the Hunter Exam.
"You should throw him into the Dark Continent. No matter what danger shows up, if you're with this guy, you'll be fine. That's sharper than any 'preparation'…"
Once that thought arose, it lingered in Roy's mind.
He took a deep look at Tonpa.
Tonpa, who was guiding a dazed rookie toward the trap, suddenly felt a chill on his neck.
He turned around subconsciously—and immediately locked eyes with Roy's pale, colorless blind gaze.
His whole body trembled.
He opened his mouth and called out to his junior, "Xiba!"
"Damn! Why is this 'stable man' staring at me?
Nope. I need to hide before he says anything."
With panic on his face, Tonpa grabbed the confused newbie and practically sprinted away from Roy's line of "sight."
As expected…
Roy "watched" Tonpa flee with a faint smile.
He picked up his wine gourd and took a sip of fruit wine.
Just as he exhaled, he felt something was off.
The "horse" beneath him—Ilmi—was surging with killing intent and trying to break free from the mental hook.
Roy immediately set down the wine, grabbed the "leash" with one hand, and with the other, drew his armed aura whip—
SMACK!
Ilmi's buttocks trembled. He was stunned!
Even Hisoka's jaw dropped in exaggerated surprise. A moment later, he grinned with perverse delight.
"Ohhohoho~ So exciting~ Teacher Tianwei, lend me that whip. I want to give it a try too~"
Ilmi: "…"
Time is tight, isn't it? Madness… divorce.
For the first time, Ilmi's lifeless fish eyes rippled. He slowly turned and glared at Roy, a chill flickering deep within his eyes.
"What are you looking at~?" Roy said, towering over Ilmi. His tone was neutral, even playful:
"To be a horse, you have to accept being a horse."
"Still thinking about kicking? Then how do you expect me to explain to my 'clients'?"
…Goddamn "clients"…
The four "crane-tail" customers who spent nearly 300 million on the ride sensed danger and immediately looked down, pretending they saw nothing.
Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio froze mid-step, swallowing nervously.
The groom and the horse stood still. In the background, you could faintly hear buzzing electricity.
The atmosphere was that tense.
"Oh? The Zoldyck family's going to make a scene?"
At the front, Satotsu noticed the shift and looked back.
Candidates quickly shuffled past along the wall—
No one wanted to provoke either of the two monsters.
But not everyone kept walking…
Some candidates with confidence in their strength stopped to observe:
No. 53: Kuer
No. 76: Martial artist Kiyosato
No. 103: "Snake Charmer" Babu
Nos. 197–199: The Amory Brothers' eldest, Tuo
No. 255: Greta, the "Lion Hunt" wind user
They were all promising combatants.
Satotsu noticed and sighed, "Tch… I can't even blame them. Even I want to stop and watch."
After struggling for a second, he gave in—
He switched from robot-mode back to human-mode, turned around, and watched.
Thus…
The first phase of the Hunter Exam was forced to pause because of Roy and Ilmi's standoff.
Unprecedented.
Hunter Association, Chairman's Office
"Hey~ So this is the examiner you picked?"
Maha Zoldyck crossed his legs and glanced at Netero with narrowed eyes.
"Treating the exam like a joke… Seems like your Hunter Association's gone soft."
Netero stroked his beard, unfazed.
"How we test, what we test, and who decides—depends entirely on the examiner."
"I believe Satotsu knows what he's doing."
He smiled. "Besides… if your eyesight's so bad, maybe you should consider gouging it out and selling it."
"With your name—Maha Zoldyck—you'd probably fetch a good price."
"Maybe even 10 billion?"
"I'll give it to your grandson as a funeral fee. Judging by the two of them, either he dies or the other does. Ohohoho…"
After that long string of words, Netero felt quite refreshed.
He signaled to Beans to bring out more potato chips and placed them on the table.
Crack~ The bag tore open. Maha, quick as ever, grabbed the cucumber-flavored one and poured it straight into his mouth.
He chewed, eyes narrowed with half a sneer.
"Hey~ That might disappoint you," he said lazily.
Without even glancing at Roy or Ilmi on the monitor, he added, "Neither of them will make the first move."
Netero raised an eyebrow.
"Young people don't back down so easily in front of a crowd. Someone has to strike."
"Old man, maybe you really are too old. You've lost touch with how youth thinks."
"Old man?"
Maha chuckled. "Kid, I watch the same anime as the seven-year-olds these days."
"I binge One Piece with a group of teenagers and check out the cutest girls on the street."
"Forget teenagers—even if a toddler sticks out his butt, I can tell what kind of shit he's about to do!"
Then Maha's eyes glinted.
"So let's make a little wager—10 billion."
"We bet on whether the two will fight."
"You in or not?"