"This is the only route leading to the second test site."
Accompanied by the cries of crows, the examiner's voice echoed through the mist.
"This wetland is home to many rare and dangerous creatures not found elsewhere. Most of them feed on human flesh…"
Behind the group, the massive gate slowly began to close.
Many of the examinees who had collapsed from exhaustion could only watch helplessly as the door shut before their eyes—marking their failure in the exam.
"Once you step into a trap, it's certain death. Everyone, stay close to me."
Some people voiced their doubts.
If this place was full of traps, why would anyone willingly walk straight into them?
Just as confusion spread through the crowd, a sudden voice rang out.
"He's lying. That guy is a fake."
A man carrying a burlap sack stepped out from behind a wall. Inside the sack was a person who appeared to be unconscious.
"He's impersonating me. I'm the real Hunter Exam proctor."
The examinees looked back and forth between the two men, uncertainty written all over their faces.
Before anyone could react—
Two shuriken flew out.
The newcomer's forehead was pierced clean through.
[EXP +34]
The examiner tilted his head slightly, narrowly avoiding the shuriken aimed at him. The blades embedded themselves deep into the distant ground, blasting out a sizable crater.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"
Leorio, bare-chested, glared furiously at Akira. "You should've at least listened to his evidence!"
Akira shrugged casually.
"If he were really an examiner, he'd have decent strength. No way he wouldn't dodge my shuriken. Also—can we hurry it up? I don't feel like wasting time here."
All eyes turned to the examiner.
He glanced at the crater in the ground.
…Wasn't that a bit too much power for shuriken?
"Although there were extenuating circumstances," the examiner said stiffly, "next time, I'll immediately disqualify you."
He seriously suspected this candidate wasn't here to take the exam—he was here to kill examiners.
Akira waved him off.
"Just lead the way."
He had zero interest in listening to pointless arguments.
Nearby, Hisoka idly shuffled his playing cards.
"Tch… my prey got stolen."
The examiner resumed running forward.
This time, Akira changed tactics and stayed right behind him.
The group moved on once more.
Akira glanced back. In the thick fog, many figures were disappearing one after another. The members of the main cast were still there, while Hisoka deliberately slowed down, vanishing into the mist—probably to "play games" with someone.
The march continued.
Compared to the tunnel, this section took less time, but the danger was on a completely different level.
By the time they reached their destination, more than half of the examinees had been eliminated.
Soon after, the protagonist group emerged from the fog—guided by Hisoka.
The examiner fired a signal shot into the sky, drawing everyone's attention.
"Congratulations. Everyone standing here has passed the first phase of the Hunter Exam. I wish you good luck in the second test."
With that, the first examiner turned and left.
The gate behind them slowly opened, revealing two figures—one fat, one thin.
The second test was cooking.
Although many people complained, they still had no choice but to comply.
The tall, obese examiner chose a simple dish: roasted suckling pig.
The problem was that the pigs themselves weren't easy prey.
Akira slapped a charging boar with one palm, sending it flying. It crashed to the ground and passed out instantly.
[EXP +45]
"Even a wild boar gives more experience than most people," Akira muttered, noticing that nothing dropped.
After roasting the pig, he handed it over. The fat examiner devoured it like a bottomless pit—along with everyone else's dishes—and passed all participants.
Things changed once the female examiner took over.
The new challenge was sushi.
No matter what anyone made, she was dissatisfied.
Akira immediately gave up. He didn't even bother trying.
In the end, everyone failed.
Only when Hunter Association Chairman Netero stepped in was the test reset—this time to acquiring an extremely difficult ingredient.
The female examiner led them to a massive canyon.
Hisoka strolled up beside Akira, curiosity in his eyes.
"You look like you already knew this would happen."
Illumi—his body bristling with needles—also joined them.
Akira didn't even glance at them.
"What does it have to do with you?"
As the examiner demonstrated how to retrieve spider eggs from the canyon walls, Akira stepped forward.
He walked straight off the edge—clinging sideways to the cliff face, descending as if gravity didn't apply to him.
"That guy's walking on the cliff!" Gon exclaimed in amazement as Akira smoothly dodged spiders and plucked an egg from its web.
"That's cheating, isn't it?" someone muttered.
"Hoh hoh…"
Chairman Netero watched with keen interest, focusing his Nen into his eyes. What he saw was chakra flowing around Akira's feet.
It resembled Nen—but wasn't Nen.
Nor was it aura.
"A new type of power…? From the Dark Continent, perhaps?"
His curiosity was piqued.
In the end, many candidates obtained spider eggs through various methods, while others gave up—or fell to their deaths.
"All of these candidates pass," the female examiner announced, then turned to Netero. "Chairman, is this acceptable?"
"Hoh hoh, this will do just fine," Netero replied, though his attention lingered on Akira.
Akira noticed the scrutiny and frowned slightly.
So that's it… chakra.
It seemed this server had no other players.
Still, since he didn't belong to this world anyway, exposing chakra didn't really matter.
After the second test, everyone boarded an airship bound for the third test site.
"Now this is where the real Hunter Exam begins," Akira muttered as he entered the room prepared for him by the Hunter Association.
Running and cooking held zero appeal for him.
But before he could rest, there was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" Akira asked, already sensing trouble.
He opened the door—and saw Hisoka and Illumi standing outside.
"Yo~" Hisoka raised a hand in greeting.
"We're not exactly close, are we?" Akira's eye twitched. Since when did this clown get so familiar?
"We just wanted to ask about the next exam," Hisoka said casually. "You look like you already know."
"I don't."
Akira slammed the door shut.
He had no intention of getting entangled with these two—at least not until he reached jōnin-level strength.
But before he could lie down, there was another knock.
"I said I don't—"
Akira yanked the door open, ready to snap—then froze.
"…Chairman?"
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