"Huh? What's going on now?" As the distance closed, Leorio stared in disbelief at the strawberries floating in the air.
Takeru, noticing the large, vibrant strawberries, showed keen interest and subconsciously licked his lips. Takeru was quite the food enthusiast. He wondered if these special fruits might have any enhancement effects.
An examinee inadvertently stepped into a Noggin Lugging Tortoise's attack range. In an instant, the tortoise snapped its jaws, killing the man on the spot.
The sudden attack caused widespread panic, with people scattering in all directions. It was then that Kurapika and Leorio realized they were surrounded by the creatures.
"Takeru, should we force our way through?" Sensing the encirclement, Umaru prepared for battle, energy for a spell gathering in her hands.
"No need for that. I'm quite interested in those big strawberries on these tortoises' backs," Takeru replied with a smile.
With that, he leaped forward, plucking a strawberry from a tortoise's shell. Though the fruit was firmly attached, a slight exertion from Takeru was enough to detach it.
Feeling its prized fruit taken, the Noggin Lugging Tortoise became enraged, extending its long, thick neck to tear Takeru apart.
"Hey, look out!" Leorio shouted a warning.
In the next moment, no one clearly saw what Takeru did. The tortoise's body stiffened, its head thudding to the ground. Takeru, meanwhile, began munching on the strawberry, which was larger than his head.
Instantly, a burst of sweet and tart juice exploded on his taste buds, combined with a crisp texture.
Takeru couldn't help but close his eyes, a look of pure satisfaction on his face. He then took large, eager bites, quickly devouring the entire massive strawberry.
At that moment, Leorio was attacked by another tortoise. At the critical second, Kurapika leaped in, injuring the tortoise's eye and saving him. The two then wasted no time, dashing out of the encirclement.
As for Takeru, they had no time to worry about him now. Umaru, however, stayed behind, dodging tortoise attacks while waiting for Takeru.
Seeing this, Takeru stopped lingering. He swiftly harvested the strawberries from the surrounding tortoises, storing them directly in his item inventory.
Fortunately, these strawberries seemed to be recognized as stackable items of the same type, saving him the trouble of carrying a bulky load.
As Takeru gathered strawberries, agonized screams continued to echo around them.
Without further delay, Takeru collected the fruit from the six Noggin Lugging Tortoises nearby. Satisfied with the haul of 65 strawberries, he nodded to Umaru, and they left the area.
Soon, they caught up with Leorio and Kurapika, who were now with a small group of other examinees...
It was then Takeru spotted Hisoka, who had just finished off several people, holding a playing card and advancing toward Leorio's group. Clearly, his killing spree wasn't over.
"Hey there!" Despite the tense atmosphere, Takeru greeted Kurapika and Leorio with a relaxed demeanor.
His confidence stemmed from a simple fact: while his defense might not be invincible in this world, those capable of truly harming him were few, and Hisoka wasn't among them.
Since Hisoka couldn't kill him or even likely leave a lasting injury, Takeru had little to fear.
"What do you want?!" Seeing Hisoka approach, Leorio demanded, frowning.
"I'm playing the examiner's game. I originally planned to start during the second phase, but the first test was simply too dull. So, I've decided to lend a hand myself. In short, I'm here to help assess your potential to become Hunters," Hisoka answered Leorio without hesitation.
Hearing Hisoka's words, Umaru stared at him gravely. She found it hard to comprehend the existence of someone like Hisoka in this world… a person who seemed driven by sheer, restless boredom.
"'Assess'? You bastard! Can't you see? With this thick fog, if we lose sight of the examiner, it's impossible to find him again. That means you'll fail just like us!" One examinee shouted angrily at Hisoka.
A swish sound cut through the air. The man who had been ranting was instantly killed by a playing card from Hisoka...
"How rude. Don't lump me in with you lot. Let me give you a parting gift before you die: 'A magician is omnipotent'," Hisoka said with a sinister smile.
As for Takeru, with his Observation Haki, tracking the footprints left by the group ahead in these wetlands was child's play. Getting lost was not a possibility for him.
"Don't joke around! You have no right to become a Hunter!"
"I'll make sure you never appear in an exam again!"
Those who had made it this far were not lacking in pride. Hearing Hisoka's contemptuous words, their fury boiled over, and they launched a coordinated attack against him.
"Against you few... one card is enough," Hisoka murmured, squinting at the encircling attackers.
"Don't look down on us!" Enraged by Hisoka's dismissive attitude, they charged at him with their weapons.
Hisoka, utterly unconcerned by their assault, swiftly flicked his wrist. The playing card in his hand, sharp as a razor blade, flew out with deadly precision. In moments, the attackers were all slain.
Having dispatched the group, Hisoka turned his attention to the four who hadn't moved: Takeru, Umaru, Kurapika, and Leorio. His gaze lingered on Takeru, who was still smiling. For some reason, Hisoka caught a faint, elusive whiff of danger from him.
"Let's start with you, then," Hisoka said after a moment, selecting the weakest link: Leorio.
"Listen, everyone. When I give the signal, we scatter and flee in different directions," Kurapika whispered urgently, sensing Hisoka's intent.
"What?!" Leorio couldn't believe his ears.
"The gap between us and him in actual combat experience is too big. Even if we fight together, victory is highly unlikely," Kurapika explained, frowning.
"No need for that. I happen to want to test the abilities of the Magician Hisoka myself," Takeru interjected calmly, stepping forward toward Hisoka.
"Wait, Takeru!" Kurapika tried to stop him.
However, Takeru was supremely confident in his own strength. His nigh-impenetrable defense alone meant Hisoka couldn't breach it.
"Oh? You wish to fight me?" Seeing Takeru step forward, Hisoka shifted his focus back to him.
"Indeed." As he spoke, Takeru accelerated abruptly, appearing beside Hisoka in an instant and throwing a punch. However, Hisoka's figure shattered like powder. Unfazed, Takeru spun around with a roundhouse kick, sending Hisoka's real body flying...
After kicking him away, Takeru stood calmly in place, simply watching Hisoka.
"That was... somewhat interesting," Hisoka remarked, though he had used Ken to protect himself at the last moment, mitigating most of the damage from the powerful kick.
"Is that so? Things might get even more interesting," Takeru said with a light laugh. Concentrating, his arm instantly turned pitch black, gleaming with a metallic sheen.
"What is this?" Seeing Takeru's arm turn black, Hisoka frowned. He had been using Gyo and was certain Takeru hadn't activated Nen. Yet, this impossible transformation had occurred.
Intrigued, Hisoka flung three playing cards at Takeru...
Clang! Clang! The sound of metal rang out as Takeru caught the cards with his bare hand. With a slight squeeze, he crushed both the cards and the Nen reinforcing them.