Inside the chilly clinic.
An old man, well past fifty, sat quietly in a chair, reading today's newspaper.
Hearing the door open for the first time in hours, he barely reacted. He kept his eyes on the paper and asked casually:
"What do you need?"
"Mrs. Wayne is having some stomach trouble... she asked me to pick up a box of gastric medicine," the Kiriko (in his middle-aged disguise) said slowly.
"Oh?"
Hearing this, the old man's demeanor sharpened.
"We carry two types of gastric medicine. One is 200 Jenny, the other is 300 Jenny."
"The 300 Jenny version contains Gold Dust and Dew Grass, so it's more effective. Which one would you like?"
"The 200 Jenny one. Mrs. Wayne specifically mentioned she's allergic to Dew Grass," the Kiriko replied.
"Understood..."
Listening to this seemingly nonsensical conversation, Yuu knew it was the code phrase to confirm their identity as Hunter Exam candidates.
After the exchange, the previously lazy old man took a green box of medicine from the counter and handed it to the Kiriko.
"Yuu, let's go."
The Kiriko beckoned to Yuu, who had been waiting patiently. They left the pharmacy and headed down the street.
"Where to now?" Yuu asked.
"To deliver the medicine to Mrs. Wayne."
The Kiriko opened the box and found a slip of paper with an address inside.
A few minutes later, they found "Mrs. Wayne," who supposedly had stomach issues.
She was a young, beautiful woman.
Yuu watched as the Kiriko handed her the medicine box. In return, she slipped him a card and another note.
Following the instructions on the note, Yuu and the Kiriko finally arrived at the true exam location.
A packed bar.
Using the card they received, the Kiriko led Yuu through the crowd without issue, bringing him to an empty private room in the back.
"This is it. The exam site."
"The Hunter Exam... is way more complicated than I thought," Yuu grumbled.
"It has to be. With millions of applicants every year, if we didn't filter them out in stages, the location would be leaked instantly," the Kiriko explained.
He turned to look at Yuu.
"My job ends here. Whether you pass or fail from now on depends entirely on you."
"Good luck."
"Thanks." Yuu reached out and shook the Kiriko's hand.
With that, the Kiriko closed the door, leaving Yuu alone in the room.
Click!
As soon as the door shut, the entire room lurched as if a mechanism had been triggered.
Then, it began to descend.
"So the whole room is an elevator..."
Yuu sat on the sofa in the private room, watching the numbers on the wall-mounted screen climb.
[B1... B2...]
"I should put on a disguise before I get there."
Remembering the Captain's "advice," Yuu dug through the backpack Mr. Maldo had given him. He found a roll of bandages and wrapped them around his eyes.
Among this mixed bag of candidates, there were freaks like Hisoka and disguised assassins like Illumi...
There could be serial killers obsessed with body parts or organ traffickers in the mix.
Yuu didn't want to become a target just because his eyes were pretty.
---
Soon, the room chimed.
Ding!
One of the walls slid open automatically.
"Here we go..."
Yuu walked out of the elevator room. Scanning the area through his bandages, he saw a dense crowd of people...
At a rough estimate, there were at least six hundred candidates already waiting.
As Yuu sized them up, many of the candidates were sizing him up in return.
"A rookie? He looks so young..."
"Why are his eyes bandaged? Is he injured?"
"How did a kid like that find this place?"
"Is that a boy or a girl...?"
"..."
Yuu ignored the whispers.
Since learning "Nen," he had developed a habit of judging people's strength by observing their aura.
Looking around, he saw that most people's aura was leaking freely from their bodies. There might be some Nen users disguised as normal people using Zetsu...
But probably not many.
"Even the candidates who made it this far are mostly normal people, huh..."
Honestly, Yuu was hoping to test himself against strong Nen users. Real combat was the fastest way to improve.
So, he felt a twinge of disappointment.
However, even if they weren't Nen users, the average aura strength here was far higher than that of a regular civilian.
Looking closely, Yuu spotted several people worth noting. Some were familiar faces from the original series...
Number 73: A thin man in a black suit carrying a briefcase. His aura was steady and calm.
Number 215: Todo, the wrestler. A bit chubby, but his aura was significantly stronger than the others.
Number 301: Bodoro, the martial artist... and Number 93: Bourbon, the snake charmer.
They were all regulars at the Hunter Exam.
As for Number 16, Tonpa the "Rookie Crusher"... even though his number was low (meaning he arrived early), his aura was surprisingly weak.
He had clearly relied purely on his 35... no, 31 years of exam experience to get here so quickly.
"But even if all these guys teamed up, they wouldn't stand a chance against that guy in the corner..."
Yuu's gaze landed on Hisoka, whom he hadn't seen in a while. He wore tag number 44 on his chest and was leaning against a wall in the corner, shuffling a deck of cards to kill time.
"My understanding of Nen has improved over the last few days, but somehow... he feels even more dangerous now."
---
Sensing Yuu's arrival, Hisoka paused his shuffling. Surprisingly, he waved at Yuu with a smile that wasn't overly creepy.
Yuu didn't want to admit it, but Hisoka was definitely waving at him.
"We shouldn't be that close..."
In Yuu's memory, they had only exchanged names and spoken a few sentences. Their relationship shouldn't have progressed to the "friendly wave" stage.
And yet, Hisoka seemed to be initiating contact.
"Weird..."
While Yuu was pondering this, a short, green-skinned humanoid with a head shaped like a bean walked up to him and handed him a number tag.
It read: [Number 672].
The bean-shaped creature wore a professional smile and spoke politely.
"Please take your number tag."
Yuu recognized him immediately. It was Beans, the personal secretary to Chairman Netero.
No nose, no ears, round head, green skin.
Just like his name implies.
Clearly not a human.
Yuu took the tag and glanced at the number. He was over six hundred spots behind Hisoka, who had started at the same time.
"Please make sure to wear the tag on your chest," Beans instructed.
"If you lose your tag during the exam, your score cannot be recorded, and you will be disqualified. Please be careful."
After delivering the standard warning, Beans turned and walked away.
---
Yuu pinned the tag to his shirt and finally took a good look at his surroundings.
Unlike his memories of the anime, this place was a brightly lit, black tunnel.
The space was roughly cylindrical, with height and width being equal. Massive iron gates sealed both ends.
The walls were black, smooth, and dotted with small lights that were mostly turned off.
Only a few large, square lights on the ceiling illuminated the venue.
---
Thirty minutes later.
Shortly after the last two candidates arrived, the venue suddenly shuddered twice.
The iron gates sealing both ends of the tunnel began to rise slowly.
Two examiners who looked exactly alike walked out from behind the gates at opposite ends.
They marched toward the center of the exam hall.
"Is it starting...?"
Yuu stood up from the floor and joined the crowd gathering around the two examiners.
They were twin men, appearing to be in their early thirties.
Both wore dress shirts and ties, looking like typical salarymen.
The one on the left had long, messy hair. The one on the right looked like an elite businessman with slicked-back hair.
Their vibes were polar opposites.
The long-haired one looked gloomy, slouching with a distinct lack of confidence.
The other stood tall with hands clasped behind his back, wearing a perpetually eerie professional smile.
The slick-haired examiner spoke first, his voice deep.
"We are the examiners for this phase of the Hunter Exam. I am Sam... and this is my brother, Satchi."
"Registration for the Hunter Exam is now closed. There are a total of 697 candidates present."
Sam clapped his hands. The ceiling lights began to shut off one by one, while small lights embedded in the walls—forming a path leading to each examiner—flickered on.
Soon, the entire tunnel was plunged into darkness, save for the spotlights on the two examiners.
Sam continued.
"The content of this exam is simple: Leave this dark tunnel by any means necessary."
"To prevent you from getting lost, my brother and I will lead the way. You may choose to follow either of us."
"A friendly reminder: there is a button on the back of your number tag."
"If you get lost in the dark, please press the button immediately and wait for rescue."
"Of course, if you wish to give up, you may press the button now."
"Now then... the First Phase of the Hunter Exam officially begins!"
With that, Sam and Satchi turned and began walking in opposite directions.
The lights followed their footsteps, splitting the path.
---
Watching the two figures moving away in pools of light...
Yuu looked left, then right, examining their auras. He murmured to himself:
"Sam is a normal human. Satchi is a Nen user... what a weird combination."
---