Chapter 38: The End of the Hunter Exam
Kurapika knelt on the ground, his face pale, his Scarlet Eyes having already faded away.
Yet he still struggled to stand up.
Until Hisoka suddenly flashed before him, leaning close to whisper something in his ear. Instantly, all the fight drained from Kurapika, and he completely gave up resistance.
"What number is your target?"
"...16."
Hisoka glanced at the number tags the examinees had thrown onto the beach, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked toward the distant ferry.
On the ferry, Tonpa sensed Hisoka's gaze and instinctively shrunk back. Having survived over thirty Hunter Exams, his perception of danger was extremely sharp.
In that moment, Tonpa clearly felt a threat of death. Before even disembarking, he directly took out his number tag and threw it toward the beach.
"I forfeit!"
The number tag traced a perfect parabola through the air, landing precisely before Kurapika—exactly the number 16 he had just mentioned!
After Kurapika, Killua, Gon, and Leorio each passed Hisoka's test in turn.
When it was Killua's turn, Mord specifically glanced at Illumi, but found he had no intention of intervening.
Was it because it wasn't the final test yet, so he didn't want to reveal his true identity?
Or did he want to observe Killua's growth through Hisoka?
With Illumi, the obsessive brother fanatic, present, Hisoka didn't go too far and simply knocked them unconscious like Gon.
Compared to these troublemakers, Leorio was much more sensible, obediently accepting Hisoka's handout.
After the beautiful guide reported the situation to the Hunter Association, the originally seven-day-long fourth phase of the exam ended early.
A total of eight candidates remained.
Mord, Hisoka, Illumi, Kurapika, Killua, Gon, Leorio, and... Hanzo!
That's right—just before the end was officially announced, Hanzo, who had been knocked out cold, suddenly woke up, swiftly picked up six number plates from the beach, and dashed toward the ship.
Unlike the other candidates who had withdrawn, Hanzo had never formally given up, so he hadn't lost his qualification. Now, with six points successfully accumulated, he made it back to the ferry.
Everything was within the rules.
"Hahaha, bet you didn't see that coming! Ninja Art: Feigned Death Technique!" Hanzo laughed heartily, though no one paid him any attention.
The main four—having passed by accepting handouts—were shrouded in an extremely oppressive atmosphere.
As for Mord and the other two monsters, they had long noticed Hanzo's sneaky awakening but chose not to expose him.
Hisoka chuckled and glanced at Mord.
His expression seemed to say, "Well done, kid. So you're starting to grow your own apple orchard too, huh?"
A short while later.
Bourbon led the eight successful candidates back onto the airship.
The eliminated examinees were sent away by ferry, left to try again next year.
Mord's casual, unintentional act had indirectly saved two lives: Bodoro, who would have been killed by Killua, and Pokkle, who would later be devoured by ants.
Since Pokkle hadn't learned Nen, perhaps he wouldn't have taken Ponzu to NGL—so, strictly speaking, three lives were spared.
On the airship, the Hunter Association examiners gathered.
"Seven out of the eight are newcomers?"
"Heh, not bad, not bad."
After receiving the list of qualifiers, Netero's face broke into a delighted smile.
Beside him, Buhara, while devouring the food on the table, asked in a muffled voice, "Is this common?"
"Hmm..." Netero thought for a moment. "Looking at past records, it's usual to have no new qualifiers for ten years straight, and then suddenly a gathering of talented youths."
"This is the fourth time since I became chairman."
"The fourth time?!" Menchi exclaimed in shock, whispering to Bean beside her, "How old is the chairman?"
"I heard he was already nearly a hundred twenty years ago," Bean replied uncertainly.
Satotz elegantly placed a piece of steak in his mouth and asked, "Speaking of which, what exactly is the final test?"
"Right, we still don't know. Whether this year truly boasts an abundance of new talent depends on this last test!" Buhara chimed in.
Netero had already made up his mind.
Just like in the original, the test would consist of one-on-one battles, but with a twist.
Victory only came when the opponent verbally admitted defeat. The loser would proceed to the next round of challenges, while the winner would advance directly.
In addition, there was one most important rule: killing was prohibited. Anyone who killed would be immediately disqualified.
On the surface, this seemed to be the most lenient test in the entire Hunter Exam, as only one person would be eliminated in a normal match, and there was no life-threatening danger.
Compared to the previous brutal tests that often endangered lives, this one seemed almost angelic.
At least, that was what the hothead Leorio thought.
But Mord could clearly sense Netero's malice.
The expression Netero had before detonating the "Poor Man's Rose" in his previous life had once become Mord's nightmare.
Because the most painful thing in the world is not failure, but the thought of "I could have made it."
After struggling to reach this final step, just a little more effort would have fulfilled his life's ambition.
Who would be willing to give up? And Netero's malice lay not only in making this unfortunate examinee fall just before dawn but also in forcing him to give up voluntarily.
How desperate must one be to utter the words "I lose"?
"The night before dawn is truly the darkest hour," Netero murmured softly as he watched the two contestants fighting in the arena.
There was nothing much to say about the one-on-one battles in the exam.
It was essentially a repeat of the fourth phase of the exam, with the only difference being that Illumi finally revealed his true identity when facing Killua. Using the lives of Gon and the others as leverage, he completely shattered Killua's mental defenses, forcing him to give up the Hunter Exam.
The Hunter Exam ended the moment Killua forfeited.
A total of seven people obtained Hunter qualifications:
Mord, Hisoka, Illumi, Hanzo, Kurapika, Gon, and Leorio.
After all the twists and turns, the final result was not much different from the original storyline.
There was also a minor incident during this time: Gon, disregarding everything, rushed forward to confront Illumi for Killua's sake. Fortunately, the situation was quickly resolved.
Afterward, Mord and the others were led by Bean to a lecture hall, where an introduction to the Hunter profession began.
"Since everyone is here, I'll start the introduction," Bean said, looking at Mord and the others below. He pulled a card from his pocket and began explaining. "This card represents your identity as Hunters—the Hunter License."
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