Chapter 3: Failure X Fortune
'A good King is one that understands when it's time to surrender.' Sinbad thought as he laid on the grass and closed his eyes. As the rest of the applicants rushed to leave the area of the second phase in search of pigs, Sinbad decided to take a nap.
Or atleast, he wanted to.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Menchi shouted, waving a butchering knife at Sinbad.
Sinbad opened an eye. "I'm not interested in cooking nor am I going to make a fool of myself by trying."
"I hate people like you, quitter because things got tough," Menchi condemned. She rose from her high chair and descended from her judging stage. "Are you disrespecting my exam?"
"I would never disrespect a lovely lady as yourself but a man knows his limits and understands when it's time to wait and observe," replied Sinbad, keeping an eye on the woman. On closer look, she had a nice figure and pretty face, she was worthy of his provocation.
Menchi blushed. "You are going to lay there and fail."
"We will see," Sinbad opened both his eyes and glared up at the woman. "I know the type of person you are. Confident. Prideful. Stubborn, but I like that. I just hope these guys can live up to your expectations."
Menchi huffed and stormed back to her judges table next to the second massive sized judge.
The rest of the applicants stampeded back inside, they were all carrying enormous pigs with elongated snouts. Each person stood behind a kitchen station and began roasting the pig. After ten minutes, a bald man dressed in ninja attire slammed his charred pig onto a plate and was the first to serve the two judges.
The large man ate the meat with much delight as drool escaped the edges of his flapping lips. Menchi however looked at the unappetizing dish and raised her red stick in the shape of an X, failing examinee 294.
Sinbad silently observed for the next ten minutes as each examinee failed to even get Menchi to pick up a fork and knife. They simply cooked the pig and slapped it onto a platter till the remaining applicants failed as well.
The applicants and Menchi's frustrations brewed to a breaking point till the last person failed.
Menchi got off her chair. "Phase two is over. You all fail!"
…
Over in the woods, Satotz stood high in the trees overlooking the high towering cement wall. He investigated the events of the second phase through binoculars. He slipped his phone out of his pocket and made a phone call. "Yes. It's worse than I expected, requesting intervention."
…
Back inside the walls where the second phase was held, Sinbad rose to his feet in a good mood. He clutched onto his stomach and laughed at the rest of the examinees. "How embarrassing, you all failed."
A large man with his hair pulled back into a messy pony tail marched toward the laughing Sinbad. He was pointed out earlier by Tonpa as Todo, the wrestler. "You mock but I didn't see you try!"
"Yeah! You didn't even try," shouted the bald ninja.
Sinbad threw up his hands in jest. "Better to know your limits and admit defeat than make a fool of yourself."
"Enough! My Exam will not be disrespected any longer." Menchi stomped down the stairs. The rest of the applicants moved to clear a path toward the troublemakers. "You all lacked the creativity and finesse it takes to be a Hunter, so failure it is."
"Creativity," Todo scoffed. He pounded his chest. "I am going to be a Black List Hunter. I don't need artistry and I definitely don't need some lousy Gourmet Hunter denying me."
Sinbad stepped in between Todo and Menchi, getting in front of the belligerent man. "Don't blame her for your lack of ability. You failed, accept it with some humility."
"Humility?!" Todo raised his fists, enraged. "I will show you some humility!"
Above them, an old laugh vibrated in the air. The applicant's attention snapped onto the blimp flying in the sky. Sinbad's eyesight locked onto an old man falling at a rapid speed, crashing down in front of them. Dust and crumbled rock erupted as Sinbad shielded his face. Once the dust settled, an old man with long flowing eyebrows, bushy mustache, and a long full beard. Sinbad noticed the tension increase with the man's sudden appearance.
Sinbad locked onto the aloof old man, sensing the intertwinning Threads of Fate weaving themselves around the two of them. 'This is what I've been waiting for.'
"We can't have everyone failing so soon, Menchi," said the old man.
"Chairman Netero? What are you doing here?"
Netero lazily stroked his beard. "It appears as if my Exams have hit a crossroads, so it requires my intervention."
Menchi wore a serious expression. "I understand."
"How are you going to fix this?" Chairman Netero asked, folding his arms into his sleeves.
Menchi pondered, then pointed upwards. "Can we use the airship to take us to Split Mountain?"
"Ahh," Chairman Netero understood her next Exam as the corners of his lips curled into a devious grin. "That would work. Everyone! Onto the ship!"
After everyone boarded the airship, it took off to Split Mountain. It was a short trip and they arrived in seven minutes. The 70 applicants deboarded the ship and followed Menchi to a large chasm that separated the mountain in two.
Menchi stood in front of the applicants for the Hunter Exam. "Split Mountain is the biggest nest for Spider-Eagles, the eggs they lay are truly one of life's greatest delicacies. This test is simple: retrieve one singular egg, boil it, and then you pass."
She motioned with her arms to allow them to lean over and get a good look inside of the great chasm. There, attached on each side were thick spiderwebs, bunches of large white eggs hung from these webs. A gust of wind blew from the bottom and shot out from the top like a volcano. The rest of the applicants took the necessary safety precautions and stepped away from the chasm.
Looking over the deep and dangerous chasm, Sinbad smiled and then retreated as well.
"After my team puts the adult Spider Eagles to sleep, I will go down there and show you how to successfully retrieve the eggs," said Menchi, as she pulled out a beetle shaped communicator. Before she could give them a command, Sinbad interrupted. The winds of destiny blew in his favor.
"Wait a second, Miss," Sinbad separated himself from the crowd, stepping toward her. "Tell your team to wait on putting them on nap time. I will go down there and steal an egg."
"Huh?" Menchi couldn't contain her shock. The rest of the applicants rumbled in surprise.
Sinbad began stretching his limbs. "Since I didn't participate in the cook off and managed to ruffle some feathers. Allow me to earn my fellow men's hearts back."
'A King must show why they must follow the better man. A King must be willing to charge into battle to lead.'
"You wouldn't want to threaten the children of Spider Eagles," warned Menchi.
Sinbad felt the gaze of everyone present and couldn't help but savor the moment. He unsheathed his blade. The sunlight reflected on its curved edge. "Is anyone willing to join me in this endeavor?"
Todo the wrestler laughed, loudly. "Aw, you scared? You need someone to hold your hand."
"Nah," Sinbad replied. He shot a glance at Killua. "It would be more fun that way."
Killua smiled. "I will."
Menchi and Chairman Netero shared an acknowledging glance. Menchi threw up her hands. "Fine, go ahead."
Sinbad and Killua marched to the edge of the chasm. A massive gust of wind shot upward.
"Okay, I will handle the flying insects and you grab the eggs," said Sinbad.
"Sure," agreed Killua.
"Menchi, how dangerous are Spider Eagles?" Gon asked.
"Out in the wild, you would need a full team of ten experienced Hunters to deal with a singular Spider Eagle. A drop of their venom could kill a mammoth whale and the stickiness of their webs can trap a Blitzing Rhino."
"This is suicide," mumbled Todo the wrestler, taking a cautionary step away from the edge.
'But, down there, they won't have the superior aerial advantage.' This exact thought ran through Sinbad, Chairman Netero, Kurapika, and the clown face's minds.
"By the way, I am using you as bait," smiled Sinbad, leaping over the edge. His feet slid down against the rough rocky walls, he used the tip of his sword to slow down his descent. Sinbad's gaze focused on the large tunnels carved out of the rock, one of each side of connecting webs.
Understanding his plan, Killua didn't hesitate to jump into the chasm.
This prompted the others to rush to the edge and watch the development of what some thought as a suicide attempt.
Killua sailed down quicker than Sinbad. After five seconds, his feet landed on the springy webs. He tried moving but found it difficult at first, until he put more strength into his legs, he separated his foot from the web.
However in the time it took him to free a single foot, an enormous hairy eight legged bird shot out from behind him. Killua managed to twist his head to see the Eagle with a pointed beak as large as he charged directly at him. In the blink of an eye, which was only caught by three people in attendance, Sinbad thrusted his blade into one of the eight eyes of the Spider Eagle.
Sinbad crashed into the Spider Eagle and with his staggering momentum, knocked the bird into the back wall. Once hitting the wall, he drove the sword deeper into the Spider Eagle's head and brain. In an instant, he killed the creature.
Behind him, a second Spider Eagle screeched in distress after losing its partner. It flapped its wings, rising into the air. Due to the sun's position, it became hard to see the beast.
"Get the eggs," Sinbad shouted at Killua as he ripped his messy sword free. He jumped from the Spider Eagles corpse, watching it fall into the endless depths of the chasm. He stabbed the sword into the rocky wall as a foothold. "Eww, it's got purple blood all over my sword."
Killua leapt down and grabbed onto an egg. "Okay, what now!"
Sinbad's response got caught in his mouth, realizing danger was coming. A thick web shot from the Spider Eagle's spinnerets rapidly raced toward him. He evaded the sticky web by freeing his sword and pushed off the wall. He ran up the wall as webs chased in his footsteps, once he was at the same elevation as the Spider Eagle, Sinbad pushed off the wall, executing a backflip.
Enraged, the Spider Eagle charged with its sharp beak, aiming it at Sinbad's exposed back. He spun in the air and performed three simultaneous slashes, severing three of its eight legs and cutting off one of its feathered wings.
Sinbad landed on the opposite wall and watched the Spider Eagle helplessly fall into the dark chasm. Then, his sights fell onto the prize, the delicious eggs. A devious grin twisted on his face as a wonderful idea popped in his head.
'I warned them, didn't I?' Sinbad freed himself from the wall, running down the wall toward the thick strands of webs holding the bunches of eggs over the chasm. 'They wouldn't mind, I did all the work anyways.'
Sinbad boomed into laughter as he cut the webs off the wall, watching ten bunches of eggs fall into the chasm. "Killua! Are you holding up?"
"Yeah! How much longer?" Killua asked, hanging onto a large white egg.
Sinbad closed his eyes, feeling a faint draft of wind blow against him. "Five seconds. Grab me an egg as well."
Once five seconds had passed, Sinbad pushed off the wall and snatched an egg and Killua who grabbed a second egg fell into the dark abyss.
Above, teetering over the ledge, the rest of the applicants watched their figures disappear.
Todo gave a nervous chuckle. "That idiot got himself killed."
"He got too cocky after defeating those Spider Eagles," remarked Tonpa. He felt his luck surge from Sinbad's eventual death.
"No," Gon replied, earning the attention of everyone watching except for Menchi, who kept her gaze inside the chasm. "He timed it perfectly."
"Wha–" Before Todo and Tonpa could reply, Sinbad and Killua shot into the sky.
As Sinbad predicted, the powerful gust of wind knocked them into the air and he landed right next to Menchi.
"Did you worry about me?" Sinbad asked with a sly smile. He theatrically sheathed his sword and then offered the Spider Egg in his hand. "Here, I got you an egg since you couldn't join me."
With Sinbad's outstanding reappearance, a mix of emotions sparked from inside of everyone present.
Awe.
Beauty.
Fear.
Inspiration.
And the strongest of all, leadership.
"Absolutely not," Menchi replied, ignoring the offering and clapping her hands to reclaim the crowd's attention. "Now with the Spider Eagles gone, you all will go get your own eggs."
"Wait a minute," Leorio commented, taking another look into the chasm. "That bastard cut off half of the available eggs. Some of us won't be able to pass."
Chairman Netero laughed. "He did ask if anyone wanted to join him."
"That doesn't give him the right to sabotage the exam!" Todo shouted.
"This is what it means to be a Hunter," Menchi interrupted, snatching the egg out of Sinbad's grasp. She marched through the group. "If you want to pass my Exam then hurry up!"
The rest of the applicants jumped into the chasm in hopes of retrieving a Spider Egg but due to Sinbad's interference and falling into the chasm, thirty contestants failed to get one.