Time flew, and thirty hours passed in a flash.
As more and more candidates arrived at the venue, the once spacious and empty tunnel quickly became crowded. Due to the increasing crowd, Allen did not use this time to visit dungeons. Instead, he honestly sat in place, closed his eyes to rest, and slowly adjusted his body and mind to reach their peak state.
During this period, whether it was because the previous Aura burst had terrified the other candidates, or because Hisoka was constantly emitting a chilling killing intent that made everyone involuntarily nervous, everything remained remarkably calm. Even the infamous "Tonpa-sama," who usually loved to secretly scheme against and sabotage rookies, was uncharacteristically inactive.
Hanzo, Pokkle, Ponzu, the Amori Brothers, Bodoro… it seems these are the only people here with genuine potential to become Hunters.
Allen sipped sour-sweet strawberry juice to rehydrate, observing the various candidates, especially the life energy, or Aura as repeatedly mentioned in Nen theory, that unconsciously radiated from their bodies.
According to Wing, Nen is essentially the development and application of one's life energy, and theoretically, anyone can learn it. Even ordinary people, when experiencing extreme emotional changes or intense concentration, will unknowingly release Aura, and may even inject it into their work to be permanently preserved.
Furthermore, Allen's Nen Beast, the Red Dragon, has a special ability in this regard: it can sense everyone's aptitude and potential. It can easily discern who will become stronger after learning Nen and who is more mediocre. Of course, this only refers to the maximum volume of Aura, not the specific abilities they might develop.
As Morel mentioned in the Chimera Ant arc, the outcome of battles between Nen users is not determined solely by the quantity of Aura. It also involves combat intelligence, experience, mental strength, willpower, endurance, observational skills, judgment, environmental factors, and whether one has the intense resolve and self-sacrifice required at crucial moments to strengthen their Nen through Vows.
Theoretically, there are no absolutes in a fight between two Nen users. As long as the disparity in strength isn't so vast that there is no hope of winning, the weaker party always has a chance to turn the tables.
Undoubtedly, for the impending confrontation with Hisoka, Allen held an advantage from the start. He knew Hisoka's two Nen abilities, Bungee Gum and Texture Surprise, as well as his fighting habits and thought processes.
But what about Hisoka?
He was completely ignorant of his opponent's current abilities. Based on this point alone, Allen had a considerable edge.
However, viewing it from another perspective, Hisoka never seemed to care about letting opponents know his abilities. He always had absolute confidence that he could skillfully utilize his two seemingly simple abilities during a fight, running circles around his opponents. He could devise targeted traps based on the situation, achieving his goals through deception and tactics.
Simply put, he was an extreme Nen user who preferred to improvise in combat. He never needed to prepare beforehand and could unleash 100% of his strength at any moment.
The opposite extreme was the Phantom Troupe leader, Chrollo Lucilfer. This man almost never engaged in battle with a powerful, unknown enemy without absolute certainty. Once he decided to fight someone, he would have 100% of the opponent's data, use his Specialization Nen ability, Skill Hunter (Bandit's Secret), to prepare the counter-Nen, factor in all parameters, and meticulously design a battle script, ensuring the fight strictly followed that script until the enemy fell.
In other words, if he agreed to a one-on-one battle with someone, the outcome was predetermined from the moment he accepted. This was demonstrated vividly in his battle with Hisoka in the Dark Continent arc, where he didn't hesitate to borrow the abilities of his Troupe members, turning the referee and the audience into tools to be exploited.
In that fight, the latter couldn't even touch the former's clothing from start to finish before being killed by a series of combined Nen ability tactics. In a way, that was no longer a one-on-one duel but the entire Phantom Troupe ganging up on Hisoka. It's possible that several members were secretly assisting from the audience. It's no wonder that Hisoka, after his revival driven by intense post-mortem Nen, killed Shalnark and Kortopi, whose abilities Chrollo had borrowed, out of revenge.
Just as Allen was deep in thought, pondering the Nen users who had appeared in the anime and their varied Nen and combat styles, trying to find some patterns or inspiration, the elevator chimed again.
The next second, Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio stepped out.
Gon, with his exceptionally keen sense of smell, immediately located the man and wolf sitting in the corner and instantly ran over, smiling as he greeted them. "Allen! We meet again! And you too, Lupos."
"Yes, we meet again. Strawberry juice, would you like some?" Allen smiled, offering a cup of the beverage.
"Thanks! I'm a little thirsty!"
Gon immediately raised the cup and gulped it all down, then his eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "Wow! That was so good! It felt like all my mental fatigue just disappeared! Could I have another cup?"
"Of course."
Allen immediately gave him a "refill," while inwardly marveling at the frightening sharpness of his top-tier Enhancement talent. His intuition and perception were so acute that he could instantly taste the energy contained within the strawberry juice.
It should be known that this strawberry juice was no ordinary drink; it was a loot item dropped in level 40+ dungeons, and fully consumed, it restored nearly two thousand Mana points. However, since the Hunter world does not have Mana, when drunk by ordinary people, it was translated into restoring mental energy and dispelling spiritual fatigue.
"Yo! Looks like you've been resting well since arriving early," Leorio said, walking over and waving.
"Strange… why are the other candidates keeping so far away from here? They've left such a huge space empty," Kurapika muttered, stroking his chin with a puzzled expression. The astute young man keenly noticed that the surrounding candidates' attitude towards both Allen and Hisoka was odd. Not only had they voluntarily left a huge space around them, but their eyes were also filled with complex emotions like apprehension and fear.
"Maybe I'm just too unlikeable," Allen said, shrugging with a look of helplessness.
He couldn't help it. While he didn't constantly emit the fanatical desire for battle like Hisoka, Lupos was radiating a warning Aura that screamed stay away. Anyone who stepped into this range would immediately feel fear, killing intent, and difficulty breathing. Just as animals use scent to mark their territory, Lupos used Nen to delineate an off-limits zone.
However, because Gon and his friends had met them on the ship, and Allen had given an order not to attack, Lupos categorized them as the owner's friends and temporarily ceased the release of its Aura towards them.
Just as Gon excitedly began to recount his interesting adventures of the past two days, the iron gate at the front of the tunnel finally opened again.
Satotz, the Examiner for the First Phase, rang the alarm clock in his hand and publicly explained the dangers of the Hunter Exam, asking every candidate present if anyone wished to withdraw. After confirming that no one voluntarily backed out, he decisively began the first test, leading the way forward through the tunnel, quickly increasing his pace to a speed that required the candidates to run just to keep up.
For Allen, whose Hunter class template grants him never-ending stamina as long as his Health is not reduced to zero, this test presented absolutely no difficulty.
Furthermore, he summoned the Swift Stormsaber, the unique Night Elf racial mount he had recently bought with "vast expense," and mounted it in full view of the crowd. After all, an item of such immense value should be used for showing off. What was the point of spending all that money if he couldn't publicly flex it?