"Hisoka, those few over there are prey belonging to our Zoldyck family. Before I make my move, you're not allowed to touch them first. In exchange, I promise I'll do everything I can to help set up your duel with your boss~"
"Even though those few apples do look rather sweet, Chrollo's ripeness fascinates me even more!"
As if thinking of something amusing, Hisoka the Magician let out a low, delighted chuckle.
...
Satotz turned to look at Roy and his group. "Although I don't know where you obtained information about me, if you reveal my personal details in public again next time, I reserve the right to pursue the matter as an invasion of privacy."
"Sure." Roy did not take it seriously at all. Privacy? Whether in the world before he transmigrated or in the current Hunter world, that was a joke.
Naturally, Satotz could tell Roy was brushing him off, but shock outweighed everything else in his heart.
"This examinee... every piece of information he said about me was correct. Isn't his Nen ability supposed to be flight? Could it be he has other abilities too? And he even knew that robber's information. Heh, looks like this year's Hunter Exam is going to be interesting~"
Roy knew Satotz's information from official Hunter x Hunter material from before he transmigrated. As for that robber's information...
Well, nobody would go out of their way to pay attention to a robber who had already been dead for a long time, right?
Next, the group naturally crossed the Milsy Wetlands.
When Roy and Android 18 stepped onto this land once again, all the fighting came to a stop, and every creature shrank back into its own lair, trembling in fear.
That actually surprised Roy a little. He had thought those savage beasts would fight over the position of leader without any restraint and drag the examinees into it, but who would have thought they'd all be such cowards~
At first, Satotz found it a little strange, but the moment he smelled the blood in the air, he immediately realized that some unknown change seemed to have taken place in the Milsy Wetlands.
Satotz was not the only one who noticed the scent of blood. Even Gon and the others sensed it, and all of them raised their guard and stuck close behind Satotz.
And if even Gon could smell it, Hisoka naturally could as well. At that moment, his eyes were infected by that aura, revealing a thirst for slaughter.
"AAAAAH!!!"
A miserable scream marked the start of the killing.
Now that the savage beasts had all withdrawn, the only ones left who could harm the examinees were other examinees.
Gon's group of three did not separate like in the original story. After mastering Nen, they all stayed close to Satotz and never fell behind.
That meant the examinees walking in the rear with Hisoka had the worst luck imaginable.
By the time Roy and the others arrived at the site of the second phase, and even when the deadline was nearly up, Hisoka finally strolled in at a leisurely pace.
Compared to the original version, the number of examinees had dropped sharply. Of course, the ones who were gone were all faceless extras who had never gotten any screentime.
In the original story, 149 people passed the first phase, but judging from the current headcount, there were probably only a little over a hundred now.
"Everyone, gather over here."
Satotz did not care in the slightest whether the other examinees lived or died. Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, he called the remaining examinees together into one place.
"All right. Let me congratulate you all once again. Everyone standing here now has passed the first test. I hope you will press on bravely through the second test as well. I wish you all the best of luck."
In an even tone, Satotz congratulated the examinees on passing the first test.
Then, after announcing the result, Satotz did not linger. He turned around directly and, with clean, decisive movements, walked into the forest and disappeared.
"This is great." Gon was very happy.
"Yeah, we've successfully taken the first step." Leorio was full of confidence.
And inside the dark forest, hidden from the sight of the many examinees...
"103 people passed the first test. Looks like because of the Milsy Wetlands, the number was cut by roughly three-quarters. At this rate, the second test may still eliminate half of them, since the examiners for the second test are Menchi and Buhara. The people who can get through this stage will probably only number around forty or fifty. Depending on the difficulty of the topic, there might even be fewer than ten left in the end. Still, a few examinees should have no problem at all. Especially those two examinees who can fly. This is the first time I've ever seen a Nen ability like that. It must be very interesting. I'll watch how things develop before leaving."
In the original version, there had been 149 people, but here, because of Hisoka, the number had been reduced by 46.
Satotz's curiosity was extremely strong. On top of that, he felt that with Menchi as the chief examiner for this stage, there would definitely be plenty of entertainment. So he decided to stay and watch how things developed, especially to see what strange abilities those two flight-capable examinees would display again. He casually found a tree, took out a handkerchief from behind him, wiped his hands, and carefully observed what would happen next.
Clack, clack, clack.
At the exact appointed time, the heavy gate standing before the examinees, with a clock hanging above it, began to make noise, announcing the start of the second test.
The examinees, who had relaxed somewhat after passing the first test, all tensed up again the moment they heard the sound.
The enormous, heavy gate slowly opened, bit by bit revealing the scene inside.
The first thing that entered the examinees' field of vision was a beautiful young girl with rather revealing clothes and a strange pink hairstyle.
Petite and delicate, yet with an excellent figure—Menchi.
The examinees had just gone through a highly stressful round of running, and on top of that had kept their nerves taut in the Milsy Wetlands, so when they saw Menchi, they all had some of the same reactions.
(End of Chapter)
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