Not far away, the airship slowly ascended and hovered steadily in mid-air.
Satz, Menchi, and Buhara stood before the porthole, looking down through the glass at the towering giant tree below and the Examinees who were climbing up the trunk like ants.
Buhara crossed his arms over his chest, his round face full of amazement.
"The examiner for the third phase, Leo, is really strong! He jumped down from such a height and wasn't hurt at all!"
Menchi leaned her hands on the window frame, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Yeah, I didn't expect him to be this strong either."
She paused, a hint of reflected pride in her tone.
"I heard that the Genei Ryodan was wiped out by him recently; the entire Association was shaken. Truly impressive!"
Buhara turned his head curiously.
"Oh? You know him?"
"Yeah."
Menchi nodded.
"I met him once at Biscayne Forest Park in Kent City and talked with him for a while. He's a decent guy with his own insights on ingredients, though he did roast the Giant Horned Bear I worked so hard to find."
By the end, her tone carried a hint of resentment, but she quickly laughed again.
Buhara listened, dazed by the story.
At this moment, Satz, who had been silent, finally spoke.
"His strength is indeed very formidable."
His gaze drifted toward the figure standing by the tree roots with hands in his pockets, a flicker of memory crossing his eyes.
"When I first met him, it was in a Secret Realm. Back then he was ordinary, yet mysterious. Who would have thought that in just over two years, he would grow to such a level."
Buhara looked back and forth between them in surprise.
He hadn't expected both Satz and Menchi to know this examiner named Leo.
Menchi suddenly asked,
"How many people do you think will pass this test?"
Buhara rubbed his round belly and thought seriously for a few seconds.
"Hmm... fewer than thirty-five, I'd say."
Menchi rolled her eyes at him.
"That's basically saying nothing!"
She turned to Satz.
"Mr. Satz, what do you think?"
Satz's gaze slowly swept across the giant tree.
On the trunk, the Examinees had already spread out to different heights; some were climbing vigorously, while others were searching around.
"In my opinion,"
he began slowly.
"It should be around twenty-six people."
He paused, continuing his analysis.
"The difficulty of this stage isn't just climbing a tree over a thousand meters tall, nor is it just finding a tag. What's harder is how to return to the ground safely after finding one."
"And—Leo never said that the tags couldn't be stolen."
Menchi nodded, her expression serious.
"I think so too. I estimate only twenty-four will pass."
Buhara nodded along, even though he had just said 'fewer than thirty-five.'
Meanwhile, Chairman Netero was watching from another window, a small smile appearing as he stroked his beard.
At the foot of the World Tree.
Leo stood before the roots, hands in his pockets, looking up slightly at the Examinees who were climbing with all their might.
With his current physical strength, his visual range easily covered over four hundred meters.
He could clearly see that the two people in the lead had already reached a height of over three hundred meters—one was Gon, the other was Killua.
"They're really fast."
Leo praised inwardly.
At the three-hundred-meter mark.
On the trunk to Killua's left, a palm-sized metal tag was embedded in the bark, shimmering in the sunlight.
His eyes lit up, and he reached out to grab it, pulling hard.
"Huh?"
When the tag came loose, it was heavier than he expected, but he only raised an eyebrow slightly, tossed it casually in his hand, and stuffed it into his pocket.
"Gon, there's a tag here,"
he said casually.
Gon was clinging to the trunk, looking curiously at the dense foliage above.
Hearing Killua's words, he turned his head, his eyes sparkling.
"Killua, let's climb to the top! I want to see the view from up there!"
Killua blanked for a moment.
Climb to the top?
The top of a tree over one thousand seven hundred meters tall?
He looked at Gon's eyes, which were full of expectation, and suddenly smiled.
There was a hint of helplessness in that smile, and also a hint of... something even he couldn't explain.
"Alright."
He shrugged.
"We have enough time anyway."
The two continued to climb upward.
Kastro and Nico climbed with ease; a test of this level posed no difficulty for them.
A few minutes later, at the five-hundred-meter mark.
Leorio was panting like an ox, the veins on his forehead bulging.
His hands gripped the crevices in the bark tightly as he moved upward step by step, sweat trickling down his face and blurring his vision.
"Damn it! Is the Hunter Exam always this weird?!"
He couldn't help but curse, his voice echoing among the vast tree trunks.
"If it's not cooking, it's climbing trees! Isn't there a single normal test?!"
Beside him, Kurapika was climbing much more easily, though his breathing had also become noticeably rapid.
Hearing Leorio's complaints, he turned to advise him.
"Leorio, stop complaining and just climb. As long as we find the tags, we can pass."
"I know that!"
Leorio shouted, his voice full of grief and indignation.
"But this tree is over a thousand meters high! Who knows where that examiner put the tags! Dammit!"
Kurapika didn't say anything more, simply picking up his pace silently.
He knew that although Leorio complained, he would never give up.
At the very bottom.
Hisoka's method of climbing left the surrounding Examinees completely dumbfounded.
He wasn't 'climbing' at all.
He was simply standing on the trunk, taking strides and walking upward step by step.
That's right, 'walking.'
The soles of his feet seemed to be glued to the trunk; every step was steady, as if he were on level ground.
With his hands in his pockets and that signature eerie smile on his face, he looked as relaxed as if he were strolling through a park.
The surrounding Examinees stared with wide eyes, their mouths hanging open far enough to fit an egg.
"W-What kind of monster is this..."
"How is he doing that?!"
"Damn, this isn't scientific!"
Hisoka ignored their gazes. He tilted his head slightly, glancing at the white-clad figure standing by the roots below, the smile on his lips deepening.
Then he continued walking upward.
Leo naturally saw this scene as well.
Watching Hisoka's 'leisurely stroll,' he shook his head helplessly.
Hisoka's ability: Bungee Gum. To think he'd use it directly for climbing a tree.
Whatever, let him be.
Ten minutes later.
An Examinee found a tag on the trunk at the five-hundred-and-fifty-meter mark.
He shouted excitedly.
"I found it! I found it—"
Before he could finish, his smile froze on his face.
Because he realized that the tag... was very wrong.
"Huh? Why is this tag so heavy?"
He gripped the tag with both hands and pulled outward with all his might, the veins on his forehead bulging and his face turning red from the effort.
The palm-sized metal tag didn't budge an inch.
Two Examinees nearby exchanged looks, a glint of greed in their eyes.
They quietly closed in on him.
"Brother, need some help?"
one Examinee asked insincerely.
Before the Examinee still wrestling with the tag could answer, he felt a violent shove on his back!
His grip slipped, and he fell from the trunk!
"Aaaahhh!!!"
The scream faded into the distance.
The two Examinees looked at each other and lunged for the tag at the same time!
Leo stood at the bottom of the tree, looking up slightly at the scene.
"It's started,"
he said softly.
There were no rules prohibiting theft, and no rules prohibiting mutual attacks.
These Examinees were all very clever and had quickly discovered this 'loophole.'
The competition from here on would only get more intense.