As Biscuit meditates, her attention is solely focused on Auren's Faerie's Tear, Auren himself relaxes while eating his snacks and looks around the mall, seeing examinees awkwardly running around, while the girls excitedly talk with each other, bragging about their new purchases.
A few girls sit next to Auren and want to engage him in conversation.
"Hey there! You are really cool, are you aiming to become a Hunter too?" A girl asks him while a few others giggle from the side.
"I'm one of the examiners. I passed the exam two years ago." Auren replies.
"Hahaha, you are so funny!" the girl replies.
"He's so cute!"
"Look how he kept his face straight."
As more girls gather, somehow Auren becomes the center of attention for the bored girls, and one of them suddenly yells out:
"That is Auren! This year's Battle Olympia winner! I watched it with my dad. He's super strong!"
"Really?!"
"He's rich... and successful?!"
Maybe that damn competition was a mistake after all....
As more and more girls comment, some acting outright crazy as they stare at Auren, almost surrounding him, he can't help but sigh, finish his food, stand up, and disappear into the mall.
Time passes, and with just a few minutes before the end of the exam, most candidates have already returned to the gathering point. He returns to Biscuit.
She takes off the necklace with its precious gem and hands it back to him, a trace of regret on her face.
"How did you know?" she asks seriously.
"Instinct... this is similar to a few of my other treasures," Auren says, raising his right hand and showing his gauntlets and bracers.
"For me, this isn't just a gemstone... it's a piece of equipment," Auren explains. "Bring me something on the same level, something just as useful, and I'll trade it to you. I never meant to target you. As I said... I had a good reason to buy it."
"A difficult request... almost impossible," she says. "No wonder you paid such a colossal sum for it. Even the most-prized treasures of my collection don't have any of these effects."
"Well... isn't this just typical for you?!" Biscuit asks, raising her voice. "Power-hungry brat... why are you this desperate for it?" she asks.
Auren immediately fires back, "Why do you want all these gemstones then, Miss Stone Hunter? For your own collection, right?"
"Cheeky brat..." Biscuit complains, puffing her cheeks.
"Heard that from a certain other old person over the last few weeks," Auren remarks.
"Other old person?!" Biscuit pouts in protest as Auren turns around.
Done with the conversation, slightly grinning, Auren walks off and observes the judging, which has now started.
It turns out Neffi used her budding skills as a tailor to create something truly unique for her partner, who looks especially unpleasant and entitled. In addition to a well-made outfit, Neffi infused her clothes with Nen, making them flutter gently in the air. Because of that, even the entitled girl can't help but act like she's satisfied with Neffi's performance, allowing her to pass without issue.
Heh, nice trick. Of course, that isn't permanent.
Overall, out of the 81 candidates, 60 manage to satisfy their clients.
However, much to everyone's surprise, Cutie disqualifies ten candidates who apparently used other means to trick or bribe their clients into letting them pass.
"YOU FOOL! Do you think by giving your client 90% of the budget and buying a cheap dress with the rest, I'll let you pass?!" Cutie yells angrily at one clumsy-looking man. "You fail!"
She then glares at the girl, "You fail as well! You gave away your cuteness for money."
"But my family needs it... what a waste..." The girl mutters as she walks away, the money still in her hand, looking apologetically at the disqualified examinee.
This is stupid....
In addition to that, she passes two candidates who technically failed as their respective girls weren't satisfied, praising their genuine effort and pointing out their client's unfair behavior, surprising the girls and most of the candidates with her lack of detail.
In total, 52 candidates passed, with Shalnark and Neffi obviously among them, making this one of the easiest and most lenient exams so far.
In the end, the majority of the prospective Hunters look fairly satisfied. Their opinion about the exam seems to be just a little different compared to before.
The next exam, handled by Biscuit, takes place in an abandoned mine not too far from Yorknew. It's a mountain with countless peaks and old, abandoned mines everywhere, the entire mountain speckled with holes, making it look like it has been completely mined out.
After a relatively short flight with the airship, Biscuit gathers the candidates outside, the airship having landed on the only even clearing, with old abandoned houses close by.
Was this an old mining town? Looks ancient... at least abandoned for fifty to a hundred years.
Biscuit then holds out a shining purple gem in her hand and raises it for everyone to see.
"This is called a Lyra Amethyst," she explains. "This kind of amethyst only naturally occurs in a few mines worldwide, this one being among them. However, the color is only slightly different from that of regular amethysts, so they are not worth too much. Still, before the mine closed, many people made a living mining them and selling them to tourists and jewelry stores in Yorknew."
She points toward the surrounding area. "Despite having closed, these amethysts can still be found in abundance in this mountain; you just have to look carefully."
Grinning, she stares at the crowd. "I won't tell you how many you need to find to pass, but I'll make you one promise. If you are not among the bottom third of examinees and have found at least a few decent ones, you'll pass. Aren't I generous? If things go smoothly, only one-third of you will fail."
If... they all find good specimens... if they don't, she could fail a large majority of them.
"Since a lot of people died during the second exam, I'll give you one extra benefit!" Biscuit explains, raising a finger.
Auren notices a number created with her Aura via the use of transmutation, namely the number three, appearing above her finger, apparently a habit of hers.
Tempted to shoot three Aura bullets at her, Auren manages to resist the urge and continues listening.
"Three hours. For that duration, fighting and stealing each other's gems is strictly forbidden and will lead to immediate disqualification! However, the exam will last for six hours. Five minutes before the end of the three hours, there will be a warning that you should be able to notice. After that, you can target other participants in any way you wish. This is the Hunter Exam, after all."
Biscuit then snaps her fingers, and the Hunters assisting her bring in crates filled with pickaxes, shovels, lights, helmets, and other mining equipment.
"Take one of each, if you want, it all depends on you! Any questions...? Ask them now or stay silent." Biscuit asks, now appearing like a genuine examiner, completely serious.
A few candidates raise their hands, all of them sceptically staring at Biscuit, with a lot more caution after witnessing Cutie's deceptive appearance.
"None?! Good! The fourth phase of this year's Hunter Exam starts... now!" Biscuit yells.
These so-called girls are unreasonable. Why not answer the questions?
A few candidates immediately react, grab the gear they need, and rush into the mountains. Most of the others lag behind for a moment before following in a hurry.
Auren and the other examiners, including Biscuit, remain behind.
"Hehe, this is how the exam should be," Biscuit announces proudly.
"Old man," Auren says, looking at Netero. "I hope the Association keeps these amethysts and makes sure they don't get misappropriated by someone."
"Hoho, of course," Netero replies.
A shocked Biscuit stands in front of Auren and Netero. "Chairman... I need them. To inspect the candidates' standards. You gave me the okay when I told you about that."
"Hmm, did I? Then you may keep them," Netero replies, instantly giving in. "Anything for my cute little student."
Maybe I should snitch to Pariston.
Looking proud and satisfied, Biscuit smiles at Auren, who just shrugs and repeats, "Little student..."
"To an old man like me, you both are little students," Netero explains with a smile.
"Who is your student?" Auren asks.
"You! Since I trained you for a while, I'll make that claim and run with it. That way, my legacy will be even greater. You might as well accept it with a thankful smile," Netero says, sounding slightly offended.
"Do I have to?" Auren mutters, waving him off.
Instead, he focuses on the exam, at least on what little he can see.
Walking around near the airship, he notices that all the examinees have already entered the abandoned mine shafts. Nobody is mining outside the mountain, which Auren assumes is the correct decision.
After around 2 hours and 45 minutes, the first candidates return to the airship. All of them look exhausted, and most of them look rather disappointed.
Auren notices that a few of them proudly hold several purple amethysts, while others look genuinely frustrated.
Another group huddles together, seemingly discussing something important.
"Are they teaming up?" Auren wonders. "I mean, they could target lone candidates and acquire their amethysts... afterward, they wouldn't have enough for all of them to pass, but they can cross that bridge when they get there. They could even just gamble for them."
"Ho, it is a viable tactic and well within the rules of the exam," Netero says, though he doesn't sound particularly impressed.
Exactly five minutes before the three-hour mark, the airship releases a shrill tone from its speakers, clearly warning the candidates about the time.
At exactly three hours, dozens of examinees return. Most of them are drenched in sweat, though a few look clearly satisfied.
Notably, Shalnark and Neffi are not among them.
As time passes, only a few more candidates trickle back to the airship, most of them with visible wounds.
Around the five-hour mark, more and more groups of candidates head back into the mines, clearly aiming for other examinees rather than bothering to mine themselves. Only the candidates who have gathered at least one amethyst choose to remain behind.
As the six hours are almost over, Auren sees Shalnark arrive.
Five minutes before the exam ends, Neffi arrives as well, wearing a faint smirk.
However, what is shocking is that almost nobody else shows up.
Auren does a quick headcount and only counts 39 examinees out of the 81 who originally started.
What happened? This exam... I thought it was pretty mild, but maybe this one was the bloodiest of them all.
Finally, at exactly six hours, Biscuit ends the exam. "The exam is over! Anyone arriving later will be disqualified."
The examinees murmur among themselves, clearly surprised by how things turned out.
Shalnark presents ten amethysts, five of them of impeccable quality.
Biscuit's eyes sparkle as she inspects him from up close. Finally, she yells, in a higher voice this time, "Pass! I like your face as well! Double pass!"
Smiling back at her, Shalnark graciously accepts the compliments and steps aside.
When it's finally Neffi's turn, she surprises everyone, presenting a total of thirty amethysts.
Everyone, including the Hunters and examiners conducting the exam, stares at her.
"What?!" she asks, noting everyone's gazes. "I wanted to mine at least a couple nice ones myself, but all these greedy idiots came after me. Some of them had more than twice what I had. Anyway, I took them as punishment... as for them, they should be somewhere in the mines... most of them alive, I guess."
"Good job!" Biscuit says.
"May I keep one? The one I mined myself?" Neffi asks.
Hesitating for just a second, Biscuit nods. "Of course, of course... should you pass and want to become a gemstone Hunter, you may approach me."
"Ho, your little friend is a scary one as well," Netero comments, standing next to Auren. "You rehabilitated her quite nicely. You haven't told me the details about that..."
He slowly strokes his beard. "Now that I think about it, what exactly is your connection to her? You don't seem like the type to randomly take charge of prisoners and then let them work off their sentence in such a short amount of time...."
Not good... it's best that I won't even engage.
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A/N: Always thankful for Power Stones, Comments, and Reviews. Thank you for reading!
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