With Hisoka walking away, somehow satisfied despite his injuries, the scene quickly calms down. Yet, despite the complete silence, all eyes are on Vanessa, Auren, and Neffi, who now stand out even more. However, as Auren sees Hisoka walk away, his body is already shaking.
His bloodlust is ignited... this isn't good... I'd like to kill him, but I told Netero and Beans that I would respect this exam. Can I keep that promise? What... did I even want to do here? Why did I come here...?
"Great..." Vanessa says. "I really fucked up this time..."
"It's fine... we were standing out anyway, who cares?" Auren notes. "Just... let's try not to repeat that, okay? Don't worry... whatever happens... I'll take care of it."
"I'll do my best..." Vanessa replies dejectedly.
Neffi looks around, the hundreds of candidates filling the tunnels, all stressed, clearly on edge, waiting for the exam to start. Losing her patience, she speaks up. "When does the exam star—"
"BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR." A loud sound echoes through the tunnels.
Following the sound, the examinees stare at a strange man, his wavy hair with curls at the ends clearly standing out. In addition to that, his purple hair and thin, yet curly mustache make him appear as someone peculiar and suspicious. In his hand is a small toy creating the loud sound; its small size quite deceptive.
After a few seconds of it screeching, the sound stops, and silence returns to the tunnel, everyone now staring at the man with expectant gazes.
"As of now... registration is closed!" the man says, his voice calm and quiet, yet somehow powerful enough that everyone can understand him without a problem.
"The Hunter Exam will now begin... everyone ready? Good!" he continues, walking ahead of the examinees, slowly turning half of his body around and gesturing into the dark tunnel. "This way, please."
He then walks forward, his footsteps echoing through the tunnel, almost magically guiding the examinees to follow.
"Just so there's no mistake... the Hunter Exam is very rigorous. If you lack the necessary ability... too bad. If you're unlucky... again, too bad. And... examinees are not above sabotaging each other, as you just saw. If you're okay with that... then you're welcome to continue," he explains, briefly looking back at the examinees, a meaningful look on his face.
So he watched how Hisoka mercilessly crippled that candidate.
"It seems everyone is still with me... good. You, 407 applicants, may enter the first phase."
Suddenly, the examiner speeds up, walking in an almost mechanical manner; however, at a speed most ordinary people can barely keep up with while jogging. This causes a ripple effect: the examinees are no longer walking but jogging, before finally almost running at a manageable yet without a doubt swift pace.
"I am Satotz... your examiner for the first phase of the exam... as well as your guide to the second phase."
Numerous examinees mumble, and some question him.
Auren, Vanessa, and Neffi are not too interested, as they're slowly jogging near the end of the trail, all three relatively bored.
After being questioned, Satotz adds. "I told you the exam had begun, did I not? You're now taking it. All you have to do is keep up with me. Simple, no? Where we're going and when we'll get there... I can't say. To find out... just follow, follow, follow."
Confused, but not too worried yet, the candidates follow Satotz, some even looking relieved at the relatively simple task. A few, seemingly confident in their physical abilities, smirk in satisfaction.
"This guy sure likes to talk," Auren mutters. "Weird guy."
"I agree, but you are one to talk, looking like that, Auren," someone on his left replies, sounding amused.
Huh?
Not sensing anyone, looking to his right, he sees Neffi and Vanessa staring past him. Finally reacting properly, Auren glances to his left, only to see a small white-haired boy staring at him with a grin.
He's using Zetsu... at least unconsciously.
The boy is wearing casual clothes and carries a skateboard under his arm.
"..."
"..."
Auren decides to ignore him and keeps on running without comment.
"It's a little rude to ignore me... should I yell your name instead?" the boy asks, grinning, before taking a deep breath. "Au—"
Auren immediately reacts and puts his hand over his mouth, shutting him up.
"Shut the fuck up, you brat!" he quietly hisses.
"This exam couldn't have started worse... do we actually suck as Hunters?" Neffi wonders. "Aside from fighting, we seem to lack any noticeable skills...."
"No... it's just bad luck..." Vanessa replies, sounding unconvinced.
"..." Auren remains silent, removing his hand from the boy's mouth.
There may be a hint of truth in what she's saying... we're usually solving problems through violence and force. I have experienced quite a few missions and events, but it looks like I'm still inexperienced... how did he recognize me?
"How did you find out... Killua?" Auren asks, staring at the boy.
"How could I not figure it out, huh?" the boy asks. "Obviously, you are running like a highly skilled assassin. You're almost too skilled for an amateur who takes up a few jobs here and there for fun. Also, you're wearing your famous pendant and your weird armor pieces... your wrist guards, gauntlets, and heavy boots couldn't be more unique."
My steps... I'm constantly using Shadow Step... it's a force of habit, I didn't even notice... I guess it's obvious, at least to a skilled assassin. This kid noticed, and he also recognized my Regalia... he's sharper than I thought.
"Smart brat," Auren replies. "How do you know about them?"
"Duh, I watched the Battle Olympia finals, of course! It was one of the only times I've watched TV with my family... they're quite interested in you. Is the tall one Vanessa?" he asks, looking straight at Vanessa, his eyes shifting just a tad as he looks at her. "I like your style... it's so entertaining and fun to watch. Father said you are one of the most dangerous and talented fighters he has ever seen. Yet he also told me never to emulate your style, as it's the opposite of what I should be aiming for. He also called you stupid."
... He isn't wrong.
"You also punched that scary clown with such force... I still haven't figured out your trick yet, how you made your punch fly... or how you create those meteors." Killua continues.
"..." Vanessa remains silent, though she is visibly annoyed.
"Anyway," Auren says, ending the small talk, his voice quiet. "Move on and shut up about us."
"Or what?" Killua asks, still smiling. "Should I tell everyone? I like gossip, you know... so tell me what you are doing here, and I might shut up, hehe. You are already a Hunter, so what is this about?"
Don't think I'm playing your games... kid.
"How about this? You shut up, or I'll knock you out, end your exam early, and then call your mommy to pick you up and ground you for a year or two. If I personally complain to your father and grandfather, you might be locked up even longer."
"You..." Killua replies, his face now pale. "You are pure evil!"
"Shush, now walk away, little baby. Look for some playmates your own age," Auren says, his body flashing as he kicks Killua in the rear, making him fly forward, shooting over dozens of examinees, who stare towards the ceiling in surprise.
"That guy can fly!"
"This year's exam is really high level!"
"I'm jealous... he can simply fly above us while we have to run!"
A few candidates comment in shock.
"Asshole!" Killua yells as he's launched forward into the air, his body growing smaller and smaller.
Despite the surprise attack, he recovers mid-air, grabs his skateboard, and skillfully lands with it on the ground, shooting forward, overtaking examinee after examinee, using the speed from the attack to his advantage.
"... I always thought you were especially kind and gentle with children," Vanessa comments, a little confused. "That was a little extreme, though that one looked nasty and behaved like a brat."
"Me too... who was that anyway?" Neffi asks, confused.
"Just one of the Zoldyck children. I told you about my previous encounters and relationship with them," Auren replies. "Ignore him...."
The marathon through the dark tunnel continues, Auren, Vanessa, and Neffi running at the back of the group, visibly bored.
"Running seems to be a popular task in these exams," Neffi comments. "Everyone seems to be fairly skilled as well; this year might actually be a pretty good one."
"This one tests physical and mental strength, since you don't know when to stop. It's quite similar to the one I held two years ago... though this dark tunnel is not a great location," Auren explains.
Finally, having run for quite a few hours, Vanessa perks up. "There... finally someone is dropping out! That guy in the suit with his case."
I don't think so....
The three see number 403 slow down and drop his briefcase, barely walking forward.
However, he soon regains his motivation and charges forward, yelling loudly. At the same time, the small boy looking out for him uses a fishing rod he's carrying on his back to grab the briefcase that was left behind.
"Let's speed up a little," Auren says to Neffi and Vanessa as they catch up with the others. "I want to take a good look at this... so-called examiner."
"Drop out if you want to take a break, children," Auren comments, passing by the spiky-haired kid and Killua, the latter silently glaring at him.
"You know that soldier?" Auren barely hears the spiky-haired kid ask Killua.
Within just a few minutes, the group leaves the kids behind and passes examinee after examinee in a flash.
Sprinting past Hisoka, who's running next to a man with needles stuck in his face, looking rather bizarre, they pay no attention to him, despite his surprised gaze.
Finally, they reach the examiner and run directly beside him.
"... Hmm..." Satotz mutters, glancing at them.
"I assume... you know that you are not allowed to interfere with my exam?" he questions them quietly.
"For now..." Auren replies. "Though it's only a matter of time before I smash your pathetic joke of a farce you call an exam into the ground and turn it into a forgotten footnote in history books."
"... yet, until then, I assume you'll respect this examiner's so-called exam?" Satotz clarifies, his expression complicated.
"Of course... if I feel like it," Auren replies, shrugging. "I know you are well-intentioned... but I still can't respect the way you're doing things. I'll carefully watch the bloodbath you're encouraging and see if a bunch of mass murderers is indeed having the time of their lives. I hope you're enjoying it as well... the price for such a show is quite high, of course, but only if you think human life has some kind of value, which I'm not quite sure you do. Just keep walking like a clown and see everyone die around you.... Just one last comment, then I'll shut up... you can view it as food for thought. If the only thing you are doing is walking at a certain pace, nothing else... then what exactly is your worth as an Examiner? Every single Hunter could do what you're doing...."
Finally, Auren slows down just a tad, walking on the left side of the tunnel, a good distance between himself and Satotz, with Neffi and Vanessa joining him.
"You've changed," Neffi mutters, holding onto his arm. "In a good way."
"You're almost too kind..." Vanessa says.
"I'm not... I've killed so many people, and I will continue to do so, perhaps at an even more rapid pace. I'm not kind in any way... but I truly believe this exam is a horrible crime against talent itself. Instead of bringing out the examinees' talent, it eradicates it," Auren replies, speaking loud enough so that Satotz can hear him. "I just think all people have earned a chance... at life... and at success. This exam gives them a chance... but it's based mostly on pure luck, and that's what's bothering me. You heard his speech. He knows that... and not only accepts it, but welcomes it. For him, Hisoka is a valid Exam mechanism. He's... doing exactly what the V5 prefers. Keep humanity chained to this lake... eradicating most people with talent, allowing only a select few."
Continuing to speak, his face calm, yet filled with a calm, deeply-rooted anger. "Essentially, he's endorsing the clown's actions. First, they keep Nen, a living being's most powerful weapon, a global secret, and then encourage mass slaughter, using said weapon. That... I can never accept. Things like luck and fate matter, but to base your exam around them? That's just stupidity. This exam lacks any sense of fairness. It's a lawless area... which would be fine if it weren't for the presence of superior humans... Nen users."
"I agree..." Vanessa says, "but... it was my luck to have met you... you taught me everything and gave me those opportunities."
"The same is true for me," Neffi says, agreeing with her.
"That's different..." Auren replies, shaking his head. "An exam is a process... it can be controlled... guided. It's artificial by definition. Don't compare it to how we met."
"..."
While more and more people drop out, Auren, Neffi, and Vanessa confidently run after Satotz, with just a little distance between them.
-----------------------------------------
A/N: Always thankful for Power Stones, Comments, and Reviews. Thank you for reading!
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