Taking a small boat with an air cushion from Whale Island, following the stream into the river, and then along the river out into the sea, after one full day, Kisho arrived at another large island not far from Whale Island.
Perhaps because the Hunter Exam was about to take place, from far away Kisho could already see the harbor docks crowded with people, coming and going in an endless stream.
"Come take a look at today's freshly caught seafood~"
"Selling internal Hunter Exam materials!"
"Rare animal touring exhibition, welcome to enter and visit~~~"
"Special medicine for treating external injuries, extremely effective, one bottle only ten thousand Jenny, why not come take a look?"
...
"Whoa!"
Kisho looked in amazement at the business-savvy merchants—selling medicine, selling weapons, selling mysterious cheat sheets, selling underground information...
Shouts like these intertwined above the harbor, gathering into an exciting atmosphere that made people tense yet hot-blooded.
"No matter which world it is, whenever there's a big exam, merchants always have business to do!"
After approaching the dock, Kisho jumped down from his small boat, stood on the seaside pier, and looked toward the rows of ships docked in the distance.
His target was a sailing ship called the "Sea God."
This was information provided for free by the black-hearted fox Shalnark, so that Kisho could pass the exam and get his gambling money.
Well, Shalnark is someone you can deal with. The information may be a bit expensive, but its accuracy is still pretty good.
Kisho walked forward, smiling to himself.
The Hunter Exam opens for registration every year at the end of December, and officially begins on January 7 of the following year. However, before examinees even find the exam site, the exam has already begun.
The real exam location is worlds apart from the address described in information that can be found online. No one knows how many twists and turns are required to reach the true exam site.
Only those who arrive at the exam site before the January 7 deadline are qualified to participate in the real Hunter Exam. Yet every year, among the hundreds of thousands who sign up, only a few hundred can actually reach the real exam site in the end.
Kisho shook his head and sighed:
"This is even more terrifying than crossing a single-plank bridge with thousands of troops..."
...
"Come compete~ As long as you defeat our Hunter gentleman here, you can choose any one item from the ancient artifacts we discovered in the ruins to take away~"
A highly enticing shout came from a densely packed crowd not far in front of Kisho.
"Anyone want to give it a try? The registration fee is only ten thousand Jenny, and these ancient artifacts brought out from the ruins haven't been appraised yet, but there might be rare treasures among them that can sell for hundreds of thousands of Jenny~"
Hearing this, Kisho, who originally had no interest, immediately perked up his ears.
Ahem, money isn't important—he was mainly curious about the ancient artifacts, yes!
Thus, the crowd packed like canned sardines was forcibly split open as a skinny twelve-year-old boy squeezed his way through.
The people pushed aside by Kisho originally glared angrily at the boy, but after being smiled at by him, a chill crept into their hearts... and they subconsciously turned their heads away.
Kisho successfully squeezed to the very front.
But after glancing at the self-proclaimed Hunter on the stage who was showing off his might, he immediately lost interest.
This man had a cyan headscarf wrapped around his head, and a card hung around his neck—its appearance exactly the same as the Hunter license Shalnark had shown him that day.
However, under the observation of "Gyo," Kisho discovered that this so-called "Hunter" not only couldn't even use Nen, but the aura leaking from his body was not even as strong as that of a six-year-old kid in the mountains.
Could someone like this really become a "Hunter"?
Kisho suddenly felt that the lofty and high-end image of the "Hunter Exam" in his mind had completely shattered.
"Is no one going to try? No one wants to stop Mr. Karey Dex's seven consecutive victories? Maybe he's already at the end of his rope!"
On the stage, another man in a yellow vest hosting the event spoke with extremely provocative advertising lines.
Yet still no one responded.
Seeing this, the host swept his gaze contemptuously across the audience below, a look of "so that's all there is" appearing on his face.
"It seems that the candidates who want to participate in this year's Hunter Exam are only at this level."
The self-proclaimed "Hunter," Karey Dex, revealed a disdainful expression.
"Not even the courage to challenge the strong, and you still think you're qualified to take the Hunter Exam?"
He regretfully hooked his little finger.
"You're all third-rate material who'll be eliminated in the first round."
Indignant murmurs rose from the crowd.
Kisho shrugged.
This kind of provocation, and this kind of guy, really didn't spark even a bit of interest in him.
But just as he was about to leave, the corner of his eye swept over a wooden table to the side, where many oddly shaped ancient artifacts were displayed on trays.
When the boy's eyes caught sight of one particular item among them, they suddenly lit up. He raised his hand high.
"I'll do it, I'll do it—! (voice cracking)"
However, someone stepped onto the arena even faster than him.
This person's age was somewhere between youth and adolescence.
Because he was facing away from Kisho, Kisho didn't see his appearance. He only saw that the person wore a red beret on his head, with golden long hair hanging all the way down to his waist, and a long blade strapped at his side.
With a light step of his long legs, the young man stood before the "Hunter" gentleman with an imposing presence.
"Not just anyone is qualified to call themselves a Hunter."
His voice was slightly cold. Then, under the host's furious gaze at being challenged, he took out ten thousand Jenny in banknotes and slapped them into the host's chest.
The host immediately changed his expression, smiling broadly.
"Welcome, challenger!"
A step too slow, Kisho stared at the young man's back, his expression turning a bit grave—not because he'd been beaten to it, but because this young man, like himself, could use "Nen."
"This is getting fun~"
Kisho didn't rush to go up anymore. He just stood below, crossed his arms, and happily watched the show.
In the arena, Karey Dex and the young man sat down on opposite sides of the table, each placing an arm on the tabletop and gripping each other's hands.
Looking at the thin young man seated across from him, Karey Dex said coldly,
"Kid, don't get too cocky. Today this senior will teach you what it means that there's always someone stronger, and a sky beyond the sky."
In response to his words, the young man seemed to let out an extremely light cold snort.
The host stood in front of the table, reached out to press down on both their hands.
"Ready—start!"
"Bam—!" A loud crash sounded almost simultaneously with the command to start.
Kisho silently lowered the hand that had been covering his ears.
The "Hunter gentleman" on the stage showed a pained expression, his face ashen. His hand, smashed into purple-red bruises, was slammed hard onto the table and twitched violently.
Kisho let out a "Whoa."
Contrary to his expectations, although the young man looked very unapproachable, his move had actually been quite gentle—otherwise the Hunter gentleman's hand wouldn't have merely been bruised red.
Thinking of this, Kisho suddenly darkened his expression.
He suddenly wanted to drag over a certain annoying guy who looked innocent and harmless but struck a thousand times harder, and make him properly learn from this person.
So good-looking, but why are his moves so vicious! Damn it!
Kisho rubbed his right elbow—phantom pain.
Meanwhile, the young man who had won cleanly and beautifully slowly stood up.
Because he had vented the anger of the many examinees on behalf of them against the "Hunter senior," he received cheers from the crowd below.
He completely ignored the two people behind him whose expressions were extremely ugly, walked up to the display table, and let his gaze fall on the items in the tray.
Kisho sucked in a sharp breath, staring fixedly at the young man's movements, his eyes wide open and his breathing taut.
"Don't pick that one, don't pick that one, don't pick that one—!!"
However, under Kisho's despairing gaze, the young man slowly raised his hand. His long fingers grasped an oval, bone-made object with more than a dozen holes from the tray.
He held the item in his hand and tossed it up and down.
"If you win, you can choose one thing to take away, right."
"Then, I'll take this one."