Chapter 9: Hello, Rookie Crusher Tonpa!
An hour later.
"Burp~~"
Fully fed and satisfied, the group leaned back in their chairs inside the private booth.
"The Kiriko are truly good people, treating us to such a massive feast!"
Gon-kun rubbed his round, stuffed belly.
"Yeah, once we become Pro Hunters, we definitely have to repay them!"
Leorio was also thoroughly satisfied.
In front of Riku, there were no less than thirty completely clean plates stacked up.
Ding!
It wasn't until the group had completely finished eating and drinking that the BBQ restaurant boss, following the Kiriko's instructions, finally pressed the elevator button.
"My four lords, the exam venue is right below. I will not accompany you down. Less than one in ten thousand people make it this far. Although the upcoming exam will eliminate the vast majority of candidates, I firmly believe that Lord Riku and the rest of you have a very high chance of passing."
"Farewell!"
Only after sending off these four plagues did the Father Kiriko finally lean against the wall, sweating profusely and panting for breath.
He glanced at his completely deflated wallet, yet his heart was filled with profound relief.
...
The entire booth began to descend.
"He said all four of us would pass! It seems our luck is really good! The Father Kiriko is such a nice guy!"
Gon-kun was buzzing with excitement.
"One every three years... that is the normal pass rate for rookies taking the Pro Hunter Exam. The only reason he gave us such a high evaluation is probably because of Riku-nii."
Kurapika's expression was grave.
"That few? Only one every three years?"
Gon-kun was stunned. He hadn't expected the pass rate for Pro Hunters to be so abysmally low.
"In reality, among the rookies, there is no shortage of people who suffer mental breakdowns because the exam is too strict. Even more are mentally and physically tortured by veterans, sustaining severe injuries that prevent them from ever taking the exam again."
"That is a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it?"
"But it is the truth. This is exactly why Pro Hunters are so rare."
"Uh... so you are saying this exam will be a breeze for Riku, but it might be incredibly difficult for the rest of us?"
Leorio crossed his arms, his voice filled with hesitation.
"That is essentially what it means,"
Kurapika explained.
"Don't worry too much. It is highly likely that all of you will pass this year's round,"
Riku smiled.
"Riku? We will all pass? Are you planning on protecting us? But that doesn't make sense, the Hunter Exam has both solo and group phases. If it is a solo test, even you can't guarantee anything, right?"
"Or could it be... do you know the examiners?"
Leorio suddenly perked up with interest.
Gon-kun and Kurapika were equally surprised.
They couldn't quite grasp the source of Riku's absolute confidence.
As they spoke.
With a crisp 'Ding', the elevator arrived at the 100th basement level, the entrance floor for the exam.
The elevator doors slowly slid open.
What appeared before them was a massive, rugged underground tunnel.
The lights were blindingly bright.
The area was densely packed with candidates from all over the world.
Seeing the group step out of the elevator, numerous gazes simultaneously snapped toward them.
Especially upon seeing how young the group was, faint sneers and chuckles rippled through the crowd.
Every year, there were always some young kids who didn't know their own limits and came to take the exam.
They were basically just here for the participation trophy!
The arrival of Riku and the others didn't attract too much prolonged attention.
Everyone was already used to this. If they failed, the worst case was just coming back next year.
"These guys are completely different from the candidates we ran into at the port and the towns!"
Kurapika's expression turned incredibly serious.
"Their auras are much stronger, and every single one of them looks like someone you shouldn't mess with. Some of them even brought weapons!"
Leorio also had to get serious.
"You have finally arrived. These are your number badges, please take them."
A short, green, bean-faced man in a neat little suit walked over, extending his stubby arms to hand them their badges.
Number 403, Leorio!
Number 404, Kurapika!
Number 405, Gon-kun!
Number 406, Riku!
Because they had exercised their privilege to enjoy a massive steak dinner, Riku's group was the very last to come down.
The bean-faced man, Beans, briefly explained the rules regarding the badges, then turned and left.
Riku rubbed his chin as he looked at Beans.
Name: Beans
Traits: [Delicious] (Blue), [Timid] (Green), [Focus] (Blue)
————
This little guy was supposedly the assistant to the Chairman of the Hunter Association, Netero.
Blue-tier traits were pretty decent.
His gaze swept across the entire hall.
Looking out over the densely packed crowd, the vast majority possessed Green and White traits, with a small fraction having Blue.
Only very occasionally did a flash of Purple appear.
"Haha! You guys over there, you must be new here!"
"Hey! I am Tonpa. I have already taken the Hunter Exam thirty-five times, so you could call me a veteran of the exam! If there is anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me anything."
The 'Rookie Crusher' Tonpa jumped down from a pipe. He was a stocky, large-nosed, middle-aged man who looked completely honest and harmless.
His eyes swept over the four of them and quickly zeroed in on Riku.
Because he could clearly sense that Gon-kun and the others treated Riku as their leader.
So, Tonpa offered a friendly hand toward Riku.
In Riku's field of vision, the man's information instantly popped up.
Name: Tonpa
Traits: [Camouflage] (Blue), [Kidney Weakness] (Blue), [Luck] (Blue), [Poison Crafting] (Green), [Combat] (White)
————
No wonder this guy was a bit of a psychopath.
Because he couldn't become a Pro Hunter himself, and his life outside was likely miserable too.
He had made crushing the dreams of rookie candidates his greatest joy and life goal.
Especially torturing geniuses until they mentally broke—that gave him the ultimate sense of accomplishment.
"How are you planning on backstabbing us? Rookie Crusher Tonpa."
Riku suddenly spoke with a smile.
"What?"
The friendly smile on Tonpa's face froze, his pupils shrinking as his expression turned completely stiff.
"Using incredibly despicable methods, like offering poisoned juice, or deliberately dragging your teammates down during the trials, you have managed to eliminate at least fifty candidates by now."
"Hiding behind the facade of a hypocritical, honest nice guy, making it your ultimate exam goal to torture talented rookies and utterly destroy their confidence. You are the man who has failed the exam thirty-five times in a row—Mr. Rookie Crusher Tonpa. Right?"
"I wonder... were you planning on using poison on us? Or were you going to sell us out in the upcoming phases?"
Riku grasped Tonpa's outstretched hand, flashing a bright, white-toothed smile.
"I haven't! You are spouting nonsense! I... I am Tonpa, the nice guy, everyone knows... Ahhhh—!"
Tonpa suddenly shrieked in agony.
The bones in his hand were nearly crushed into powder by Riku's grip.
Then, cans of juice spilled out from his satchel and clattered onto the floor, along with several unidentifiable pills and white powder packets.
This scene left Gon-kun, Kurapika, and Leorio completely stunned.
Bang—
A solid knee strike to the gut.
Tonpa immediately collapsed to his knees, throwing up bile. He instantly lost all combat capability.
[Ding! You and Candidate Tonpa have entered a combat stance. Defeating the target grants a 10% chance to randomly copy...]
[Ding! You defeated Candidate Number 16, Tonpa!]
[Ding! Copy successful!]
[Congratulations, you have obtained [Luck] (Blue).]
A voice like heavenly music rang out.
BINGO!
Bullseye on the first try!
So satisfying!