Chapter 28: My Good Cellmates!
"Then I will thank you first, Chairman Netero."
Riku bowed politely.
"By the way, young man, did you... learn young Killua's technique in an instant just now? And... it seems you also imitated my technique," Netero asked with curiosity.
Killua-kun instantly perked up his ears, and Gon-kun was also incredibly curious.
Killua's afterimage technique was so cool!
It was a pity he didn't know how to do it himself.
"You could say that... it was just a bit of comprehension and imitation."
Riku shrugged.
[Super Copy] (Gold) provided him with enough capability to become a Super Copy Hunter.
Of course, things like Nen were similar to Kekkei Genkai; they couldn't be directly copied and could only be obtained through plundering traits.
But overall, Riku was still an omnipotent all-rounder.
"Alright then. I must say, you are absolutely the most talented genius this old man has ever laid eyes on. Now then, you two young boys, are you interested in continuing the game with me? We still have a long way to go before we reach the next exam site," Netero said, spinning the volleyball on his fingertip with a smile.
"Alright! I'll do it! Old grandpa!"
"Hmph, I'm in too."
Gon-kun and Killua-kun had been thoroughly stimulated by Riku's earlier performance.
Especially Killua.
He had decisively chosen to give up and concede the moment he realized Netero was just toying with them.
But after seeing Riku actually succeed in winning, a raging fighting spirit was ignited in his heart once again!
Riku, on the other hand, sat back on the sidelines to spectate.
...
The sun rose.
By the middle of the night, both Gon and Killua had been abused to the point of utter exhaustion, collapsing and snoring loudly.
Netero, however, seemed like he didn't need to sleep at all.
"What an interesting night. Young man Riku, I am very much looking forward to your performance in this phase of the exam. I will be waiting for you to join the Association," Netero said with a smile.
"Thank you for looking out for me, Chairman," Riku smiled in return.
"Sorry to keep everyone waiting, we have arrived at our destination."
The announcement echoed through the airship's speakers.
The airship slowly descended, landing atop an isolated tower that pierced the clouds.
All the candidates were successively woken up and then disembarked from the airship.
Riku's group followed the crowd out.
Beans announced the situation to everyone.
This was the top of Trick Tower, which served as the starting point for the Third Phase of the exam.
The objective of this phase was incredibly simple: reach the ground alive within 72 hours.
After finishing his explanation, Beans immediately left on the airship with the Chairman.
"How are we supposed to get down from here? Don't tell me..."
"Hey! Look at that guy!"
"No way! Is he just going to climb down like that?"
...
A commotion broke out among the crowd.
Because someone was already climbing directly down the outside wall!
It was an expert rock climber!
"A bunch of idiots! Something of this level is a piece of cake for a rock climbing master like me. It looks like the number one spot for this phase is going to be mine!"
The muscular man cheered excitedly.
Even a near-vertical cliff face was effortless for him.
For a moment, many others were itching to try, but it was obvious they didn't possess such strong climbing abilities, leaving them hesitant and undecided.
But before anyone could make up their minds.
A terrified scream echoed from below.
"Help! Help me!!"
The muscular rock climber shrieked in terror. Behind him, bizarre monsters with massive wings and huge beaks had appeared.
These creatures possessed human-like heads and limbs, but they looked exceptionally terrifying.
With a swooping whistle, one of them clamped its jaws directly onto the muscular man. Then, several of the monsters fought over him mid-air, tearing him apart as blood and intestines rained down.
It was a gruesome sight.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Two carving knives suddenly shot down from the high platform.
They accurately pierced the heads of two of the monsters, sinking in completely.
The monsters let out agonizing screeches mid-air before whimpering and plummeting into the abyss.
[Ding! Congratulations, you killed the magical beast Human-Faced Owl. Randomly plundering traits...]
[Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained [Omnivore] (Blue). Automatically shattered.]
[Ding! Congratulations, you killed...]
[Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained [Sharp Teeth] (Blue). Automatically shattered.]
...
Riku glanced at the remaining weird birds flying away.
Name: Human-Faced Owl Traits: [Omnivore] (Blue), [Sharp Teeth] (Blue), [Irritable] (Green), etc.
Trash mobs. Farming these things was just a waste of stamina.
They essentially only dropped garbage traits, and the plundered traits could only be used as EXP fodder.
Since they were from completely different trait trees, the conversion ratio was incredibly low.
Riku lost interest in an instant.
"S-so strong!! This guy..."
"What did he just use to kill those monsters?"
"It was practically like a bullet! Hiss—"
...
Riku's sudden move caused the nearby candidates to shiver uncontrollably, and they instinctively backed away from Riku's group.
Those owls were killed from over fifty meters away!
That was way too exaggerated!
If that had landed on a person, there would absolutely be no second outcome.
Monster!
Damn it!
Many candidates were furious but didn't dare say a word.
Killua and the others were also startled.
Riku's sudden strike was far too powerful!
It even caused Murder Clown Hisoka, who was standing not too far away, to narrow his eyes. He felt his evaluation of Riku needed to be raised yet again.
This guy actually possessed long-range attack skills on top of everything else!
"I found it! There's a mechanism here! Riku-nii!!"
Gon-kun discovered an anomaly on the platform.
It wasn't just him.
The other candidates present were gradually discovering the gimmick as well.
It turned out that some of the stone slabs on this platform could be flipped.
By flipping them, the candidates could drop directly into the interior of the tower; this was the true route planned for the exam.
"The number of people here has already decreased quite a bit. They must have entered the interior through these flipping trapdoors. Let's get ready to head down too!"
Killua said, scanning the surroundings.
"But each stone slab only allows one person to pass through. That means the five of us need five different slabs. And the main issue is... we can't guarantee we'll end up together once we go down," Kurapika said in a low, serious voice.
"It doesn't matter, let's just go down. Who knows, we might end up together," Riku smiled as the group picked an area with several slabs clustered close together.
"Then! See you at the bottom!"
"A brief parting! Everyone must pass the exam!"
"Let's all do our best!!"
"Stay safe!!"
...
The group made their promises and jumped down.
This should be the shortest parting in the world, Riku chuckled inwardly.
In his memory, the four of them would drop into the same room. Because the stone slabs in this specific area were all clustered together, he assumed they would all fall into the same place.
Without Tonpa the troublemaker, he naturally didn't have to worry about anyone sabotaging the team during the phase.
Everything should go smoothly.
Whoosh— The stone slab flipped.
Riku and the others fell through.
Darkness immediately enveloped his vision.
However, his eyes quickly adjusted to the gloom.
But the expected voices of Gon-kun and Killua-kun did not ring out.
Instead, in the dim light, several pairs of unfamiliar eyes were staring right at him.
Riku quickly made out who they were.
Upon seeing them clearly, Riku froze.
Murder Clown Hisoka, the Pinhead Illumi, Hanzo, and the little girl Ponzu.
And himself.
Tsk, tsk, tsk. What the absolute fuck, these are my good cellmates!!