Beyond the seemingly endless passage, a strange man stood behind the stone wall holding an alarm clock.
He was strange because despite being dressed like a gentleman and sporting a handlebar mustache, the man appeared to have no mouth.
The ringing stopped abruptly.
After silencing the alarm clock, the mouthless gentleman spoke as if it were perfectly normal.
"I apologize for the wait. The registration period for the Hunter Exam is now officially over."
He paused before continuing expressionlessly, "The Hunter Exam will now begin!"
At those words, the candidates' spirits lifted, and they all stared intently at the gentleman.
"Heh!"
"It's finally starting!"
"The Hunter Exam... I'm definitely going to pass!"
The gentleman remained unmoved by their burning gazes. "One final confirmation: this exam can lead to severe injury or even death if you are unlucky or lack sufficient skill."
"If you still wish to participate, please follow ."
"If you choose to withdraw, please use the elevator behind you to leave the venue imdiately."
Silence fell over the crowd.
His warning clearly didn't intimidate a single candidate.
Seeing this, the gentleman lowered his hands from behind his back and turned around. "Very well. All 404 candidates will participate in the first phase!"
With that, the gentleman set off toward the other end of the tunnel with a strange, long-strided gait.
Without hesitation, all the candidates, including Zane, imdiately followed.
"And here I was getting my hopes up, but not a single person quit!" Leorio muttered, looking around with a hint of disappointnt.
Walking beside him with his hands in his pockets, Zane said lazily, "It's only natural. Those who managed to find the exam venue have already been screened. They're not going to back down just because of a few words."
"Indeed. The candidates who made it this far are one in ten thousand. Whether in terms of strength or willpower, they are far from ordinary," Kurapika agreed with a nod.
"Oh! The pace is picking up! The people in front are starting to run!"
In the brief mont they had been talking, the steady pace of the group suddenly shifted.
Surprised, Gon imdiately alerted the other three.
"The test has begun. Leorio, watch your breathing and manage your stamina consumption carefully."
Knowing what the test entailed, Zane turned to warn Leorio as things got underway.
Among the group, Leorio was the oldest, but his fundantals were the weakest.
He would be the most vulnerable in a destinationless long-distance run like this.
"Yeah, I got it."
Although Leorio occasionally bickered with Zane, he clearly trusted him implicitly when it mattered.
Hearing Zane's warning, he braced himself, not daring to be careless.
mories of the pointers Zane had given him on the way from the town to Whale Island surfaced in his mind.
'Leorio, while your overall stats are impressive compared to an average person, they might not give you much of an edge in the Hunter Exam where experts gather. How about this? I have a breathing technique that can help conserve stamina. You should learn it, so I won't be the only one who passes.'
That fragnt of Zane's words flashed through his head.
At the ti, Leorio had acted indignant, but he had actually been quite serious about learning it.
Mostly because he wasn't very confident in his own ability to pass the exam.
As for Zane's ability...
His hunting skills had already proven enough.
So how could he not take Zane's guidance to heart?
Back to the present.
Leorio imdiately began to consciously regulate his breathing rhythm.
Zane nodded slightly when he noticed this.
Knowing what the test was, he had plenty of confidence in himself.
But as for Leorio...
Even if he passed safely in the original story, things were still full of uncertainty here.
Thus, he didn't mind helping him prepare a bit more.
The breathing technique he taught Leorio wasn't so legendary secret art, but it was enough to provide him with more stamina for the upcoming run.
"I forgot to ntion, I am the examiner for the first phase. My na is Satotz. I will now lead you all to the venue for the second phase."
Without looking back, the gentleman—who appeared to be walking but was actually faster than most people running—introduced himself to the candidates behind him.
"Second phase? Then what about the first?" soone in the crowd asked in confusion.
The gentleman—no, Satotz—looked back at the candidates and said calmly, "Following to the second phase's venue—that is the content of the first phase."
"We just have to follow you?"
"Correct. I cannot disclose the destination or the ti. Simply follow ."
Satotz made the first phase sound easy and simple.
But the candidates present were no fools.
Running with no set ti or destination was far more difficult than a race with fixed paraters.
On top of the continuous physical exhaustion, they would also face significant psychological pressure.
So were grim, so were suspicious, and others were brimming with confidence.
Ti ticked away.
The scenery remained the sa, repeating endlessly.
Even though they had been running for a long ti, the tunnel seed to have no end.
Gradually, many candidates were drenched in sweat, and so even had hollow gazes.
On Zane's end.
Zane, Gon, and Kurapika were all maintaining good form.
Leorio was lagging a bit, but thanks to Zane's earlier guidance, he was faring much better than in the original tiline.
*Whoosh—*
Suddenly, a figure about the sa height as Gon cruised past the four of them on a skateboard.
"Huh?!" Leorio's eyes widened.
A skateboard?
That's allowed?
Knowing Leorio's temper, seeing soone seemingly cheating would usually warrant a loud accusation.
However, because he had to maintain his breathing rhythm, he didn't dare speak. He could only glare indignantly at the boy.
Zane glanced over.
'Oh, it's the little white cat, Killua.'
Noticing the way the boy was surreptitiously eyeing Gon from the corner of his eye, Zane imdiately realized his sudden appearance was no coincidence. It was entirely the attraction of... bonds.
"Hey, how old are you?"
Still a child at heart, after observing for a bit, Killua couldn't resist cruising closer on his skateboard to strike up a conversation with Gon.
Gon had also been looking at Killua with curiosity as he approached.
Hearing Killua's question, he imdiately offered a bright smile. "I'm twelve. How about you?"
'The sa age as .'
Killua grew even more curious upon hearing Gon's age.
While he didn't care much about the Hunter Exam and was only there to kill ti...
Having made it this far, he could tell the Hunter Exam wasn't a place for ordinary people.
Let alone soone his own age.
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