In the open space between the candidates and the examiners, a falling figure streaked down like a teor, shattering the ground and letting out a deafening roar.
"So, if anyone feels there is an issue with the exam content, we welco you to lodge a complaint with the Review Committee, provided it does not interfere with the exam's progress."
Amidst the billowing dust, an elderly man wearing wooden clogs stepped calmly out of the crater, eyeing the disqualified candidates who had just been shouting.
"Who is this old guy? He jumped from that height and didn't even get a scratch," Leorio said, visibly startled.
"Chairman Netero? Why are you here?"
nchi and Buhara were both shocked to see him and quickly stepped forward to greet him.
"Chairman Netero?"
"Wait, that na sounds familiar!"
"I rember now! He's the Chairman of the Hunter Association, Isaac Netero, the man hailed as the strongest human in the world!"
"..."
Leorio and the other candidates, still reeling from the shock, were sent into a frenzy when they heard nchi and Buhara's address.
Isaac Netero.
As the Chairman of the Hunter Association, many candidates were naturally familiar with the na.
*'What a terrifying old man!'*
Zane had recognized him the mont he appeared.
At this mont, his eyes were fixed on the old man.
Netero was also constantly maintaining his state of Ten.
However, compared to the likes of Hisoka, Netero's Ten was simply unfathomable.
The Nen aura swirling around him couldn't rely be described as vast; it was like a bottomless, frigid pool, making it impossible to see within and sending an instinctive shiver down one's spine.
Netero's entrance easily cald the situation.
Since nchi hadn't lost her composure, Netero approved the results of the second phase without requiring a retest.
Soon, the successful candidates boarded an airship, while those disqualified remained behind to wait for transport.
The airship slowly rose into the sky.
The candidates gathered in the main hall.
"Candidates, allow to reintroduce myself. I am Netero, the representative in charge of this year's Hunter Exam Review Committee!"
Netero stood before the assembly, introducing himself with a smiling face.
"I am the secretary, Beans!"
Beside him, Beans took over the explanation. "We expect to arrive at the destination for the third phase around 8:00 AM tomorrow. During this ti, you are free to explore the airship. The restaurant also has plenty of als prepared."
"Well then, please get so good rest!" Netero said, stroking his beard as he looked over the candidates.
*Not bad at all.*
*The quality of candidates this year is finally showing so promise.*
*Though it's not surprising; a surge of talent always cos around every few years.*
"Gon, let's explore the airship together!" Hearing they could move freely, Killua's inner child took over as he looked excitedly at Gon.
"Yeah, let's go!" Gon nodded eagerly and ran off happily with Killua.
"So much energy... I, for one, definitely need a good rest," Leorio remarked with an exhausted sigh as he watched them go.
Kurapika nodded slightly. "Indeed, we should rest. Besides the upcoming third phase, there's no telling how many more tests lie ahead."
"Well, regardless of how many there are, it's best to stay in top shape. I'm going to the restaurant for a feast first. Want to join?" Zane invited them, clutching his hollow stomach.
As a pirate, he was already starving.
"Sure, otherwise I might wake up hungry in the middle of the night."
"Ha, I didn't feel it before, but now that you ntion it, I am pretty famished." Leorio and Kurapika gladly accepted the invitation.
The three of them headed to the restaurant together.
Many other candidates had also gathered in the restaurant.
At first, everyone kept to themselves, but before long, all eyes were drawn to Zane.
"Mmh... not enough! Give ten more servings—no, make it twenty!"
His hands moved like a blur. The delicacies brought to the table didn't last a single breath before being shoveled into his mouth.
His stomach was like a bottomless pit; no matter how much food the waiters brought, it was devoured instantly.
Across from him, Kurapika watched in stunned silence.
Leorio, on the other hand, was perfectly calm, even skillfully snatching food from Zane.
He couldn't help it.
Leorio had long since witnessed Zane's appetite.
He had even suspected at one point that Zane might be a magical beast in disguise.
After an hour of intense combat.
With the waiters and chefs nearly collapsing from exhaustion, Zane finally patted his bulging belly and finished his al with satisfaction.
After bidding farewell to Kurapika and Leorio, Zane found an empty room to settle into.
"Whew... ti for so research."
By the ti he walked from the restaurant to his room, his belly—which had been as bloated as a ten-month pregnancy—shrank back to normal at a visible rate.
After washing up in the bathroom, Zane sat cross-legged on the floor in front of his bed, wearing a bathrobe.
He raised both hands and clenched his fists.
Looking down, Zane focused his gaze. The Nen aura wrapped around his right fist dissipated, replaced by a condensed coating of Armant Haki.
He had been too busy with the exam to study it properly.
Now that he finally had so downti, he had to distinguish the differences between Nen aura and Haki.
He stared at his hands.
Nen aura in the left hand, Haki in the right.
As he observed, Zane sparred with himself, letting the Nen aura and Haki collide to carefully feel the difference between the two.
After a while, Zane fell into deep thought.
*How should I put it... Nen aura is softer, while Haki is relatively more aggressive.*
*If we don't count the natural internal-destruction properties of Nen, Haki still has the advantage in offense and defense when the quantities are equal.*
*'Nen cos from life energy, while Haki cos from spiritual will. They seem distinct, but it's not impossible to fuse them together.'*
Zane pondered to himself.
Although he wasn't sure if fusing Nen and Haki would achieve a 1 1 > 2 effect, it was worth a try.
Without hesitation.
Zane imdiately flared the Nen aura he had dissipated from his right fist once more.
Mm...
Nen aura and Armant Haki were both wrapped around his right fist, but that was all.
It was as if his right fist was covered by a double-layered protective film.
Attacking with his left hand, Zane found that under the double-layered film, the defense and offensive power of his right fist were indeed significantly higher than using just one, but this was only a shallow 1 1=2.
*'It seems fusing the two isn't going to be easy,'* Zane thought, feeling a bit helpless.
He repeatedly tried to control the Nen aura and Armant Haki to rge, but they remained distinctly separate. Under force, they even began to wear each other down, showing no signs of fusion.
It was impossible for Zane not to feel so regret at this result.
But he wasn't exactly disappointed, either.
After all, a 1 1=2 effect was already quite good.
No new power could be mastered overnight.
It was only natural that rging two different systems of power would be a long-term endeavor.
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