When Emiya and Robin arrived at the massive warehouse inside the park, about a hundred examinees were already there.
More were still arriving.
Emiya scanned the area and quickly spotted Hayato Furinji and the others.
He stepped forward and walked over.
Their arrival drew attention.
Emiya and Robin had been the first to reach the Milsy Wetlands, yet instead of waiting for the examiner, they had entered on their own.
Many examinees had assumed the two were already dead.
Seeing them appear now made the atmosphere subtly change.
After the brief shock passed, wariness set in.
No one knew what the next phase of the Hunter Exam would involve.
But one thing was clear.
Emiya and Robin were dangerous competitors.
Quite a few eyes followed Emiya's movements.
"Hey," Sakaki said, waving. "I thought you'd already cleared the wetlands. Didn't expect you to stay there."
"There were some good things inside," Emiya replied with a faint smile.
"Looks like you gained a lot."
"Of course."
The cost had been high-many transmigration chances burned.
But Emiya had leveled up twice and gained skill points.
That alone made it worth it.
As long as he had skill points, he could learn more abilities.
Including Aqua's revival skill.
That was what really mattered.
As for raw power, a Superhuman Potion plus a Devil Fruit was enough to rival adventurers who had leveled dozens of times.
They chatted while waiting as the remaining examinees arrived.
Soon, Emiya spotted a familiar figure.
Hisoka.
Disheveled, standing among the crowd.
After being beaten and forced to flee, he had clearly spent time recovering before catching up.
Now he had reached the second test site.
Hisoka noticed Emiya's gaze.
He didn't flinch.
Instead, he licked his lips, eyes gleaming as if he were staring at something delicious.
A complete freak.
Robin noticed as well.
"He doesn't seem afraid."
Emiya's tone stayed flat. "Freaks usually aren't."
And Hisoka was a freak among freaks.
Hayato glanced between the two.
"Did you fight him?"
"To be precise," Emiya said, "I rubbed his face into the ground."
Hayato wasn't surprised.
Someone who could travel between worlds naturally had unusual methods.
Even if Emiya was still a beginner in pure technique, he wasn't someone to underestimate.
Defeating a Nen user wasn't impossible.
Hisoka, meanwhile, didn't provoke Emiya further.
After licking his lips once more, he moved aside and began meditating, using Nen to heal.
Until he understood how Emiya had attacked him, he had no intention of provoking him again.
A man covered in needles approached him.
"You look pretty rough," he said, sounding amused.
Hisoka opened one eye, glanced at him, then closed it again.
"I ran into someone troublesome."
"How troublesome?"
"I was attacked, but I couldn't figure out how. I even suspect he can attack with his eyes."
"With his eyes?" The needle man stiffened. "Are you serious?"
"That would be terrifying."
"Of course not," Hisoka said lightly. "Just a suspicion. I don't have enough information. But one thing's certain."
"My eyes couldn't see his attack."
The needle man fell silent.
"An invisible attack really is troublesome."
If you couldn't see it, you couldn't defend against it.
No wonder even Hisoka looked like this.
It seemed he would need to be cautious before obtaining his Hunter License.
Strong as he was, he never underestimated the world.
Sometimes, a nameless passerby was a true monster.
Time passed.
Soon, the first phase of the Hunter Exam officially ended.
Including Emiya's group, around 150 examinees remained.
Satotz should have left after completing his task.
But after some thought, he stayed.
He concealed himself and observed.
Not to test them.
But to make sure the second test didn't spiral out of control.
After all, the next examiners were Menchi and Buhara.
Buhara was reasonable.
Menchi wasn't.
If she acted purely on impulse, Satotz worried there wouldn't be even ten qualified examinees left.
Possibly none.
So he stayed.
If things went wrong, he would have to notify Chairman Netero.
Last year's exam had produced no qualifiers because of Hisoka.
A repeat would be unacceptable.
Before long, noon arrived.
The second test began.
The warehouse doors opened, and the examinees surged inside.
Emiya's group naturally walked at the front.
Inside, two figures waited.
A massive man sat directly on the floor.
In front of him, a petite woman lounged on a sofa.
Emiya recognized them immediately.
Both were Gourmet Hunters.
The large man was Buhara.
The woman was Menchi.
One was easy to deal with.
The other wasn't.
Menchi spoke calmly.
"We're Gourmet Hunters. So your second test is simple."
"Cooking."
Buhara continued, "First, you'll make the dish I specify."
Menchi added, "Only those who pass can attempt my dish. As long as we say it's delicious, you pass. The test ends when we're full."
Sakaki scratched his head.
"Cooking, huh? I'm not great at that."
Hayato and Shigure exchanged troubled looks.
At Ryōzanpaku, Miu was always the one who cooked.
They weren't helpless-but meeting a Gourmet Hunter's standards was another matter.
Many examinees felt the same.
Buhara didn't overthink it.
"I want roasted whole pig," he announced. "My favorite. Use any pig in the forest park."
With that, the second test officially began.
The examinees rushed out.
Isshō spoke immediately. "Follow me."
His Observation Haki had already swept through the park.
He had found the pigs.
Only one kind.
In other words, the examiner had lied.
"All kinds," in name only.
"This really is impressive," Hayato muttered when they saw them.
The pigs were enormous.
Each one rivaled an adult human in size.
The moment they spotted Emiya's group, they charged.
Fierce.
Hayato flashed forward, appearing beside one.
His punch buried itself deep into the boar's body.
The impact detonated.
The massive boar flew back, slammed into another, and both rolled across the ground.
An ordinary boar would've gone down instantly.
But these were different.
Their thick fat absorbed much of the force.
Their organs were damaged, but they still stood.
Emiya spoke up.
"The head. Their weakness is the head. That high snout evolved to protect it."
Realization struck.
Hayato dodged the next charge, leapt, and kicked the boar's head.
The force bypassed the fat and rattled its brain.
The boar collapsed, unconscious.
Sakaki and Shigure followed suit.
Each took down one.
Robin raised her hand.
Arms bloomed across a boar's body and struck it down.
Isshō crushed one using his Devil Fruit ability.
Emiya finished the last with a Nen-enhanced punch to the head.
Six pigs fell.
They set up a fire and began roasting them whole.
As they worked, Sakaki spoke.
"Will this really pass? Gourmet Hunters are picky, right?"
Emiya shook his head.
"Menchi is. Buhara isn't. As long as it's cooked, you'll be fine."
That eased the tension.
Once the pigs were ready, they delivered them.
As expected, Buhara devoured them enthusiastically.
Hours passed.
By the time he was finally full, he had eaten seventy roasted whole pigs.
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