Why Malice Comes
The candidates are about to enter the Labyrinth.
A day has already passed.
The condition for passing the exam is that most people find the correct path and reach the exit safely.
A small number of people need to find the treasure and then find the correct path to leave the Labyrinth.
Kevin did not have a time limit for completing the game.
But he sent in Tracker.
Essentially, it still involves consideration of time.
Kevin estimated that it would take about three days to complete the game.
However, the reality was not ideal.
A day has passed, and most people have made almost no progress.
They are all still in the stage of familiarizing themselves with the Labyrinth environment and have not taken any effective actions to clear the level.
Inside the Labyrinth.
A blurry, ethereal figure is walking along the Labyrinth's passageways.
They walked slowly, but never stopped.
Not far away.
Leorio knelt on the ground, with the briefcase he always carried beside him.
At this moment, the briefcase was opened, revealing a variety of medical supplies inside.
"Thanks."
Amori, sitting half-on-the-ground with a pained expression, expressed his gratitude.
If the three brothers had acted together, they wouldn't have been in such a sorry state. However, the Labyrinth's unique structure caused them to be separated into different areas after entering.
Although he could vaguely sense where his brother was, they seemed to be too far apart.
Although he was used to the wild, he did not expect that the Labyrinth was more dangerous than he had imagined.
He was bewildered by something inexplicable, and then attacked without even seeing the target of the attack.
Leorio could have simply left, but he offered a helping hand to his rival, another examinee.
"I can't just ignore the injured."
Leorio said.
Amori nodded, showing no intention of continuing the conversation. He was simply too exhausted, and getting a proper rest was the most important thing he needed to do right now.
Suddenly, there was a noise from the side.
Leorio still wrapped, picked up Club from the side and looked toward the source of the commotion.
"Hey, don't be so wary, Leorio."
A short, stout figure stepped out; it was Donpa.
"It's you, bastard." Leorio frowned.
Amori, standing beside him, also frowned slightly.
Both of them were well aware of Donpa's character.
Is it possible to run into someone I know here?
Another figure jumped out from the side.
A Monkey was perched on my shoulder.
Somi, one of the examinees, was also someone I knew.
"You've become quite weak without your brothers by your side, haven't you?" He looked at Amori and mocked him without hesitation.
What do you want to do?
Leorio serious.
He utterly despised Donpa; he was an extremely wicked villain.
Donpa smiled and raised his hands.
"Hey, don't be so resistant. This is already the fourth exam, and it's so difficult. I didn't expect to pass."
Besides, we're not in competition with each other, right? So how about we team up?
Leorio and the other remained silent.
Donpa seemed very sincere, but Leorio didn't believe him at all.
As for the injured Amori, he was even less convinced, knowing full well what kind of people the Donpa were.
"Can I join?"
A figure jumped down from the top of a large tree that was growing against the stone wall not far away.
Hanzo, a ninja with a bald head, wore light black armor.
Looking at this guy, Donpa felt a little displeased.
Although he enjoys undermining newcomers' confidence, breaking down their defenses, and preventing them from becoming Hunter x Hunter, he is also very perceptive.
For example, the Hanzo in front of him, although a new examinee, he knew very well that this was a guy he couldn't mess with.
Moreover, the fact that the other party seems to be in good condition will make it very difficult for him to do anything later.
For a moment, the three parties were deadlocked.
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
The Monkey perched on Somi's shoulder suddenly chirped and looked back at them with some panic.
"Hey! It looks like danger is approaching!"
Somi reminded him.
If he were alone, he would have prepared to leave, but there are five people here now.
Upon hearing this reminder, the tense atmosphere was broken, and everyone turned their gaze to the direction the Monkey was looking.
But they didn't seem to sense anything.
Even the Monkey only sensed a vague danger and showed no intention of fleeing.
In places they can't see.
The malevolent Nen Aura had spread throughout the area, like Nen Aura clinging to the surface, reaching outwards.
Hanzo, positioned slightly ahead, remained vigilant.
The moment those malevolent Nen touched him.
"Whoosh!"
Hanzo leaped backward like a spring being released, and in a few flashes, disappeared without looking back.
"How-"
Leorio froze on the spot before he could finish speaking.
An invisible, burgeoning malice instantly weighed down on everyone present.
Donpa's eyes widened in terror, and cold sweat instantly covered his entire face.
Under this intense pressure, he instinctively began to feel fear. His mind had lost the ability to think, and only his body was slowly moving forward, as if trying to escape.
The moment the malice spread, Somi collapsed to his knees, the Monkey on his shoulder falling unconscious in front of him.
"Run!"
Amori, leaning against the wall injured, mustered his strength to remind himself.
Overwhelmed by this malicious pressure, Leorio, who had been standing frozen in place, finally came to his senses.
He held his breath, sweat pouring down his forehead and dripping onto the ground.
Suppressing his fear and discomfort, he carried his briefcase in one hand and supported Amori with the other, struggling to escape forward.
Faced with Leorio's actions, Amori wanted to say something, but under the pressure and fear, her mind had turned to mush.
As for Leorio...
For someone who is just an ordinary person, he is acting solely on his willpower at this moment.
We cannot give up.
He wanted to become a doctor so that he wouldn't give up and would have the ability to save those he wanted to save.
At this point, his thoughts had become slow and blurred.
They act based on their own instinctive will.
On the High Tower in the center of the Labyrinth.
Several examiners were watching from the window.
Moreover, their gazes were all focused on the direction where Leorio was.
Kevin's Nen Aura Clone spread not only across the area where Leorio was, but across almost the entire Labyrinth.
However, such malicious intent is not as effective against Nen user as it is against ordinary people.
Leorio weren't the only ones to suffer.
Many of the candidates hanging on the outer perimeter fainted. A very few managed to hold on within the coverage area, but they could only manage for a short while before finally collapsing to the ground.
"The quality of the students this year is really quite good."
Netero stood by the window, looking at the situation below, and stroked his Hook beard with a sigh.
How many ordinary people could withstand Kevin's malicious thoughts?
Most of them are people with strong wills.
Nen ability is undoubtedly an ability linked to willpower.
The stronger a person's will, the easier it is for them to become stronger after learning Nen ability.
Regardless of whether it's Hanzo.
Even under those circumstances, Leorio was able to save people through his own will.
They can all be described as exceptionally talented individuals.
"Do me a favor, bring those who have fainted down below to the foot of the tower."
Men Qi rolled her eyes at Kevin's words.
With Emission Nen Aura, the Griffin flew out, riding the raging winds towards the Labyrinth.
The next day.
Because she was taking a bath, Melusina decided to speed things up and became the first to pass the exam.
Kurapika looked at the treasure in his hand.
He had just taken this from the hands of a giant beast.
Just as expected, the treasure was indeed placed in the lair of dangerous Beasts.
However, these dangerous Beasts posed little threat to Kurapika.
Keep in mind that Kurapika has been following Kevin for many years and has been training with him continuously.
The amount of spiritual energy within his body had already reached 60,000.
While Nen power doesn't necessarily equal strength, having 60,000 Nen power already demonstrates that Kurapika's combat ability is not weak.
Although Kurapika is Materialization Type, he is quite far from being Enhancement Type.
However, Kevin's medicine effectively compensated for this deficiency, so Kurapika's physique was not weak either.
"Is this the treasure you were looking for? It's just a ball with some fluorescent gold paint on it. This is so perfunctory! "Leorio, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but complain.
Perhaps due to the connection of blood, after Leorio and Amori escaped the Tracker's range, they encountered their brother who had come looking for them.
After thanking Leorio profusely, the two brothers left with Amori.
They gave Leorio some routes they had taken through the areas, and even told Leorio that they seemed to have seen something that might be treasure when they passed the edge of a giant beast.
Later, Leorio met Kurapika and told Kurapika the news.
That's how Kurapika got his treasure.
Of course, it's not that Kurapika can't be found, but these things require a bit of luck; it's just a matter of how much time it takes.
"Is it just a perfunctory response?"
Kurapika really couldn't refute it, because this thing was indeed perfunctory, and it was obvious from its appearance that it was probably something Uncle Kevin had made on the spot.
"Our goal now is to find the exit," Leorio said, taking Record Book out of his pocket.
The route map was drawn very hastily on it.
Kurapika watched from the side and drew the places he had been, making some improvements.
After sketching out the places they had visited, the two stared at the diagrams in their Notebook, lost in thought.
"The simplest way to explore Labyrinth is by Right-Hand Rule."
The so-called Right-Hand Rule, also known as the Left-Hand Rule, means that once you choose a direction, you always go in that direction when you encounter a turn.
"However, such a rule does not apply to this Labyrinth. The known information is that this Labyrinth covers the entire island. If we rely on this rule, it will take an unknown amount of time, and we may also enter the territory of other creatures, causing unnecessary conflicts."
There are many similar methods in essence.
Kurapika said, touching the mark on the wall next to him.
"It seems that most people have used the marking method; throughout history, countless people have left their marks on it."
Then it disappeared over time.
Hearing Kurapika say that...
Leorio seemed to have thought of something and slapped his forehead.
"Can we use the markings left by others to make calculations?"
After all, there are quite a few people who want to leave the Labyrinth, and many of them are former members of the maze community.
By noting down some markers and then summarizing the locations marked by these markers, one might be able to quickly find an exit.
However, Kurapika shook his head.
"No, because it could very well be misleading, and the layout of the Labyrinth has changed; the territory of the Demonic Beast has altered the entire Labyrinth's structure."
"What should we do then? This place is so big; if we use the brute force method, we might not be able to get through at all."
Leorio couldn't help but say that he was still thinking about the Tracker he had encountered before.
The pressure from the Tracker far exceeded the so-called time limit.
That despicable examiner.
There is no time limit, yet it feels even more oppressive than a time limit.
"We can use the breadth-first search principle, which is very suitable for the large Labyrinth we are in now."
However, whenever we encounter a fork in the road, we record it in our notebook along with the direction of the fork. Then we explore in one direction, and upon reaching the next fork, we record the level of exploration to return to.
Although a lot of time will be wasted at the beginning, once a level is explored, the subsequent paths can be identified and some loops and dead ends can be determined by calculation and planning based on the previous levels.
Exploring a region at this level helps us find the exit quickly; the more people there are, the faster we can do it.
Because they are exploring a single level or area, they are not separated by great distances.
"Let's use this method then. If we keep exploring like this, we're sure to encounter other candidates. There's not much competition between us in this exam, so the possibility of cooperation is very high."
Leorio agreed from the side.
Hearing Leorio's words, Kurapika looked at him and said, "You're much calmer now than before."
Leorio sighed at these words.
The external pressure was beyond Leorio's imagination; under such pressure, he himself did not realize that he had become much more rational than before.
"The further you go, the less you can rely on passion and brute force to act recklessly."
Kurapika smiled.
"By the way, why do you want to become Hunter x Hunter?"
After asking the question, Kurapika spoke up, saying, "I spoke for the Hunter x Hunter's Privilege, which provides great convenience in many things."
Leorio nodded knowingly, without asking any further questions, because he knew that the so-called privilege was just a means to find enemies.
Of course, this is just his own imagination.
At the Trap Tower, that guy pretending to be a spider almost died, if Kurapika hadn't stopped him.
That annoying guy named Pairo was probably doing it for the same reason.
Leorio sighed silently to himself.
"My words—a few years ago it might have been for the money, and now it's still for the privileges included in the Hunter License."
Kurapika was a little curious.
Leorio and then began to tell the story.
"I have a friend who has a serious illness, but it is not incurable. If he has money, he can be treated."
At that time, I was desperate. We lived in the slums, where would we get the money? It was a huge sum of money, even now it would be for me.
Although Leorio was speaking, his expression wasn't sad, just slightly forlorn.
"He did get treated in the end?" Kurapika asked.
Leorio smiled with satisfaction and nodded.
"Yes, just when things were at their most desperate, an organization called Red Stone Pharmaceutical Foundation provided a bailout. That was the company's first year."
"I heard that they spent a lot of money on these charity events in order to clear the company of some bad background information."
"But none of that matters. What matters is that they saved my friend, and many people like them, so I am very grateful to them."
Kurapika remained silent.
"Uh-ah, um, that's nice."
Leorio laughed and said, "Ever since then, I've wanted to become a doctor and join Red Stone Pharmaceuticals, but becoming a good doctor requires a lot of money."
"If you can obtain Hunter License, you can even join Red Stone Pharmaceuticals 'Education Development Program last year for free, and you can directly intern in Red Stone Pharmaceuticals' laboratories and hospitals during your studies."
After hearing Leorio's words, Kurapika fell silent.
What a coincidence!