"I told you, didn't I? Stay away from me." Su Wu waggled his index finger and said it nonchalantly.
It was obvious the other person hadn't taken him seriously. She kept looking for chances to get close to him—or, more accurately... to test him.
"I'm only here to get a Hunter License. If you keep getting in my way..."
The White-haired boy stood still, yet a fierce sandstorm rose around him, swirling in circles.
To those who could use Nen, it looked like a surging mass of black and blue energy, restlessly circling the boy like a tangle of twisting giant serpents.
He was issuing a warning.
"Go ahead and try. Let's see which of us ends up dead." He tilted his head slightly. Beneath his frost-white lashes, his blue eyes were cold and clear, yet he grinned with a wicked, arrogant air.
For a brief moment, even Biscuit was intimidated by the aura of the young boy before her.
That was rare. Only someone stronger than her could make her feel so overpowered.
But him—stronger than her? Was that even possible?
Biscuit: ...
"I get it. What an unlikable boy." The blonde girl stopped pretending to be sweet and delicate and instead sighed with the weariness of an old woman.
There was no need to keep testing him. With his strength, passing the Hunter Exam wouldn't be difficult.
As for his personality, he didn't seem kind enough and appeared to lack humanity. Arrogant, willful, conceited, overbearing, used to having the final say... None of that fell under her responsibilities.
Even if he got a Hunter License, it didn't necessarily mean he had passed the test. The real test would only begin after he got his license.
"Cute? Like you?" The surroundings around the White-haired boy settled down. The swirling sand fell back to the ground and blended into the desert. He lazily lifted his eyelids and studied the blonde girl.
Even beneath the moonlight, his eyes held a bright blue hue, more beautiful than the moon itself.
"That's right, that's right. Just like me..." Biscuit happily started to agree, ready to praise herself.
"A cute old lady?" Su Wu continued, his voice full of mocking amusement.
Biscuit couldn't finish bragging about herself. She clenched her fists, but couldn't hold back. She swung at him, her strike so fast that even an afterimage was invisible.
But Su Wu disappeared even faster.
"I guessed it. I knew you'd fly into a rage if I exposed your age." He reappeared behind Biscuit, standing beside the corpses of the three beasts. His voice was light, and his face showed the smug delight of someone who'd pulled off a prank.
That expression only made him even more infuriating.
"Let's get along peacefully from now on." He waved to the blonde girl, then vanished, appearing beside the caravan in an instant.
Biscuit planted her hands on her hips and kicked at the sand in frustration. She looked quite cute, though her act was still painfully obvious.
A handsome young boy might have his charms, but an unpleasant personality could never beat a mature man with good people skills.
"I'd better go look for my gems." She sighed helplessly.
Biscuit was a woman who kept her age secret, a powerful Two-Star Gem Hunter—a rank awarded only to those who had achieved great success or made significant contributions in several fields. She had once served as an examiner for the Hunter Exam and was now enthusiastically searching for gems in the desert, while taking the opportunity to test the abilities of people hoping to sit the exam here.
At some point, a rumor had spread from who knew where.
Somewhere in a desert was a ruin no one had ever discovered. Countless treasures were hidden inside it, and ninety percent of the gang members and bandits who frequently appeared in Gordo Town had come for the fabled treasure.
Yet no one had ever found the supposed desert ruin. Some even suspected that the desert in the rumor wasn't the Gordo Desert. Still, wave after wave of people continued to appear here.
The rumor wasn't very credible, but Biscuit had come anyway.
That was what Hunters were like: they'd travel a thousand miles for a rumor that might not even be true.
"Looks like that boy will be one of this year's successful applicants. How many people will pass this time?" Biscuit didn't return to the caravan. Instead, she headed in the opposite direction.
She'd already gotten a good look at the abilities of the people here. Only that unpleasant white-haired boy had left a strong impression.
His white hair and blue eyes should have made him look like a cat, but the black markings on his body made him look more like a white tiger. They were both felines, but tigers were far more dangerous and fierce than house cats.
No need to mention anything else: perfect colors, perfect looks, a sexy young boy—an absolute masterpiece!
Biscuit covered the lower half of her face and thought with a dreamy smile.
Su Wu returned to the caravan and, while he was at it, carried back the other two unlucky souls who still couldn't move. Near the tents, he saw quite a few members of the guard team had been injured. The others were helping them treat their wounds.
"Did you kill the beasts? Where's Lu Qi?" Someone looked behind him. When they didn't see the blonde girl, they asked with some concern.
"Ah, she probably left on her own." Su Wu answered casually, but his Six Eyes noticed the caravan leader's unsurprised expression.
The leader knew that blonde woman, and her departure didn't seem strange to him.
So she really was a character from the original anime...
But Su Wu couldn't recognize her. He'd only watched a few dozen episodes, and the rest he'd picked up from short videos he happened to come across.
In a way, he was a fan who knew the story secondhand.
But since she'd left, she wasn't the guide. So where was the real exam site?
Su Wu turned his attention back to the leader.
That guy was suspicious. He really seemed like the guide.
"Can you still walk?" he asked lazily.
His Six Eyes told him no one had died.
Since no one had died and they were only injured, they could keep going.
He didn't want anyone wasting his time.
"We need to find somewhere to treat them as soon as possible. The caravan doesn't have enough medicine to properly treat their injuries. If we keep traveling, their wounds might get worse," one of the guards said, frowning as he explained.
"Then what do you suggest? Stay in the desert forever? Or turn back the way we came?" Su Wu scoffed, firing off one question after another.
"What a stupid suggestion." The smile vanished from his face, replaced by undisguised contempt.
"You—" The other man clenched his fists, but could only stammer, unable to say anything more.
"We're fine. We can keep going. Let's set off at dawn," one of the wounded said firmly.
"Oh? Not bad." Su Wu gave him a look of approval.
He wasn't planning to waste Su Wu's time. He was a sensible fellow.
I spotted a few small issues earlier, so I fixed them right away. Thanks to the reader who pointed them out and stayed calm about it.
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