Unexpected Turn, Final Exam

The airship still carried the remaining examinees to the test site.

Aboard the airship.

Tommy and Husum were there as well.

The two were talking in a room.

"What's going on? Wasn't there supposed to be another exam? Why are we already at the final exam?" Husum did not understand, so he asked Tommy.

The Hunter Exam was divided into the preliminary exam, the official exam, and the final exam.

The preliminary exam was held after registration, when applicants arrived at the designated location. Those who passed would obtain the location where the official exam began.

That was how it happened in the anime.

Of course, there were exceptions. For example, Lucky had gone straight to the official test site, while Killua in the anime had received help from Kiriko's family and also reached the correct test site directly.

There were five rounds in the official exam.

"We've already received notice. Something happened—the fourth-round examiner had an accident." Tommy had been shocked when he first heard the news as well.

"What happened?"

"Berudo isn't weak."

Berudo was the examiner for the fourth round. When the exam had first been arranged, the four examiners had met at Hunter Association headquarters.

They also knew each other's circumstances.

"All I can say is that his luck was exceptionally bad. He was attacked by Post-Mortem Nen and died immediately," Tommy explained.

Post-Mortem Nen was relatively rare even in the Hunter World. Even with a powerful obsession, it might not necessarily take shape as Post-Mortem Nen.

"I never heard that Berudo had any enemies. What kind of Post-Mortem Nen could kill him?"

"The details aren't clear, but it wasn't Post-Mortem Nen from an ordinary person. It was related to ruins."

Tommy only knew Berudo superficially and was not familiar with him.

"A Curse!" Husum immediately said.

Post-Mortem Nen was rarely seen, but in certain places, it was extremely common—various ancient ruins.

According to Hunter Association records, exploring ancient ruins carried enormous risks. Aside from all sorts of dangerous mechanisms inside, the most frightening thing was the possible existence of "Post-Mortem Nen."

And this fourth examiner had been a Ruins Hunter.

Post-Mortem Nen came in different forms. Some directly took physical shape and attacked, while others became something similar to a Curse.

They would suddenly kill someone at a certain moment.

And some Curses could strike a person without them even noticing.

Clearly, Berudo had encountered such a situation.

This was the danger faced by Hunters with ambitions. If they wanted to challenge the unknown, they had to face every kind of danger.

No one had expected something like this to happen during the Hunter Exam.

It was also the first such incident in the history of the Hunter Exam.

There was no contingency plan, nor was there time to find another examiner, so they simply moved directly into the final exam.

It would be handed over to Chairman Netero.

The airship arrived at a star-rated hotel in a large city.

The entire hotel had already been reserved by the Hunter Association.

Every final Hunter Exam was held in a city, with wilderness locations rarely chosen.

This was because they also had to consider the explanations given after examinees passed the exam.

Netero appeared in the hotel with members of the Hunter Association.

"There's been a small problem. There was supposed to be a fourth round, but now we'll go straight to the final exam." Netero did not seem particularly bothered by the sudden situation.

He simply needed to prepare the exam content in advance.

As the examiner for the final exam, Netero differed from the other examiners. He never decided the exam content beforehand.

Instead, he formulated it on the spot based on the examinees who reached the final exam and their individual circumstances.

"Lucky, you finally want to become a Hunter?" Netero asked Lucky with a smile.

"Yes, Master. I've stayed in Keli City for too long, and I want to travel around. Having a Hunter License will make many things much more convenient," Lucky answered with his head lowered.

Master!

The examinees and examiners were stunned, along with some Hunter Association staff.

Lucky becoming Netero's disciple was not widely known within the Hunter Association. The Hunter Association was merely a loose organization, and it did not deliberately keep track of Netero taking disciples.

After their surprise, both the examinees and examiners could understand Lucky's strength and exceptional qualities.

"So, you encountered something interesting this time, didn't you?" Netero did not seem eager to begin the exam. Instead, he started making casual conversation with Lucky.

Netero was referring to the situation at Oasis of God.

It was also an unusual change within the Secret Realm.

Some Secret Realm Hunters had already begun researching the changes at Oasis of God.

Netero believed that Lucky's strength should have undergone some changes.

"Yes. My cultivation in martial arts can become more complete. There are still many things in this world waiting for me to uncover, and all of them can become nourishment for martial arts."

Lucky said this as the ruler of Heavenly Arena.

Netero looked at Lucky with gratification in his eyes.

Lucky's talent and strength made Netero value him, but what he truly valued was Lucky's ability to breathe life into martial arts through action.

Even Netero himself had benefited from many of the ideas Lucky had proposed.

In Netero's eyes, Lucky was someone capable of changing the world.

It was an exceedingly high evaluation.

There was no need to rush toward the Dark Continent. The potential of the human regions of the Hunter World had yet to be fully explored.

He needed more like-minded people to become his "support."

To carry them forward together with him.

"Then after the exam, let me see how you've changed during this time." After saying that, Netero stopped talking with Lucky.

He began explaining that there should originally have been a fourth exam, but because of an accident, they had proceeded directly to the final exam.

Some things still needed to be explained.

No fourth exam?

The examinees could only see it as good news.

Immediately afterward, Netero began explaining the content of the final exam.

Within this hotel, several Number Plates had been hidden. As long as an examinee obtained seven corresponding Number Plates, they would pass directly.

It sounded very simple. They only needed to search for Number Plates.

But the important point was that there could be no more than three successful examinees.

In other words, there were only three slots. If the others passed first, everyone remaining would be eliminated.

Some examinees breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that not having to fight was best.

They could not possibly defeat Lucky, even if every examinee joined forces.

Other examinees, however, became worried. They feared Lucky would kill everyone else, then search slowly until he qualified.

Fortunately, Chairman Netero had not finished explaining the Rules.

Examinees could not attack each other, nor could they steal Number Plates. Besides the Number Plates in the hotel, there were also several special Number Plates that would have different effects when collected.

There were three types in total: trading, eliminating an examinee, and immunity to elimination.