Battle Royale X - Welcome to the Real Hunter World
"It seems this year's event will be more interesting than in previous years."
Old Captain Mark Sim noticed the branch Roy was carrying on his shoulder and, in a moment of reverie, remembered someone who also loved fishing.
When I first met him, he was carrying a fishing rod on his shoulder, with a red bead hanging from the end. He was the only person in that batch to pass the test... I think his name was Kim Freecss?
Mark Sim vaguely remembered the name.
"Welcome... welcome... Roy Zoldyck's nice to see you again."
A round of applause erupted, Pariston walked up with open arms and a beaming smile to welcome Roy aboard.
As a result, Roy ignored him, walked straight past him, found the bow of the boat, sat down cross-legged, cast his fishing rod, and continued fishing to hone his Nen Ability.
Stagnant water is not the same as a living sea. The moving "Poseidon" will make fishing more difficult. Roy is as steady as a reef, swaying slightly with the ship. Behind him is the sycamore Gotoh, which is silent and facing the crowd, guarding his back.
"Hehehe... Little Hill got ignored again." He was the Freak a moment ago... now he's the Zoldyck...
Clark glanced at the sea behind him; the azure surface was calm, and the Freak man was nowhere to be seen. Just as he was wondering if the guy had drowned, a hand suddenly grabbed the edge of the boat and climbed aboard, soaking wet...
Illumi saw it... that blond guy was looking at his older brother, his arms outstretched. What was he trying to do? Hug...?
Danger! Pariston suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck, and when he turned around, he met a pair of empty eyes.
He's Freak!
"Creak... creak..." The Freak sat down leaning against the ship's railing, noticing Pariston's gaze fixed on him. He simply closed his eyes, as if... out of sight, out of mind.
The Thin Bodyguard, Gore, sensed something was amiss and whispered a warning, "There's something strange about this guy."
Pariston gave Illumi a deep look, then shrugged indifferently. "That's... what makes it interesting..."
Roy Zoldyck arrived, and nothing else mattered... He, along with Clark and Gore, found a place to sit. Seeing everyone had arrived, old Captain Mark Sim clapped his hands and ordered his first mate, Gus, to bring out a box. Looking around, he shouted, "Look at me, everyone!"
"Each person should take a number tag and wear it!"
Many eyes turned to Gus, who had a red headscarf wrapped around his head. He flipped over the box and poured out a pile of number plates—white background, black numbers, and a red button next to them. A rough estimate suggested there were over a hundred.
"What's this for? To register for the exam?" The Bald Ninja flashed forward and was the first to step forward. He casually grabbed a number plate and curiously pressed the red button... but was stopped halfway by the old captain Mark Sim.
"If you don't want to be eliminated now, go ahead and press the button." Mark Sim, pipe in mouth, exhaled a puff of smoke, startling the Bald Ninja so much that his hand trembled, almost dropping the number plate...
"It's so serious, old man, why didn't you say so sooner?" Yusuke, somewhat angrily.
As an elite Jonin from the Cloud Hidden Style of Japan, if he were eliminated here before even reaching the official Hunter Exam venue... not only would he be too ashamed to go back and face anyone, but if his master found out, he'd have to commit seppuku! It would be incredibly humiliating!
"Hmph... you should have said so earlier!" Mark Sim looked around and raised his voice, "Don't think you can just sit around doing nothing once you're on the ship!"
"I'm telling you, the Hunter Exam began the moment your feet touched this deck."
"If you're hoping to get away with it, you might as well quit now!"
"We're already here, who the hell would back out? Old man, just tell us what you need us for!" someone said impatiently.
"Very good!" Mark Sim wasn't bothered by the scolding. He took a number plate and showed it to everyone. "One number plate represents one point. This test is actually very simple; it's called the ' Point Scramble '!"
"Whoever accumulates the most points before arriving at the official examination venue, Doli Island, wins."
The old captain paused here, squinted at the crowd, and held up one finger. "Only the top ten will be selected!"
wrong...
"You're making everyone kill each other!" Someone suddenly realized... What Point Scramble?
The order was clearly to kill everyone present down to just ten!
One sentence caused a huge stir... Yusuke, the Snake Handler, the Bow-bearing Boy, the Kurta Girl... Kite Gotoh Wutong all looked over... Mark Sim chuckled, took a deep drag on his pipe, and said, "That's why I prepared a 'surrender button' for you all in advance..."
The old man pressed the red button on the number plate, which emitted a sharp "beep," and grinned wickedly, "If you can't take it anymore, surrender, and we'll intervene."
"Of course, press..."
Mark Sim glanced at Yusuke: "That means you've lost your eligibility for the exam."
"Whoosh~" A sea breeze blew in, taking away all the noise on the deck.
The sound of pages turning filled the air Kurta Clan girl broke the silence, "As far as I know, it's not usually this strict. Even in the last year, large numbers of candidates were eliminated only upon arrival at the official venue."
"You said it yourself, that's the usual practice," Mark Sim said calmly. "Each term has its own rules. If you're not satisfied, you can appeal to the Hunter Association!"
"Anyway, this is an order from above, they can't trace it back to me," Mark Sim silently added to himself.
"Then there's nothing more to say." Pariston, following the reckless Bald Ninja, was the first to step forward, took the "Number 1" badge and pinned it to his chest. He glanced around, his gaze lingering on Roy for a moment before he gave a sinister smile.
"I fully support the Hunter Association's decision. The trash should be removed beforehand to avoid damaging the Hunter Association's reputation!"
"It's that guy again!" The image of Donovan being slapped into mincemeat was still vivid in his mind. Yusuke, the Snake Handler, the Bow-bearing Boy, the Bandage Man... glared angrily, but dared not speak out, only waiting for Pariston...
Clark and Gore each took a number and stepped aside before the others took their turn, found a place to hide, and then...
A sudden scream rang out as someone behind him saw the person in front take a number, and, taking advantage of the moment, stabbed him in the kidney, snatched the number from his hand, and ran away...
From that moment on, it was as if a boulder had been thrown into a calm lake, and a single strike had ignited a carnage!
"Welcome to the real world of Hunter." Mark Sim noticed the man's white knife going in and red coming out, and instructed Gus and the other crew members to intervene as soon as they heard someone press the "surrender button." He then turned and went to the captain's cabin, closing the door behind him.
He's getting old, and he can't stand bloodshed. The higher-ups really don't seem to understand how an old man like him can be...
The old captain pondered, then slumped into a chair, closed his eyes, and dozed off for a while... leaving behind a ship full of examinees who were desperately playing out a battle royale the Game in a chaotic arena...
"Whoosh--" A full-blown brawl erupted on the deck... A throwing knife, without a second thought, stabbed towards Roy!