Ging Freecss

A towering chasm reaching into the clouds and two bizarre, perpetually windless climate belts crisscrossed around the globe in the shape of a cross, dividing the world into six major regions—the Four Seas, one continent, and one route.

The one continent was that towering chasm reaching into the clouds: the Red Line.

The one route was the area between the two bizarre, perpetually windless climate belts running parallel to one another, collectively known as the Grand Line.

The Four Seas were the four oceans enclosed by the intersecting Red Line and Grand Line: the East Blue, South Blue, West Blue, and North Blue.

Mary Geoise lay at one of the two intersections of the Red Line and the Calm Belt, bordering the West Blue. To reach the West Blue, one only needed to take a westbound train, skirt around the Grand Line at either end below, then transfer to a ship headed directly to somewhere in the West Blue. There was no need to venture into the already perilous Grand Line at either end, then nearly lose one's mind crossing the Calm Belt, which was littered with nests of colossal magical beasts known as Sea Kings, just to reach the West Blue. Otherwise, the final destination might not be the West Blue, but the West.

Of course, airships were far more convenient than trains and ships, but the newly developed airships charged outrageously expensive fares and were far too conspicuous. They were unsuitable as part of an infiltration operation.

"Woo woo woo~~~"

"Clack, clack, clack!"

The steam train began moving.

To avoid causing panic because Joanna was a demi-human super-dangerous species, and also to deliberately conceal their whereabouts, Bred lavishly rented an entire VIP compartment. This gave him a quiet environment in which to admire the scenery beyond the window and think.

Analyzing intelligence and formulating a plan—those were the things on Bred's mind.

With limited time, the information Bred had gathered from the internet, television news, old newspapers, and similar media was also limited. What he currently knew was—

The Hunter Association's annual Hunter Exam always began on January 7th.

The Hunter Exam about to begin was the 267th, meaning that this event—the Hunter Association's system for selecting talented individuals—had a history of no less than 267 years.

Driven by a desire for wealth, fame, or other reasons, and without having to endure the world's disgust and hatred like pirates, nor the World Government's costly bounties, ruthless hunts, and attempts at extermination, countless people regarded becoming a Hunter as a shortcut to a better life through their own strength. As a result, the number of people taking the Hunter Exam had steadily risen, with no fewer than one million participants each year for the ninety years since Sea Circle Year 1400.

And because the number of Hunter Exam applicants was immense and their quality varied wildly, the Hunter Association hired people to conduct preliminary screenings before the official selection, weeding out more than half of the unqualified pretenders.

When the official Hunter Exam began, the examination subjects were set according to the personal preferences of the examiners, who changed every year. Candidates were screened level by level until only those who met the standard remained.

The registration locations for the Hunter Exam, as well as the trial site where it was held, changed every year. However, there were forty or fifty of the former, usually more than a dozen in each of the Four Seas, while there was only one of the latter, generally located on the Grand Line.

The address Bred had obtained—Ohara in the West Blue—was a registration location for the Hunter Exam.

Bred actually wanted very much to understand why the World Government had never strangled an uncontrollable and troublesome force like the Hunter Association in its cradle. Even if it had failed to do so while the Hunter Association was still in its infancy, why had it never curbed the Hunter Association's growth and expansion? There was also the Hunter Association's creed, the meaning of being a Hunter, and so on.

Unfortunately...

He stood too low. Bred was not qualified to learn such secrets.

As for a plan to pass the Hunter Exam, Bred thought it over and over, only to decide he would take things one step at a time. There were simply too many uncertainties.

"Bred?" Mosquito Girl fiddled with the robe covering her entire body and made a childish ghost face. "Scaaary~~~"

Bred smiled, leaning back against Mosquito Girl's firm, long legs to rest. He reached out and circled a finger over Mosquito Girl's red lips. "Thinking about it, it's about time I fed you again."

Mosquito Girl looked at Bred hesitantly. Only after waiting for his approval did she take his finger into her mouth, bite it open as gently as possible, and suck before finally helping Bred lick clean... the remaining bloodstains on his finger.

Bred's pale face grew even paler, and Mosquito Girl, who craved the taste of Bred's blood, immediately looked like a child who had done something wrong. The flush trembling across her cheeks turned into a guilty crimson.

January 3rd, afternoon. The train was replaced by a passenger ship.

January 7th, dawn.

A green island blanketed in lush vegetation stood before them, with a towering giant tree that occupied nearly half the island's area standing proudly in the wind.

They had arrived at Ohara.

The dock was already packed with people, all there to register for the Hunter Exam.

"Wow!"

"He really is cute, but... how old is he?"

"He'll probably set the record for the youngest person ever to take the Hunter Exam."

"Maybe he's a dwarf."

"..."

People brazenly sized Bred up and talked without restraint.

Bred grabbed Mosquito Girl, who was about to teach the rude people a lesson and defend his honor, then quietly headed straight for the Tree of Knowledge. Having come to this "holy land of archaeology," home to the greatest number of scholars in the world and its largest library, the Tree of Knowledge, it would be a shame not to soak in the atmosphere of knowledge.

"Don't mind them, Joanna. Elephants never bother with the ants beneath their feet." Bred's beautiful smile was like a spring breeze, soothing Mosquito Girl's agitation.

Mosquito Girl puffed out her cheeks and stubbornly said, "Joanna has to protect Bred."

"Hm?"

He abruptly stopped.

Bred narrowed his eyes and looked into the distance. A black-haired boy stood alone atop a hill, facing the sunrise in the east.

"Ging Freecss?" Bred muttered.

Mosquito Girl lowered her head to examine Bred. "What is it, Bred?"

"Nothing. My intuition tells me he's an interesting guy," Bred said.

Mosquito Girl was surprised. "Eh~"

"Pretty faces are a dime a dozen; interesting souls are one in a million." Bred roughly rubbed Mosquito Girl's head and said, "You wouldn't understand."

Mosquito Girl smiled foolishly.

Without striking up a conversation with Ging, Bred went into Ohara Town for breakfast and spent some time reading.

Around noon, a cargo ship hired by the Hunter Association arrived, calling all those who had registered for the Hunter Exam to fill out their application forms before boarding and departing.

Interestingly, Bred took Mosquito Girl aboard and claimed a spot at the very front of the deck. Ging also seemed to like the secluded location. His lively eyes kept sneaking glances over, and whenever his gaze met Bred's, he would immediately turn his head away in embarrassment, pretending to be at ease.

Bred invited him over with body language.

After hesitating for a long while, Ging slowly shuffled closer and stammered nervously, "H-H-Hello."

"Hello. I'm Bred, and she's Joanna," Bred introduced them.

That was it.

Bred had meant to prompt Ging to introduce himself too, but Ging was a blockhead!

"What's your name?" Bred added helplessly.

Ging finally realized and said awkwardly, "Ging. Ging Freecss, from Whale Island in West Blue."

PS: Hmm... the contract still hasn't even been mailed out of the city where my hometown is. It'll probably take a week to reach Qidian's headquarters? Then another week or two before they can arrange recommendations for me? So I need to slow down the update pace a bit. Otherwise, I'll barely get any recommendations before it's time to put it behind a paywall. I can stockpile chapters while I'm at it.