Netero's appearance

After Menchi announced that only one person had passed this round of the Hunter Exam, the air in the warehouse froze for several seconds.

Odin stood at the edge of the crowd, watching the expressions on the candidates' faces after Menchi announced the results.

Some looked bewildered, some furious, and some gritted their teeth.

He had become the only person to pass the sushi test. Although he had expected this outcome, Odin still found it absurd when it actually happened.

"We failed?"

"Why? We all made sushi!"

"What kind of test is this?"

"I refuse to accept this test!"

Protests erupted from every corner.

A burly man bulging with muscle suddenly stepped forward, pointed at Menchi, and roared, "Are you kidding me? Only one person passed? Are you messing with us?"

Menchi sat on the sofa with her legs crossed, her expression cold. "I told you, only sushi that satisfies me counts as a pass.

"Clearly, your sushi didn't pass."

"I won't accept this! You're just a cook! What gives you the right to decide our results?" the burly man blurted out in his anger.

Oh, crap-

Every candidate present had the same thought when they heard his words.

There might have been a little room for negotiation before, but now that chance seemed gone.

Illumi, who needed to obtain a Hunter License, couldn't help letting his bloodlust erupt.

Hisoka, standing beside him, had long since enveloped both Menchi and Buhara in his bloodlust. Otherwise, however angry Menchi was, she wouldn't have been so irrational as to decide the Hunter Exam results entirely on personal preference.

"You said I'm just a cook?" Menchi's voice turned icy as she drew two kitchen knives from behind her waist.

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

Although the burly man had gone a little too far, the candidates still needed to pressure the examiners into changing their decision if they wanted to pass the Hunter Exam.

Several candidates exchanged glances and slowly began closing in on Menchi.

Odin frowned. He had finally managed to pass this test; he couldn't let these people ruin it by causing trouble.

Before those candidates could act, the burly man struck first.

He lunged at Menchi, driving his fist straight at her face. "Stop looking down on us!"

Menchi didn't even raise her eyelids.

Just before the fist could hit her, a hand reached in from the side and caught the man's wrist.

It was Odin.

He moved like the wind. Most people present hadn't even seen when he started moving.

The burly man felt his wrist tighten, and then his entire body was forcibly flung aside.

"Don't cause trouble," Odin said.

At some point, Odin had moved in front of Menchi. He glared unhappily at the burly man and the other candidates.

No one present was a Nen user with spatial abilities, so Odin felt he could keep everyone in check.

In the original story, Menchi and Buhara had been able to handle this provocation, but Odin wasn't sure how things would unfold now.

What if Netero arrived a little late, and Menchi lost her temper and beat most of the candidates into the ground?

Or what if Netero didn't come at all, and Menchi and Buhara fought Hisoka and Illumi, ending with the examiners dead?

If something like that really happened, things would get very interesting. Not a single Hunter had emerged from the previous exam.

The burly man got up and stared at Odin. "You!"

"I passed," Odin said matter-of-factly, looking around.

The other candidates stopped and watched Odin warily.

They understood what Odin meant, but there was absolutely no way they would simply give up.

Still, the speed Odin had just displayed left them no opening to act.

The ordinary candidates didn't dare approach, but Hisoka and Illumi walked forward without any change in expression. Besides those two, Killua-the little squirt who had thought the Hunter Exam was boring-and the other candidates who would later make names for themselves also approached expectantly.

"Ho ho ho~"

Just then, a hearty laugh rang out. "At the very least, the Hunter Exam should let its candidates know the standards."

Everyone froze, unsure what was happening, but Menchi and Buhara's expressions changed dramatically. They rushed out of the warehouse and looked up at the sky.

The candidates followed them outside in confusion. Odin sighed helplessly.

Just don't revoke my pass, Odin grumbled inwardly as he followed them out.

A tiny black dot in the sky was growing larger.

Suddenly, a figure leaped down, hurtling toward the ground.

Boom-

With a thunderous crash, he made a dazzling entrance.

After the dust cleared, an old man wearing loose clothing and sporting a goatee walked out.

He looked at least seventy or eighty years old. With his hands behind his back, a smile on his face, and his eyes narrowed to slits, he looked like a kindly old grandfather from next door.

But no one there dared underestimate him.

He had fallen out of the sky, dropping from hundreds of meters up, then stood on the ground completely unharmed.

"Chairman." Menchi stood straight, her expression calm again.

Buhara greeted him from beside her with a guileless smile. "Chairman."

A stir ran through the candidates.

The chairman of the Hunter Association, one of the people standing at the pinnacle of this world, had appeared right before them.

Normally, they had only ever seen him on television.

Netero surveyed the crowd with a chuckle. His gaze lingered on Odin for a moment before moving on.

"Menchi, what is the core of the Hunter Exam?" Netero asked with a smile.

Menchi lowered her head. "I was too willful. I lost control of my emotions. The test should have been more objective."

"Ho ho ho~"

Menchi took a deep breath. "I request to resign as an examiner and have the results of this test declared void. I'm willing to accept disciplinary action from the Hunter Association."

Netero smiled instead. "There's no need to resign. It would be difficult to find another qualified Hunter on such short notice. You'll remain the examiner. Just set a new test."

"A new test?" Menchi paused, then nodded. "All right. Please let us use the airship to take us to that mountain."

"Mountain?" Netero looked in the direction she indicated and saw a strangely shaped peak in the distance.

It looked like a pudding sliced in half, with a flat summit and extremely steep sides.

The others might not have known what was there, but Odin, who knew the story, understood perfectly.

That was where the Grape Vultures nested.

They would have to retrieve Grape Vulture eggs there, then cook them by boiling them.

As long as the eggs were boiled just right, they would pass.

Grape Vultures were enormous birds whose eggs had a distinctive aroma and texture.

But collecting them was very difficult. Grape Vultures usually built their nests halfway down cliffs, suspended in spiderwebs. The strong winds around Pudding Mountain would make it even harder.

After hearing Menchi's proposal, Netero readily agreed.

Soon, everyone arrived at the summit of Pudding Mountain and saw a vast chasm.

Menchi walked to the edge and glanced back. "I'll demonstrate first."

The cliffs were hundreds of meters high, their nearly vertical rock faces covered in white spider silk. Eggs larger than human heads could be seen among the strands.

Standing at the edge, Menchi loosened up her arms and legs.

"Watch closely."

She leaped straight off the cliff.

The candidates cried out in alarm, but a moment later, Menchi was hanging securely from a strand of spider silk halfway down the cliff.

The strand was as thick as a wrist and extremely elastic. It only swayed slightly under Menchi's weight.

Menchi waited for a dozen or so seconds, then let go.

Her body began to fall, but soon a powerful updraft rose from the bottom of the chasm.

Using the airflow to adjust her position, she seized a Grape Vulture egg with precision, then rode the updraft upward and returned to the cliff top in just a few bounds.

The entire process took less than half a minute.

She placed the egg in a large pot brought out of the airship.