Hunting and prey

As the sun rose over the sea, Odin sat on the beach wringing out his clothes.

Ponzu lay beside him, soaked through, but she was too embarrassed to take off her clothes and wring them out.

Seawater dripped from their hems, leaving tiny pits in the sand.

Odin's backpack was soaked too. He emptied its contents and spread them over a rock to dry.

His bankbook was still there, safely tucked inside a waterproof bag.

The compressed biscuits had soaked up water and turned into a lump of mush.

"Rest for a while," Odin told Ponzu, then began searching the area for something.

Ponzu raised her head and asked him, "What are you doing?"

Odin chuckled. "Looking for a rope."

Ponzu sat up, puzzled. "A rope? What do you need a rope for?"

As she spoke, she took off her hat.

The hive inside had flooded too. A few bees crawled out and crept weakly along the brim.

"They're all right," Ponzu said. "They weren't underwater for long."

"We need to rescue those people," Odin said, pointing out to sea.

Ponzu glanced at him, then nodded. "I'll help you look."

She got to her feet and searched for a rope with him. "How did you run across the water just now?"

"You can do it if you're fast enough," Odin said.

"Who are you trying to fool?"

"It's true."

Out at sea, examinees were still struggling.

Odin counted roughly seven or eight. Some floated with wooden planks in their arms, some clung to capsized boats, and two were swimming toward them.

"Found one!" Ponzu called.

Odin took the rope she handed him and inspected it.

It was wet, but still usable.

He looped the rope around his waist and loosened up his arms and legs.

Rabbit Talisman-activate.

The world slowed down.

Once again, he charged across the surface of the sea, spray bursting beneath his feet.

He ran up to the nearest examinee and used the rope to tie him to the plank beneath him.

The examinee was still flailing, and the sudden turn of events frightened him into screaming.

Odin ignored him and ran toward the others. After tying several examinees together, he dragged them back toward shore.

Ten seconds later, he deposited them on the beach.

"Th-thank you..." one examinee gasped.

Odin nodded, turned around, and charged out again.

His second trip brought back only a middle-aged man. He had been too far away, and the rope wasn't long enough.

When Odin found him, he had been floating with a plank in his arms for who knew how long. His face was pale, his lips purple.

Once dragged ashore, he lay motionless on the sand without saying a word.

A third trip, then a fourth-

Odin made several trips back and forth, rescuing a dozen or so people.

The last was a skinny man who weighed less than forty kilograms.

He lay facedown on the beach, coughing up water and crying.

"I thought I was going to die... boo-hoo..."

Nobody paid him any attention.

Odin put down the rope and returned to his rock to sit.

After catching his breath, he rummaged through his backpack for his water bottle.

It still held half a bottle of fresh water, lukewarm.

He took two swallows and handed it to Ponzu.

Ponzu took a sip, then gave it back.

"Now we've got more competition," Ponzu said with a smile.

"Not anymore." Odin genuinely wasn't worried about these people. They really weren't strong.

Ponzu paused, but said nothing.

The sun climbed higher, heating the sand.

Odin spread his clothes over the rock and sat bare-chested.

His lean muscles were firm and well-defined.

The rescued examinees gradually recovered.

Some came over to thank him, and Odin acknowledged them with a nod.

Some sat staring into space, while others checked their equipment.

The skinny man was still crying, his sobs grating on the ears.

"Stop crying," the middle-aged man said. "You're lucky to be alive."

"The hundred thousand-odd Jenny I brought is gone... boo-hoo..."

"What's more important, your life or your money?"

"Both..."

The middle-aged man stared at him speechlessly, then decided he couldn't be bothered.

Half an hour later, a black dot appeared on the distant horizon.

It grew larger and larger. It was an airship.

The examinees on the beach all stood up and stared at it.

"Is that the examiner?" someone asked.

"Definitely. I'd recognize that airship even if I were burned to ashes."

As the airship approached, the Hunter Association emblem on its bow came into view.

"It's the examiner!" someone shouted.

The airship reached the shore. Its gangway lowered, revealing Lippo, the examiner for the third phase.

He stood on the beach and swept his gaze over the examinees, his face full of smiles.

"Two people," he said. "It looks like only you two passed this test."

The examinees exchanged glances, but none protested. Odin had rescued all of them, so they had no right to complain.

Lippo continued, "This impromptu test required you to reach this island under your own power. Those who made it passed. Those who didn't were eliminated."

The fat man raised his hand. "What about the people on Warship Island?"

"We don't know. We'll check on them once the storm passes." Lippo beckoned Odin and the others aboard the airship.

The examinees sighed with relief, picked up their belongings, and boarded.

Odin and Ponzu went last.

His clothes weren't completely dry yet, but he couldn't worry about that now.

Once aboard, the examinees were given time to rest.

Then they stood by the windows, watching the distant storm.

Time passed slowly. The examinees aboard the airship counted themselves lucky, though their emotions remained unsettled.

The next morning, once the storm had passed and the skies were clear, the airship headed toward Warship Island and soon reached its vicinity.

"Look!"

"Is that a warship?"

"They actually sailed it out!"

The examinees spotted a familiar warship sitting on the sea nearby and couldn't help exclaiming.

Odin and Ponzu exchanged glances, stunned by the sight before them.

Odin in particular had never expected Gon and the other protagonists to clear this stage that way.

Once all the examinees on the warship had been brought aboard, Odin spotted the four familiar protagonists.

Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio were all there.

They looked to be in good shape. Their clothes were dirty but dry, and their spirits seemed high.

Gon's eyes lit up when he saw Odin. "It's you! Did you pass too?"

Odin nodded. "Yes, she and I passed."

"Hehe, we passed too! We sailed here on the warship!" Gon said excitedly. "It was so much fun!"

Killua rolled his eyes beside him. "What fun? We nearly drowned."

"Huh? Killua, didn't you think it was fun?" Gon asked urgently.

"Yes, yes, it was fun." Killua looked dismissive, but Odin could already tell he didn't mean what he was saying.

Tsundere brat.

Kurapika stood to one side, watching Odin as though pondering something. Leorio slumped in a seat with his eyes closed, seemingly still recovering.

Besides them, there were other examinees, some Odin recognized and some he didn't.

Odin and Ponzu found empty seats and sat down.

"Congratulations on passing the third phase," Lippo said as he came before the examinees.

They looked over to see him standing at the front of the airship, a box beside him.

Lippo took a number tag from the box and held it up for everyone to see.

"Now, please come up and draw a number in the order you cleared Trick Tower." He explained no other rules and waited for the examinees to approach.

As the assistant examiner beside Lippo began calling names, the examinees came forward one after another to draw number tags.

Odin and Ponzu had cleared Trick Tower relatively early, so their turns soon came.

Odin knew this scene from the plot. Although the location was somewhat different, the situation was the same.

Odin walked up to the box.

He reached inside and picked a tag.

He unfolded it and looked.

Number 38.

Odin vaguely remembered him. He was a burly man.

Putting away the number tag, Odin glanced discreetly at the burly man.

The drawing continued.

The remaining examinees went up one after another.

Once the drawing was over, Lippo put the box away.

"I will now announce the rules of the fourth phase," he said. "Hunting and prey!"

"The number you just drew is your assigned target. Your own number tag is worth three points, your target's is worth three points, and everyone else's is worth one point.

"The test lasts seven days. Anyone who returns to the designated location with six points after seven days will pass."

As his words fell, the atmosphere instantly grew silent.

The examinees took the number tags off their chests and hid them.

Then they eyed the examinees around them warily, as though every last one were an enemy.

"If there are no questions, go get some rest," Lippo said. "We'll arrive at Spectacle Island in three hours. The test will begin then."

He turned and left.

The examinees dispersed, each finding somewhere to sit.