Sunlight streamed through the hotel conference room windows, casting bands of light across the tiered tables.
Odin sat by the aisle, a small card resting on the table before him.
The card was thin, like a bank card. The Hunter Association emblem was printed on the front, with a string of numbers beneath it: 287-48.
It also listed his name, Hunter rank, and other information.
Ponzu sat beside him, staring blankly at her own card. Her number was 287-246.
"It's really a Hunter License," she murmured. "They just handed them out to us?"
"What else were you expecting?" Odin asked, looking at her in surprise. "Drums and gongs? A barrage of firecrackers?"
Ponzu smiled and turned the card over to inspect the back.
There was a Hunter emblem, a barcode, and some sort of anti-counterfeiting feature she couldn't make sense of.
There were other people in the conference room, too.
They sat scattered around in twos and threes. Apart from Odin and Ponzu, and Gon's group of three, everyone else sat separately.
Gon sat in the front row, clutching his card, but his eyes remained fixed on the door.
Killua hadn't returned since leaving yesterday.
Kurapika sat beside Gon, also holding his card. It was hard to tell whether he was happy or feeling something else.
Leorio sat nearby as well. He held his card up to the light, lowered it, then kept turning it over to examine it.
The door opened.
Netero walked in, followed by Beans.
He went to the front of the conference room and turned to face the examinees.
"Congratulations, everyone," he said. "As of today, you are professional Hunters."
He chuckled twice, then looked at Beans.
Beans stepped forward and opened the folder in his hands.
"Next, I'll explain the rights and obligations of a Hunter," Beans said. "Please listen carefully."
He cleared his throat and began to read.
"Professional Hunters holding a Hunter License enjoy the following rights:
First, free use of most public facilities, including public transportation, public communications, public libraries, and so on.
Second, permission to enter restricted areas, including certain national reserves, hazardous zones, archaeological excavation sites, and so on.
Third, legal authorization to carry weapons.
Fourth, priority access to intelligence, including internal Hunter Association intelligence, intelligence from national governments, and so on.
Fifth, the right to open accounts at banks designated by the Hunter Association and receive low-interest loans. Sixth-"
"So many privileges?" Ponzu whispered.
"That's why it's so hard to become a Hunter," Odin said.
Beans continued reading for about ten minutes, covering all the rights and obligations of a Hunter.
"Finally, please keep your Hunter License safe. If you lose it, no replacement will be issued."
He closed the folder and looked at Netero.
Netero nodded and stepped forward.
"Any questions?"
Leorio raised his hand. "Chairman, what about Killua? He didn't pass, but couldn't you give him a license too? He's much stronger than I am."
Netero looked at him and chuckled. "No. The Hunter Exam results are final. They cannot be changed."
Leorio wanted to say more, but Kurapika placed a hand on his shoulder.
Leorio sighed and fell silent.
Netero glanced around the conference room. "Any other questions?"
No one spoke.
"Very well. That concludes the briefing. You may leave."
With that, he turned and walked out.
Beans followed him, closing the door behind them.
The conference room remained quiet for a few seconds.
Then Leorio stood and walked over to Gon. "Come on. Let's go find Killua."
Gon nodded and stood as well.
Kurapika slung his bag over his shoulder and joined them. "I'll come too."
The three headed for the door.
As they passed Odin, Leorio stopped.
He looked at Odin and said earnestly, "Thanks for what you did back on Glasses Island. If you ever need anything, come to me. I'll help."
Odin nodded. "Got it."
Leorio nodded, then hurried after Gon and Kurapika.
The door closed, leaving only a few people in the conference room.
Ponzu looked at Odin. "What about you? Where are you going next?"
"Back to Heavens Arena," Odin said.
"Is it fun there?"
Odin thought for a moment. "It's all right. At least you can make money."
Ponzu froze for a moment. "Money! I heard the prize money there is pretty good."
"Yeah. Win a match on the 190th floor, and you can get 400 million Jenny."
"400 million?!" Ponzu exclaimed. Then she asked, "Can I come with you?"
Odin looked at her.
Ponzu explained, "I don't have anything to do right now. I was planning to go home, but there's hardly anyone there anyway. Going with you to see what it's like should be nice."
Odin gave Ponzu a disdainful look. He knew what she was thinking, but he couldn't be bothered to call her out.
Was she really just going to see what it was like?
No, she was getting greedy.
Still, Odin didn't think Ponzu could earn that money with her current strength, unless she awakened her Nen.
"Sure." Ponzu had earned her Hunter License anyway. Learning Nen was only a matter of time.
Ponzu broke into a smile. "Really?"
"Yeah."
Ponzu carefully tucked her Hunter License into the innermost compartment of her backpack and patted it to make sure it was secure.
They stood and left the conference room.
The hallway was quiet, the carpet muffling their footsteps.
They walked out through the hotel's front doors.
The sunlight outside was dazzling.
The sky was pale blue, with a few white clouds drifting across it.
The airship was already gone from the open space in front of the hotel.
Only a few vehicles that looked like taxis remained parked a short distance away.
Odin and Ponzu walked over.
"To the airport," Odin told the driver.
The driver nodded and started the car.
The car pulled away from the hotel, crossed the city, and headed toward the airport.
Ponzu leaned against the car window, looking outside.
"This city's pretty big," she said.
"Yeah."
"Much bigger than where I live."
"Where's your home?"
"A small city," Ponzu said. "The main business there is honey. I've helped my family raise bees since I was little."
She paused, then added, "But I don't want to just keep bees. I want to study more insects. That's why I took the Hunter Exam."
Odin nodded.
The car drove on. City streets flashed past the window: pedestrians, shops, traffic lights.
By the time they reached the airport, the sun was already sinking toward the west.
Odin bought two airship tickets to Heavens Arena.
Ponzu watched from beside him and asked quietly, "Five thousand Jenny for one ticket?"
"Yeah."
"That expensive?"
"You call that expensive? The ticket I bought to get here cost me fifty thousand Jenny," Odin said.
"That's way too expensive!" Ponzu said, stunned.
Odin waved a hand. "It's not that bad, really. One match above the 50th floor at Heavens Arena will earn it back."
Ponzu paused but said nothing.
She had already looked into that, so it didn't surprise her much.
They boarded the airship, found their seats, and sat down.
As the airship took off, they could see the outline of the entire city through the window. The setting sun shone on the buildings, coating them in orange-red light.
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