"I surrender! I surrender!"
Cordis looked at Muscle Man dangling from the cliff's edge and snorted.
He looked incredibly strong, but all he had were flashy moves.
He really couldn't take a hit.
Cordis rotated his wrists a couple of times. He still had plenty of energy left to burn.
He had thought this guy would let him blow off some steam.
He had known the man was weak.
But with all those muscles, he had figured the guy could at least take a few hits.
Instead, he had only lasted one punch.
The walkway behind him rose again.
Less than ten minutes had passed.
He sighed and left the Dueling Arena.
He returned to Hisoka's side.
"Oh my~ Looks like you haven't had enough fighting~"
"Then~ Shall we have a little..."
Cordis rolled his eyes at Hisoka.
"No!"
"Quit talking. You're up."
The walkway rose again.
Another black-robed man stepped forward.
The moment he entered, he sensed the aura coming from Hisoka.
Cold sweat poured down his forehead.
Hisoka put one hand on his hip and raised the other.
A playing card appeared in his hand in an instant.
He kissed the card as though he were kissing a lover.
The man shuddered at the sight.
He glanced at Muscle Man, who was still hanging from the cliff.
Then he looked at Hisoka, standing opposite him with excitement written all over his face.
Without a second thought,
he raised both hands and said,
"I surrender."
What a joke. This guy was obviously even stronger than the last one.
Compared to winning or losing, or getting his sentence reduced,
staying alive mattered more.
With his opponent surrendering, Hisoka could do nothing but purse his lips and roll his eyes.
The walkways on both sides rose at the same time.
Muscle Man was pulled back up.
The two men stood to one side, supporting each other.
They watched Cordis and Hisoka cross the walkway.
And head toward victory.
After going down a slide, they reached the lower level.
The whole thing had taken less than half an hour.
[First place] [Cordis Paipai, No. 120] [Hisoka, No. 44] [Time taken: 30 minutes]
Cordis found a place to sit down and sighed.
"That wasn't any fun at all."
Hisoka suddenly leaned close to Cordis and said,
"Then~ Want to play with me for a while~?"
Cordis propped his chin on his hand, looking utterly unimpressed.
"How many times do I have to tell you? I don't want to fight you."
"Oh my~ I never said anything about fighting~"
As he spoke, a deck of playing cards appeared in his hand.
"Let's play Card Tower~"
As someone who played with cards every day, Hisoka found building a tall tower a simple task.
Within a few minutes, he had built a five-story tower.
He looked at the five-story tower before him and nodded in satisfaction.
He held up one finger in front of Cordis and said,
"We each pull out one card at a time. Make sure the tower doesn't fall~"
With that, he went first, pulling a random card from the bottom.
It slid out easily.
The tower merely wobbled once.
It was Cordis's turn.
He thought taking one from the bottom seemed a little risky, so he drew one from the top instead.
The tower swayed precariously a couple of times again.
Fortunately, it finally settled.
It was Hisoka's turn again.
Once more, he chose a card from the bottom.
The tower shook violently twice.
It looked ready to collapse.
But somehow, as though something had steadied it, it stood upright again.
Cordis didn't even need to think about what he had just seen.
That bastard actually dared to cheat!
Cordis shot Hisoka a vicious glare.
He shifted a little farther away.
Hisoka still wore an innocent expression.
"Pai Pai, it's your turn~"
Cordis knocked the entire tower down.
His gaze turned cold. "I don't want to play with a cheater."
"And don't call me Pai Pai."
Hisoka narrowed his eyes dangerously.
"Oh my~ Names are meant to be used~"
Cordis didn't answer. He leaned against the wall by himself, tilted his head, and gradually fell asleep.
Seeing that he was asleep, Hisoka didn't bother inviting another rebuff.
He gathered up the playing cards scattered across the floor.
Then he enthusiastically went back to playing by himself.
When Cordis woke again,
another two or three people had reached the bottom.
He checked the time. A full twelve hours had passed.
It would still be a while before Gon and the others arrived.
He rubbed his sleepy eyes.
Then he stretched.
Once he was fully awake,
he spotted Illumi standing a short distance away, talking to Hisoka.
He hurriedly stifled the yawn he had been about to let out.
In a fluster, he smoothed the wrinkles out of his clothes.
Then he tidied his hair with a couple of strokes.
It was a shame there wasn't a mirror here, or he could have checked his reflection too.
Once he was ready,
he quietly edged a little closer to Illumi.
Then he stared at him, his face flushed and his eyes practically full of hearts.
He couldn't help murmuring,
"He's so handsome! I like him so much!"
Seventy-two hours was three whole days.
Equal portions of food were delivered at set times every day.
During that time, more people gradually cleared the stage.
Aside from being dragged into card games by Hisoka, Cordis spent every day staring at Illumi.
But he never found a chance to ask for his contact information.
The main problem was that Illumi seemed to dislike him a little.
This troubled Cordis immensely.
Every so often, he would let out another sigh.
Hisoka suddenly leaned beside Cordis, propped up his chin, and said,
"There's a tour group after the exam ends. Want to join~?"
As for the tour group Hisoka mentioned,
Cordis didn't even have to think.
The Phantom Troupe.
Yet Hisoka made it sound like some ordinary tour group.
After the exam, Cordis wanted to take on some commissions to make a living.
Besides, he had heard that even a single photo of a Phantom Troupe member was worth a fortune.
If he secretly took a picture and sold it, it might earn him as much as several commissions.
Cordis rubbed his chin and thought for a while.
Then he nodded.
With only a few hours remaining,
Gon and the others finally emerged from the exit.
Cordis, who was standing by the exit, saw that they had finally made it out.
He breathed a sigh of relief too.
"Cordiiis!"
The moment Gon saw Cordis, he excitedly threw himself into his arms.
"Cordis! You're amazing! I heard you came first!"
Cordis proudly rubbed his nose a couple of times and said,
"I'm not that amazing. This exam was pretty easy for me, after all."
Gon looked at Cordis with admiration and said,
"I knew it! Cordis is someone who can even beat Hisoka, after all!"
He said it very loudly.
Even Hisoka, sitting far away, heard every word clearly.
He raised an eyebrow and looked toward Cordis.
Cordis hurriedly clapped a hand over Gon's mouth, too guilty to look Hisoka's way.
Killua slid down the slide too.
He walked over to Gon with his hands in his pockets.
He gave Cordis a seemingly casual glance.
But a faint trace of longing flickered in his eyes.
Cordis gave Killua a sympathetic look.
After all, this kid was tormented by his brother all day long.
Cordis just had an inexplicable soft spot for these vulnerable little guys.
He reached out and stroked Killua's head a couple of times.
"You're pretty impressive, Killua."
Sometimes, I really do wonder.
Doesn't Hisoka think his playing cards are dirty when he licks them?
So unhygienic.
Hisoka dear.
Before you continue