A Rhinonose Pig charged at Cordis.
He leaped up onto a tree branch.
Finding that the food right in front of it had suddenly vanished, the Rhinonose Pig could only circle in place.
It snorted out clouds of hot air to express its anger.
Cordis casually snapped off a branch and threw it at the Rhinonose Pig.
It struck the pig squarely on its vulnerable forehead.
The Rhinonose Pig let out an enraged roar.
As though frightened, it turned and ran deeper into the forest.
Cordis's lips curled into a faint smile.
"Trying to get away? Not a chance!"
He flipped down from the tree.
He brought his leg sweeping down at the Rhinonose Pig trying to escape in front of him.
The kick packed tremendous force.
The Rhinonose Pig died on the spot.
Cordis landed lightly and let out a long breath.
Seeing Cordis defeat the Rhinonose Pig, the others copied his approach and successfully caught several hundred of them.
They dragged the Rhinonose Pigs back to the venue for the second phase of the exam.
Menchi couldn't help exclaiming at the sight.
"What a haul!"
Behind her, Buhara couldn't stop drooling at the sight of all those pigs.
The examinees put their pigs on roasting racks and, without needing to discuss it, all began making whole roast pig.
Unsurprisingly.
Almost everyone who served up a whole roast pig.
Failed!
Buhara was easy enough to please; he ate anything.
Menchi, however, was a difficult customer.
Over a dozen dishes had been brought to her so far, and she hadn't taken a single bite.
She merely glanced at each one before failing it.
Kurapika grew troubled at the sight.
He rubbed his chin in thought.
"Looks like whole roast pig won't work."
Just then, Leorio suddenly had a flash of inspiration!
After carefully dressing up his dish, he brought it over.
"Come taste my magnificent cooking!"
Menchi stared at the whole roast pig before her, with a little flag stuck on top.
She was so angry she nearly overturned the table.
"Is this a kids' meal?!"
"You! Fail!"
Leorio returned to Kurapika and the others with a miserable expression.
Cordis gave Leorio a comforting pat on the shoulder.
Then he addressed Gon and Kurapika, who had yet to present their dishes.
"Menchi doesn't want plain old whole roast pig. Rather than fussing over how it looks, you'd be better off putting some thought into the flavor."
Gon asked curiously, "Then what's your dish, Cordis?"
Cordis gave Gon a mysterious look and quirked his lips, but didn't tell him.
He placed a covered plate in front of Menchi.
This dish certainly attracted more attention than all those copy-and-paste whole roast pigs.
The entire dish was less than a tenth the size of a whole roast pig.
The lid added an air of mystery.
Before lifting it, Cordis said cryptically.
"This dish was made from the smoothest, most delicate part of the entire pig."
With that, he lifted the lid.
A flash of golden light burst forth!
The light forced Menchi to shield her eyes with her hand.
Once the golden light faded.
A few thin slices of pork appeared before Menchi.
The pork had been roasted to a caramel brown.
Up close, she could even smell the faint aroma wafting from it.
Beside her, Buhara was practically spraying drool.
Menchi picked up her chopsticks, took a slice of pork, and put it in her mouth.
But she quickly grabbed the handkerchief on the table and spat it out.
"What did you make this with?"
Seeing Menchi grit her teeth, Cordis thought, This is bad, but still answered honestly.
"The smoothest, most delicate part-what else could that be but the pig's large intestine?"
At his answer, Menchi slammed down her chopsticks!
If Buhara hadn't stopped her before she went berserk, there was no telling whether Cordis would still have been alive.
Cordis saw that things were going badly.
Without anyone needing to hurry him along, he returned to his place of his own accord.
Menchi was still roaring behind him.
"You didn't fucking clean the pig intestines properly!"
This was Cordis's first time preparing pig intestines. Surely it was perfectly normal not to clean them thoroughly.
After all, there had to be a first time before there could be a second or third.
He gave Menchi an embarrassed smile.
That would have to count as an apology.
Gon and Kurapika both looked at Cordis with admiration.
With Menchi already in a bad mood.
The outcome was easy to imagine.
Every examinee present failed!
This drew protests from all the examinees.
"I want to be a Bounty Hunter! I don't want some Gourmet Hunter judging me!"
Someone challenged Menchi's decision.
Menchi remained seated with her legs crossed and shrugged indifferently.
"Well, that's too bad. The Gourmet Hunter you look down on happens to be your examiner."
"The result isn't changing!"
"Everyone fails."
"Better luck next year, everyone."
Just then, an elderly voice rang out from the sky.
"Menchi, isn't failing everyone a little excessive?"
An airship bearing the Hunter insignia appeared overhead.
"That's the Hunter Exam Committee!" someone exclaimed.
A figure jumped down from the airship.
His landing sent dust and stones flying around him.
An old man with a white beard, wearing a white martial arts robe and wooden sandals, emerged from the dust.
Menchi introduced him to everyone.
"This is the highest authority overseeing the Hunter Exam."
"Chairman Netero."
Her words prompted a chorus of astonishment.
Netero gave an awkward grin and explained.
"Oh, dear. They call me the man in charge, but I only show up when something goes wrong."
Then he turned to Menchi.
"Menchi, don't you think your judging was a little too strict?"
At this, Menchi lowered her head apologetically.
"It was mainly because someone made an insulting remark about Gourmet Hunters."
"Before I knew it, I..."
Netero said, "Then let's arrange a new test in a little while."
"It should be based on combat, so the examinees will find it easier to accept."
Menchi lowered her head and thought for a moment before speaking.
"All right! The new test will be..."
"Boiled eggs!"
Then Menchi pointed in a direction and asked Netero, "Chairman, could you take us to Mount Mabitas?"
Netero chuckled twice and stroked his long beard.
"Of course."
Everyone boarded Netero's airship and traveled to Mount Mabitas.
They arrived at the edge of a cliff.
Looking down from the cliff.
They saw crisscrossing strands of spider silk filling the space below.
Huge eggs hung from the strands farther down.
Menchi didn't say another word.
She simply took two steps back.
Then she charged forward and leaped off the cliff without hesitation.
A chorus of startled cries rose from the crowd.
Everyone lay down at the cliff's edge to watch.
You read all that and still won't leave a good review!
I'm going to go screw Illumi right now!
Before you continue