Cooking X Test
Hearing this,
Baishi turned toward the warehouse along with everyone else.
The clock hanging on the wall beneath the eaves showed exactly twelve o'clock. The warehouse's tightly shut doors slowly opened with the grating sound of rollers turning.
It's really starting... the Hunter Exam!
Baishi's gaze deepened, and something stirred within him: the complicated feelings of someone who had never imagined he would one day take the Hunter Exam himself.
I hope it won't disappoint me too much...
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly despite himself.
Inside the warehouse doors.
Creak-
Two figures of strikingly different heights immediately drew everyone's attention.
The most conspicuous was a huge figure like a small mountain, at least two or three meters tall.
The second-phase examiner... Buhara!
His giant body made him look like a monster, yet this enormous "monster" had a seemingly good-natured face. He was staring at the crowd as though they were food, and his enormous, round belly let out a rumble.
In front of him was a petite figure sitting in an armchair.
The second-phase examiner... Menchi!
Unlike the massive, good-natured-looking Buhara, the petite Menchi sat on the sofa in a sexy fishnet outfit, her hair tied into a strange green X. Faced with everyone's gazes, she merely gave a lazy little smile and raised her chin slightly, seemingly unconcerned.
"Didn't you just eat breakfast not long ago? That rumbling is driving me crazy, Buhara!"
"Hehehe... I can't help it if I digest food quickly." Buhara smiled good-naturedly. "I only ate until I was thirty percent full this morning, so I'd have plenty of room for the upcoming test..."
"You..."
Menchi pursed her lips and glanced at the hundred-plus examinees waiting quietly in front of the warehouse. Raising a delicate eyebrow, she crossed her long, fair legs and spoke bluntly and lazily.
"You all heard that, right? Your examiner's hungry..."
"The subject of the second test is [Cooking]! He and I are the joint examiners for this test!"
At that, Menchi swept her lazy, beautiful eyes over the crowd. When she spotted several crude attempts at wrapping Nen aura around their bodies, she couldn't help recalling her own Hunter Exam several years ago.
Oh~
There were quite a few half-baked Nen users here this year...
As Menchi joked to herself, her gaze fell on Baishi. Seeing his formal outfit, like that of a gentlemanly butler, she rolled her eyes in speechless exasperation. But after looking past him and meeting Number 44's eyes, she was suddenly struck by a keen sense of danger.
There seem to be quite a few experienced, dangerous guys too!
Having marked Number 44 as dangerous, Menchi looked away and continued lazily:
"The second test is divided into two halves... The big guy behind me is in charge of the first half."
"I'm Buhara, the examiner for the first half." Buhara's eyes narrowed into crescents, and a faintly oppressive feeling immediately settled over all the examinees.
"Next, I'll give you my cooking challenge. Only those who finish their dishes and receive a passing grade from me can continue to her half of the test..."
"If you don't understand, you can choose to be eliminated right now." Menchi lazily surveyed the examinees and waved a hand. "In short, good food means a pass. Whether it's the first half or the second, once we're full... the second test is completely over!"
Hearing this,
Everyone's hearts tightened as tension gradually filled the air.
Unless he was a big eater with a limitless appetite, no matter how huge he was, there had to be a limit to how much he could eat. And the female examiner, who looked like a bean sprout next to him, was clearly someone with a very small appetite. Yet there were more than 140 examinees present...
At that thought, quite a few examinees' expressions grew serious.
Hmm~~
It's pretty much the same as the original story...
Baishi's eyes flickered as he held his black cane in his right hand, repeatedly manipulating his Nen aura to wrap around it to improve the precision of his control.
If he remembered correctly, Menchi was an exceptionally picky Gourmet Hunter in the original story. For someone like him, who could only make a few home-cooked dishes, passing was a straight-up no.
But then again...
Baishi's gaze swept over Gon and the others, who were also growing a little nervous, and he chuckled.
There was no need to guess to know he was far from the only one who wasn't skilled at cooking. With such a large group getting eliminated alongside him, wasn't that a kind of amusement in itself?
If there was really no other way, coming back to take the exam next year was no problem. As for money... with his Nen Ability, he could still get enough for airship fare to Heavens Arena.
Having settled on a backup plan, Baishi looked at Menchi and Buhara with some curiosity.
The cooking challenges in the original were [Whole Roast Pig] and [Sushi], right?
He wondered whether his arrival would cause some kind of butterfly effect.
Probably not, right? I've only just arrived. Other than leaking a little information, I haven't done anything yet...
Just as Baishi was muttering to himself,
Clap, clap, clap!
A loud round of clapping rang out.
"The cooking challenge for the first half is [Whole Roast Pig]!"
His belly rumbling and drool spilling from his mouth, Buhara said expectantly, his eyes seeming to sparkle, "It's my favorite! There are lots and lots of different kinds of pigs living in this forest park..."
"You can hunt different pigs and try all kinds of different preparations. As long as the final dish satisfies me, that's enough..."
"Now then, the second test... first half, begin!"
Pat-pat-pat-pat-pat-pat!
Pat-pat-pat! Pat-pat-pat-pat-pat-pat!
The examinees swarmed toward the forest.
The speed with which they moved was staggering.
Heh!
Baishi, at the very back, didn't run off with Gon and the others. Instead, he chose to follow the main group at an unhurried pace, disappearing into the forest as though out for a leisurely stroll.
Since he had already determined the outcome of the test, cooking naturally dropped a level on his list of priorities. Compared with that, he had something more important to deal with first!
Tap-tap-tap~~
At the warehouse doors.
"Half-baked Nen users really are arrogant, aren't they?"
Seeing Baishi disappear with such effortless elegance, Menchi slowly rose to her feet, dark lines appearing on her forehead.
"He doesn't think that little bit of Nen aura lets him do whatever he wants in my exam, does he?"
Uh...
"Aren't you reading a little too much into it, Menchi?" Buhara blinked and said with apparent good nature, "Maybe he just walks slowly..."
Rumble, rumble!
"Enough! Everyone's gone, so hurry up and get your [stomach] back to normal!"
Menchi snapped back irritably. A kitchen knife had appeared in her hand at some point, and she rubbed the pad of her finger along its blade as she spoke in utter boredom.
"Come to think of it, there's only one kind of pig living in this forest park, right?"
"Is that so?" Buhara tilted his head, the corner of his mouth twisting into a strange smile. "Wouldn't that be just right for eliminating weaklings who lack observation skills..."
Hehehehe~
"What an awful laugh. Shut up!"
"...Menchi, can I ask you something?"
"What? Out with it!"
"Is your menopause prematu-"
Bang-