Hunting X Hisoka

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"Hehehe, there's no need to be nervous!"

Seeing the atmosphere grow unusually tense, Chairman Netero spoke with a faint smile. "What she went to retrieve was... an egg from a Grape Spider that lives deep in the canyon!"

A Grape Spider egg?

At this, everyone quickly turned and fixed their eyes on Netero.

Seeing this, Netero said cheerfully and kindly, "I'll leave the rest of the explanation to your examiner!"

The moment he finished speaking.

Whoosh-

The powerful updraft roared violently once more, surging through the canyon. Appearing alongside the column of wind was Menchi, who had jumped deep into the canyon earlier!

Before the astonished crowd, Menchi soared gracefully into the sky as though riding the wind, then flipped several times and landed lightly. Clutched in her hand was a pale purple egg-shaped object the size of a goose egg.

"This is a Grape Spider egg! And it's what you'll be catching next!"

"To keep land predators from eating their eggs, Grape Spiders deliberately choose dangerous places like this canyon and use tough silk to suspend their eggs in the middle of it..."

"What you need to do is jump off the cliff and grab the dense strands of silk in the canyon. Don't worry... the silk is tough enough to hold anyone's weight. The second step is to take one of the eggs hanging among the strands..."

"Because of the terrain, intermittent updrafts occur in the canyon from time to time. Use the wind to propel yourselves straight back up, just as I did. Of course... you can also choose to climb back up the cliff face. As for the dangers, consider those for yourselves..."

"Finally, use the Grape Spider egg you've retrieved to make the simplest dish... a boiled egg!"

Ding!

[Temporary Weighting Task triggered!]

[Temporary Weighting Task: Menchi's Hunting Request!]

[Catch the target Menchi has requested as quickly as possible. The higher your ranking, the higher the quality of the Advent Emulation use obtained through forced equivalence...]

[Restriction - Forced Equivalence: To be determined?]

Huh!

Baishi's eyes lit up, and he was eager to get moving.

Neither of the two tests set by Buhara and Menchi had triggered even the slightest weighting task, so he had thought their weighting wasn't high enough.

But it had been waiting here all along!

But why?

Both times, a test had been announced, so why hadn't it triggered last time, but did this time?

Baishi pondered the question. His gaze inadvertently swept over Netero, and his eyes paused as understanding dawned on his face.

Clearly, if anything had changed, it was simply Netero's appearance!

Could it be that Menchi wanted to change his impression of her, and so her performance this time had met the standard for triggering a weighting task?

He didn't know yet...

Whatever the reason, Baishi wasn't about to pass up a chance to improve the quality of Advent Emulation. He watched Menchi with a burning gaze, so eager to get moving that he could barely restrain himself, waiting at every moment for the test to begin.

Uh...

Menchi could clearly feel Baishi staring at her. She frowned and glanced at him in confusion, wondering what was going on with this stingy guy now. Feeling a little uneasy, she spoke with some hesitation.

"Then... the test begins!"

Whoosh!

Before the excited Gon and the others could run forward.

To everyone's astonishment, Baishi became a dark blur that shot out of the crowd. He leaped straight off the cliff and vanished from sight.

Whoa???

Gasps of amazement rose one after another.

Seeing this, Gon, Killua, and the others refused to be outdone and jumped after him one by one.

This prompted the other applicants, nervous and confident alike, to start moving in succession.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

For a time, the sounds of people jumping off the cliff rang out incessantly.

Only those applicants who feared heights and had no confidence at all remained where they were, their legs too weak to take a step.

"What's this?"

Menchi, surprised by Baishi's decisiveness, stared deeply after him before looking away and turning to the remaining applicants.

"Choosing to give up?"

Mwahahaha~

"Actually, sometimes it takes courage to give up, too," Netero said cheerfully. "If you can't do it this year, come back next year. It's not as though the exam is only held this year..."

Hearing this.

The somewhat ashamed applicants raised their lowered heads slightly and cast Netero grateful glances.

Menchi turned back, pursed her lips, and said no more.

In the canyon.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Amid the successive whistles of bodies cutting through the air.

Baishi, the first to fall, plunged swiftly to the densely woven silk in the middle of the canyon. Two streams of deep purple, rubbery Nen Aura instantly shot out and stuck precisely to a dense intersection of silk. He then manipulated the extreme elasticity of his Nen Aura, stretching and contracting it to spring back up.

As he rebounded, he saw a pile of Grape Spider eggs bound in silk and suspended in midair. He promptly pulled out a boning knife, wrapped it in Nen Aura, and flung it out.

Whoosh-

The blade sliced precisely through the tough silk, severing it.

More than a dozen piled-up Grape Spider eggs fell downward.

Baishi had prepared for this. As he manipulated the Nen Aura attached to the boning knife to pull it away, his rubbery Nen Aura, ready and waiting, snapped onto the pile of eggs. It retracted and pulled them all back, and Baishi used the force to rebound upward, sticking himself to the tough silk in the process.

Only then did Gon and the others begin to fall, one after another.

Aaaaaah!

Waaah! Aaaaaah!

The applicants arrived in quick succession.

Some landed on the dense webs, fortunate enough to survive.

Some handled themselves with ease thanks to their nimble, agile movements...

More applicants, perhaps less fortunate, fell into the river deep below along with strands of spider silk that suddenly snapped.

In a short time, the number of applicants rapidly dwindled in an absurd fashion.

Rustle, rustle, rustle! Screech, screech-

As though disturbed by the applicants' screams, strange creatures resembling a mixture of spiders and eagles quickly emerged from the dark caves dotting the cliff faces.

When these Spider Eagles saw the two-legged creatures stealing their eggs one by one, they flew into a rage. Screeching shrilly, they spread their wings and attacked the applicants ferociously.

Aaaaaaaah!

The applicants were already hanging from the silk, and the terrifying disturbance made it easy for them to slip and fall into the river at the bottom of the seemingly bottomless canyon, vanishing completely amid their screams.

Tsk, tsk, tsk!

They dared jump down without enough strength. None of them were afraid of death!

Baishi shook his head slightly. Seeing that Gon and the others, apart from Leorio, were handling things with ease, he paid them no further attention.

As for the attacking Spider Eagles...

He glanced at Hisoka and Gittarackur, who had also jumped down nearby. After some thought, Baishi held back from flaunting himself in front of the two.

When you weren't strong enough, you had to back down when necessary!

Otherwise, if he used a Nen Ability they were familiar with in front of everyone, wouldn't that set them both off? He had some idea what happened to a cuckolder.

Whoosh...

Here it came!

The howling sound of a gathering current rose from below the cliffs. Hearing it, Baishi's spirits lifted. He knew the crucial moment had arrived.

If anyone dares compete with me for a higher ranking now, don't blame me for showing no mercy!

His dangerous gaze swept over everyone in the canyon.

It also drew sidelong glances from Hisoka and the others.

The next instant.

Whoosh-

The updraft surged fiercely skyward!

Aaaaaaaah!

Quite a few applicants at the edge of the current were blasted in all directions, screaming.

Up!

Using the integrative analysis talent of Extensive Knowledge and Strong Memory, Baishi seized the right moment and leaped toward the powerful updraft with the Grape Spider eggs, a carefree smile on his face.

Whoosh! A gaze filled with desire suddenly swept toward him, making Baishi turn his head slightly as he leaped. He saw Hisoka hanging upside down from a strand of spider silk, staring at him with a delighted expression.

Is he going to make his move at this moment?

His carefree smile vanished. Baishi stared coldly back at him, Nen Aura coiling around both arms as he prepared to strike.

The next instant!

"If you've got the nerve, come over here now..."

The cold, taunting words reached Hisoka's ears, making his narrow eyes narrow further. He actually leaped toward the wildly surging updraft!

Whoosh!

The column formed by the updraft shot into the sky like a solid tornado!

At the very top of the column, Baishi was swept up in the rising current and shot rapidly above the canyon, flying at high speed.

Hisoka had also leaped, but he failed to catch the ideal moment. He struck the edge of the updraft and was violently flung away, unable to control himself.

Whoosh-

Hisoka slammed hard into the cliff face. He used Bungee Gum to stick to the rock and slow his fall, staring with an exceptionally delighted expression in the direction Baishi had disappeared, his lips curling into an exaggerated arc.

"Ahahahahahaha~ Subarashii! Subarashii... That's it, that's exactly how it should be! You're so delicious... I can barely stop myself from wanting to~~ enjoy you right now~~"

"Baishi-~~"