Chapter 14

Gloomy!

Damp!

The spacious tunnel on both sides was filled with various pipes of different sizes and unknown purposes.

This was the 100th underground level of the city of Zaban, and also the venue for the 287th Hunter Exam.

However, since the exam had not yet officially started, only about a hundred veterans who had previously participated in the Hunter Exam or outstanding new candidates had arrived early, each doing their own thing with almost no interaction among them.

Among these people, there was one particularly special presence: a clown-dressed man named Hisoka.

He was sitting on the ground, idly playing with a deck of cards in his hands, his eyes fixed on the elevator leading to the upper levels. He would occasionally stick out his tongue to lick his lips and let out a chilling, perverted laugh, as if he was eagerly awaiting something.

Those who had participated in last year's Hunter Exam, upon hearing this, all instinctively moved away from this lunatic who had once gone crazy enough to kill examiners.

Suddenly!

A powerful aura descended without warning, like a heavy hammer striking the chest of everyone present.

Heavy!

Oppressive!

Sweat trickled down their foreheads and cheeks, making it difficult to even breathe.

Only two people were unaffected: the eldest son of the Zoldyck family, disguised as a Kite, named Illumi, and Hisoka himself.

Especially the latter, his eyes instantly flared with intense killing intent, and his whole body trembled slightly with excitement.

Ding!

With the sound of the elevator, the owner of this powerful aura finally appeared: Allen and his pet, Roubus.

Without a doubt, he had done this on purpose, sending a challenge to his opponent.

"Hehehehe..."

"HAHAHAHA!"

"Great! Truly great! You have not disappointed me! The beautiful little apple has finally ripened! It can be picked now!"

Hisoka began to laugh maniacally, his eyes like those of a hunter who had finally found his long-sought prey, his excitement reaching its peak.

"Shall we start here?" Allen asked without any preliminaries.

"Of course! I don't want to wait even a second! Come on! Let's fight! Put our lives on the line!" Hisoka spread his arms wide and shouted loudly.

Just from the "Ten" that Allen had honed through countless trials, he could feel the strength of his opponent. Normally, it would be impossible for anyone to train their Nen to this level in just a year.

But the amount of aura does not lie!

And in the world of Nen, nothing is impossible, as Nen itself has infinite potential.

[Summon Nen Beast — Red Dragon of Life]

When Allen assumed the role of a Hunter, the red dragon, which had been in a permanent invisible state, suddenly appeared near his left shoulder.

However, compared to when it was first born, it had clearly grown larger, both in size and the thickness of its scales.

Allen lightly bit his finger and inserted it into the dragon's mouth, then said to Hisoka with a blank expression: "No! I won't kill you! I will only return the violence you inflicted on me last time. As the stakes, if I lose, I will die without complaint. But if you lose, for the next three months, all of your aura will become food for the Red Dragon, and you will not be able to use any Nen during this period."

"Oh? Is this your ability? To take others' aura to strengthen your Nen beast? No problem! I agree!" Hisoka immediately accepted without hesitation.

"Then the contract is sealed! The fight... begins!"

As the last word left his lips, Allen immediately activated his Transmutation Nen ability, beginning to liquefy the air around his opponent, intending to seal or slow down Hisoka's overly agile movements.

But before the icy raindrops could fall, a voice suddenly rang out in both of their ears: "Stop! There are other candidates here; this is not the place for you to settle personal grudges."

As the voice faded,

The iron gate that had been blocking the passage slowly rose, and a man in a suit with a mustache walked out from inside.

He undoubtedly felt the overwhelmingly powerful Nen emanating from Hisoka and Allen, and directly threatened them: "I am the examiner for the first trial, Sats. If you continue fighting, I will immediately disqualify you from this Hunter Exam."

"Disqualification? No problem! Because I've found something more interesting than the Hunter Exam!" Hisoka licked his lips and chose to completely ignore the warning.

But Allen's reaction was the opposite; he immediately restored the liquid air raindrops to normal air and exited the combat state.

"Understood! I will choose another place to continue this unfinished battle. Sorry, Hisoka, it looks like you'll have to wait a bit. I believe there will definitely be a suitable stage for us in the upcoming exams."

"No problem! I can wait! Because you are worth waiting for!"

Although Hisoka wanted to start a life-or-death battle immediately, he ultimately chose to temporarily hold back.

But the excitement and agitation in his body did not easily subside. He used his Nen-enhanced playing cards to cut the neck of the nearest unfortunate person, savoring the blood that dripped onto his tongue.

Seeing the crisis caused by the two powerful candidates temporarily resolved, Sats visibly breathed a sigh of relief and retreated back to the other side, closing the iron gate, leaving the ordinary candidates who were trembling in the corners.

Some were even so overwhelmed by the terrifying aura and malevolent intent that they gave up on this year's Hunter Exam and took the elevator back to the surface.

They would rather wait a year than share a room with two monsters, let alone engage in brutal and bloody competition.

It would be no different from suicide!

[It seems that the number of participants this year will be less than the 404 in the original plot...]

Allen played with the number 105 tag in his hand, roughly estimating the number of people who had taken the elevator, and quickly came to a conclusion in his mind.

However, these people would probably never know that this escape meant they would forever lose their chance to become Hunters.

After all, Hunters can be greedy, bloodthirsty, and insane, and can go to any lengths to pursue what they desire, but there is one quality they must possess: the courage to face danger and the curiosity to explore the unknown.

Thinking of this, he subconsciously turned his gaze to Killua, who was secretly observing him from a distance.

This little guy, though also showing fear of Nen, did not choose to run away but stayed to fight, desperately trying to free himself from the Nen left in his mind by his brother Illumi.

"It looks like this Hunter Exam won't be too lonely..."

Allen gave Killua a friendly smile and muttered to himself, a voice only he could hear.

After a year of isolated training, he needed to use this exam to determine his true level of strength, and then decide what to do next.

PS: New book, seeking collections and recommendations, thank you very much.