5 Welcome Back, Joker

"May the trials begin! Good luck!"

[40 examinees remain.]

At exactly 8 am the next day, all examinees were dropped off at the top of the Trick Tower where the third stage of the Exam would take place. In the next 72 hours, their goal was to reach the bottom of the tower by using any means possible.

That gave them exactly 3 days.

So to say, in this tower, killing people was not at all illegal. Actually, it seemed that this whole exam just completely disregards whatever law there is about not killing. Or was killing actually legal in this world? Juzou never did get to read about any laws or new world common sense.

He might have been doing many things illegal already yet never knew. Well, it's not like he'll stop doing them anyways if that were true.

Hmm? Where's Vodka?

Juzou tilted his head, finding his snake companion having gone missing during the time he was lost in thought. Actually, around ten other people had also disappeared but, it wasn't like he cared enough for any of them to take note of their presence.

Looking off to the side, Juzou spotted a familiar clown walking off to a particular tile. Said clown then sent him a flirtatious wink upon having met his eyes, then pointed meaningfully towards the tile beneath him before jumping down, disappearing downwards.

"Oh~ I see!" Juzou exclaimed in realization. So some of the tiles were actually hidden trap doors!

Now, having known of the fact, Juzou began walking around, discretely tapping the tiles beneath his feet and eventually finding a lone trap door.

Though, the way he found it wasn't exactly ideal as the tile just gave way beneath him the moment he stepped on it, giving him no second option than to just accept his fate as he slid down like he would in a slide, albeit a very long one.

[Welcome to the Crossroad Path. Here, you will encounter many tunnels where you may meet the Tower Prisoners, other Examinees, or be asked to complete puzzles. The possibility is endless.]

A particularly bored voice said from speakers possibly hidden within the walls. He must've been saying similar lines over and over again for several times now.

[The Challenge officially begins once the Timer is worn on the examinee's wrist.]

And, right on cue, a spotlight turned on, shining upon a table where a single Timed watch was placed.

Immediately, Juzou grabbed the watched and put it on. The earlier he starts, the earlier he can finish. He'd rather get done with it within a day else his phone would run out of power, and this tower didn't look like it had any outlets to charge it.

[Good luck.]

The moment the watch was on his wrist, a green light flashed on a nearby wall, and, with a rumbling sound, the wall slowly opened, revealing a long, dark tunnel leading to who knows where.

Though, where it led to didn't matter at all to Juzou as he skipped on forward with no hesitation.

"C-hu.. Choo-se? A Tah- tunnel?" Upon arriving at the end of the path, Juzou came across a fork, presenting him three other paths to choose from. "Oh! Choose a tunnel!"

It was a good call to immediately study the new alphabet upon realizing the difference from what he was familiar with, otherwise, he'd be completely confused trying to read anything.

"Test of Luck..." Juzou muttered thoughtfully. "Why do they test luck in a skill-based exam?"

In the end, he just shrugged it off and casually chose by spinning a pencil, the end point landing on the rightmost tunnel.

...

It's been about an hour and a half since he's been in this particular tunnel, having come across a prisoner halfway through who challenged him to a Death battle which he won much too easily for his liking.

"Why do you talk so much but die so easily~?" Juzou whined as he kicked the body off of the platform and proceeded onto the next half of the tunnel. He didn't even get to use his Jason yet before the guy just toppled over with several knives stuck to his chest.

Just when he thought he'd finally found something fun in this test. Guess not.

In the end, he did manage to reach to find something interesting in the form of a familiar person upon exiting the tunnel.

"Fufu~♦️Long time no see, yes?" The jester joked upon seeing Juzou come out of the shadows.

"Ah~ It's been eons!" Juzou played along, sitting cross legged on the floor to rest after hours of continuous walking, the tunnel he came from sealing shut behind him. "So, what exactly are we supposed to do here~?"

"It seems we are to wait for another fruit before proceeding." Hisoka explained, taking a seat beside Juzou as he shuffled his cards. "Care for a game of poker?"

"Okay~" Juzou took out a box of Pocky and turned to face Hisoka, taking note of the jester's injured shoulder, ready to waste their time playing until their third companion appeared.

Fortunately for Juzou, they only had to wait around twenty minutes before familiar clicking were heard from a newly opened tunnel.

Juzou didn't know if he was just extremely bad at poker or if Hisoka was cheating, but he just kept on losing each round, so the moment their companion appeared, he immediately tried to focus the attention on them.

Which wasn't that hard considering the purple man was currently following a dazed woman with a nail stuck to her head.

"What's wrong with her?" Juzou tilted his head, examining the woman who had blank eyes, looking as though she were more zombie than human with the jerky way she moved.

"Click click click click click click click click click click click. Click click click." Gittarackur let out a lot of clicks and, if Juzou could just understand what he was saying, he'd think his purple companion was ranting.

"He said, she was a prisoner who was supposed to guide him once he passed her test but, because he didn't fit her aesthetic views, she refused to guide him even after he passed so, he had to use his abilities to manipulate her into leading him here." Hisoka explained, relieving Juzou of his confusion. So Gittarackur was ranting after all.

Abilities? Was it something like the Nen that Ging told him about?

"Oh, speaking of aesthetic, apparently, the other applicants have been calling us the 'Broken Aesthetic Trio'. Which is fun and all but I personally believe my fashion is normal~"

Juzou casually changed the subject after realizing that both his companions had no plans to explain to him what exactly those abilities were, while Gittarackur killed the woman in the corner. "I mean compared to my stitches, Bourbon who likes to wear snakes all over his body is the strange one and there's also the bald ninja."

Hisoka chuckled, finding Juzou's ramblings amusing, and while Gittarackur didn't respond, the way he occasionally glanced at them with his head tilted made them know that he was listening as they made their way to the new tunnel which opened upon Gittarackur's entrance.

In this fashion, they traveled together to their unknown destination.

...

[Challenge of Compatibility]

Upon entering a circular room with three separate cubicles, the three were greeted by a familiar voice speaking through hidden speakers once again.

[The rules are simple. All three are asked with the same questions in separate cubicles but must come to the same answer without speaking or seeing each other. If all examinees manage to get the same answer 3 times out of 5, you pass.]

Seems simple enough, except, once again, it had nothing to do with skill. If anything, they were testing how well they knew each other, or just a general mental compatibility. This test would have probably worked better if they were being used on the Amori brothers instead.

Well, not like they could do anything about it. Might as well go along with it.

[Please enter a cubicle of your choosing.]

Glancing at his companions briefly, Juzou smiled and skipped off towards the closest cubicle to him, with the other two doing the same shortly after.

[Pick a number between 1 to 5.]

The moment he sat down, the same voice once again spoke, causing Juzou to tilt his head in confusion upon processing the question.

What kind of question was this?

In any case, he just decided to pick 3 since it was the first thing that came to his mind, and apparently, his companions thought the same as a green light flashed in the cubicle, signifying a point on their part.

[Which animal is the best? Dog, Cat, or Bird?]

Juzou froze. So, they really were testing how well they knew each other. These were the type of questions where there was no correct answer.

Cat...?

Juzou answered hesitantly and sighed when the red light flared.

[What is the square root of 1?]

Wait, what is it really? Are they mixing intellect based questions along with with compatibility questions? It's not really making any sense right now.

Juzou puffed his cheeks but answered nonetheless.

One.

Green light flashed once again, signifying another point. Now, all they needed was to get another one to pass.

[Who is the Best Chairman of the Hunter's Exam Judging Committee? Chairman Netero, Chairman Netero, or Chairman Netero?]

This time, Juzou's face really turned blank. Well, atleast he now had an idea of who was messing with the questions.

Submitting his answer, he let out an exasperated breath as he washed the light flash green once again and exited the cubicle to reunite with his companions, each of them looking at each other thoughtfully.

As the green light faded, the tile at the center of the floor opened, revealing a winding staircase leading down.

"That's a long way down." Juzou muttered, peering down at the endless void of black where the spiraling staircase led to.

...

"I really don't understand what is it with people screaming 'Ah! My arms!' when their arms are injured or screaming 'Ah! My leg!' when their leg is injured." Juzou blurted out of nowhere. "Like what if they just scream 'Ah! My back!' when their head is injured instead? At least that would probably make their attacker confused enough to give them enough time to counterattack."

Hisoka looked thoughtful for a moment. What Juzou said did have a point, but, when faced with purposeful assassins like Illumi, or people who are more experienced in killing, it won't have much effect. It'll probably only work on those who get distracted easily, and even then, it won't last for long if they were determined enough.

"Click click click." Gittarackur clicked, head twisted strangely to look at Juzou with a strange glint in his eyes, causing Juzou to turn to Hisoka inquisitively.

"He said he would like to crack open your skull to see if your brain is still normal~♦️" Hisoka chuckled, answering to Juzou's silent question.

"Oh, no thanks~" Juzou said apologetically. "This place is not really hygienic and I'd probably get some sort of infection if you open my head here."

Of all the things he was worried about, it was the bacteria rather than the fact that someone wanted to open his skull.

Finally, after nearly two hours of mostly silence and idle conversations, they eventually arrived at the end of the winding staircase, coming upon a relatively short tunnel which led to a spacious empty cavern.

With their footsteps being the only thing echoing throughout the elevated ceiling, Juzou was tempted to hum a random tune but, the occasional twitching of one of his companions kept distracting him.

Every once in a while, Hisoka's bloodlust would start to burst out and, although he didn't look any different outwardly, Juzou was starting to get affected by it.

"You seem restless~ Did anything happen?" Juzou finally couldn't help but ask, to which Hisoka sighed dramatically, as though he had been waiting for someone to ask this question.

"I met a fruit which I had originally been saving as a side dish but, after returning to that fruit after a short parting, I found that fruit to have suddenly turned rotten. Now, I feel extremely unsatisfied! I should have eaten him before!" Hisoka ranted, biting the edge of a card to show just how dissatisfied he was feeling.

"That surely does sound frustrating." Juzou muttered despite not really understanding the situation. In any case, if Hisoka keeps on flaring his bloodlust for a bit longer, Juzou himself would begin wanting to start a fight. "How about we have a short spar to get rid of some of the bad energy?"

Suddenly, all gloominess disappeared from Hisoka's face, as though it never existed. "Hmm? Hehe~♣️ Are you sure about that?"

"Well, I might not have the same abilities as you do but, I'm still pretty confident in my fighting ability~" Juzou hummed carelessly but he somehow felt as though he fell into a trap.

"One million Jenny will be charged for every minute wasted." Gittarackur suddenly interjected after pulling a nail out of his jaw.

"So, you could talk after all!" Juzou exclaimed, though their purple companion ignored that and continued walking on without replying.

"Well, that settles it~♥️" Hisoka grinned, tapping a card on Juzou's forehead. "Let's spar."

As Gittarackur exited towards another tunnel, Hisoka and Juzou were left face each other in the cavern.

...

Erratic yet rhythmic footsteps echoed in the cavern as the occasional metallic clanging of a large weapon slashing the ground resounded along with the quiet flitting of cards flying through the air.

Two shadows appeared on the walls, coming and going, dancing to a violent tune that only they could hear.

The air was starting to smell like bubblegum. Juzou subconsciously noted as he moved to swing his Jason onto Hisoka's right side, trying to create an opening which the jester responded by grinning and extending his hand towards the weapon coming towards him.

It was a suicidal act, one might say if they were watching this moment, but, to the eyes of those possessing Nen, they might see something completely different, as a pink substance began to coat Hisoka's fingers and latch towards the incoming scythe.

There's danger there.

Juzou suddenly redirected his weapon away from the string of Bungee Gum Hisoka released, twirling the handle back and passing it to his other hand and successively swinging it towards his opponent's other unguarded side.

In response, the jester leaped back, creating space between the two as they both recollected themselves.

Was it a coincidence? Hisoka smiled thoughtfully and retracted his nen before once again extending it towards Juzou.

"Hmm?" There was obviously nothing there but, Juzou's instincts were screaming at him to avoid something he couldn't see. In any case, his instincts had never failed him before so he chose to trust them once again and dodged, causing Hisoka to raise an eyebrow in interest.

"How intriguing~" Could he see it by any chance? Hisoka smiled strangely. In his point of view, he could see a strand of pink nen attached to the ground where Juzou was previously standing on.

Discretely, Hisoka covered his hands with nen, and upon seeing no reaction from Juzou due to it, he came to a conclusion.

No, he couldn't see it. But he avoided it nevertheless.

So, the only answer was-

"What an amazing ability to sense danger~♦️" Hisoka licked his lips, eyes gleaming in excitement. "You're really turning me on~♥️"

"Danger? So there really is something there!" Juzou mused, scythe slashing towards Hisoka in a one-handed grip while his other hand discretely pulled out his knives, each thrown towards Hisoka in fatal shots right when the jester dodged out of the scythes attack.

In response to the knives, Hisoka threw out his own cards, clashing with the knives in surprisingly metallic clinks.

It made Juzou wonder just what kind of material those cards were made of. He was sure they were just regular cards previously. Or perhaps it had something to do with the strange energy he kept feeling from Hisoka since the start of the fight.

"Don't you know~" Suddenly, the cards which deflected the knives changed their direction midair, flying towards him rapidly, causing him to spin his Jason in an attempt to keep the cards away, though in that split second, he managed to lose sight of Hisoka. "It's a bit rude to be distracted in a fight~♠️"

Finally deflecting the cards, Juzou swiftly spun around, expected the clown to be there but was left at a loss when he only saw an empty space.

"Especially in front of a magician~♦️" Juzou felt a warm breath at the back of his neck and knew that Hisoka was right behind him.

But, before Hisoka could place a card on Juzou's neck and announce his win, a streak of purple flashed before his eyes and he found himself face to face with a familiar crooked scythe. How Juzou even managed to skillfully control it in such close distance, he'll never know.

The only thing that mattered right now is how close the scythe came to actually nicking his neck and turning it into a bloody fountain, forcing him to give up the proximity and dodged back, but not before sticking his Bungee Gum on Juzou's back while he was occupied and flung him to the opposite wall.

"Mmf!" Juzou grunted, trying to stand back up but his vision kept spinning.

Looking at his opponent's ruffled appearance after being slammed harshly on a hard surface, Hisoka shivered, waist twisting strangely as he licked his lips. At this point, he wouldn't be able to hold back.

"Ah~ I don't want to wait anymore~♣️" Hisoka shuddered, eyes rolling to the back of his head as his nen pulsed, excited at the thought of what he was about to do. "It's time for the fruit to ripen early~♥️"

And, with that cue, pink nen burst out, heading straight for Juzou who was still trying to regain his bearings from having the back of his head slammed on a wall. Due to that, he was unable to avoid quickly when he first felt the danger coming.

It was a strange sensation, having something he couldn't see try to force itself into his body, only to be blocked by a thin film which protected him from said intrusions. Though, the intrusive force was persistent, spearing through the unseen film vigorously.

Eventually, it did manage to succeed, tearing a hole into the barrier like a purposeful lance. And just like that, Juzou could suddenly feel it, much clearer than before. At the same time, something essential to him was quickly escaping through the hole made in his metaphorical barrier.

"Incredible~♦️" Hisoka grinned widely, reveling in the immense wave of nen that crashed upon him, Gyo applied in his eyes so he could see the coiling mass of pure black seeping out of Juzou's body.

Along with the escaping energy, something else happened to get out as well, though, this one was very much solid and visible, enveloping Juzou's whole body in a familiar dark armor.

"Something's wrong." Hisoka tensed, grin still on his face but his cards were ready between his fingers, able to attack at any given moment.

There, where Juzou was previously fell, stood a figure fully covered with dark armor, exuding a dangerous atmosphere.