Chapter 4

After running for nine hours, all participants finally reached the end of the underground tunnel.

Ives and Biscuit supported each other's bodies. In contrast, the other participants lay on the ground gasping for breath, some even fainting from exhaustion.

Seeing that many participants had passed, Ragnar, the Examiner, nodded in satisfaction. How could he not be satisfied? Even for him, this exam could be considered extreme, as evidenced by the sweat that soaked his clothes. However, as a Hunter, he is physically superior to all participants.

"You've done quite well. There are tents you can use to rest. Recover your stamina; the exam will continue tomorrow." The Examiner clapped his hands to get their attention. After giving a short announcement, he left while muttering something about how tiring this run was.

If a Nen user like him is still exhausted, what about the participants? It was a miracle that there were still those who managed to pass. Could this Marathon be more extreme than the running exams in the future?

Ives sat down and took a deep breath. Was this what it was like for parents to go to school? Despite his exhaustion, he still chuckled when he remembered this meme.

After recovering some of his Stamina, Ives stood up and prepared to head to the tent. However, seeing Biscuit's jelly-like condition due to extreme exhaustion, Ives sighed and carried her.

"Thank you." Biscuit thanked.

"You're welcome."

The next day.

After hours of rest, Ives, Biscuit, and the other participants who passed followed the Examiner. Fortunately, this time, they walked leisurely. As for the participants who were still sleeping, or more precisely, could not get up because of the previous Marathon, were automatically disqualified.

The Examiner had told them their goal this time was to go to the second part of the island. By the way, this unnamed island was a tropical island located northwest of the Gordeau Desert and Yorknew City, still within the United States of Saherta territory.

Arriving at the beach, a few kilometers away, we see the second island in question. On the island, there are small buildings where participants are required to rent a room to proceed to the next test. Oddly enough, there are various shipwrecks scattered around. Ives, who is familiar with the 1999 show, felt quite familiar with the concept of this test.

Sure enough, to rent a room, participants are required to pay with valuables. These valuables can be obtained from wrecked ships or those that have sunk under the sea.

Participants can also rent rooms in exchange for the exotic sea fish they hunt. Ives felt skeptical about this one. If fish were valued the same as valuables such as jewelry and diamonds, then the fish that inhabited this ocean were likely dangerous. He needed to take note of this before deciding to dive.

After being escorted to the second island, the test participants got off and met the person in charge of the accommodation. The person in charge provided the information needed by the participants, after which they returned to their residence again. If the participants wanted to rent, they could meet him directly.

"There are eight hours before the afternoon; we need to hurry. Although there are many shipwrecks, we don't know if there is treasure in each shipwreck." Said participant number 66.

"Let's form a team. We can divide the wealth to rent each room." Participant number 40 suggested.

"Huh, who needs a team? I'll go hunt it myself. If there's no treasure, then fish won't be a problem." Another participant said arrogantly. Not wanting to bother with them, he immediately dove into the sea to look for treasure or hunt the fish he needed.

"Tch, arrogant- Wait, look!" Contestant number 66 clicked his tongue, but then his eyes widened. His hand pointed towards where the arrogant man had dived.

The previously blue sea water now had blood spots. Slowly, the spots grew bigger, and then... Boom!

"W-what the fuck?!"

"What just happened?" Other participants were shocked and confused.

The seawater exploded upwards! Something flew to the shore from within the explosion, and unfortunately, it hit someone. One of the participants grabbed something that landed on his head; when he realized what it was, he quickly threw it away with a frightened expression. It was none other than human intestines!

There were also human innards, pieces of hands, and leftover flesh from participants who had previously dived.

Ives, who saw this, frowned. As he expected, this sea area was hazardous.

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