Chapter 9 : Success and next Test

17 H 49 MN 16S (James)

44 H 49 MN 16S (Illumi)

26 h H 49 MN 16S (Hisoka)

The time of Hisika and Illumi then increased by twelve hours.

Lippo's voice echoed through the room again.

"There is no suspicion on inmate Gittarackur, you are free."

Then a passageway opened a few yards from them, Illumi then stepped forward and walked through the passageway leaving James and Hisoka, the door behind him then closed.

The next vote began Hisoka used the Nen again, James thought about it for a while and then the two of them chose not to denounce anyone and they suffered a reduction of five hours of their time.

The last prisoner stepped forward at the same time as Hisoka, the two looked at each other for a brief moment before the man said.

"I don't care about this sentence reduction so let's do like the others and bet all our, the ordeal is simple, a fight without rules."

"All right?"

"No problem."

The man's handcuffs fell to the ground, he did some stretching and then calmly introduced himself.

"My name is Doko, forgive me for your death."

James heard this and wiped the sweat from his forehead as he looked at Doko strangely.

"Are all Hisoka's opponents idiots?"

Lippo in the candidates' surveillance room watched Hisoka and Doko face each other with a smile.

"Doko with bloody fists, sentenced to almost two hundred years in prison, despite his small size he is a famous martial artist from the city of Araku, after perfecting his techniques, he suddenly decided to put them into practice on civilians and different dojo masters, killing all of them every time, during his arrest he killed more than thirty policemen, this man a serious opponent."

At the same time Doko facing Hisoka raised his fists, lowered his centre of gravity, then with one step he disappeared, even with his extraordinary senses James could barely distinguish his movements.

He appeared the next second behind Hisoka as a slight evil smile formed on his lips.

"First I'll break his spine, then I'll break his arm, I want to hear his cries of pain."

Then he grabbed Hisoka's shoulder and kicked him on the back with his knees, but even before finishing his sequence, Hisoka moved his body slightly to the left whilehis right hand blinked for a moment and Doko's movements stopped.

Then he fell slowly to the ground, spitting out a sip of blood as the bones in his neck were broken.

41 H 46 MN 31S (James)

26 H 46 MN 31S (Hisoka)

Lippo in the surveillance room looked at the screen with a slight disappointment.

"I really hate it when there are Nen users in the tests, it takes away any surprise."

"There's no more suspicion on the Hisoka and James inmates: you're free."

Then the door opened, and Hisoka and James went forward to the passage, the two did not speak and just went on their way.

A few hours later, they joined Illumi and after two more minor tests, the three arrived in the last room.

The examiner then announced that they had passed the test, and then the three of them sat down in their corners.

Hisoka then invited James to play the card, who at first refused, but after several hours of boredom finally accepted.

"Haha I'm first..huh?"

They were soon joined by Hanzo the bald ninja who looked at them stunned before sitting down in his corner.

More and more applicants joined them and finally at the last moment of the exam, the group of protagonists also entered the room, also passing the exam.

The third phase ended with 25 applicants passing the exam.

Shortly afterwards the candidates all left the tower, twenty five candidates have completed Trick Tower and passed the Hunter Exam's third phase. They are :

Gittarackur, James, Hisoka, Hanzo, Geretta, Pokkle, Goz, Agon, Ponzu, Ryu, Siper, Shishito, Kyu, Sommy, Umori, Imori, Amori, Bodoro, Kenmi, Bourbon, Kurapika, Killua, Gon, Leorio and Tonpa.

Lippo congratulates them on escaping Trick Tower.

He tells them that only the fourth and final phase remain and the fourth phase will take place on Zevil Island.

The Trick Tower's 3rd examiner comes with a wheeled table with a box on it. He then tells them they need to draw lots.

The examinees act surprised and Lippo tells them it is to determine who will hunt and who. There are 25 cards, with ID numbers on them and they will draw in the order they exited the tower.

Gittarackur (Illumi) is the first to draw, he is then followed by James , Hisoka.....

Lippo informs them to remove the seal on their badges and reveal the number on it. He explains that the number revealed is their target. Many candidates immediately cover their badges. 

Lippo tells the candidates that the box has recorded which card was drawn by who. It is alright for them to take off their ID tags and the objective is to steal their target's badge.

The examinees are allowed to use any method they choose to steal ID tags, which includes killing their target. He explains the rules further: their target's ID is worth 3 points, their own is also worth 3 points if kept in their own possession and that all other badges are worth 1 point.

They will need 6 points in total to advance to the final phase.

Then the candidates boarded a small steamboat heads for Zevil Island as their new guide Khara commends them for their excellent work during the third phase and introduces herself, telling them it will take two hours for the boat to reach Zevil Island.

No one makes a sound ...

She tells them that all 24 candidates are automatically qualified to take the exam next year while winking, but to no avail.

She continues that if they fail, not to feel bad and try again next year, finaly she gets depressed by the total lack of response....

Khara tells them they are free to do what they want for the next two hours and to enjoy the boat ride.

James was admiring the beautiful scenery of the sea, seeing the fish jumping out of the water brought back old childhood memories.

"Mom and I used to fish together a lot, I kind of miss Dad's grilled fish."

"It would be nice if I could go back."

He then looked at the number he had drawn with a small smile.

"99.."