043 Poor Examiner

Seeing this, Pokkle sat down on the ground, breathed a sigh of relief, and then looked at the two brothers who were fighting next door with some emptiness in his eyes.

Umori and Imori quarreled endlessly, and in the end, they had to use force to decide who would pass.

After all, Pokkle was a special case, and the two brothers, being close relatives, had already started fighting. Let alone anyone else.

Within two hours, the 88 successful passers all gathered outside the wine cellar through the stairs.

After checking the bodies, Ronnel followed the last candidate who passed, the oldest of the Amori brothers, up to the surface.

By that time, it was already noon.

"Alright, kiddos, first of all, congrats on passing the first round of tests, but the hard part is just beginning!"

The examiner of the second round of the test, dressed in gaudy punk-style clothes, spoke with exaggerated emotion.

In stark contrast stood the yellow-haired man from earlier, who looked half-dead and barely awake.

Then, the examiner led the group of 88 candidates to a cave on the outskirts of town.

"This place is famous for being one of the few sites where Melami ore is mined. Your task is to go in and retrieve three pieces of ore for me."

"That's the test! Remember, three pieces, no less than that will do, kiddos~"

The task seemed much simpler than the one given by the yellow-haired examiner before, so many candidates rushed into the cave, only to be met with a chorus of screams shortly after.

The remaining candidates outside the cave looked at the examiner, who, full of energy, then offered a belated warning:

"The paths inside are winding, so be careful not to run into any monsters lurking in the mine~"

Too little, too late.

Cursing under their breath, the candidates entered the cave with heightened vigilance, cautiously feeling their way forward.

Ronnel and Hisoka entered the cave one after the other.

What happened next was pretty straightforward. After dispatching a few spider-like monsters, Ronnel collected the three ores and passed the test as expected.

However, when Ronnel collected his third piece of ore, a small complication arose.

The ore itself seemed to attract spider-like monsters. Once three pieces were gathered, their attraction multiplied exponentially. When Ronnel emerged, a swarm of spider monsters greeted him.

No wonder the examiner insisted on three pieces of ore~

Eventually, more candidates emerged with three pieces of ore. In the end, only 43 qualified in the second round, eliminating more than half of the participants.

Aside from Ronnel and Hisoka, the only remaining candidates were old-timers—every new candidate had been eliminated.

Then came the third round of testing.

As Ronnel, bored, followed the Hunter Association staff to a special venue, he perked up upon seeing the face of the next examiner.

This was the guy who, in the original version, sought revenge against Hisoka and was later killed in the trap tower.

In other words, he was the poor fool about to be beaten half to death by Hisoka, ensuring that 20 candidates would fail the test with no one passing that year.

Ronnel grinned, deciding to stay hidden and watch as part of the audience.

"43 people... This is less than the usual number in previous years. It's far fewer than when I took the Hunter exam."

The medium-built muscular examiner glanced around lazily, his nose high in the air as he let out a grunt of disdain.

"Seriously, people these days aren't as good as they used to be. Their skills are just so-so!"

Wearing a Uvogin coat made of red fur, he absentmindedly picked his nose.

"You've been here so many years, failing again and again. Doesn't that mean you're just not fit to be a Hunter? Why are you even trying? I passed the Hunter exam on my first try."

What an arrogant fool.

Hidden in the crowd, Ronnel could sense the growing resentment and anger among the candidates. He shook his head, amused.

The things this guy said were similar to what Bisky had said once, but in her case, it was more about reflecting on her experiences over the years. This examiner, on the other hand, was purely belittling the candidates to prop up his inflated ego.

Especially since most of the remaining candidates were old-timers—he was definitely doing it on purpose.

"Examiner, what's the third round of the test?" someone finally asked, unable to stand the tension.

The rest of the candidates turned their gaze toward him.

The examiner lazily glanced at the person who spoke, his face full of arrogance.

"What's the rush? I'll tell you when I'm good and ready. Don't interrupt me."

What a jerk.

Ronnel clenched his fists, tempted to punch the guy twice.

What was the Hunter Association thinking, appointing someone like this as the examiner?

Sensing the rising tension, the examiner finally stopped dragging his feet and began outlining the details of the third round of the test.

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