LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 7: 7
The first half of the initial exam ended successfully. After emerging from the tunnel, the candidates were greeted by thick fog and an endless expanse of lush forests.
"This is a wetland forest?!" Lisa remarked with curiosity.
In the open space in front of the exit, Ethan Wells and Lisa stood, resting like the other candidates who had passed. Lisa, breathing a little heavily, looked at the scene before her with interest.
Although her strength reached the level of a second-rate Nen user, similar to Ethan, she was not an Enhancer Nen, meaning her physical training wasn't as intense, leaving her somewhat physically weaker than Ethan. Despite this, compared to other candidates, aside from a few like Hisoka, she was still among the top. Yet, after running nearly a hundred kilometers, the physical exertion was substantial.
"Yeah... it seems so," Ethan replied, pulling his distracted attention back to the present.
It wasn't that he was unfocused or physically exhausted; his attention had just been drawn to the system.
As he exited the tunnel, a system prompt sounded in his mind.
"Ding dong~! You have triggered the branch achievement [Shadow Examiner]. You need to eliminate 50 candidates before the end of the first exam (0/50)."
Lisa didn't notice anything unusual about Ethan and continued observing the wetland forest with interest, while Ethan focused on the system prompt once more.
"So, this is how the branch achievement is triggered..."
Ethan had initially thought these achievements would be difficult to trigger, but they appeared sooner than expected.
The content of the branch achievement [Shadow Examiner] was clear: eliminate fifty candidates before the first exam concluded.
There were no penalties for the achievements released by the system. Completing them earned rewards, but failing or choosing not to attempt them resulted in no rewards, allowing Ethan to act freely according to his wishes.
Ethan was not opposed to the [Shadow Examiner] task. He wasn't naive; rather, the past five years had cultivated a survival-of-the-fittest mentality in him.
The Hunter exam wasn't a harmonious and friendly game. Those who took the exam each year were considered lucky even if they merely survived, let alone passed.
Eliminating other candidates in the exam to gain rewards didn't weigh on Ethan's conscience.
Besides, it was just about elimination, not killing, which made it even simpler.
Ethan casually glanced at the candidates' situation.
Although many were eliminated in the first half of the exam, those who made it here were all elites, so over two hundred candidates remained.
"This wetland forest is shrouded in thick fog. Eliminating fifty candidates shouldn't be too difficult," Ethan thought to himself.
Most importantly, among the candidates, only two posed a real threat to him: Hisoka and Illumi, disguised as Gittarackur.
Whether it was Hanzo or Killua, even before the system came online, he was confident in dealing with them.
"The fog seems to be dissipating gradually!" one candidate exclaimed happily.
Initially, the thick fog in the wetland forest had even covered the tunnel exit, but while the candidates rested, much of the fog dissipated.
Of course, the forest still contained thick fog, obscuring specific details within.
Meanwhile, a door lowered at the tunnel exit, blocking candidates struggling to emerge, marking the end of the first half of the exam.
"The Shimeile Wetland, commonly known as the Trickster's Lair, is the only way to the second exam venue. Most of the strange creatures unique to this wetland are cunning foragers that can deceive even humans..."
As Satotz, the examiner, explained the wetland situation to the candidates, an angry shout erupted from the wall beside the tunnel exit.
"Don't be deceived, don't be fooled by him, this man is lying!"
"He's not the examiner; he's a fake. I'm the real examiner!"
The sudden outcry made candidates turn around to see a disheveled young man emerging from the wall, pointing at Satotz and shouting.
Moreover, the young man pulled an ape with a human face from behind, its face bearing a striking resemblance to Satotz.
"What's going on? Why does this monkey look so similar to the examiner?"
"Damn it, could this guy really be a fake?"
"What is the truth here? Which one is the real examiner?"
While the candidates were initially skeptical, the appearance of the ape resembling Satotz caused doubt, prompting many to look at Satotz warily.
For Ethan and Lisa, however, one remained calm and the other intrigued.
"So, this is the deceiver's lair? Their language and disguise abilities are quite impressive," Lisa remarked.
The human-faced ape's deceptive abilities might work on ordinary people, but they seemed ludicrous against those with Nen abilities.
At Satotz's level, his body naturally maintained a 'ten' aura, while the young man disguised as a human-faced ape emitted only weak life energy.
Lisa didn't even need to think; she could easily discern which side was genuine just by sensing the aura.
Just as many candidates were swayed by the young man's deception and began showing hostility towards Satotz, playing cards suddenly shot out at high speed, leaving afterimages.
Three playing cards struck the young man disguised as a human-faced ape, penetrating and killing him instantly.
Three more playing cards targeted Satotz, but he reacted quickly, catching them with both hands.
In addition to these six cards, three others flew through the gaps between candidates, clearly aimed at Ethan.