"Bang!"
The sharp crack of gunfire tore through the chaos.
Jon's eyes snapped toward the sound.
Someone was drawing fire.
Maybe…
maybe he could use the opening to escape.
He turned—and his heart nearly stopped.
Lindsay Parton.
Covered in mud, trembling, blood dripping from leech-bitten arms—the same Lindsay who'd frozen in terror earlier, unable to even move before the Baro Crocodile. The same cross-dressing coward Jon had all but written off.
Lindsay was holding the gun Jon had handed him yesterday.It had been taken from a corpse, a precaution in case they needed ranged support. Jon had handed it over casually, half as a joke, figuring Lindsay wouldn't be much use anyway. Besides, in a Nen-restricted Hunter Exam, Jon's invisible Stand was far better suited for surprise attacks.
He never expected Lindsay to actually use it.
My name is Lindsay Parton. I'm thirteen, from Yorknew City. My idol is Cheadle Yorkshire—the Dog Zodiac, a legal scholar, and future chairman of the Hunter Association. I want to be like her. A medical Hunter.
That's why I joined the Hunter Exam… even though I'm scared half the time. I flew to Baro Island by helicopter. Honestly, I almost got eliminated on the first day… until someone named Joseph saved me.
He gave me a gun. Said to cover him if things got rough. He actually trusted me. Me. I was so touched! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧
Joseph was different from all the schemers in this exam. So cool, so calm. Today, I followed him to a swamp I found yesterday—where the Cistus flowers grew—but there were dead beasts everywhere. I got scared again.
But Joseph wasn't. He fought a gun-wielding woman barehanded—and won. What kind of monster is he? Is he even human?
He protected me again. Even when that terrifying crocodile showed up. And now I… I'm just dragging him down.
He's fighting like a demon—his fists flying like snakes, striking with such speed they leave afterimages. But it's no use. That thing's hide is too thick.
I want to run. I almost did. I rolled twice in the mud, ready to escape… but…
This is the first time someone trusted me. I… I don't want to betray that.
"Boom!"
Half of Jon's body was crushed beneath the crocodile's bulk.
"Da-da-da-da!" Lindsay opened fire, hands shaking violently, finger clenched on the trigger.
"HEY! OVER HERE!" he screamed.
His legs quivered. Tears mixed with snot.
Mud caked his face.
But he didn't stop shooting.
The Baro Crocodile froze.
Its slit pupils shifted.
It turned.
Lindsay's shots didn't pierce its scales—but it didn't matter. The beast was easily provoked, and Lindsay had become the louder, flashier threat.
"LIE DOWN, LINDSAY!!"Jon's voice rang out like thunder.
Without thinking, Lindsay dropped and rolled—twice—just as the crocodile lunged. Its massive body shot past, missing him by inches.
Jon used the moment to slip free, his threadlike body slithering out from under the creature.
His foot was still injured.
His breathing ragged. But he was alive.
And now, thanks to Lindsay, he had another chance.
Lindsay wasn't a genius. He didn't have a Stand or Nen mastery.
But he wasn't a fool either.
After watching the crocodile closely, he'd figured it out:The monster was powerful, but its attacks were simple—predictable.
With the right timing, it could be baited, redirected.
Jon limped forward, [Stone Free] poised for the next move.
Lindsay held the machine gun and fired wildly, emptying the magazine like a lunatic—maxing out his taunt value.
Even Jon hadn't pissed the crocodile off this much.
But the Baro Crocodile wasn't a brainless beast.The moment it realized Lindsay didn't have Jon's agility, its strategy changed.No more charges. No flashy attacks.
It simply stalked forward, jaws snapping, relying on sheer mass to crush the weaker prey.
Jon groaned as he pushed himself up from the mud, injured foot throbbing.He summoned [Stone Free], threads uncoiling in a blur, and yanked Lindsay out of the monster's jaws just in time.
"Hey, Lindsay," Jon said, dead serious. "Why the hell is that thing chasing you?"
Lindsay panted, still shaking, eyes locked on the predator.
"Its eyes. That's the weakness. The eyelids are thick, but not bulletproof. Crocodiles rely on vision to hunt. Blind it, and we might just survive."
Jon grinned.
"Got it. Not bad… I didn't think you'd actually be useful."
Before Lindsay could respond, Jon snatched the machine gun from his hands and tossed him aside like a sack of potatoes.
"Run."
Jon turned to face the beast."Come on, Baro Crocodile."
He opened fire.
Bullets screamed across the air.Jon wasn't trained with guns, but the sheer volume of fire was enough—a few rounds smashed into the creature's eyelids.
The crocodile howled and lunged.
"Took the bait," Jon smirked.
As the monster charged, Jon dropped the gun entirely.He didn't want it hesitating just because of the noise—it had to come in close.
No matter how tough the skin, the softness of the eyeball doesn't change.
[Stone Free] appeared behind him, fists clenched.
Jon weaved in and out of the crocodile's massive limbs, sidestepping with precise movements.
"Ora ora ora ora!!"[Stone Free] unleashed a flurry of invisible punches, hammering the crocodile's eyes.
The monster roared, thrashing blindly, blood streaming from its lids. It couldn't even understand what was hitting it.
Then—Jon raised a hand.
"Ripple Contraction Fist."
[Stone Free]'s arm rocketed out. The ripple-infused fist slammed into the beast's other eye, the scarlet energy igniting with a burning hiss.
The Baro Crocodile reared back, completely blind now, screeching in pain and rage.
"Lindsay!" Jon shouted. "Stay low! Don't get hit. Wait for me!"
Ripple energy crackled under Jon's feet. He pressed his soles into the mud, then launched himself across the lake, light-footed like a monk running on water.
At the center of the swamp, the Cistus flower bloomed—glowing faintly in the mist.
He grabbed it in one swift motion.
Jon turned to the howling, blinded crocodile, who was thrashing against trees and mud, swiping at shadows.
"Sorry, pal," Jon muttered. "I'm not playing with you anymore."
This was never about killing it.He just needed the flower—and now he had it.
Escape complete.
The jungle trembled with the roars of the blinded Baro Crocodile as it continued its rampage in the distance.
"Hey, Joseph," Lindsay said, still breathless, "you're not human, are you?"
Jon shot him a side-eye. "Who are you calling inhuman? I'm not DIO, alright? I'm a purebred human."
"Mm-hm," Lindsay muttered, unconvinced. "You just did something a human shouldn't be able to do."
"You know too much already," Jon replied flatly, not bothering to look back.
"…Sorry."
"If you pass the Hunter Exam, someone'll teach you about a power called Nen," Jon continued. "Then things like this won't seem so impossible. By the way—your idol, Cheadle Yorkshire? She's a Nen user too."
Just then, a soft chime echoed in Jon's mind.
Ding! Defeated Baro Giant Crocodile. Reward: 1500 gold coins.
He was getting closer.
A Stand card cost 2000. A Universal card cost 1200.
Universal cards were wildcard pulls—they could be Stand Cards, item cards, or sometimes just junk. Jon had once seen a card for Narancia's math workbook and Josuke Higashikata's hair gel. But the really rare ones were the good stuff: a Stand Arrow, a Corpse Part, the Aja Stone, or even the Stone Mask. That level of treasure required extreme luck.
Between the terrorist at the school and the dangerous encounters during the Hunter Exam so far, Jon had finally saved enough gold.
But he wasn't planning on drawing anything yet.
For now, he focused on recovery. Using [Stone Free] to reconnect fractured bones, and Ripple energy to accelerate healing, Jon managed to reduce what should've been a two-month hospital stay into just a few hours of rest.
But the Baro Leech bite—that was another story.
Leech bites were nasty. The trick was to use salt; tearing them off made the wound worse. Their anticoagulant made bleeding hard to stop. Even Jon, with Ripple, needed time to treat it properly.
Lindsay's wound was technically less severe, but without Ripple, his body wasn't bouncing back the same way. Worse, he'd rolled through the mud while injured—his leg was red and inflamed.
Fortunately, Lindsay had medical training. Becoming a Medical Hunter was his dream, after all. He could handle basic treatment.
Still, Jon eventually stepped in, channeling Ripple into Lindsay's wound to cleanse and accelerate healing.The blood scent was too strong—it would attract predators if left untreated.
Time to divide the loot.
Jon pulled out three Cistus flowers, placing them carefully on the forest floor. Their pale petals shimmered faintly in the morning light.
"Three flowers," Jon said. "We each take one, and there's still one left over."
Lindsay blinked. "Where to next?"
"To the examiner," Jon replied casually. "That's the next step."
"But… the Cistus flower is only effective when it's fully mature. Only one of these is ready."
"Don't panic." Jon flexed his fingers. "Watch my Ripple!"
He grasped the two immature flower buds. A golden glow surged from his hands, and thin arcs of lightning crackled as Ripple energy poured into the plants.
Within seconds, the buds expanded, blooming unnaturally fast. The petals stretched outward, glowing faintly with the same golden light.
In just three seconds, all three flowers were fully matured.
Lindsay stared in awe. "Wow… that saves us a lot of trouble."
"Not curious how I did it?"
"…Would you even tell me?"
"Of course not," Jon said smugly.
Lindsay rolled her eyes.
The forest glowed under the morning sun.
Because it was untouched, there were no paths—only soft grass flattened by wild animals or the two of them. Shafts of golden light pierced the canopy, scattering shadow patterns across the earth.
It was now the morning of the third day.
Jon and Lindsay walked in silence toward the designated submission point, set by the flamboyant examiner they'd met before.
Though it was officially autumn, the forest felt like mid-summer. The trees remained a deep green, and the air was thick with heat.
Jon, bolstered by Ripple energy, handled it with ease. But Lindsay was drenched in sweat, his steps heavy, breathing labored.
Still, neither of them said a word about stopping.
They were too relieved to have survived the jungle trial… and too aware that any delay could be deadly.
The Hunter Exam was merciless.
Finishing early could be the difference between life and death.