Chapter 22: That Glimmer of Light
"Still, gotta admit, these actresses are quite easy on the eyes."
Mord was enjoying an action film while jogging forward when he spotted a familiar face.
"I really underestimated the Hunter Exam. These guys are all monsters—just a gathering of freaks." Leorio's pace had noticeably slowed, leaving him at the back of the group, panting heavily, and the gap was only widening.
At this rate, falling behind was just a matter of time.
"Only one in ten thousand people makes it this far, and on average, only one rookie passes every three years."
"This really is a profession reserved for the elite. Someone like me, an ordinary guy, shouldn't even dream of it..."
Seeing the end in sight but with his stamina already at its "limit," Leorio began to doubt himself.
Thud!
In his exhausted state, the medical bag slipped from his hand and hit the ground.
"Need something to wake you up? How about a movie?"
Hearing the voice beside him, Leorio looked up to see a "fully armed" strange boy holding a laptop and watching something.
Out of curiosity,
Leorio leaned over to take a peek.
Holy cow!
He instantly perked up.
Blood pumping, his fighting spirit reignited.
Wiping away the nosebleed he hadn't noticed, he rallied himself.
"Like hell I'll give up..."
"I will become a Hunter!"
Wahahaha~
Fully revitalized, Leorio tore off his shirt and charged forward with wild shouts.
Gon, who had slowed down out of concern for Leorio, and Killua, who was following Gon, both looked on with curiosity.
They couldn't understand how Leorio, who had seemed on the verge of collapse just moments ago, suddenly mustered such incredible energy.
"Hey, Killua, what do you think Leorio just saw?"
"I'm curious too."
Gon and Killua exchanged glances, grinned, and then wordlessly ran toward Mord.
"What did you show Leorio just now? Can we see it too?" Gon asked.
Mord looked at the two curious kids and smiled. "What I'm watching isn't suitable for minors. You should wait until you're older."
Gon was about to press further,
but Killua pulled him aside and whispered something in his ear. Gon immediately looked embarrassed and scratched his head. "Never mind, then..."
"By the way, isn't it tiring carrying all that stuff?" Gon asked, his eyes fixed on the briefcase in Mord's hand—the one Leorio had dropped.
"It is a bit. Here, you can take this briefcase."
Just an ordinary medical kit, consider it a small favor.
Mord casually tossed it over.
Gon reached out and caught it, holding it in his hand with a beaming smile. After thanking him, he hurried ahead to catch up with the leading group.
"Killua, that was really lucky just now. I didn't know how to ask for Leorio's suitcase back, and that guy happened to be tired," Gon said.
Hearing Gon's words, Killua broke out in a cold sweat.
He recalled the scene earlier—that man hadn't even broken a sweat, so there was no way he was tired.
This Hunter Exam seems more interesting than expected.
...
At this point, the leading group arrived at a staircase.
Satotz glanced back at the examinees and said, "From here... we'll pick up the pace slightly."
"Keep up."
As he spoke, both his stride and pace increased by a notch.
Climbing the stairs, his movements looked almost like leaping.
It was something no ordinary human could possibly do.
"Is the examiner a monster? He's climbing multiple steps with each normal stride!"
"Quite a few are bound to fall behind."
A few in the leading group turned back and remarked.
By this point, those still closely following Satotz in the lead were all genuine combat specialists. Their breathing and movements remained flawless, ensuring they'd pass this test without issue.
But those further back had already fallen far behind the leading group, clearly struggling.
Their breathing rhythms had started to falter.
Many had lightened their loads by discarding unnecessary items, even clothing.
Leorio and Kurapika belonged to this group.
Unlike Leorio, who was now shirtless, Kurapika had only removed his outer coat—but both were drenched in sweat.
Kurapika was well-rounded overall, but in terms of pure physical ability, he still lagged behind true combat specialists.
Gon and Killua, those two freakish talents, treated the entire first phase like a game. They barely broke a sweat and looked no different from when they'd started.
Now, the two fast friends, having made a bet on who'd reach the finish line first, began sprinting.
They quickly overtook Kurapika, Leorio, and the rest of the second group.
Kurapika and Leorio could only watch as Gon and Killua raced ahead.
At most, they could sigh inwardly.
They're all monsters.
"We should be arriving soon."
Hearing the familiar voice, Leorio turned to Mord and said, "It's you."
"Mord."
"Leorio."
They introduced themselves.
"Mord, you just said we're almost at the finish line. How do you know?" Leorio asked.
Kurapika glanced at the strangely dressed, "fully armed" man beside them and said, "Earlier, we took an elevator down to this underground tunnel."
"I remember the elevator displayed the number 100, meaning we were in a tunnel 100 floors underground. Now that we're ascending, we just need to climb 100 floors back up."
Mord nodded, full marks for analysis.
But the distance covered by an elevator going up and down couldn't be completely equated to climbing stairs now.
Snap!
Mord closed the laptop in his hands, feeling somewhat listless. He glanced upward—the light above was already flickering faintly.
He had utilized almost every possible part of his body.
If only he had a spatial storage-type Nen ability.
Was there such a type among Zanpakutō?
As Mord pondered this, his feet had already begun to pick up speed.
Leorio still wanted to say something, but in the blink of an eye, he could only see Mord's back disappearing into the distance.
Upon reaching the stairway leading to the surface, the last wave of examinees was eliminated.
If one stood at the top and looked down now, they would see a long staircase littered with exhausted examinees who had collapsed.
Some of them, unwilling to accept defeat, stretched their hands toward the top of the stairs—
Desperate to grasp that elusive light.