"I guess I'm the last one."
Walking down the dark passage inside the bar, Luke casually pinned the badge number onto his chest.
Because of the Fox Father's work in rebuilding his house, they had arrived just in time, barely making the cutoff.
And so…
After walking a long way, Luke reached the end of the corridor.
Before him stood a thick, electronically sealed automatic door, the kind used in hospital CT rooms, isolating the inside from the outside.
As Luke stood before the door…
Rumble…
A deep sound came from both sides as the massive door slowly opened.
Whoosh!
Before he even entered the room or saw its surroundings, Luke could already feel the countless gazes upon him, some wary, some guarded, some curious and assessing.
"All right, looks like this is the place."
Unbothered by the stares, Luke stepped forward, casually scanning the area.
What unfolded before his eyes was a vast factory-like workshop.
It must have been a large abandoned plant, with rusted conveyor lines, scattered pieces of metal, smelting equipment, and half-finished products covered under thick layers of dust.
The applicants who came to take the hunter exam didn't care about any of this.
They all sat on the abandoned, unused items around, looking casual but actually staying alert and watchful of their surroundings.
"You must be a first-time participant in the hunter exam, right?"
Just as Luke was observing the area, a warm, hearty voice suddenly sounded beside him.
Luke turned toward the voice and saw a very familiar face.
A face that had become a regular in every hunter exam, a person who had appeared almost every year when the hunter exams began.
"Don't be nervous. Newcomers always tend to get stiff when they first arrive here."
A short, stout man wearing a blue vest and sporting a backward-combed hairstyle walked toward Luke. His square-shaped nose twitched slightly as he smiled.
"But before the real exam begins, there's nothing dangerous here."
He patted his chest confidently.
"Based on my twenty-two years of hunter exam experience and the official process, I can tell you that much."
"I'm Tonpa, applicant number 100 in this year's hunter exam. Pleased to meet you."
He grinned broadly and reached out his hand to Luke.
Ah, yes, Tonpa the great has arrived!
"Twenty-two years, huh?"
Luke didn't shake his hand; instead, he watched him with interest.
"Yeah, you could say I'm something of a regular."
Tonpa didn't seem offended by the lack of a handshake.
"It's normal for newcomers to be wary of others when they first arrive here."
He chuckled self-deprecatingly.
"Especially someone like me, who's taken this hunter exam so many times."
"Yeah... A seasoned veteran and an old fox."
Luke said with a faint smile.
Tonpa, known as the Rookie Crusher, was a chubby, sleazy-looking man.
He perfectly embodied the petty, conniving type, a veteran applicant infamous for sabotaging newcomers, hence the nickname Rookie Crusher.
He used his extensive experience to put other applicants at a disadvantage, taking pleasure in seeing his opponents eliminated.
He was adept at deceiving inexperienced rookies, pretending to be weak with convincing acting, only to betray them when they least expected it.
Because he had taken the hunter exam thirty-five times and was mysteriously elusive, his fans gave him a reverent nickname, Tonpa the Great.
They said he didn't take the exam for the license, but for the thrill!
Amid the dangers surrounding the skilled applicants, he observed their actions, honing his instinct to sense danger and ensure his own survival, watching the death game unfold while clinging to life.
He found pleasure in seeing those bright, hopeful youths fall from ambition into despair, the very moment when dreams and hope were severed forever.
That became Tonpa's ultimate source of entertainment.
And from then on, he devoted himself fully to crushing rookies' dreams.
Of course, this wasn't just fan exaggeration; there were no actual records to prove it.
Tonpa had taken the hunter exam thirty-five times since the age of ten. But despite this, he ranked only second in the examinees' record.
However, he already held the first place in the number of successive exams, which amounted to 30.
No one even knew who had ranked above him overall…
Looking at Tonpa's history, he had once schemed against the four main characters, Gon, Killua, Leorio, and Kurapika, and still managed to survive.
Later, he even took the exam twice alongside the dangerous madman, Hisoka, emerging completely unharmed.
Especially during Hisoka's first exam, when Hisoka attacked the examiner he didn't like, making him disqualified.
In that chaos, Hisoka also wounded or killed over twenty other applicants, leaving them unable to recover.
And yet Tonpa took the exam twice alongside that same man and came out fine, even sharing a room with Hisoka on the ship to the island and living to tell the tale.
A true witness to miracles.
He had also taken exams alongside Illumi, the Phantom Troupe's strategist, Shalnark, and Ging Freecss's disciple, Kite.
Even Ging Freecss himself, whom Gon searched for throughout the story, had once taken the exam alongside Tonpa.
Ging's Hunter Exam took place ten years ago, right when Tonpa was taking his twelfth exam!
With such a wealth of experience and the ability to keep surviving, it was no wonder Tonpa truly lived up to the title of the great.
However, after hearing Luke's comment…
"Um..."
Tonpa scratched his head, puzzled.
"What is a seasoned veteran and an old fox supposed to mean?"
He had never heard those terms before.
"It means you're very experienced."
Luke replied casually, withdrawing his gaze from the rest of the applicants around.
Aside from Tonpa, he didn't see any other familiar faces.
Well, of course, this was twelve years before the future hunter exam.
At this time, someone like Pokkle probably hadn't even grown all his hair yet.
And unlike Tonpa, those future participants wouldn't keep showing up year after year for over a decade.
Tonpa really was a constant presence throughout many generations.
"Ah, a compliment?! I don't deserve it..."
Although instinctively, he felt those terms weren't exactly pure praise, Tonpa still put on a modest smile.
"If this is your first hunter exam and there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me."
He patted his chest confidently.
"I may not have much else, but I've got plenty of experience to share."
"I can definitely give you a hand."
That honest-looking face and kind smile really did make it easy for people to let down their guard.
Even Luke had to admit it.
"Your acting really is quite good..."
"Hm??"
As soon as Luke said that, Tonpa's expression stiffened.
"I have some friends who have all participated in the hunter exam before."
"And every time, they all ran into the same person."
Luke said leisurely, "Tonpa the Rookie Crusher, short, square-nosed, greasy uncle with a naive smile, that's his trademark look. And now it seems..."
Luke gave Tonpa a slight nod. "That description is still very fitting and accurate."
Tonpa: "..."
Wait, his information was already being spread around?!
Did he really have such a notorious reputation?!
That shouldn't be possible. Every year, only a few hundred people manage to make it to the hunter exam.
Most either drop out midway or get eliminated and try again next year.
And this newcomer, applicant 404, said he had friends?
What kind of friend would be so generous as to warn someone about him ahead of time?!
Aren't all applicants supposed to see each other as competitors?
Tonpa couldn't help but complain inwardly, almost to the point of swearing.
Who could be so stupid, so foolish, as to leak such crucial information?
Did they want to make it harder for themselves to pass?!
Unless… they had already passed the hunter exam and become a professional hunter, so they no longer cared.
The moment he thought of that, Tonpa fell silent.
If that was the case, and this kid really had a professional hunter as a friend…
Tonpa quietly took a few steps away from Luke.
Clearly, this was someone he didn't want to provoke.
He had been taking the hunter exam since he was ten years old, in an exam where death was always lurking, and he had survived unscathed for over a decade.
That survival came from his keen sense of danger.
Now, whether it was true or not, he was already exposed.
So…
"It's better to keep my distance from this guy."
Tonpa silently moved farther from Luke.
"Such a strong instinct for danger?"
Luke couldn't help but admire Tonpa's cautiousness.
No wonder he had managed to survive so many hunter exams.
Even when Killua took the exam twice in a row, Tonpa still made it out alive each time.
In that sense, he really wasn't ordinary.
"I wonder... If he ever awakened his aura and developed his own Nen ability, what type and effect would it be?"
Those thoughts flashed through Luke's mind and just as quickly disappeared.
He had neither the time nor the inclination to do Tonpa any favors like that.
And besides, with his arrival, this year's hunter exam was about to begin.
He was probably the last applicant to arrive.
After Luke showed up, no one else came.
Half an hour passed like that.
"Alright, time's up."
A calm voice suddenly echoed through the silent factory.
Everyone looked up toward the sound.
At the very top of the factory, a figure stood high upon a crane hook.
"This is the 275th hunter exam. Total number of applicants: 404."
With that announcement, the registration for this year's exam officially closed.
All eyes turned to the figure above.
And then…
"Another familiar face."
Standing on the crane hook was a man in a black suit with a light-blue tie, hair slicked back into a shiny pompadour, the picture of a successful professional.
"I am this year's first-phase examiner for the hunter exam. My name is Knov."
A future member of the Chimera Ant Extermination Team, one who would later accompany Chairman Netero to the NGL Autonomous Region, the man with the unique Nen ability called Hide and Seek.
At that moment, Knov adjusted his glasses and introduced himself calmly.
"Alright. Those of you who've made it this far have already passed the preliminary screening and the guides' trials. And before arriving here, I'm sure you've been informed about the rules of the hunter exam..."
Knov paused deliberately.
When no one spoke, he nodded slightly and continued: "Then you all must be prepared to risk your lives, so I'll skip the unnecessary talk."
"Now then, the first phase of the exam... It is about to begin."
At those words, the scattered applicants raised their heads, their bodies tensing in anticipation.
"As you can see, the location you're currently in is an abandoned factory. This factory stands in the middle of a desert."
"Surrounding it are other abandoned structures, a dam, a military camp, a power station, a cement plant, a construction site, and so on."
"In these areas, many leftover materials and supplies remain."
"Each of these materials has been assigned a specific value."
"Your task is to collect enough items of sufficient worth and find a way to leave this place while carrying them."
"There's more than one exit point, and our staff will be stationed at each one."
"As for the passing requirement..."
Knov raised his index finger.
"One million."
"You must bring materials worth at least one million to an exit point to pass."
"The time limit is twenty-four hours, one full day to gather your supplies."
"When I start this timer."
Knov said, pulling a small pocket watch from his hand. "The countdown and the hunter exam itself will officially begin."
He paused, adjusted his glasses again, and looked calmly down at the crowd of applicants.
"A friendly reminder, the amount of materials you collect in this phase will determine your standing in the next round."
"In other words, the more you gather this time, the greater the advantage you'll have later."
"Alright then, now..."
As soon as he finished speaking, he didn't give the applicants any time to react; he directly pressed the pocket watch in his hand.
Click.
"Timer starts!"
Clatter!
The moment Knov said that, the applicants scattered instantly in all directions.
The large crowd that had been gathered there broke apart, spreading out toward every corner.
"Let's hope this round manages to eliminate as many applicants as possible."
Seeing this, Knov shook his head slightly and then leaped down gracefully from the high crane hook.
Tap.
He landed as light as a feather on the ground.
Then he turned his gaze toward the last and only remaining applicant still in the area.
"Hello, examiner Knov."
Luke greeted him with a smile. "May I ask how many extraction points there are in total?"
"I can't tell you that..."