As he stepped onto the venue, Akira felt a new progress bar appear in his mind.
Indeed! The Hunter Exam was also a significant event, and participating in it could nurture a Pokémon. But what kind of Pokémon would it be?
Previously, Akira could roughly guess the type of Pokémon based on the local environment. This time, since he was participating in an exam, he couldn't use that method.
"Here, please take your number plate."
"Make sure to wear it on your chest and be careful not to lose it."
A short, gentle-voiced staff member with a head made of a large pea handed the number plate to Akira. The staff member was none other than the direct secretary of the Hunter Association chairman, Beans.
Beans was an extremely rare plant-type magical beast with high intelligence, hence assigned the role of secretary. Chairman Netero often affectionately referred to him as "Bean."
Akira took the number plate and saw that it was Leorio 403 from the storyline. It seemed the main trio hadn't arrived yet, and he had taken Leorio place.
"Thanks, Bean" Akira replied with a smile, waving casually as he strolled forward.
Beans was momentarily stunned, feeling an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
Before this, only the chairman had called him that. Moreover, he had handed out over 400 number plates, and Akira was the first and only one to thank him.
Watching Akira figure, Beans recalled the chairman evaluation.
Indeed, Mr. Akira is a very kind person.
......
On the surface, Akira appeared calm as still water, but beneath that, he was constantly observing his surroundings. The underground venue was incredibly spacious, about five or six stories high. Rows of red-glowing bulbs lined the walls, providing illumination.
Perhaps due to poor ventilation underground or everyone heightened tension, the air felt stifling. In Akira eyes, almost every examinee face was taut with nervousness. A deathly silence spread through the crowd, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
It had to be said, the anime world was truly different—people of all kinds were here. There was a mature woman still wearing sunglasses in the dim underground tunnel, an elderly martial artist in his fifties still taking the exam, and a freak with needles all over his head—none other than Illumi Zoldyck, the eldest son of the Zoldyck family.
Glancing at Illumi, whose entire head seemed to be ticking like a clock, his eerie style reminiscent of Junji Ito horror, Akira decided to ignore him.
Instead, he found a less crowded corner, leaned against the wall, and quietly observed his surroundings.
Akira wasn't looking for trouble, but trouble found him anyway. Diagonally across from Akira, a man dressed peculiarly, like a circus clown, was staring intently at him. The man had long red hair, a sharply defined face painted with a star and a teardrop. He wore a short white top with hearts and diamonds from a deck of cards printed on both the front and back.
His waist was wrapped in cloth, making it appear extremely slender. This was none other than the infamous "Fruit Farmer"—Hisoka!
When it came to the more twisted characters in Hunter x Hunter, Hisoka name was undoubtedly on the list. He was a battle-crazed lunatic! Once he latched onto someone, there were usually only two outcomes: either he killed them, or they killed him.
The nickname "Fruit Farmer" came from his habit of referring to exceptionally talented but still-developing geniuses as "unripe fruit."
To savor the thrill of battle, he would even help these "unripe fruits" grow to some extent.
Once they matured into "ripe fruit," he would fight them—what he called the "harvest time."
Hisoka leaned slightly forward, his hands nimbly flipping through a deck of cards. Looking at the composed Akira, Hisoka narrowed his eyes and flashed a sinister smile. Being here was just too boring.
Here was a seemingly weak Nen user who could provide some entertainment for his dull time?
In the next moment, a chilling, eerie pink aura of killing intent, precisely controlled by Hisoka, shot straight toward Akira!
In an instant, Akira felt as if the surrounding scene had been distorted, with a twisted space of pink and black intersecting. It was as if he was enveloped by a massive blob of pink chewing gum, and the air around him inexplicably became thick and heavy.
Everywhere he looked, there was a palpable sense of oppression. Even breathing became difficult, and his chest felt uncomfortably tight.
Akira expression darkened as he turned his gaze toward the source of the killing intent, only to see Hisoka, grinning slyly like a fox.
Hisoka, the "Fruit Farmer" could already imagine the fate of the person standing before him.
What Hisoka didn't expect was that this time, he had mess with a wrong person!
"Heh, are you making fun of me?"
Suddenly, a faint smile curled at the corner of Akira' lips, and the phantom of a ferocious beast abruptly materialized behind him! Hisoka golden pupils contracted sharply!
In a daze, Hisoka found himself standing in a vast desert, surrounded by endless yellow sand.
"ROAAAAAR!!"
Before him appeared a towering and majestic steel beast, its eyes flashing with a crimson glow, exuding an aura of sheer savagery. It was roaring madly at him!
Hisoka clown-like grin vanished instantly, his pupils first contracting sharply before rapidly dilating! The beast before him radiated an overwhelming dominance, like a tyrant ruling the desert, a true king!
Under the crushing pressure of Tyranitar presence, Hisoka felt as if he had been plunged into an icy abyss!
He couldn't maintain his standing posture, his legs involuntarily bending—until he knelt!
His body defense mechanisms instinctively kicked in, his aura surging wildly, trying to burst forth to protect him.
Yet, his aura and the blood in his veins seemed frozen, almost unable to flow! The ferocious roar of Tyranitar was deeply imprinted in his mind. Hisoka's long-honed sense of danger from countless battles made every inch of his skin break out in goosebumps.
His brain frantically screamed the same signal!
"Run! Run! Get away from here!"
But he couldn't move!
"You..."
"Do you want to die?!!"