章 11: Chapter 11: Retest x Lorin Becomes the Prey
Chapter 11: Retest x Lorin Becomes the Prey
The Hunter Association's blimp stopped beside a canyon atop the unnamed mountain.
This canyon, about forty to fifty metres wide, split the mountain neatly in two, as if it had been cleaved straight down the middle.
"This is the place!" Menchi said, smiling as she approached the canyon's edge. "This is the new test site, and the test this time is… boiled eggs!"
Menchi's gaze swept across the faces of the many Hunter examinees present.
"Boiled eggs?"
The Hunter examinees looked at the canyon, confused.
What did boiled eggs have to do with this canyon?
At that moment, Menchi began removing her shoes and socks, speaking as she did, "In this canyon lives a creature known as the Grape Spider. The task is to retrieve their eggs and make boiled eggs."
The canyon?
The Grape Spider?
The examinees looked from Menchi to the canyon, and many faces immediately turned pale.
"Don't worry. There's a deep river at the bottom of the canyon. As long as you're careful, you shouldn't fall to your death. However, the current is strong and may carry you straight out to the ocean several dozen kilometres away!" Menchi remarked casually.
"You're not seriously telling us to climb down there! We could die—" yelled Tuo Dou, the resilient candidate number 255, who had already regained his strength.
"Die?" Menchi gave him a strange look and replied indifferently, "If you're not prepared to die at any moment, why did you come to be a Hunter?"
With that, she ignored the changes in his expression and jumped straight into the canyon.
The scene left many examinees dumbfounded. In less than two minutes, Menchi climbed back up the cliff holding a Grape Spider egg.
"This is it. Go down there, get one of these eggs, and then make boiled eggs!" Menchi said, smiling at the examinees before her.
"What a joke! Who would jump in without a second thought like you…" Tuo Dou had barely finished speaking.
Dozens of examinees leapt into the canyon one after another, leaving those who hesitated dumbstruck.
Of course, not everyone who jumped came back.
"Glug, glug~"
"Glug, glug~"
In a large iron pot, dozens of Grape Spider eggs, each the size of a chicken egg, were being boiled.
"Alright, everyone, give them a taste! See how these eggs compare to regular chicken eggs," Menchi said with a smile.
Since the results had been nullified due to the agreement with Netero, Lorin naturally had to go down and bring back an egg.
"This taste… not bad at all!" Lorin exclaimed in surprise as he looked at the Grape Spider egg in his hand.
Unlike ordinary chicken eggs, the Grape Spider egg melted in the mouth, even the yolk was not dry, and the flavour was much richer.
"The ingredients in this world… I must try more of them!" Lorin decided. As a member of the Glutton Empire, his resistance to gourmet food was not particularly high.
"Not bad, right? These are the treasures we Gourmet Hunters risk our lives for. Once you experience the joy of discovering new flavours, it's hard to resist!" Menchi proudly declared to the Hunter examinees.
Her words intrigued many candidates; although few would set Gourmet Hunter as their goal, none would scoff as they had initially.
The second stage's retest concluded, with forty candidates remaining.
…
On the blimp.
"Chairman, something's wrong!"
Beans hurried into Netero's room.
"Oh? What's wrong?" Netero asked cheerfully, looking at his chief secretary.
"Chairman, you asked me to investigate that candidate Lorin earlier today, but even after searching through all records from the past twenty years, I found absolutely nothing on him," Beans said.
"Chairman, could Lorin be from Meteor City?"
"No, you're mistaken. That kid doesn't carry the scent of Meteor City," Netero chuckled.
"But…" Beans looked puzzled.
Wait a minute…
Could it be?
Beans' expression changed, and he asked in shock, "Chairman, could Lorin be from… over there?"
"Oh ho ho, wrong again." Netero laughed even more merrily as he stroked his small beard. "He's not from the Dark Continent either. I can guarantee that."
"Then who is he, Chairman?" Beans was even more perplexed.
With the Hunter Association's capabilities, there were only two types of people whose identities couldn't be found—residents of Meteor City or the nonexistent people from the Dark Continent. Was there anyone else whose identity they couldn't uncover?
"Heh heh heh, the answer is, I don't know either," Netero said with a cheerful smile.
"Chairman, then…" Beans began, but stopped as he saw Netero's grin.
"Chairman, don't tell me…" Beans finally realised why his superior was smiling so brightly.
It was the expression of a Hunter who had found new prey after a long period of stillness!
Beans fell silent.
Though much time had passed, there was no doubt that their Chairman was, indeed, still a Hunter.
…
Meanwhile.
Lorin had no idea about the conversation between Netero and Beans concerning him. freēwēbnovel.com
He was sitting on the outer corridor of the blimp, gazing at the scenery outside.
Although Netero's promise meant he no longer had to worry about not being registered for the upcoming Hunter Test,
and even after obtaining the Hunter Licence, he wouldn't need to concern himself with his identity in this world,
Lorin couldn't help but feel a bit regretful for missing out on the drama.
Unfortunately, despite Netero's offer being a reward, it was also an implicit threat.
After all, as someone who hadn't officially registered for the Hunter Test, Netero could have thrown him out of the exam at any time.
So, even if he felt dissatisfied, Lorin could only accept this favourable condition.
He sighed with regret.
There wouldn't be any more stages where he could watch as all the examinees were eliminated in one go. Or rather, with Lorin's current abilities, he couldn't achieve that even if he wanted to.
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