章節 9: Chapter 9: Escape Death
As the group of examinees enter the Milsy Wetlands, also known as the Swindler's Swamp, the atmosphere grows even more foreboding. The mist thickens, and the eerie calls of unseen creatures echoes through the air.
Gon turns to the examiner and asks "Hey Mr. Satotz, is this where the second phase begins?"
"No, it isn't. We have quite the way to go yet." Satotz replies.
"Oh." Gon answers.
Soon all the other examinees make it to the top, but it is hard to see everyone due to the heavy mist in the area.
"Welcome to the Milsy Wetlands, also known as the Swindler's Swamp. It compromises the next leg of the first phase of the exam." Satotz, the examiner, announces.
"There are many crafty and voracious creatures native to these wetlands. They'll trick you in the blink of an eye, and eat you with relish. So please, follow me and stay focused."
Satotz then turns around to face the applicants, "If you are deceived, you will die."
As he speaks, suddenly, a loud slam echoes as the exit behind us closes, trapping a straggler who screams for losing his chance in the exam.
"Well, it seems like that's all of you," Satotz continues. "Allow me to reiterate: the creatures here are wily, and their tricks are endless and deadly. This is not their whim, but the basis of their entire ecosystem. That's why it's called the Swindler's Swamp."
"Follow me closely and stay focused. If you don't, you'll be lost."
At Satotz's words, the rest of the examinees adopt a rigid and focused attitude, raising their guard against impending dangers. Meanwhile, I shrug, knowing what comes next.
"Are you kidding? If we know that they will try to trick us, no one will be fooled." Leorio says with his usual arrogant ignorance.
"HE'S LYING!" From behind us, a voice rings out, "That's a lie! He's lying to you guys! That
man right there is an impostor! He's not the examiner! I'M THE REAL EXAMINER!" Yells a man appearing behind the underground pathway exit.
The crowd of examinees begins to murmur and second-guess their surroundings. Doubt and uncertainty cloud their minds, entering into the game of manipulation of the stranger in front of them.
The man continues, "I'll show you! Look!" He drags along the ground a monkey-like creature with a very short tail and the same face as Satotz. "You see this thing in my hand? It's one of the creatures of this wetlands... the Man Faced Ape!" The examinees look at the creature in surprise.
"These creatures lust after human flesh, but they are so weak of limb that they can't capture their prey on their own. They disguise themselves and lead crowds of humans to their lairs where, in cooperation with other creatures, they kill them and eat them."
"That's his plan! To deceive the entire Hunter applicant pool and devour each and every one of you!"
Everyone looks convinced of the imposter words. Even Hanzo seems to have taken the bait. It's rather disappointing on his part.
Just as I remembered from the stories, Hisoka throws playing cards with deadly precision, slicing through the impostor examiner's skin like butter. Meanwhile, Satotz effortlessly catch the cards.
Hisoka laughs while shuffling his cards. "Well, that clears it up."
The monkey beside the fake examiner, realizing the ruse was up, tries to flee, but Hisoka swiftly dispatch it throwing one of his cards.
"Now we know he's the real examiner and this one was the fake one." Hisoka declares, making everyone gape at the revelation.
"Examiners are Hunters who do this, without pay, at the request of the judging committee."
"A simple Hunter, which we ourselves aspire to become, would have no trouble dodging my attack."
The real examiner, Satotz, responds, "I should take that as a compliment. But the next time, attacks on me, for any reason, will be grounds for immediate disqualification. Understood?"
"Sure thing." Hisoka replies with a smirk.
Satotz continues, "As you see, losing isn't pretty." While saying this, a swarm of vulture-like birds swoop down, devouring the bodies of the fake examiner and the Man Faced Ape, causing many examinees to shudder in fear.
"It's amazing that he almost tricked us into following him." Nicholas says next to me, having gotten off my back.
"Maybe most of you, but not me." I reply.
"Really? And why are you so sure?" Nicholas asks doubtful of my statement.
"Well, it was pretty obvious if you think about it. From the start, a guy appearing out of nowhere when we came out of the tunnel is already suspicious."
"He also said that this kind of monkey is weak, but we've been running through that tunnel for over six hours and he hasn't broken a sweat, not to mention that Satotz appearance is much neater than the impostor."
"There are more clues, but that should make it clear to you." It's all true. Even if I didn't know the canon, I wouldn't fall for a trick like that.
Nicholas looks at me with his mouth and eyes wide open in disbelief, "Awesome." He whispers.
Satotz then resumes his explanation, "Nice ruse, saying I'm an imposter in order to confuse and mislead examinees into taking the wrong path... right into their clutches. That's the sort of life-or death deception that makes this swamp the perilous and fascinating place it is."
"I'm sure many of you were swayed, and started having doubts about me." Leorio and Hanzo try to act innocent in the face of this comment.
"Well, so much for that. Let's move on to the second phase." With that, we all get going again into the Milsy Wetlands.
As the fog thickens, I focus intently on Satotz, using Gyo to maintain clarity and guide Nicholas through the treacherous and muddy terrain, but keeping a good distance and pace so as not to attract attention. Many examinees get lost in the fog, falling into the swamp's deadly embrace, with their screams echoing through the place.
Among them, I recognize the Amori brothers, their confident expressions replaced by confusion and fear.
"They're in trouble," Nicholas says, his voice filled with concern.
"We can't help everyone," I say, though it pains me to leave them behind. "Our priority is to get through this ourselves."
As we run, a swarm of Hypnosis Butterflies cross our path, slightly blocking our perception, and as we continue running, I immediately feel how the ground begin to shake beneath us.
"LOOK OUT!" I shout, jumping away from the spot with Nicholas, just in time to avoid being swallowed by a Frog In Waiting. "Phew, that was close. Let's keep running."
I push myself up from the ground and reach out my hand to Nicholas, but he finds himself dragged off the ground into the jaws of a Noggin Lugging Tortoise. "HELP!" Nicholas screams.
'Great, more problems.' I think exasperated as I jump up and draw my short sword to stab the giant turtle in the eye.
The Noggin Lugging Tortoise lets out a cry of pain as it opens its jaws, releasing Nicholas, whom I catch as he falls to the ground. "Are you alright?" I ask worried.
"Yes. Fortunately it didn't have time to chew me." Nicholas responds as more Noggin Lugging Tortoise try to surround us.
"We have to go, now!" Yelling this, I grab Nicholas's wrist and drag him away from the place.
This unexpected distraction has caused us to separate from the main group, and it doesn't take long for the effects of the swamp to become apparent. The hallucinogenic plants and deceptive creatures begin to try their magic on us.
"Stay close," I advise Nicholas, keeping my voice steady to calm him. "This place is designed to mess with your head."
Using Gyo, I focus my aura into my eyes, allowing me to see through the illusions. It is a skill I have practiced diligently, knowing it would be invaluable in situations like this.
The world around me shift, and the true nature of the swamp becomes clearer. I can see the faint glow of aura emanating from the plants and creatures responsible for the deceptions, allowing me to dodge them alongside Nicholas.
Ahead of us, a group of examinees stop abruptly, and I quickly draw my sword to parry the cards Hisoka throws at me and Nicholas, missing one that makes a slight cut on my right arm. Hisoka was on the move again, taking out many examinees with his killer cards.
"Bastard! What're you doing?!" Leorio angrily asks with a wound on his left arm.
A figure starts to approach us shrouded in mist, "I'm playing examiner." Hisoka reveals himself while laughing creepily and shuffling his cards.
He begins to monologue, "You know, I told myself to hold off during the first phase, but this has been too easy for me and I'm absolutely bored. So I decided to give the judging committee a helping hand. I'll judge whether you're Hunter material or not."
An examinee retorts, "Someone like you is going to judge us? Don't make me laugh! We've gotten separated from the examiner and the group, and there's no way to find them back in this fog! That means we've all failed the exam, including you!"
Hisoka instantly kills the examinee by throwing one of his cards at his head and replies with a sinister smile, "Quite wrong. Yes, you have failed, but I haven't."
"I'll say you something before you meet your end in the afterlife. A true magician never runs out of tricks"
I stand on guard against his words, and the rest of examinees surround him armed, "There's no way a crazy murderer like you can become a Hunter! Hope you enjoyed the exam, cause we won't let you get away from here!" They exclaim challenging him.
"Is that so?" Hisoka says, his eyes glinting dangerously. "Then... I guess one card will be enough to take care of all you, peasants." He states holding up the four of spades card.
As the enraged examinees lunge at Hisoka, he uses a single card to shred through the opposition, cutting their bodies with swift and precise motions as if it was a dance of death that enchant its spectators. Frightened by this, some decide to try to flee, but Hisoka chases them and kills them while his maniacal laughter echoes amid the chaos.
After a few seconds, all those who attacked him or tried to run are now lying on the ground, deceased. Only a few of us remain: I, Nicholas, Leorio, Kurapika, and the martial artist #76 named Cherry.
'As I recall from the manga, this guy ended up being killed by Hisoka in the forest. He doesn't really have a big affording part in the story. So there are no consequences to leaving him to his own devices. Still...' I think, looking away at him.
"Tsk tsk... So many dropouts. These examinees didn't have what it takes to pass my test." Hisoka declares, turning his gaze towards Kurapika, Leorio, the martial artist #76, Nicholas, and I. "So there are only the five of you left."
As Hisoka approaches the group, I can hear Cherry whispers as he plans we scatter in all directions, knowing that Hisoka won't be able to follow all of us at once. It is a smart plan, and Cherry is the one who must signal for everyone to move.
"GO!" He shouts and we run off separately, except for Nicholas and I.
"Oh, I like this game," Hisoka grins. "I'll give you a 10-second head start. One... two... nine... ten. Okay. Now... Who do I chase down first?"
Before Hisoka can scan the fleeing examinees, Leorio's figure approaches him, clouded by the fog. "Don't strain your brain. Running away after you've attacked me just isn't my style. I'm not the sort to just suck it up... WITHOUT A QUICK PAYBACK!"
As Nicholas and I run for our lives, we hear Leorio scream, turning around to see him charging at Hisoka with a stick. Hisoka easily dodges it by disappearing from his sight and reappearing behind him, and as he's about to strike back, Gon intervenes with a swift strike from his fishing pole.
Seeing that everything is playing out as it is supposed to, I decide to grab Nicholas by the collar of his shirt, and drag him at my top speed along the path Cherry has taken.
"What are you doing?!" Nicholas asks confused and agitated.
"There's someone we need to pick up." I urge, pulling Nicholas along.
創作者的想法 
David_Arenas
David_Arenas Starting with the next chapter, there are two versions of the story. One with elements from the 1999 anime, and the other without them. Please write in the auxiliary chapter <Things to clarify for the plot> if you want them or not.
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