Hunter x Hunter: Card Master, the Strongest in the World

The doors to Hall 3 of the ice and snow ski resort slowly opened.

A sharp, creaking sound echoed throughout the entire venue.

Those who were awake and those who were still half asleep all turned their heads to look.

"Ugh..." Dongba opened his eyes groggily, instinctively supporting himself with his hands as he got up from the ground, feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

what happened?

Wait a minute? He's in the waiting area for the Hunter Exam right now, and before that... he was knocked unconscious! Tonpa glanced at Lynn not far away, startled, and instinctively took a few steps back.

No wonder he felt sore all over; he had slept in a prone position all night.

Beside him, Lynn crossed his arms and looked at the woman who walked in from behind the door.

"Hey, you all look so energetic!" The woman grinned, extending her right hand in greeting. "So, are you ready for your first Hunter Exam?"

"Don't worry, it's very easy."

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Little Devil Examiner! The Endless Snow-Capped Mountains!

The woman was of medium height, about 1.6 meters, wearing a black and white tracksuit jacket, with a pink high ponytail, and a cute baby face... but her smile always gave people a feeling of ill intent.

"Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Doris, the examiner for the first round of examinations."

"To confirm one last thing, in this exam, if you are unlucky or lack the ability, there is a risk of serious injury or even death."

"If any candidate wishes to leave, they may do so now."

No one took action.

Those who have come this far step by step would not be swayed by these two sentences... Having come this far, how can we not give it our all?

Doris paused briefly, and seeing that no one moved, she spoke again:

"Understood. All 368 students participated in the first exam!"

"I hereby declare the Hunter Exam officially open!"

"Please follow me."

After speaking, Doris stepped out the door, and everyone followed closely behind.

After walking a short distance, the group arrived at the back of the ski resort.

From the ground to the horizon, all that could be seen was a world of ice and snow, with snowflakes dancing wildly in the air and snow piled up to about knee-high on the ground.

Doris stood at the front of the crowd, smoothed a strand of hair behind her ear, and smiled:

"The first round of exams is very simple. Follow me to the location for the next round of exams."

Before anyone could react, Doris turned and strode into the distance, where one of Cruz's many snow-capped mountains stood.

Seeing the examiners' actions, the candidates instinctively followed suit.

More than 300 people walked in a large procession through the snow.

Just walking.

Doris wasn't moving fast; they could keep up on foot. At first glance, it didn't look like a hunter's exam, but more like a "spring outing."

Lynn, with Chopper by his side, mingled at the edge of the crowd, moving at a moderate pace, pondering Doris's intentions.

The Hunter Exam is divided into multiple rounds, each with its own examiner, and the content of the exam is determined by the examiner.

Therefore, each round of the exam will be different, reflecting the individual characteristics of the examiners.

However, the core aspects of the assessment remain largely unchanged, such as endurance, physical strength, speed, anticipation of danger, and teamwork.

Currently, this first round of testing is similar to the first round in the original work, both testing endurance, the difference being the snowfield operation.

Can you really pass the Hunter Exam just by walking? The Hunter Exam can't possibly be that simple.

In this direction, it seems that Doris is leading them from the foot of the mountain to the top of the snow-capped mountain in front of them, so is it a mountaineering test?

With too little information, Lynn didn't continue thinking about it and decided to go with the flow and see what happened next.

He had been to Mount Kroos before, so he wasn't unfamiliar with the place.

"Cruze Snow Mountain" is just a general term. There are many snow mountains of different sizes on this island. The one in front of them is just a small snow mountain, and it is not difficult to walk up it.

At first, some of the new students were suspicious, thinking that Doris might be cheating.

But as time went on, Doris simply continued to move uphill at a constant speed, without any change.

This put their minds at ease.

It seems the first test is climbing this mountain.

What might be considered a test of physical strength for ordinary people is nothing to them.

"Easy, easy. So the Hunter Exam is this easy." The bald freshman Piers sneered. "I thought it would be so hard. I wonder who takes it so many times and still fails."

“Yeah, everyone says the Hunter Exam is so hard and the pass rate is so low, but it seems like that’s not true at all.” The long-haired male freshman next to Piers chimed in.

To show off, the two of them deliberately ran ahead of the main group, only a few steps behind Doris, to demonstrate that they were much better than the others.

Doris seemed to shut down her senses, showing no reaction, her eyes fixed only on the snow-capped mountain before her, her gaze restless.

Two idiots.

In the crowd, Dongba sneered, thinking that Piers and his companion were incredibly stupid.

The Hunter Exam is definitely not as easy as they imagine!

They'll just have to wait and see.

In fact, he probably hopes to see more and more people like this, so that it will be easier for him to "destroy" them. But sometimes, too much ease is meaningless and lacks a sense of accomplishment...

About an hour later, led by Doris, the group reached the summit of the snow-capped mountain, where the cold wind was even more biting.

"Yes, everyone did a great job!" Doris glanced around and, seeing that no one was missing, her smile widened.

As some of the new students waited for Doris to announce the end of the first round of exams, Doris spoke again: "Everyone, take a five-minute break before we set off again!"

Let's all rest for five minutes before setting off again!

This is not the supposed end of the first round of exams at all!

The senior students were almost no exception, and instead showed expressions of "I knew it."

Some freshmen are different. They thought this was the end, but it turns out it wasn't. So... where is the end?

New student Piez's face twitched, and he couldn't help but ask, "Where exactly is the finish line? You have to tell us that, don't you?"

Doris ignored him and simply found an open space to sit and do stretching exercises, sometimes pressing her legs and sometimes jumping in place.

This guy… Piers’ face turned angry, but he held back.

If you lay a hand on the examiner, you'll lose your eligibility to take the exam.

He believed he had a good chance of passing the exam and becoming a hunter, which would allow him to enjoy a life of wealth and luxury.

But... a lingering worry remains in my heart: where exactly is the end? Will something unexpected happen?

Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye.

"Break time's over," Doris said, hands on her hips. "The journey continues... everyone better keep up!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Doris couldn't wait to descend the mountain in the same direction she had taken to go up, seemingly heading towards the next mountain.

But that's not the point. The point is that Doris's speed has increased!

If before it was a walk up the mountain, now it's a jog down the mountain.

The candidates felt increasingly nervous and followed Doris down the mountain in a rush. The descent was not much easier than the ascent.

Firstly, the speed was faster than before, and secondly, the snow-covered mountains were covered in snow. With each step, the legs would sink into the snow, and then it would take more effort to pull the legs out and take the next step, repeating this countless times!

At this moment, the test takers finally felt the pressure.

Doris was like a tireless robot; she walked at a steady pace uphill and maintained a steady jogging speed downhill.

She led more than 300 examinees from the mountaintop to the foot of the mountain, and then to the top of the next snow-capped mountain, which was at a higher altitude and a longer distance away.

When the group reached the summit, many were already panting, amidst the biting wind and swirling mist.

Pairs of eyes were fixed on Doris, afraid she would say those words.

Doris narrowed her eyes, a strange smile playing on her lips: "Congratulations everyone on reaching the summit of yet another snow-capped mountain."

"Alright—everyone take a five-minute break, then we'll set off!"

Let's rest for another five minutes and then set off!

This is not the end!

But... where exactly is the final destination?

Doris was like a little devil, gradually increasing the boulder weighing on the examinee's heart until it was completely crushed.

They had already climbed two snow-capped mountains, and they didn't know how many more they would have to climb! With no end in sight, the psychological pressure on everyone was immense.

The Hunter Exam is not a game for kindergarteners.

For ordinary people, this is a brutal, hellish exam!

And this is just the beginning of the first round of exams...

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Unexpected Events! Avalanche! A Cruel Choice!

On the snow-capped mountain.

A large group of people ran down the hillside.

That's right, run.

At this moment, the examinees are following Doris as they run down the second snow mountain and head towards the even more magnificent third snow mountain ahead.

Doris increased her speed by one section, from jogging to running at a relatively fast pace, afraid of not being able to shake them off, thus successfully increasing the difficulty of the race.

The candidates began to fall behind, with some dropping out of the exam for various reasons.

Snow-capped mountains are inherently dangerous, with accidents occurring frequently, such as avalanches, landslides, attacks by wild animals, falls, and so on.

"what!"

Martial artist Baudelaire unfortunately stepped on what appeared to be a solid layer of snow, only to find that it was hollow underneath. He fell into an unknown depth of ice and disappeared.

Lynn, who was nearby, saw this and realized that the old man was about to stop there.

I vaguely remember Baudelaire saying that he was eliminated in the first round of this episode, and that might be how he was eliminated.

The original large group also changed due to Doris's speed. The distribution of more than 300 candidates was stretched and dispersed, with each person maintaining a considerable distance from the others, like stars scattered across the white snow.

They can be divided into three tiers based on distance.

The first tier closely follows Doris, and consists of the strongest group of people.

The second tier maintains a certain distance from the first tier, but is able to keep up with the progress and not fall behind.

The third group performed poorly, with most falling behind and forced to grit their teeth and follow the main group's footsteps and fixed direction.

But at this point, they start to fall behind and will definitely not be able to catch up later.

Lynn, on the other hand, remained in the second tier, neither rising nor falling.

So far, the first round of exams is simply climbing a snow-capped mountain. However, the combination of the inherent difficulty and the unknown end point puts pressure on the candidates both physically and mentally.

There are also minor issues, such as the snow-covered mountain environment and terrain, and many people have had accidents like Baudelaire.

Time is very tight.

After most people descended from the second snow mountain and traversed a relatively flat stretch of road, they were forced to begin climbing the third snow mountain, causing the gap between the groups to widen.

As a result, the number of people falling behind also increased.