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

They may not know how to cook, but they can steal!

Lynn and Menchi tacitly approved of this.

The most important thing about Gourmet Hunter is the word "Hunter" at the end, and what best represents a "Hunter" is strength.

People can have aspirations, but the prerequisite is having the corresponding ability.

Otherwise, one cannot become a "hunter," but rather "prey" in the eyes of others. In the extraordinary world, strength is the only true measure of success.

Soon after, a bizarre scene unfolded in the park.

Some people were busy cooking food while also being wary of other test takers, while others were eyeing others covetously, seemingly considering who would be the easiest targets, and some had even already started making their moves.

The whole park was in complete chaos, with all sorts of things mixed together.

Perhaps because they knew that Lynn had a good relationship with Leorio and the others, not many people were foolish enough to target Leorio's team. This idea actually saved their lives.

Leaving aside Leorio, who is now a Nen user and has been fully enhanced, the other three are not to be trifled with either.

Killua, born into the Zoldyck family and a master of assassination techniques, Gon, a beast who inherited the excellent genes of the Freecss family, and Kurapika, who trains relentlessly every day to avenge the Phantom Troupe.

With these three on the field, apart from Hisoka, no one else can defeat them.

Finally, two hours flew by.

"Time's up!"

"Now no one is allowed to cook anymore, nor can they steal other people's food. Everyone should bring their dishes up one by one."

Lynn and Menchi sat on the sofa, transforming into food critics.

Well... all I can say is that the overall level is really not impressive.

The roasted whole pig in the original work also shows the cooking skills of these candidates. Being able to cook food properly, without making it too raw or too cooked, is already quite difficult.

As expected, Menchi became temperamental upon seeing the dishes, and her previously upturned lips immediately turned down.

The main reason is that she had just tasted Erina's delicious food, and it would be hard for her to accept eating food that was below average now.

The contrast was like falling from heaven to hell. If Lynn hadn't been there and kept her relatively reserved, she would have been consumed by rage.

Even so, she found it hard to go against her heart, and except for the dishes prepared by a few teams, she marked all the others with an "X".

In contrast, Lynn seemed more humane.

As long as it's not too extreme, he'll approve it directly.

Suddenly, the test-takers were actually grateful to Lynn. This wasn't some kind of favor; he was clearly there to save them!

Given the difficulty level of Menchi, very few people could qualify. However, Lynn was more lenient, allowing many people to successfully advance to the next round, so they stopped resisting.

Ultimately, 46 people passed the second exam.

This number falls within a reasonable range.

Before long, the airship arrived above the venue, with the Hunter Association's logo printed on both sides.

This is an airship belonging to the Hunter Association's review committee.

Once the airship landed, the candidates and examiners boarded it.

This also marks the perfect end to the first day of the Hunter Exam.

The candidates all went aboard the airship to rest for the night, and the next morning they would face their third exam.

In just the first day of the two exams, the number of candidates who had crossed the narrow bridge from thousands of applicants to reach the main venue dropped from 439 to 46!

at night.

Everyone was resting in their rooms, enjoying this hard-won leisure time, except for Lynn, who went to see someone.

An old man.

……

The rest area on the airship.

"Hehehe, this is our second meeting, isn't it, Lynn?"

With an air of otherworldly wisdom, Netero sat on the leather sofa, gently picked up a cup of tea from the table, and slowly began to speak.

"Yes, the last time we met was at the food competition six months ago."

Lynn sat directly opposite Netero, scrutinizing him closely.

Netero was wearing a custom-made robe, with an overall blue and white color scheme, which was probably his most common attire.

In the original work, Chairman Netero only showed three different outfits, one of which was the ordinary clothes he was wearing now, which was also the most common.

The second type is a regular sports T-shirt, used for moving around. The last type, and the most special one, is the "heart" T-shirt.

Even among Nen users, there are legends surrounding this outfit. It is said that Chairman Netero would wear this outfit when he held absolute faith.

It's a legend because almost no one has actually witnessed it, since Chairman Netero is from the last century.

After becoming the president of the Hunter Association, he rarely had the opportunity to fight in public.

Perhaps some of Chairman Netero's contemporaries, such as Gourmet Hunter Lin Nie, had seen the chairman wearing the "heart" T-shirt.

Tonight's meeting was triggered by the Bean Man approaching him, and he only just learned that Netero was also on this ship.

And it seems they were targeting him.

And that's how this meeting between the old man and the young man came about.

“Yes, time really flies,” Netero remarked with a touch of melancholy. “In the blink of an eye, another six months have passed.”

"I'm getting old and have one foot in the grave."

"Grandpa, you're too kind. You're the strongest in the world." Lynn shook his head slightly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Netero's joke. Don't let the old man's constant talk of being old fool you; in a real fight, he's still one of the strongest in the six continents.

“The strongest in the world, that was half a century ago.” Netero stroked his hooked beard. “I probably don’t even have half the strength I had at my peak now.”

"I am no longer the strongest in the world."

"Time is passing, and I will only get weaker. There will always be successors who will surpass me. Young talents should not be underestimated."

“Even… right now, the one in front of me is a monster,” Netero said blatantly.

Lynn casually took a sip of tea, his expression indifferent, as if Netero wasn't referring to him at all.

Seeing this, Netero stopped beating around the bush and got straight to the point: "Your affairs have been told to me by Bisge, Gal, and Kangzai. You are a powerful exorcist, exactly the kind of talent the association needs."

"I don't need to bring up the invitation to join again; your presence here speaks volumes. But I would like to hire you as a professional exorcist for the association."

"There's a base salary every month, the work you'll be assigned will be absolutely within your budget, you have complete freedom and the right to choose, there will be additional rewards if you succeed, and the association will also do its best to ensure your safety... What do you think?"

Netero's eyes gleamed. Making Lynn a professional exorcist for the association was one of the things he had asked Lynn to do tonight.

Of course, this isn't about binding him to the association, but simply providing another avenue so that Lynn can consider the Hunter Association when taking on Nen removal jobs.

Exorcists are rare, and skilled exorcists are even rarer.

The value of Lynn's possessions is naturally immeasurable.

Therefore, it is absolutely worthwhile for him to personally extend an olive branch and discuss this matter.

Lynn was not surprised by this; she had more or less guessed that Netero would say these things.

In the past, he wasn't strong enough, so even with such an extraordinary ability as the Exorcism skill, he had to be careful, lest he be caught with a hidden treasure. Even the Hunter Association wasn't entirely trustworthy.

Now that he has enough strength as a backing to support him in demonstrating his value, he naturally has no reason to miss out on such a good thing that kills two birds with one stone.

It can both make money and provide Death Thought to help Gengar grow.

“Okay, I accept.” Lynn’s reply reassured Netero, meaning the association now had another powerful exorcist!

“Alright, then I’d like to thank you in advance for your contributions to the association.” Netero smiled, a hint of fighting spirit flashing in his eyes, before adding, “I have a second matter to discuss with you today.”

"Would you be interested in sparring with this old man?"

Chapter 133 A-Rank Hyōrinmaru! Unpredictable!

Who is Netero?

An ultimate martial artist, who spent his entire life pursuing the so-called martial way.

When he was young, he set a goal to punch 10,000 times a day with full concentration, and he has kept it up to this day. He went from being exhausted after a whole day to being able to complete it in less than an hour.

The reward for such hard work is that extreme punching speed and impressive power!

In his youth, he had already defeated all the martial arts styles in the world, and later became known as the world's strongest!

Until he became the president of the Hunter Association and trained senior Nen users such as Bisge, the Mind Source School became famous all over the world and was crowned as the strongest school.

Time waits for no one, that's certainly true, but it depends on what you're comparing it to.

Even though Netero's strength has declined considerably and he can no longer be called the "world's strongest," he is still at the very top of the pyramid of Nen users across the six continents.

And it was this very person who extended an invitation to him to spar!

Anyone else would probably think Netero was joking, but Lynn definitely saw a fighting spirit in Netero's eyes... He was serious!

Perfect timing! He also wanted to try his hand at fighting Netero!

Anyone who values ​​strength would find it hard to resist a contest against this so-called "world's strongest".

Seeing this, Lynn's gaze sharpened, showing no fear whatsoever, but rather a hint of interest: "Good, to be able to spar with the world's strongest, this is a rare opportunity."

"Hehehe, I feel the same way." Netero smiled, finally able to spar with Lynn. He then said, "It's inconvenient on the airship, let's do it in a couple of days."

"Even if I give it to you, I'll give this old man some time to prepare."

“By the way, because someone caused a huge explosion at the military base last year, I have to give you an advance notice,” Netero said quietly. “Hopefully there won’t be another explosion this year, otherwise the association will have to bear a lot of pressure.”

"Ahem." Lynn coughed twice, his face expressionless. "I don't think there will be any explosions this year."

“I hope so,” Netero said, raising an eyebrow with a chuckle.

After a brief chat, Lynn went back to her room.

Not long after Lynn left, Chairman Netero also left the room. He needed to vent his pent-up fighting spirit, so he decided to find two kids to play volleyball.

Back in the room, wait until after midnight.

After drawing a very lucky number from the [Fortune-telling Tissue], Lynn began the exciting monthly card-drawing session.

First, there's the gacha system in the Onmyoji Guild.

【Name: Dove】

[Rank: B]

[Type: Character Card]

[Background: Onmyoji]

[Description: A monster transformed from a poisonous bird, with bright green feathers that make it very conspicuous, seemingly reminding people of its danger. It is extremely skilled at making poisons, able to create the deadly poisons and antidotes it needs by tasting various toxins.]

Not bad, I got a B-grade character card.

In Onmyoji, Kujira is an SR-level shikigami, just like Yuki Onna. However, one is skilled in ice and snow, while the other is skilled in making poison.

Poison has great potential in the Hunter world; even the Chimera Ant King can be poisoned to death. He once considered recruiting Gal, as a talent like her is truly rare. However, it's not as necessary now, and Dove is also a good choice.

Not only can the dove be used to make poison, but it can also be used to make antidotes, which shows that it is very practical.

Lynn then started drawing cards from her Yu-Gi-Oh! deck.

My luck was a bit off this time, but it's still a B- rank character card, so it's not bad.

Coincidentally, he had a B-rank card contributed by Illumi, which, like the character card from before, was related to swords, perfect for [fusion].

In an instant, a familiar vortex appeared before me.

The two cards surged in the vortex, eventually merging into one card, which shone brightly.

This is a sign that an A-grade card has been issued!

[Name: Hyōrinmaru]

[Grade: A-]