Seeing the familiar group of four, plus Tonpa, whom Auren knows all about, he looks at Lippo.
"Anything planned for them?" he asks calmly.
"Hehe, yes indeed," Lippo says. "I watched your performances at Battle Olympia and was quite impressed. Though you are not my favorite, to be honest, your lovely student standing behind me is."
"Ugh..." Vanessa blurts out, visibly uncomfortable. "That doesn't sound appealing to me... but I guess I got all kinds of weird fans... just don't go into details, okay?"
"Hehe, you got more special fans than you can even imagine," Lippo replies, licking his lips and eating more cookies. "Anyway. I like all kinds of battles, but it's not the physical confrontation that I like; it's the mental battle and challenge. I've got a little tournament planned for them. Aside from that, I believe the remaining traps and challenges on their majority path are rather fair and easy to get over. They just require time... which is something I believe they'll soon be missing. They only got three days, after all."
I'm still not quite sure what to do... somehow I like those four. I've got the urge to help them. Though I'm not completely aware of their motivations and backstories... I know their eventual fates are not something all too positive. With all the changes I've made... eventually it won't matter, fate and destiny have already changed to a large degree. Should I take a more active approach? The possibilities are endless.
I'm not sure... but just thinking about it won't make me any smarter. I might as well take a closer look... will things happen as I vaguely recall them? The problem is my memory, and my notes are too rough. Still, it's best I take a closer look.
"Tell me the details," Auren asks, his voice stern.
"Hehe... okay, I've selected five prisoners, each unique and talented in their own way," Lippo explains.
Then he explains the five prisoners. Bendot, an ex-military man, probably the most skilled and well-rounded of the five, focused on actual battle and war. Sedokan, a serial bomber with a fascination for bombs, is weak physically. Then there is Majitani, a serial fraudster with a so-called special tattoo & fist combination; Leroute, a gambler who has violated gambling laws and trafficked rare wildlife illegally; and finally Johness, a famous mass murderer.
"I want to take a closer look, and if something happens to one of the five criminals, you can use me as a replacement contestant," Auren says, with a hint of mischief.
"I am not sure I like that; it wouldn't be fair to the examinees," Lippo says. "I also got the feeling you have something special planned."
"Indeed," Auren admits. "But I wouldn't just fail them... I'm probably one of the fairest examiners you'll ever come across. To tell you the truth, they interest me. I won't interfere."
Probably....
"That is true..." Lippo says. "Well, they'll arrive soon... feel free to go there. I also need to look at the others. Do what you want, but don't go and destroy my contest, okay? I'm quite excited about it."
"Do you want us to go with you?" Vanessa asks.
"No," Auren replies. "You can stay. I'll be back soon as well... Lippo, prepare a room and some actual food for us, will you? We'll be stuck here for days, after all."
"This is not a hotel... but fine," Lippo says, glancing towards one of his many subordinates. "One of you, prepare a room for them." He then looks at another subordinate. "Also, lead Hunter Auren to the majority decision stage."
"You can leave... I'll speak with the prisoners and warn them not to touch you," Lippo adds.
Satisfied, Auren follows one of Lippo's men through the dark and moist Trick Tower.
Passing by endless prison cells, it takes them quite a while to make it up to the arena, which is still pretty high up in the tower.
Finally, he arrives in a small room with a couch, a table, and various other common but clean amenities. Overall, it's a decent room to stay in.
This... is a cell... but a comfortable one. I remember... this is the place they'll be forced to stay in once they lose time. How much was it again? I don't remember... but time is essential here. Even a slight delay could cause them to fail.
"This way, Hunter Auren," Lippo's subordinate calls out to him.
Following him, Auren finds himself in a dark corridor, with light ahead of him and five robed people standing in the shadows just before it. All five have shackled hands, are wearing prisoner clothes resembling simple brown robes, as well as hoods. Auren ignores them and confidently walks past them.
Ignoring them, Auren walks up to the light and sees a large square-shaped ring. There are no bridges leading into it, but Auren notices a small mechanism on both sides that can activate an extendable bridge so people can walk across.
"Uhm... you are a Hunter, right? Will you supervise us?" he hears a female voice ask from behind, belonging to a petite, obviously female person.
"You can do whatever you have planned," Auren says. "I'm just spectating... do your best to entertain your twisted warden. I won't interfere."
"Okay," she says, sounding relieved. "Say... why don't you take me out of this place? I heard Hunters can do that... in return... I'll take very good care of you."
Suddenly, she takes off her hood by twisting her body and using the wall as support, to strip off her hood, revealing her voluminous pink twin-tails, as well as her beautiful face.
"You look beautiful, but I'm afraid I'm gonna have to pass. I already picked up a girl from here, and I don't intend to replace her. Wouldn't want to become predictable, right? However, I have a thing for poachers, and you seem to be quite smart... if it wouldn't be such a bother, I'd have considered hiring you," Auren says. "You as well," he adds, glaring at a well-built prisoner wearing the same kind of hood the female prisoner wore earlier.
"What about me?!" another one, even taller and bulkier, with a comical, stupid-sounding voice, asks, walking towards Auren.
"You disgust me with your body odor, and I can't believe you ever fooled anyone with your pathetic act. Please disappear before I accidentally push you down into the void below," Auren says, causing the man to back off immediately, obviously scared.
Finally, Auren senses movement on the other side.
He quickly returns to the shadows, uses Zetsu, and simply watches.
Introducing the contest, the first robed prisoner explains how it works.
"Hey..." the female says to Auren, who is standing at the back, grabbing her hood with her toes. "Can you help me put my hood back on?"
She... sees me? I'm using Zetsu in the dark.
Gambling and poaching... relatively minor crimes....
I've recruited dozens of skilled people from the Hunter Exams... successfully. Some of them are now special Hollow Blade agents and skilled Nen users. According to Rakshala, I've picked up some real elites.
This wouldn't be the craziest thing to do....
"Come with me for a minute," Auren says, dragging her away towards the room from earlier.
"Oh my..." she says. "Have you changed your mind... as long as you bring me out, I'll do anything you want."
"Idiot," Auren says, gently smacking her on top of her head, causing her massive, bushy pink twin-tails to shake.
He then grabs her shackles and tears them apart with ease.
"Huh?!" she yells. "You... you are strong."
"How did you know where I was just earlier...? Normal people... and even skilled people, would have needed to look for me for a long time."
"I just noticed you... in fact, I noticed that you disappeared, which caused me to look a little more carefully. When people are hiding, I like to take a closer look, you see. When I was gambling, I always picked up the smallest of details, leading me to win... and eventually piss off the wrong kinds of people, which landed me here. I have a thing for details, but obviously I missed the bigger, pretty obvious picture. Also, when picking out rare species from the illegal pet market, you need to pay attention to the small details that rich clients or breeders care for."
Auren uses Gyo on her, but sees nothing suspicious.
Just... sharp instincts and a sharp mind. Probably someone useful. I was wrong, for a moment I thought she'd be a genius and a natural Nen user.
"Your age?" Auren asks.
"21," she replies confidently.
"Still quite young..." Auren mutters.
Might be worth troubling myself.
"Well, focus on your task for now... let's say that if you perform decently, I might recruit you. Though... you just need to win a couple of times, and your remaining sentence will be wiped away anyway, so I don't get your urgency."
"Forget it," she says, shaking her head. "You are naive if you think we'll have a fair shot at leaving here anytime soon. At most, we can reduce our sentence by 72 years during this exam. My sentence is 112 years long. If we had a sentence that could reasonably be wiped away in one exam, we wouldn't be chosen again. People who are trapped here usually stay here... and die here. I'd probably be one of the only prisoners who actually has a real shot of leaving this place... as an old woman. After such a long time... that's no longer something worth aiming for. So you see, this little game is useless for us. It's just a desperate hope... and something we desire anyway... but truthfully, this conversation is my one and only shot at freedom."
"I see," Auren says. "It must be quite frustrating."
Makes sense... they just play with the prisoners. Like they would ever let them leave, even if they perform well. They couldn't easily pardon murderers just like that. In fact, they'll just create false hope for them... which will torture and punish them even more.
"Well... anyway, good luck with that little contest of yours, Leroute," Auren says, walking back into the corridor.
Pulling her hood back on, Leroute follows him, her face surprised after hearing her name.
The first round is already over, the prisoners leading 1-0. Currently, Gon is facing Sedokan, both of them holding a candle, Gon's candle burning brightly, while Sedokan's is almost completely gone.
Then, with a grin, Gon places his candle on the ground, rushes over to Sedokan, and blows his out.
"I win!" he says, making a peace sign while grinning widely.
The next prisoner's shackles fall away, and a grotesque man, almost completely bald, nearly toothless, scarred all over his scalp, face, and body, steps forward.
Introducing his kill count, which according to him is 19, the man puts on a big show, trying to appear as dangerous as possible.
On the other side, Kurapika steps forward, completely unbothered and calm.
The two men step up, crossing the bride and entering the fighting stage. The prisoner suggests a death battle, which Kurapika accepts just like that, shocking the man so much that he drops his act for a second.
"No weapons!" he immediately says, realization dawning on him. "We may be taskmasters, but we're still prisoners."
Dropping not only his twin wooden swords, connected together through a rope, but also a few throwing weapons, Kurapika remains unbothered.
Will this amuse me a little? I guess... that's what I wanted to see. His eyes. I better pay close attention.
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