Chapter 27: The Ruthless Experience-Grinding Machine
"Hahahaha."
"Really, this just kills my motivation."
"Did you hear that? She said she's a Gourmet Hunter."
...
Menchi's words provoked a wave of laughter among the examinees.
Because this was completely different from their impression of hunters; perhaps in their eyes, Menchi was just a high-end chef, and they instinctively looked down on her.
What idiots.
Mord couldn't stand it any longer and asked, "So, Miss Menchi, what kind of dish are we supposed to make?"
"Buhara."
Menchi glanced at Mord, then turned and stepped aside.
Boom!
A loud noise.
Behind Menchi, Buhara stood up abruptly, and even this simple action seemed to make the ground tremble.
"The designated ingredient is pork," Buhara's silly voice rang out.
"Pork? You mean that kind of pig?" a candidate asked upon hearing Buhara's words.
Because, in their view, this test was far too ordinary.
"As long as it's a pig living in this Visca Forest, you can use any breed and the cooking tools here to prepare a pork dish," Buhara nodded and continued, "If both of us say it's delicious, you pass."
Menchi added from the side, "Although the requirement is that it tastes good, flavor alone isn't enough. Don't underestimate cooking, understand?"
"The exam ends when both of us are full."
"Then let the exam begin!"
The moment the words fell, Buhara slapped his large belly with force, releasing a drum-like sound.
With the sound of the drum,
The candidates swarmed into Visca Forest like a hive of bees, each vying to be first, afraid that falling behind would affect their assessment.
Buhara had just said that the exam would end when the two of them were full.
To them, Buhara seemed manageable—his build clearly indicated a big eater. But Menchi, being such a petite girl, no matter how much she could eat, how much could she really consume?
Thus, in their eyes, this exam was a race against time.
Inside the venue,
Watching the candidates depart, Menchi curled the corners of her lips into a faint smile. "You said they could choose any type of pig? You really are a nasty one, Buhara."
"Isn't there only one type of pig living in Visca Forest?"
Buhara chuckled foolishly. "We agreed earlier that I'd be in charge of selecting the ingredients."
Menchi spoke up, "I just hope they don't lose their lives."
...
The candidates had initially thought it would be difficult to find pigs in the vast forest, but this turned out to be an unnecessary worry.
Because these pigs didn't need to be sought out.
Once they caught the scent of human flesh, they would come directly to them.
The Great Stamp is the most ferocious pig in the world.
With a body as large as an elephant and astonishing speed when running, the most terrifying part is its massive nose, hard as steel. Those lacking in strength would instead become prey for the Great Stamp.
A few candidates, unaware of the Great Stamp's nature, were sent flying by its charge, crashing heavily onto distant boulders, severely injured and collapsed.
What followed was their nightmare.
A group of Great Stamps surrounded them and began devouring their fresh flesh.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Piercing screams echoed through the skies above Visca Forest.
While observing the movements of the Great Stamps, Mord glanced at his character attribute panel. The experience value for his Zanpakutō, "Gonryōmaru," had stopped increasing—it seemed the fire in the Trick Tower wetlands had been extinguished by the Hunter Association.
He wondered if these Great Stamps could similarly provide energy for his Zanpakutō.
Boom!
A loud noise came from nearby.
It was Candidate No. 255, the agile wrestler Todo, who had confronted the examiner earlier. He lifted a massive boulder and hurled it at a Great Stamp.
The boulder was shattered by the Great Stamp, which continued charging toward Todo without slowing down. Todo could only dodge awkwardly.
The other candidates faced similar situations.
Mord, familiar with the original storyline, knew the weakness of the Great Stamp very well.
And this weakness would soon be discovered by Gon as well.
So Mord had no intention of keeping it to himself.
Facing a Great Stamp charging furiously toward him, Mord leaped lightly, dodging its attack, and drove his Zanpakutō directly into its forehead.
That's right—the Rhino-nosed Pig's weakness is its forehead.
It evolved the hardest nose in the world precisely to protect its vulnerable forehead.
A pained cry echoed.
The one-to-two-ton body crashed to the ground, completely devoid of life.
Then Mord saw an imperceptible glow emerge from the Great Stamp's nose, which was absorbed by his Zanpakutō. The sturdy pig nose silently softened.
[Enhancement System Energy +5]
It worked!
Mord's eyes lit up.
And the energy gained was substantial.
Mord planned to replicate this method and hunt extensively in Visca Forest. As for the exam—to hell with it. Grinding for experience was the real priority.
Familiar with the original plot, he knew that no matter how hard one tried, it was impossible to pass this stage of the assessment.
In the entire human world, there were likely only a handful of chefs capable of creating a dish that would satisfy Menchi.
How could amateurs like them, who weren't even proper chefs, possibly achieve it?
Mord thought to himself that when the time came, he would just grab a random pig, roast it for Buhara to eat, and go through the motions to complete the task.
[Enhancement-Type Energy +5]
[Enhancement-Type Energy +5]
...
Mord hunted several more Great Stamps in succession.
By now, the other examinees had also noticed the weakness of the Great Stamps and began displaying their own skills, easily subduing them.
Then they hastily carried the Great Stamps and rushed back to the examination venue.
Inside the venue.
Watching the examinees swarming in with Great Stamps on their shoulders, Buhara revealed a smile, drool trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"What a bountiful harvest."
The examinees each found a spot, set down their Great Stamps, lit large fires, and began rotating the entire pigs on massive roasting spits.
At this moment, apart from those who had already been eliminated,
Only Mord remained in the forest, still engaging with those adorable piggies.
Satotz, who was hiding in the shadows observing the proceedings due to concerns about Menchi's unpredictability in the second phase, nodded at the examinees' performance, thinking to himself, "This year's examinees are truly outstanding."
Then he turned his gaze to the other side of the forest, his brow furrowing tightly.
He simply couldn't understand why Examinee 321 was still hunting Great Stamps. What kind of dish could possibly require so many Great Stamps?
Roasting a whole pig typically takes over an hour, and that's for regular pigs. For creatures as massive as Great Stamps, the required time would be even longer.
While estimating the time, Mord mercilessly killed another Great Stamp charging toward him.
----------
For advance chapters join my Patreon.
[email protected]/Aarvan