After C·L walked into the room, he sat down behind the desk at Netero's signal.
His gaze casually swept across the cracked desk in front of him, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
Interesting.
He wondered what that troublesome chairman—who never played by the rules—had said to that kid to provoke such a strong reaction.
C·L withdrew his gaze under Netero's intrigued eyes and revealed a flawless, polite smile.
"Candidate No. 234."
Netero deliberately emphasized the name, his tone meaningful.
Looking at the young man, he smiled.
"In the previous rounds of the exam, you didn't seem to show much of your strength."
C·L replied calmly.
"I was just lucky to meet reliable teammates."
"Hohoho~"
Netero neither confirmed nor denied C·L's answer and simply responded with a smile.
The words "good luck" were quite subtle—perhaps the ones who were truly lucky weren't C·L himself, but the candidates who hadn't been matched against him.
Getting back to the point, Netero raised his hand and tapped the desk with his finger.
"Among these candidates, is there anyone you don't want to fight, or someone you most want to fight?"
C·L looked at the seven photos. He swept his gaze across them once and then passed over them, slowly saying,
"No."
"If you had to choose?" Netero pressed.
"Then the ones I would rather not fight are these two."
C·L pointed at the photos of Amos and Kite.
"If I had to fight them, it might be a bit troublesome."
"What about Candidate No. 233? You two have been teammates all along, haven't you?"
Netero pointed at the white-haired boy in another photo, a mischievous glint flashing through his eyes as if he enjoyed stirring up trouble.
"As far as I know, that boy's strength is also not to be underestimated. So why are you the only one who doesn't refuse fighting him?"
C·L smiled meaningfully.
"If it's him, I have no problem."
C·L gazed at Netero and said softly,
"As for the reason, you should know. There's no need for me to say more."
"Hohohoho~~"
Netero showed no embarrassment at all from being exposed for asking a question he already knew the answer to. He naturally laughed and changed the topic.
"It seems the newcomers this year are quite interesting—and quite promising as well."
After a pause, he said,
"Thank you. My questions are finished."
C·L nodded and stood up.
He was not surprised in the slightest that the Hunter Association Examination Committee was investigating his identity, nor was he worried about any problems arising from it.
After all, in a certain sense, the identity he was using was completely real. As long as there was no evidence, even if the chairman of the association knew his true identity, he would have no authority to revoke his eligibility for the exam.
However, this chairman truly left no openings. From his expression and tone during the questioning, it was impossible to tell whether that little fellow who had come in before him already knew everything.
The only flaw was probably the crack on the table—an emotional expression unique to Enhancement-type users.
C·L's lips curved slightly.
If he already knew, then missing the expression on his face at that moment was a bit of a pity.
Thinking this, C·L slowly walked out of the room.
In the corridor, Kisho and the companions he had somehow befriended had already left.
C·L withdrew his gaze as well and headed back toward the library.
...
After that, the interviews continued until they were finished.
On the morning of the third day, the airship arrived at its destination—a Hunter Association outpost located outside the Kamburachi Forest.
Under the staff's guidance, the eight candidates disembarked from the airship and gathered in the top-floor hall of the outpost building.
The final round of the Hunter Exam would take place here.
Chairman Netero and all the examiners responsible for this Hunter Exam stood in a row in front of the eight candidates. Beside Netero was a whiteboard covered with a cloth.
"Hohoho, it seems everyone is here."
Netero looked at the group.
"I assume everyone had a good rest over these three days?"
The candidates were speechless.
This ill-natured chairman had deliberately revealed a vague exam format three days in advance, and combined with the aimless interviews, it was obvious he had done it intentionally to keep them on edge.
And he still had the nerve to say they had "rested well"?
Oh, wait. Actually, some people really had rested quite well.
For example, the blond young man carrying a sword.
For example, the black-haired young man still holding a book.
For example, the chestnut-haired brat with an expressionless face—there wasn't the slightest hint of tension on his face. Rather than taking an exam, he looked like he was sightseeing.
However…
For some reason, a certain white-haired brat looked particularly gloomy and listless—as if all the energy had been drained out of him. No one knew what Chairman Netero had said to him.
Netero ignored the candidates' complicated thoughts. Stroking his white beard, he said,
"Hohoho, then let me announce the rules of the final round."
As he spoke, he lifted the cloth covering the whiteboard.
Everyone's gaze fell upon it, and the information displayed immediately captured their full attention.
Then their expressions changed slightly.
Kisho raised his eyelids and saw his own number on the whiteboard placed together with the number of the person he most wanted to stab right now.
His face instantly turned dark.
"What kind of hellish grouping is this?!"
"This is the two-on-two the chairman mentioned? Then what do the marks behind them mean?!"
"Does the chairman mean that only two people will pass in the end?"
The candidates began discussing noisily.
"You're in a group with C·L…"
Amos looked at Kisho and spoke with a complicated expression.
As he said this, he frowned in confusion.
Although the others didn't know C·L's identity and strength, Netero definitely did. This grouping seemed far too unbalanced.
Netero watched the scene with a cheerful smile. Only after the candidates had argued themselves tired did he continue,
"Everyone, you're not mistaken. This is indeed the combat grouping for this Hunter Exam."
"First, based on everyone's overall evaluation and the answers given during the interviews, we arranged two-on-two matches."
"The first two-on-two match will be Candidate No. 233 Noah Barton and Candidate No. 234 C·L versus Candidate No. 74 John and Candidate No. 458 Fizelle."
"The second two-on-two match will be Candidate No. 232 Mire Eros and Candidate No. 140 Togari versus Candidate No. 382 Kite and Candidate No. 621 Zart."
Hearing Netero's grouping, Kisho realized that Amos would be fighting against Kite.
If the final number of people who could pass was only two—
However, before he could say anything to Amos, he heard Netero slowly continue,
"After the first round of two-on-two matches is finished, the second round will begin—one-on-one within each group~"
This also meant that the two people who were teammates in the first round would become deadly enemies deciding each other's fate in the second round.
Thus, whether to hide one's strength in the first two-on-two round became something every person had to carefully consider.
Everyone stared at Netero speechlessly.
Not only the candidates—even the examiners from the previous stages showed helpless expressions.
Just how ill-natured did someone have to be to come up with such a ridiculously nasty exam question?
However, there was one exception.
A certain white-haired boy almost burst out laughing after hearing the rules.
He quickly lowered his head, secretly clenched his fists, and rubbed them together—just waiting to punch someone's head clean off later.
Hmph! Hmph!
"Hohoho~ Only this way can the fairness of the Hunter Exam be demonstrated."
While pretending to explain, Netero casually picked at his ear. Then he flicked his finger and continued,
"Candidates who win two matches will directly obtain Hunter qualification. Candidates who lose two matches will be eliminated immediately."
"As for those with one win and one loss, they will enter a standby group. Through drawing lots, they will begin a third round of round-robin matches. As long as they do not accumulate more than two losses, they will still have a chance to obtain Hunter qualification~"
"Those are the basic grouping rules."
Netero smiled.
"In other words, the pass rate for the eight of you exceeds 50%. Good luck, everyone~"