Upon hearing Harriman's words, most of the examinees breathed a sigh of relief.
The examinees who reached the summit faster are actually doing fine and have been resting for quite some time now.
While examinees who had just reached the summit are still exhausted, and just want to take a rest and regain their energy before the start of the second test.
All in all, they felt a lot more relaxed after completing the first test.
"Then-"
Harriman said seriously: "The second test will begin in five minutes."
"!!" As soon as these words came out, it immediately caused an uproar among the examinees.
"What's the meaning of this!?"
"The first test has just ended and the test would start immediately?"
"And it's six hours of mountain climbing, without any time for rest?!"
The examinees, who had only been able to relax for a few seconds, were now tense.
Harriman ignored the objections of the examinees and declared:
"The content of the second test is to descend the mountain within three hours. If you can reach the foot of the mountain within the time limit, you will be deemed to have passed the second test."
"!!!"
Listening to the contents of the second test, the venue was suddenly so quiet that only the sound of the howling wind was left.
"Those who have any objections can be deemed to have given up their qualifications to participate in the second test."
Harriman's next words directly silenced the opposition that was about to erupt among the examinees.
Should they give up directly or bite the bullet and start the second test?
The examinees, who had finally completed the first test, would not choose the latter option.
Moses looked at Harriman, who had just announced the test.
'The first test is to climb to the summit, and the second test is to go down the mountain.'
'So those who climb to the summit early will have plenty of time to rest from the beginning.'
'But those who barely made it to the summit, due to the lack of sufficient rest time, were likely to be eliminated during the descent in the second stage.'
'The two phases of the exam can be said to thoroughly test the physical fitness of the examinees.'
Then—
With one minute left until the start of the second test, Harriman took out a red balloon and blew it in front of everyone.
Soon, a balloon the size of a football appeared in Harriman's hand.
With everyone watching, Harriman casually threw the balloon into the air.
The howling mountain wind carried the red balloon in the opposite direction in an instant.
"Well, please descend from this direction."
Harriman immediately pointed in the opposite direction, announcing the direction of descent.
The examinees did not have any chance to comment because the second test had already begun.
"Bastard examiner…"
The examinees could only curse Harriman in their hearts as they started to move towards the foot of the mountain.
This time, Moses didn't rush ahead but sat in front of the fire, accepting the hot soup handed to him by Menchi.
"Ah…"
Just after one sip, he felt warmth spreading throughout his body.
Being able to drink such a bowl of hot soup that combines Nen and 'superior cooking skills' in such a cold place, Moses felt what true happiness meant.
'It seems that Menchi's 'ability theme' has been completely formed.'
Moses finished the hot soup in a few seconds, then thought to himself:
'Although it is a non-combat ability, she can improve her combat power by learning and mastering the Nen bullets in the future.'
Compared to simply offensive Emission-type abilities, Moses felt that Menchi's ability was even more precious.
As the examinees began to descend one by one, they saw Moses sitting by the fire drinking hot soup, and they all felt complicated emotions.
While they were worried about whether they could safely reach the foot of the mountain, the other party seemed to be leisurely enjoying a mountain climbing trip with a beautiful girl by his side, showcasing outstanding abilities...
'What a winner in life!'
'There is really no harm without comparison.'
Adhering to the principle of 'out of sight, out of mind', these examinees, with complex emotions, hastened their pace down the mountain.
After a while, only Moses and Menchi remained at the summit.
"No rush, three hours is quite ample time."
Moses said with a smile when he saw Menchi quickly packing up.
"Um."
Menchi nodded.
It's not that she is in a hurry to pack up, but she is the type who pursues efficiency.
A few minutes later, Menchi finished packing their things.
Seeing this, Moses stood up.
"Let's go."
Looking towards the direction where the examinees were descending, Moses said softly.
While training was important, so was resting.
The next test still needs to be taken seriously.
Moses led the way, with Menchi following closely behind.
Being able to maintain a relatively good condition after more than five hours of training indicated their growth over the past year.
Moses and Menchi descended along the cliff.
On the way, they saw a lot of other examinees walking very carefully.
In a sense, the 'descent' at this moment was even more difficult than the initial 'ascent'.
But for Moses and Menchi, it is still a trivial matter.
Despite this, the two of them descended the mountain slowly.
As for the reason—
It is because Menchi is collecting ingredients.
On this route to the foot of the mountain, there was a type of white fruit growing near the rocks.
In order to collect such wild fruits, she naturally slowed down her descent from the mountain.
There is also a slight deviation in the direction of the route.
However, it didn't have much impact.
Moses accompanied Menchi in gathering various ingredients along the way.
Menchi was excited as if she had found a treasure trove.
The Gourmet Hunter's pursuit and curiosity about unknown ingredients are really vividly reflected in Menchi.
From the perspective of others, how can they imagine that Menchi in this state would have a fierce side?
"Your backpack is almost full, that should be enough."
Moses looked at the round and bulging backpack on Menchi's back.
Upon hearing this, Menchi showed a big smile, but still seemed a little unsatisfied.
Because no Gourmet Hunter can resist the temptation of collecting high-quality ingredients.
Moses chuckled and shook his head, leading the way.
"Hmm?"
While passing through a protruding rock formation, Moses, who is very sensitive to Post-Mortem Nen, suddenly sensed a faint presence.
'This place…?'
Moses's eyes moved and he looked at a trapezoid-shaped boulder on the slope.
Surrounding this trapezoid-shaped boulder, there are seven or eight large and small rocks.
The faint presence of Post-Mortem Nen originated from this pile of rocks.
"Master, what's wrong?"
Seeing Moses suddenly stop moving halfway, Menchi asked in doubt.
"There's something wrong here."
Moses walked up to the trapezoid-shaped boulder.
As the distance gets closer, the existence of that faint presence becomes more and more obvious.
Even so, Moses didn't feel threatened, indicating that the strength of this Post-Mortem Nen was quite ordinary.
What he was more curious about was what was under these scattered rocks.