In the Republic of Batokia, Detora Region, there is a dormant volcano surrounded by a forest, known as the Kukuruku Mountain.
Kukuruku Mountain is a famous attraction in this country, not only because of its beautiful natural surroundings but also because it is home to a world-renowned assassin family, the Zoldyck Family.
On this dormant volcano, there is a massive gateway known as the Trial Gate. The gate consists of seven layers, one nested within the other, and each door has a numerical label on top. The weight of each door doubles as you progress, with the smallest first door weighing only 4 tons combined, and the seventh door being a whopping 256 tons.
The Trial Gate does not require a key; anyone who can push it open can pass through. And behind this enormous Trial Gate lies the assassin family, the Zoldyck Family.
"This is the Trial Gate."
On the evening of September 1st, 1980, at 8 o'clock, four black cars arrived at Kukuruku Mountain. In the back seat of the third car, a teenager who appeared to be only fifteen or sixteen years old was gazing intently through the car window at the towering gate ahead.
The teenager was dressed in a dark blue short-sleeved T-shirt, and beneath his black bangs were sky-blue pupils. At this moment, in those eyes, there was not only surprise but also a hint of resignation.
It's not a dream; I really have come to the world of Hunters.
Noah sighed in his heart, not sure how many times he had sighed since waking up suddenly in another world about an hour ago. He had initially wondered if he was having a hallucination, but after seeing his own teenage body in the car's rearview mirror and the Trial Gate before him, Noah finally stopped doubting.
The Trial Gate, the Zoldyck Family.
To someone like Noah, who was relatively up-to-date with famous anime works like "Hunter x Hunter," quickly concluded that he was indeed in the world of Hunters when he heard these two iconic terms.
As for his current identity.
Noah, fifteen years old, from Meteor City, currently on his way to participate in the Zoldyck Family's apprentice butler assessment.
That's the residual memory in his mind.
An apprentice butler, huh?
Perhaps he had forgotten, but Lin Nuo (previous name), or should he call himself Noah now, didn't recall his character in the original fiction. He might have died early, or perhaps he had never appeared.
Thinking about the brutal rules within the assassin family, Noah concluded.
The four cars came to a stable stop in front of the Trial Gate. Noah followed the people in the car and walked out.
Standing in front of this colossal 256-ton gate, Noah felt a tremendous pressure, making it difficult to breathe.
Among those who came to participate in the apprentice butler assessment of the Zoldyck Family, including Noah, there were a total of eight people, all from Meteor City.
After getting off the car, the drivers of the four cars turned around without hesitation and drove away.
"Oh, you must be the ones here for the butler assessment. Please come this way."
At this moment, an old man in a security uniform with a Mediterranean hairstyle and a prominent black mole on his nose leaned out of the security room next to the Trial Gate and waved towards them, signaling them to come over.
Oh, it's him.
Noah had some impression of this old man; he was one of the security guards who helped Gon enter the Trial Gate.
His name was something like Zebro if Noah remembered correctly.
Thinking in his mind, Noah walked over with the others to the security room.
"Welcome, everyone. Please enter through the main gate," Zebro extended his hand and pointed to the Trial Gate on the side. Then, he held up two fingers.
"Push open the second gate, and that will be your first test."
Is this for real?
Noah subconsciously looked at the Trial Gate.
What's this? The second gate? It weighs 8 tons!
Just as Noah was silently complaining in his mind, one of the eight people, without a word, walked towards the Trial Gate and placed his hands on the two gate panels.
Noah felt his eye twitch as he stared at the scene.
"Hyah!"
This tall and skinny man, who looked no different from an ordinary office worker before Noah crossed over, shouted lowly, and he immediately saw thick veins bulging on the man's arms, indicating that he was exerting his full strength.
Boom!
Two seconds later, a deep sound reached the ears of everyone present.
The door marked 'II,' weighing a whopping 8 tons, was slowly opening under the man's push. The man stepped forward and pushed the second Trial Gate open bit by bit, then walked in without looking back.
Boom!
A few seconds later, the gap that could only accommodate one person closed slowly again.
He actually pushed it open.
Noah's pupils constricted, and he sighed in amazement. He looked at the others and found that, except for him, the remaining six people had no expression on their faces, as if they felt no pressure at all.
Although Noah knew that people in the Hunter world had exceptionally high basic physical fitness, pushing open a Trial Gate was not impossible.
However, as a normal person who had just crossed over less than an hour ago, when he saw someone casually push open an 8-ton heavy door with their bare hands, he couldn't help but be deeply shocked.
Can I do it too?
He looked down at his own hands, feeling the power surging inside him, and Noah felt a bit excited.
With the demonstration of the first person, the others also eagerly stepped forward.
"Hyah!"
"Ha!"
"Oh oh oh oh!"
Boom!
…
The second Trial Gate opened and closed before Noah's eyes. In the end, apart from Noah, the other seven people had all gone to the other side of the Trial Gate, leaving a vast empty space in front, with only Noah and Zebro, who had been watching the commotion.
"Well, here goes nothing!"
"Come on, young man," Zebro encouraged from the side.
Noah turned his head and gave Zebro a slightly bitter smile.
His hands were placed on the steel door panel. Due to the efforts of the seven people in front of him, the door panel was not as cold as Noah had imagined. Instead, it felt somewhat warm.
"Exhale."
Taking a deep breath, Noah fixed his gaze, concentrating all his strength in his arms, and pushed forward with all his might!
Rumbling!
The expected difficulty did not occur. The trial gate in front of him was easily pushed open by Noah!
Withdrawing his hands, Noah looked at the trial gates on both sides, then at his own hands, his face filled with disbelief.
Did he just push it open? So easily? Does this door really weigh eight tons?
It seems that his body is not weak…
"Hurry up and go in, young man," Zebro's voice came from behind.
Noah snapped out of it, turned around, smiled at Zebro, and then turned and stepped into the darkness ahead.
Looking at the trial gate closing once again with a rumble, Zebro smiled and walked back to the guard room.