Clack.
Law popped open the tab of his canned drink and tilted his head back, finishing it in just a few gulps.
With the laxative components removed, the drink had reverted to an ordinary drink. And even if the laxative component had not been extracted, Law would still be fine if he drank it.
In his previous life, the fruit he consumed gave him a unique constitution, making him immune to all poisons and negative effects like those caused by laxatives.
Law discovered this immunity after being bitten by a venomous snake. Afterwards, for safety reasons, he did not dare to test the upper limit of his resistance to venom easily. But if it was just a strong laxative, it would not be a big deal.
After finishing the drink, Law casually disassembled the metal can into particles and scattered them on the ground covered with rotten leaves and vines.
"Law, do you think Tonpa will miss the test because of this?" Buhara also drank the drink in a few gulps before discarding the can.
Law replied indifferently: "This is his own choice."
"Oh." Buhara responded, then took out the dried meat from the package and started chewing on it.
Law glanced back toward where they'd come from. The massive dose of laxatives he'd injected into Tonpa's body might not be lethal, but whether it would kill him or not was uncertain. Regardless, if Tonpa did die, Law would know immediately.
It's because when the laxative was injected into Tonpa's body, Tonpa's name had already been recorded in the book, so Law would be able to sense it as soon as he died.
At present, the book contained 648 pages, though its thickness remained unchanged. Only after opening it that the boundless space within revealed.
Out of 648 pages, 73 pages have been used, with 69 blackened and 4 still active. Among the unblackened pages were Hisoka, Vogt, a slum virus patient, and Tonpa.
As Law walked through the dim, silent forest, he wondered if Tonpa was already suffering the effects of the laxatives. He didn't know what would happen next, but he knew Tonpa would definitely withdraw from the Hunter Exam early this year.
'Then, if possible, see you next year.'
Law thought silently in his heart, and then quickened his pace.
This year's Hunter Exam is the most tragic nightmare in Tonpa's life, and it may continue for several more years.
…
As the two walked a certain distance in the dense forest, the scenery around them seemed to have not changed at all, but in fact, there are subtle differences.
With Buhara accompanying him, Law was not lonely.
On the way to the exam's location, they could see a lot of blood, but no bodies.
They encountered a bud-shaped carnivorous plant, from which Law dug out a lot of pale bone fragments. They also encountered a three-meter-long black cheetah with long fang, which was knocked to the ground by Buhara's punch. They also encountered a snail-mouthed worm, which was crushed to pieces by Law's foot.
Compared to the bud-shaped carnivorous plant and the black cheetah, the snail-mouthed worm is harder to guard against. It breaks out of the ground and can use its serrated, spiral-shaped maw to grind their prey into minced meat in an instant. Its mouth was also wide enough to swallow an adult human whole.
What we saw along the way were traces of examinees losing their lives, as they were killed many creatures that came to attack them.
Due to the inconsistent departure time points and the considerable time wasted on the way, Law couldn't save these people even if he wanted to.
Creatures like the Rotting Spider with the cooking instinct are not common, and other creatures basically will not preserve their prey's lives.
Realizing that he couldn't save anyone, Law sped up. Naturally, they encountered many creatures along the way and ended up killing them.
Law had hoped to encounter creatures with B-level ingredients like the Hand-Hand Bear and Butterfly-Patterned Python, but it would not be so easy to encounter them, as most of the creatures are E-level ingredients.
During the several hours' journey, Buhara had chewed through nearly all the dried meat they'd brought from Amaromi Village as snacks.
Left with no choice, Law picked out a huge wild boar with skin as hard as granite from the many attacking creatures, and asked Buhara to carry it as a backup food source.
After all, among all the available options, only the wild boar's meat is more appetizing, and wild boars are not something they can encounter whenever they want.
…
The two walked until dusk, and after they walked out of the dense forest, they came to the open land. The first thing that caught their eyes was a red rock mountain.
The area near the mountain was barren, with solid red ground stretching outwards. No trees or vegetation grew in the vicinity.
Looking down from above, the mountain resembled a bald scar, a wound on the earth. Its smooth, rounded peak gave the impression of a swollen lump.
The red rock mountain is about a thousand meters high, resembling a massive, circular pudding. Its summit and walls were polished smooth, with no discernible outcrops or ledges.
The mountain's name matched its appearance, as it is called Red Pudding Mountain.
The Amaromi River flowed through a hollow at the base of Red Pudding Mountain, like a train passing through a tunnel. It emerged on the other side of the rocky structure, continuing its course into the distance.
According to the hints provided, this was the end of the path, so this is the location of this year's Hunter Exam.
Of course, this conclusion can be drawn because quite a few people have gathered on the red terrain under the rock mountain.
As Law and Buhara emerged from the forest, all eyes turned toward them.
To be precise, they were looking at the huge wild boar that Buhara was carrying on his back. The boar was seven or eight times bigger than Buhara. So their entrance was undeniably attention-grabbing.
A quick estimate revealed around 800 people had already gathered. Even if they are standing scattered, they only occupy about one-tenth of the area of the red expanse.
Among so many people, a burly man wearing short-sleeved shirt and boxer shorts was particularly conspicuous. He observed Law and Buhara with a sharp gaze, but didn't seem particularly interested in the enormous boar.
However, when his gaze landed on Law, his eyes suddenly focused.
This man was the examiner for the first stage of the exam, and also the man who stood on the top of Red Pudding Mountain before. His name is Dafifi. (T/N: His name, Da Feifei, translated as Big Baboon, but since it's too strange, I use Dafifi instead.)
Dafifi usually wouldn't bother using Gyo to closely observe incoming examinees, but after witnessing the spider crab being taken down from the top of Red Pudding Mountain earlier, he decided to take a closer look at the candidates.
There were 821 people at the scene in total, and Dafifi saw 11 of them who had a basic understanding of Nen. Now, there was one more guy who looked quite strong, and that was Law.
By observing the stability and density of someone's Ten, an examiner like Dafifi could judge whether a Nen User was qualified. In Dafifi's opinion, among the 821 people gathered here, only 12 knew Nen, and Law was the only one above the standard.
'Could it be him?'
Dafifi thought silently and then withdrew his gaze from Law.
The first stage of the exam would officially begin at noon the next day, January 7th. With over half a day left, 821 examinees had already arrived. Dafifi estimated this number would at least double by tomorrow.
'I'll need to eliminate at least 70% of them.'
Dafifi mused, stroking his chin. Depending on the final number of examinees, he considered raising the difficulty of the test to weed out the majority.
At this time, Law and Buhara found a place to sit down and take a rest, and dropped the wild boar's carcass beside them.
They thought they were still some distance away from the exam's location, but unexpectedly, they suddenly arrived just after coming out of the dense forest.
Law quietly scanned the examinees present and focused his Aura in his eyes, trying to see how many Nen Users there were among so many people.
It didn't take long for him to notice Dafifi. After all, the man's sheer presence was overwhelming, whether it was his rock-hard muscles or his short-sleeved boxer shorts, it was as if the words 'I am the examiner' were written on his body.
With so many people gathered in one place, split in groups of two or three, the noise was quite loud.
The sun was about to set, and the sky was dyed the color of flames.
Dafifi looked up at the sky and suddenly said, "The first test will start at 12 noon tomorrow. Until then, no food or lodging will be provided."
His deep voice instantly overwhelmed all other sounds present, and also silenced the crowd instantly.
No food or lodging will be provided...!
That meant, the examinees would have to spend the night here and fend for themselves for meals.
With nightfall approaching, some examinees began to wonder if they'd need to return to the forest to hunt?
Almost instinctively, everyone's gaze shifted to Law and Buhara. More precisely, to the massive wild boar lying next to them.
'I didn't mean for this to happen.'
Dafifi looked up at the sky as night crept in.