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Menchi, her voice laced with boredom from hours of announcing matches, calls out the next one: "Examinee No. 777, Alex Kerber, versus Examinee No. 151, Gihi Latur."

Alex walks toward the designated cage but sees no sign of his opponent.

"Where is Examinee No. 151? Move your ass or lose by default—I don't have all day," Menchi snaps.

A referee nearby steps in to explain. "Menchi, I had to knock out No. 151. He attacked me after losing his match. He's disqualified."

Menchi shrugs, glancing back at Alex. "Looks like you're in luck, huh?" She gestures toward the referee overseeing the match. "Just give him his ticket and let's move on… Next match: Examinee…" She drones on, already focused on the next fight.

Alex grins as he receives his second ticket, thankful for the free win. This went even better than expected. Two tickets already, and one is enough to pass. Even if I'm up against someone like Palm or Shalnark next, I can just surrender and still walk away with a solid 2-out-of-3 record. No need to take unnecessary risks or get hurt and jeopardize the next task.

He spots Eirini and Patricia in the distance, losing their second and third matches but still safe thanks to their earlier wins. Suddenly, his attention shifts to Emma. She's lost two matches in a row and looks battered and frustrated, her hands trembling in anger.

She'll be fine, Alex thinks, deciding to ignore her. Even if she loses all her matches, the worst that'll happen is a few lost stat points. Considering she just bought her way this far, she should be grateful.

Time drags on as Alex waits for his final match. Nearly everyone else has finished, and the tedium is starting to set in. Even Shalnark, who fought his first match after Alex, returns holding three cards.

"Finally done," Shalnark says, his tone casual but tinged with fatigue. "This is getting a bit tedious, don't you think?"

Alex smirks. "Yeah, I guess if you're way stronger than everyone else, 'tedious' is the right word. By the way, do you have any idea what these cards do? They just look like blank white cards to me. I obviously don't have the hardware or software to check their data."

Shalnark chuckles. "We'll find out soon enough. Only a few matches left. By the way, you still have one fight left, right? Better get ready."

"Guess you're right," Alex says, rising to his feet. He heads toward Menchi, preparing himself for the next fight.

"Examinee No. 777, Alex Kerber, versus Examinee No. 865, Emma Kramer," Menchi announces, her irritation evident. "Hurry it up, you two—it's been hours already…" she urges, rubbing her temple.

Alex walks toward the cage and, to his surprise, spots Emma waiting for him. She looks desperate, her expression bordering on panic as she pleads, "Please let me win! I haven't won a single time! Please, do this for me!"

Alex shakes his head, thinking, Forget it. I need every advantage I can get, and continues walking.

Visibly annoyed, Emma's face twists with hatred as she screams, "YOU EGOTISTICAL SWINE! FINE, TURN AROUND ALREADY! I'LL MAKE YOU A DEAL, YOU GREEDY BASTARD!"

Alex stops, turning slowly, both bemused and cautious. He considers the sheer absurdity of her outburst, wondering, What the hell is wrong with this woman? Should I laugh or keep my distance from this lunatic? "What the fuck is wrong with you?" he finally snaps. "You're so unbelievably entitled!"

"Let me win, and I'll give you three pieces of green equipment! Hurry up and decide!" she shouts, trying to sound persuasive.

"Forget it," Alex replies bluntly. "Five green pieces or one blue piece—and a bit extra on top."

"Fine, okay, deal! Just let me win now, alright?" Emma relents.

Before Alex can respond, Menchi's exasperated voice cuts through the air. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?! GET INSIDE, OR I'LL DISQUALIFY BOTH OF YOU! THIS IS NOT A TALK SHOW!"

Alex smirks, still standing at the cage door. "Contract or hand over the items now," he demands, slowly stepping inside.

"No way—I'll give them to you afterward!" she counters, trying to maintain some leverage.

Alex shakes his head. The referee, clearly fed up, shouts, "Get in position, both of you!"

Finally, Emma yells in desperation, "One Soul Crystal and 10,000 FC! LAST OFFER! I'LL GIVE IT NOW!"

Alex's grin widens. "Deal. Why didn't you say so earlier?"

He walks up to her and initiates a trade, causing the invisible trade window to appear. Emma begrudgingly places the Soul Crystal, 10,000 FC, and a hastily written contract into the trade. The contract reads:

Alex Kerber promises to lose the next 1-on-1 battle occurring in the next 3 minutes against Emma Kramer by openly surrendering.

You received 10,000 FC

You received Soul Crystal (Small)

Satisfied, Alex accepts the trade with a smile and steps into position. The referee announces, "3, 2, 1… START!"

Alex immediately raises his hand and declares with a grin, "I give up!" Then, without another word, he turns and casually strolls out of the cage, thoroughly pleased with the deal he just made.

One Soul Crystal and 10,000 FC? She can keep one of those crappy cards, he thinks, utterly devoid of regret.

His thoughts drift to Emma's likely attempted scam. The deal changed from green items to FC and a Soul Crystal at the last second? She probably didn't even have the items and wanted to con me! Well, too bad—I made sure to seal the trade first.

The entire crowd, including Menchi, stares at Alex with puzzled expressions, clearly aware that some kind of deal had gone down. Menchi glares at him and groans, "You… you could have handled that BEFORE stepping inside and wasting my time! Annoying!"

She quickly brushes it off and announces, "Last five battles…" and moves on.

A few minutes later, the final battle concludes. Menchi, the referees, and the other staff gather and walk toward the silently observing Linne. Alex notices her for the first time in a while and thinks, She actually watched the fights? I almost forgot she was there… What's her role, anyway? She hasn't done anything. Is she just supervising? Did she do the planning for all this?

Shalnark approaches Alex, giving him a curious look. "Made a deal?"

Alex nods. "It was worth it. I think I can afford to pass on one card."

"You didn't strike me as someone who cared about material possessions. I'm a little surprised," Shalnark responds, his impression of Alex shifting slightly.

Menchi and the examination staff return to address the candidates. "Alright! Everyone without a card, you gave it your best, but you're out. We've prepared a small airship that'll pick you up in a few hours. Until then, wait in that small building over there." She gestures toward a distant, unassuming structure. "You!" she barks at a few staff members, "Escort them there."

Menchi turns back to the remaining group. "Now, let's see… We have exactly 100 examinees left! Aren't we lucky? It couldn't have worked out better!"

She pauses, scanning the crowd. "Now, I could assign you into random groups—but don't you think that would be boring? Any good hunter needs to know how to connect with others, build relationships, and form alliances. A hunter who isolates themselves will never achieve greatness! So, I'm giving you one hour to form groups of five. Keep in mind," she smirks, "this is a cooking competition. That's something you should consider heavily."

She lets the weight of her words hang before continuing. "Meet me back here in one hour. If you fail to form a group, I'll randomly throw you into one myself! Be grateful I'm even giving you that chance instead of outright failing you."

With that, Menchi strides back to the examination team. Linne, still seated and staring vacantly, gives the group a glance that seems to pierce through them, her eyes distant yet oddly perceptive.

Alex turns to Shalnark and slowly asks, "Yo… Shal, you want to team up?"

"Sure," Shalnark agrees with an easy smile. "But we'll need someone who can actually cook. It's not my strength. What about you? Can you cook?"

Alex shrugs. "Not the worst, but not great either. I've done some cooking—my mom taught me a bit. I know the basics and a little about ingredients and techniques, but I wouldn't call myself a chef."

As Alex says this, memories flood his mind of his mom teaching him to cook in their kitchen. He recalls years later becoming hooked on YouTube cooking videos and competition shows like MasterChef, Iron Chef, and Hell's Kitchen. Honestly, binge-watching those shows gave me some confidence, he muses, but this is a whole other level.

Shalnark raises an eyebrow. "Not bad. Alright, let's find a few more people who won't drag us down."

Scanning the area, Alex quickly spots Linus. Nudging Shalnark, he strides over to him and asks directly, "Hey, Linus. Want to join us?"

Linus, who had been standing alone with his arms crossed, looks at Alex, then at Shalnark. Seemingly relieved, he nods. "Sure. I hate group tasks, so I'd rather join someone I know won't hold me back."

Shalnark says, "Good, we just need someone who can cook now!"

Alex suddenly recalls the remaining examinees he knows. Tonpa and the Amori brothers are out of the exam, he thinks. Sommy and Shishito, who were just average candidates, are nowhere to be seen either. That leaves Palm and Melody—definitely not ideal team members for me—and Emma, who's obviously pissed after our deal. That just leaves… Eirini and Patricia!

Eirini and Patricia didn't do terribly in the fights. At least they weren't bad enough to be outright avoided. If they can cook, why not? Alex reasons.

Scanning the area, Alex spots the two women sitting off to the side, mostly ignored by the other candidates. With just one card each and weak fighting performances, they aren't exactly prime choices for teams.

"Follow me," Alex says to Shalnark and Linus. "I know these two women. I'm not sure about their cooking skills, but it's worth a shot. Most of the other candidates are rough-looking men—fighters, thugs, mercenaries, or wannabe blacklist hunters. They're not worth asking."

"I guess it's worth a try," Linus responds.

Shalnark chuckles. "Women tend to be better cooks on average, so why not?"

The three of them approach the pair. Alex speaks first, "Hey, you two. Have you found a team yet? If not, would you be interested in joining ours?"

Patricia eyes him warily, her suspicion clear. "Why would you ask us? We appreciate the offer, but we don't need pity."

Eirini blushes, looking embarrassed. "Pati, don't be like that… we don't have anyone else."

Alex responds honestly, "Let's be upfront here—we all want to pass the exam. This round isn't going to be just about fighting. How are your cooking skills?"

Eirini answers first. "I'm a vegetarian and cook daily. I'm not confident with meat dishes, but everything else should be fine. Pati, you said barbeque is one of your hobbies."

Patricia nods, her suspicion giving way to thoughtfulness. "Yeah, I've helped my dad with weekly barbeques for years. When he was sick for half a year, I handled everything myself, and people said my cooking was great. We even entered a local contest together a few times. Good memories. I haven't focused on it much since that day, but I guess I'm decent enough at cooking overall." She says with a sad smile, as if recalling days that were both happy and bittersweet.

"Thanks for being honest," Alex says with a nod. "Let's team up. I can cook a little myself, so we should be fine."

"Perfect!" Shalnark exclaims. "I'm not much of a cook, but I know a lot about ingredients and techniques. Leave the research to me."

Linus, however, looks a bit sheepish. "Military rations are all I know…"

The group shares a laugh and exchanges information about their cooking experience—or lack thereof. They also pool their cards, revealing the following: Linus and Shalnark each have three, Alex has two, and Eirini and Patricia have one apiece. Eirini and Patricia look slightly guilty, their expressions apologetic as they glance at the others.

Together, that makes 10 cards, Alex thinks. That's slightly above average—not amazing, but not bad either. Out of 132 candidates, the average should be 1.5 cards. With 32 eliminated, the new average would be closer to 2. We're fine, I guess!

Suddenly, Menchi's voice booms across the facility: "EXAMINEES, GATHER NOW!"

"Let's go, everyone!" Alex calls to his hastily formed team. He's not entirely confident in their chances, but for some reason, he feels strangely content with the group.

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