Hunter X Hunter : The Boundary

Chapter 28: To Zaban City

The train moved through the misty plains of early morning, the rhythmic rumble of steel rails a steady heartbeat. Outside the window, city skyscrapers gave way to vast fields and distant, low-hanging mountains.

Ryan leaned against the window seat, his expression calm, his gaze directed outward but unfocused. His backpack rested on his lap, the pouch for his slingshot tied to an outer strap. He never placed a weapon where he couldn't retrieve it instantly.

Zaban City. The gathering point for the Hunter Exam, and the place where the protagonists of his past-life memories first converged— a trial that would decide his fate was about to begin.

He didn't rest. He observed. Opposite him, a young man flipped through a travel guide, but his finger lingered on the same page, a casual act that belied a route already memorized.

By the window, a female student's backpack was slightly open, revealing compressed rations, bandages, and a collapsible baton. These were not ordinary travelers. Ryan could sense the subtle pressure in the air, a quiet vigilance that only combatants would recognize in each other before entering a battlefield.

He transferred to a long-distance bus heading south. At the station, a young man with a fake, but exquisitely made, Hunter Association pin on his chest sat down beside him.

"You heading to Zaban City too?" the man asked with a friendly smile.

Ryan nodded. "Looking for opportunities."

"The Hunter Exam, right? Me too," the man said, lowering his voice. "Name's Trevor. First time for me. Heard that if you pass this thing just once, your whole world changes." He gestured to Ryan's practical, well-worn gear. "You look like you're prepared."

"Not really," Ryan replied, his gaze falling on the military-style lacing of Trevor's boots.

"Seriously though," Trevor continued, "you hear the stories? The elimination rate is insane. One year, dozens died in the first round alone. And that wetland maze... they say once you go in, you never come out."

"A life-or-death exam?" Ryan asked, his tone flat.

"Who knows? The Association doesn't exactly announce the causes of death."

"Aren't you afraid?" Trevor asked.

"I am," Ryan replied calmly.

Trevor looked at him, half-understanding, and chuckled. The bus arrived, and Ryan chose a window seat in the back, pulling his hat low and closing his eyes. The real screening hadn't even begun, but the competition was already underway in every conversation.

The bus sped along the highway. Ryan opened his eyes slightly, scanning the other passengers. Out of twenty people, five registered on his threat assessment.

Besides Trevor, there was a middle-aged man in the front who sat perfectly still, his feet angled just so, demonstrating precise spatial control.

And in another corner sat a young girl in sunglasses. She hadn't spoken a word, but she'd boarded with a guard who had a quiet word with the driver, immediately altering the bus's route priority— a child from a connected family, no doubt.

Her Nen was faint, almost non-existent, which only made her presence more unusual.

"What do you think?" Trevor whispered beside him, nodding toward the girl. "Tourist?"

"If she isn't deliberately disguised," Ryan murmured, "then her disguise is better than ours."

"Good point," Trevor mused. "I heard the Association sometimes sets up fake eliminations along the way. Fake guides, fake stations..." He leaned closer, excited.

"One time, they released false clues in a transit town, and over a hundred candidates went the wrong way. Only twelve showed up on time. Heard the chief examiner that year was a real piece of work."

Ryan remembered that year's exam clearly. It wasn't designed for everyone. The fake platforms and announcements were the first test. Anyone gullible, impulsive, or reliant on others was culled before the trial even began. This was the path he had chosen.

As the bus neared a valley, the driver's voice crackled over the speaker. "Arriving at Zaban City south port in two hours. This is the final stop."

A new tension filled the bus. Passengers checked their gear, patted their pockets, and confirmed their supplies. Ryan, however, just took out something to read and pass the time.