Hunter X Hunter : The Boundary

Chapter 30: Start!

In the vast, enclosed underground hall, the air was thick with tension, curiosity, and undisguised killing intent. Ryan stood in a corner, maintaining a perfect state of Zetsu, an invisible pebble in a sea of anxious examinees.

His gaze swept over faces both strange and familiar—Killua, Gon, Kurapika, Leorio, Hisoka, Illumi… all present. The prelude was about to begin.

Satotz, the examiner, walked onto the platform. He was a strange figure with a round head and no mouth, but he exuded an inexplicable pressure. He cleared his throat softly, and the sound instantly quelled the hall's clamor.

"—Welcome to the 287th Hunter Exam."

His voice, though not loud, penetrated every corner of the room— a wall panel slid open, revealing a narrow, deep passage. "This year's first trial is a simple long-distance run," Satotz announced, a strange, unseen smile in his voice. "Please follow me."

The crowd began to move. Ryan maintained his pace, staying in the middle of the pack, neither rushing nor lagging. Their footsteps a dense, continuous rhythm, like a flock of prey being herded to the cull.

At the bottom, a long tunnel stretched into the darkness. "You can start here," Satotz said, pointing ahead. "All you need to do is keep up with my pace. No stopping, no falling behind, no straying from the path—otherwise, you're disqualified."

As soon as he finished speaking, Satotz's odd, lilting walk quickened into a sprint, and he vanished into the shadows. The exam had begun.

The crowd surged forward. Ryan was already in motion, his stride steady. He judged the length of the tunnel by its ventilation flow and the echo of his own footsteps. He knew this was more than a test of stamina. The Hunter Association never played simple games. The early trials are traps designed to eliminate the weak.

The end of the tunnel opened into a vast, foggy wetland. The ground was a treacherous mix of mud and tangled roots, and the roars of unseen beasts echoed from the deep forest.

Satotz stood at the edge of the mist. "The first phase of the test," he said, his voice flat, "is to run with me." He gave the panicked crowd a single glance. "Falling behind means failing."

The next second, he was gone, a lean figure swallowed by the fog. The group broke like a dam, a chaotic flood of bodies rushing into the wetlands. Ryan was already prepared, running with swift, steady steps, his Zetsu completely concealing his presence.

The terrain itself was a trap. Examinees slipped in the mud, tripped on vines, and collided with each other in the disorienting fog. What's terrifying isn't just the terrain, but also your own panic. Ryan murmured to himself.

"Is this examiner crazy?" someone shouted. "How far do we have to run?"

Satotz's calm voice drifted back from the mists. "You just need to follow me. You can only stop when I stop."

This was a dual drain on will and endurance. Ryan slowed his pace slightly, melting into the front-middle of the pack, avoiding the spotlight. The illusions of the Numere Wetlands were beginning to take effect.

"A monster!" a muscular examinee screamed, veering off into the trees— but there was nothing there. Chaos spread. Some were deceived by phantoms, others were swept up in the panic, and a few used the confusion to trample their companions.

Ryan remained calm, Nen allowing him to perceive the flow of auras, mapping the areas where the illusions were strongest. He saw Kurapika, expression steady, moving with purpose. He saw Leorio trying to help a fallen examinee. 

He moved to the edge of the wetland, where the fog was thinner. Just then, a dangerous aura drifted past—Hisoka, moving through the mist with the lethal grace of a cat.

"Hehehe... quite lively," Hisoka giggled, his gaze sweeping the area. It passed over Ryan's hiding place, but Zetsu offered nothing to catch the magician's interest.

The fog ahead thinned, and Satotz's figure became visible again. Ryan saw it from the corner of his eye—a piece of driftwood on the path, the ground beneath it subtly collapsing.

Tonpa's trap. He didn't shout a warning. He just accelerated, using the driftwood as a springboard to leap over the pitfall. Behind him, several examinees screamed as they fell into the mud. Further ahead, Tonpa wore a mask of innocent surprise.

Ryan glanced at him once, mentally tagging him as a threat, and then re-integrated with the group, pace unbroken.

The first stage of the Hunter Exam had truly begun.