"Those are Spider Eagle eggs," Menchi explained to the bewildered candidates, pointing down into the deep chasm of Split Mountain. She then paused, letting the significance of the sight sink in. The clusters of eggs, suspended precariously on the thin lower layer of spider silk, looked both enticing and utterly inaccessible.
"As President Netero explained, these are known as Dream Eggs," Menchi continued, her voice gaining a sharp edge to command attention. "They are among the world's most sought-after ingredients due to their incredible flavor, but they are guarded by the Spider Eagles and, more formidably, by the canyon itself."
She swept her gaze across the anxious faces of the candidates, noting their growing confusion and hesitation. The sheer drop was hundreds of meters, and the wind whipped violently through the gorge.
"Your task is deceptively simple," Menchi declared, a smirk playing on her lips. "The test is to make a boiled egg."
The candidates murmured in disbelief. A boiled egg? After all this drama?
"Yes, a boiled egg," Menchi confirmed, raising her voice. "But you must use the Dream Eggs hanging below, and you must use the natural steam rising from the bottom of the canyon to cook them. You must retrieve the egg, cook it on the spot, and present it to us."
Menchi then leaned forward dramatically, gesturing into the abyss.
"The canyon floor below is filled with hot springs," she explained. "The steam from these springs rises to a specific altitude, condensing to create the fog you see below, but also forming the perfect, naturally generated high-temperature cooker."
"Wait a minute! Are you telling us we have to climb down there?" yelled a candidate, his voice cracking with fear. The drop was immense, and the thought of navigating the unstable web of the Spider Eagle was terrifying.
"Climb? That's far too slow," Menchi dismissed the idea with a wave of her hand. "The Spider Eagle's web is sticky and thick on the upper layers to trap prey. Trying to climb on it is a fool's errand. And descending the sheer rock face? Even more ridiculous."
She stepped to the very edge of the cliff, standing with unnerving confidence. The wind tugged at her green hair.
"There is only one way to obtain a Dream Egg, and this is the demonstration you demanded," Menchi stated, looking directly at the remaining candidates. "You must free-fall to reach the thin, bottom layer of silk, grab an egg, and then catch the updraft of steam from the hot springs to ride back to the top."
A collective gasp went through the crowd. Free-fall!
"You have to time your jump perfectly, past the thick, dangerous webs, down to the thin bottom layer where the eggs hang," Menchi elaborated, her excitement growing. "You must grab an egg just as you hit the layer of rising steam. The steam will slow your descent, allowing you a brief window to collect the egg. If your timing is off, you will plunge into the canyon floor and certain doom. If you wait too long, the steam will not be hot enough to cook your egg to perfection when you retrieve it."
Menchi's plan was audacious, demanding a combination of perfect timing, immense physical courage, and an innate sense of air currents. It was a test of survival skills masquerading as a cooking challenge.
"And to ensure the egg is perfectly boiled," Menchi added, raising a single finger, "you must hold it directly in the path of the hottest steam for the exact required amount of time before allowing the updraft to carry you back up."
"This is madness!" Leorio exclaimed, clutching his head. "This has nothing to do with cooking! It's a suicide test!"
"Au contraire, Leorio," Kurapika murmured, adjusting his glasses, a thoughtful frown on his face. "It has everything to do with being a Gourmet Hunter. They must often risk their lives for the highest quality ingredients. This tests their determination and judgment under extreme pressure. It's a test of the soul, not the skillet."
Menchi glanced at Kurapika, nodding approvingly at his assessment. "Listen to your friend, he understands the essence of the Hunter Exam."
"I will demonstrate," Menchi announced, taking a final, deep breath.
She looked briefly at Netero, who simply gave her a slight, encouraging nod. The airship remained parked, the candidates frozen in place.
Menchi then launched herself forward, leaping straight off the cliff's edge.
She was in free-fall.
The wind roared past her, and the distance to the bottom seemed impossibly vast. She plummeted past the first, sticky layers of the Spider Eagle's nest, deliberately avoiding contact. The seconds stretched out, each one representing hundreds of feet of descent.
Just as she neared the bottom-most layer, where the Dream Eggs hung like perfect, white jewels, she let out a sharp cry of effort and used a slight rotation of her body to cut through the air, momentarily slowing her fall.
WHOOSH!
She was instantly engulfed by the blinding, hot steam rising from the hot springs below. The steam acted like a massive, upward-pushing cushion. Menchi grabbed a cluster of the grape-like eggs, quickly tearing a single one free. Then, with an almost imperceptible adjustment of her posture, she angled her body to maximize the force of the updraft.
Holding the Dream Egg directly in the hottest rising steam, she allowed the current to carry her upward, spinning gently as she ascended. The upward momentum was surprisingly powerful, but required absolute control to ride without being thrown against the canyon walls.
Within moments, Menchi was sailing past the edge of the cliff. She executed a graceful tuck and roll, landing perfectly back on the mountaintop right next to Netero. She stood up, completely unscathed, holding the single, pristine white Dream Egg in her hand.
"Here," Menchi said, presenting the egg. "One Dream Egg, perfectly boiled by natural steam."
The egg was warm, perfectly cooked within its shell by the canyon's thermal energy. The sight of her successful, insane maneuver silenced every single candidate. The fear and respect for Menchi, the Gourmet Hunter, were now absolute.
"Now it is your turn," Menchi stated, looking at the pale faces before her. "You have until sunset to present your perfectly boiled Dream Egg."
"We understand that the risk is high," Netero added, his tone more subdued than before. "But this is what we expect from future Hunters. Courage, judgment, and the ability to retrieve an ingredient at any cost. The Hunter Exam does not guarantee your safety."
The candidates quickly realized that this was their only path to qualification. One by one, they began to prepare themselves for the terrifying jump.
Ryusei watched with a professional eye. The technique was indeed simple but required exceptional body control and, crucially, a complete lack of hesitation. Ryusei knew he could execute the jump perfectly; his experience and physical prowess were more than adequate.
As Ryusei was already qualified, he observed the first wave of jumpers. The initial attempts were disastrous. Several candidates panicked mid-fall, trying to grasp the sticky upper webs, only to get stuck and struggle uselessly until they had to be painfully rescued by Netero's men from the airship. Two candidates simply froze at the edge, unable to overcome the paralyzing fear.
Gon, always the most courageous, was one of the first to succeed, his innocent fearlessness giving him the necessary momentum and conviction. Killua, with his assassin training, executed the maneuver with brutal efficiency, demonstrating perfect control. Leorio, after much shouting and anxiety, finally forced himself to jump and, by sheer luck and determination, managed to grab an egg and catch the current.
Ryusei waited until the initial panic subsided. Since he was only gathering ingredients, he didn't need to compete fiercely.
"Ryusei," Menchi called out, "you may go whenever you are ready. And please, only take what you need."
"Thank you, Miss Menchi," Ryusei replied, walking calmly to the edge.
He looked down into the canyon, visualizing the entire journey in his mind: the descent path, the layer of thin silk, the precise moment to grab the egg, and the angle for the updraft. This wasn't merely about survival for him; it was about resource collection.
Ryusei leaped.
His fall was faster and more controlled than Menchi's. Instead of just aiming for one egg, Ryusei executed a series of calculated maneuvers. As he hit the steam layer, he rotated, momentarily stabilizing himself against the cushion of hot air. He used his superior physical strength to grab three full clusters of the grape-like eggs, quickly ripping them free from the thin silk.
The sudden weight shift threatened to disrupt his ascent, but Ryusei compensated instantly, adjusting his center of gravity to the updraft. He held the three clusters securely in one hand while using his other hand to lightly steady himself against the wall of rising steam.
A moment later, he was sailing back up to the mountaintop, landing silently with minimal fuss. He held the three large clusters of Dream Eggs—perhaps twenty eggs in total—perfectly warm and ready for cooking.
"Impressive," Netero murmured, watching the speed and efficiency of Ryusei's egg retrieval. "Most impressive."
Menchi simply nodded, a slight, approving smile on her face. Ryusei had not only survived the drop, but had treated the "most difficult ingredient to obtain in the world" as a simple grocery run.
Ryusei bowed. "My gratitude. Now, if you'll excuse me, I shall begin preparing them for my own use."
While the remaining candidates—including Hisoka, who made his descent with a terrifying, playful flair—continued the challenge, Ryusei quietly found a secluded spot. He had his ingredients, and the primary objective of the Hunter Exam was now essentially complete. All he needed was to secure his license and the next stage of his culinary journey could begin.
The canyon continued to echo with the shouts of fear and determination as the remaining applicants struggled to secure their single, perfect boiled egg.