Watching Netero leave with Gon and Killua, Ryusei didn't continue wandering around. He just found a room and started to rest.
The next morning, Ryusei woke up from his sleep and had a big meal in the cafeteria. Then he sat in front of the observation deck in the airship and began to wait.
Nearing nine o'clock, Ryusei saw a huge rock pillar. There was also a small cylindrical building on top of it.
Soon, the voice of the bean-faced man came from the radio.
"Everyone, sorry to have kept you waiting. This airship will arrive at its destination soon."
Upon hearing the notification, all the candidates became excited.
Soon, the airship docked at the small cylindrical building Ryusei had seen earlier. From a distance, it looked small, but as they got closer, Ryusei was shocked—it was massive.
The height of the cylindrical building was definitely over a thousand meters, and the width of the top was about two hundred meters.
Such a magnificent structure truly amazed Ryusei. But this was the world of Hunter x Hunter. There were even more outrageous buildings, like the Sky Arena or the tunnel they used in the first test, which they ran through for seven or eight hours—easily over a hundred kilometers long.
All of that was built underground. The amount of manpower and resources required was unimaginable. In terms of construction, the world of Hunter x Hunter was on a whole different level.
After getting off the airship, Ryusei looked around the vast platform, still somewhat in awe. The bean-faced man stepped forward and began to speak:
"Everyone, the third Hunter Exam begins here. This is the top of what people call the Tower of Deception. The qualification is to return safely to the ground from the top of the tower. The time limit is 72 hours. Then the third Hunter Exam will begin. I wish you all a successful start."
After he finished speaking, the bean-faced man returned to the airship, which then took off and left the Tower of Deception.
Ryusei glanced at the departing airship, then began to survey the top of the tower, looking for a way down. The top was vast, but with purposeful searching, Ryusei quickly found a movable floor.
Without hesitation, he stepped onto it. The floor flipped, and Ryusei disappeared from the top of the Tower of Deception.
After landing, Ryusei quickly looked around and found that he was alone in the room. This was expected. He had knowledge of this level's mechanism and found it faster than others.
He walked to a round table in the room, on which were two watch-like bracelets. A display screen on them showed the numbers 71:43:32—a countdown to the exam time limit.
There were also two buttons below the display, marked O and X. On the wall in front of the table, a display board read:
"From here on, both players must keep the same choice to pass the level."
Ryusei felt a little relieved. Keeping choices consistent shouldn't be difficult. Everyone here wanted to pass the exam, so any choice that helped achieve that would be agreeable—unless they ended up with someone like Tonpa.
After reviewing the rules, Ryusei picked up a bracelet and put it on. Then he waited for his partner to appear.
He didn't have to wait long. Soon, another person dropped into the room. But when Ryusei saw who it was, his expression soured—it was Hisoka.
Hisoka's calm expression twisted into excitement as he saw Ryusei.
"It's wonderful," he said with a wild grin. He was very interested in Ryusei and didn't expect to encounter him here. Hisoka's bloodlust surged.
"Why don't we just have a fight here?"
Hisoka began to grow restless. His expression became more and more deranged, and the cold murderous aura emanating from him made Ryusei's hair stand on end.
At that moment, Ryusei seriously considered quitting the Hunter x Hunter world altogether. He wanted to explain to Hisoka that he was still weak, but Hisoka didn't seem like he was in the mood to listen.
Just before Ryusei made up his mind to escape, the speaker in the corner crackled to life.
"I am Liber, the warden of this prison and the examiner of the third exam," said a calm voice. "This tower is designed with several routes. You chose the [same and different] route. To qualify, your choices must remain the same. If you pick differently, you will waste a lot of time. Well, I wish you two a safe journey."
Liber's announcement calmed Hisoka a bit, though he still radiated murderous intent.
"I'll make it clear in advance that I really don't have any Nen abilities," Ryusei said quickly. "I just have a magical item that contains Nen."
Whether Hisoka believed it or not was out of Ryusei's control. Fortunately, Hisoka looked at him deeply and sensed that he was telling the truth—Ryusei truly had no Nen of his own. As a result, Hisoka's killing intent lessened. An unripe fruit wasn't sweet enough to eat yet.
After suppressing his bloodlust, Hisoka turned to the circular platform beside him. He examined the rules, then picked up the remaining bracelet and put it on.
The wall next to them suddenly lifted, revealing a door behind it. A display board on the door read:
"This door can be either O or X. Choose the same and the door will open. Choose differently, and you must wait 10 hours before trying again."
Clearly, good communication was needed.
Ryusei looked at Hisoka with a stiff expression. "How about we choose O?"
If it were up to him, Ryusei wouldn't want to coordinate with Hisoka at all. But a 10-hour delay wasn't worth it.
"No problem," Hisoka said with a perverted smile.
They both pressed O. The door opened, and they walked through together.
After about ten minutes of walking, they arrived in another room.
Ryusei and Hisoka were the first to look at the rules on the display board:
"Which way to go? O is on the right, X is on the left.If you choose a different option, you will need to wait 10 hours before you can choose again."
It was clear that this was another level requiring cooperation. Since Hisoka remained silent, Ryusei tentatively suggested:
"How about we choose O?"
Hisoka nodded, offering no objection. The two of them passed the level smoothly.
Soon, they arrived at the next checkpoint. This time, it wasn't an empty room. In front of them was a battle arena. Across the room stood two cloaked men wearing heavy shackles.
At that moment, Liber's voice rang out again:
"You two, let me explain. These are prisoners held within the Tower of Deception. They are officially designated test combatants by the Hunter Association. You may choose whether to fight.O is for fighting, X is for not fighting.However, if you choose not to fight, you'll need to wait 50 hours before continuing."
Ryusei raised his hands. There was no question about it—they would fight. Without waiting for Liber to continue, both he and Hisoka immediately pressed O.
Their decisiveness left Liber slightly stunned. After a short pause, his voice continued:
"Since you've chosen to fight, here are the rules:It's a 2v2 match. Combat style is unrestricted. There are no ties.Victory is achieved if one side surrenders or dies.Additionally, the prisoners signed a contract—every hour they delay the outcome reduces their sentence by one year.So dragging things out will be their main goal."
As he finished, the prisoners' shackles unlocked and their cloaks dropped, revealing muscular builds.
Hisoka glanced at the prisoners, clearly uninterested. He turned to Ryusei:
"How about I leave these two to you?"
Ryusei, not wanting to risk triggering Hisoka's unpredictable personality, nodded reluctantly.
"Sure."
Though the prisoners appeared strong, they were still ordinary people with no Nen abilities. Despite their strength, their attacks were straightforward and lacked technique. Ryusei quickly overpowered them.
"Just give up already," he urged, unable to bring himself to finish them off.
However, the prisoners sensed his hesitation. It was clear to them: Ryusei was powerful, but he hadn't killed anyone before.
They refused to surrender.
After all, if they held out for an hour, they'd reduce their sentence. Decades off a sentence was worth the pain.
No matter how much Ryusei beat them, they endured. Frustrated, he looked at Hisoka.
He was about to ask him to kill them—but Hisoka didn't move.
"I told you already," Hisoka said calmly, "I'm leaving them to you."
Of course Hisoka had noticed Ryusei's inexperience with killing. But in his twisted way, he felt this experience might help Ryusei "grow."
After a moment of silence, Ryusei realized what Hisoka was doing. He clenched his fists, conflicted.
Was he really going to kill someone?
But he also knew—this world was cruel, and he couldn't avoid blood forever.
"I don't have time to waste with you two," he said coldly. "I'll give you one last chance. Surrender now, or every ten seconds, I'll break a limb. If you still don't give up after losing all four limbs... then you die."
The prisoners still didn't believe him.
"1... 2... 3... 10."
Ryusei grabbed one prisoner's arm—and snapped it.
"Aaahhh!!"
Then the other.
Screams echoed through the room, but Ryusei remained silent, his eyes steeled.
"1... 2... 3... 10."
He stomped on one's knee, shattering it.
The prisoners' confidence shattered with their bones.
"W-we surrender—!"
Before they could finish, two cards flew through the air—embedding halfway into their skulls.
It was Hisoka.
He had killed them, not out of necessity, but simply because they bored him.
Ryusei stared at the bodies without expression.
Then turned and walked with Hisoka to the next level.
They cleared several more challenges.
Eventually, they reached the final trial.
This time, only one person stood at the gate.