Question 93.
This was the final progress Morrow achieved on the exam paper.
After completing it, he directly shared the answers with the rest of his team.
The others looked at Morrow with inexplicable expressions, then suppressed their excitement and hurriedly copied down the answers.
Morrow waited nearby.
After his teammates finished copying, he still needed to answer the final question.
While waiting, Morrow glanced sideways at Tonpa's group.
Perhaps due to Gon and the others' unusual reactions, Tonpa's team now appeared uneasy and suspicious.
Morrow didn't pay much attention and instead observed Hisoka's situation.
He could see Hisoka still pretending to browse through the bookshelves, occasionally pulling out a book and flipping through it casually.
For most examinees, these six hours were a race against time.
But for Hisoka, it was unbearably boring.
The quiet library was filled only with the sound of examinees writing furiously.
—--
In another room.
Through comprehensive surveillance feeds, Kurapika had gained a general understanding of the abilities displayed by the examinees during the test.
However, on his notebook, only examinee number 502, Morrow's number, was marked with a check.
Almost time, Kurapika murmured to himself as the test approached its end. He set down his notebook and raised his right hand.
His movement immediately caught the attention of Menchi and others nearby.
Rustle...
Ignoring those around him, Kurapika channeled his Nen and materialized chains through Conjuration.
Since the Phantom Troupe became history, retrieving his clansmen's eyes had become Kurapika's most important mission.
To further improve the efficiency of recovering the eyes, after careful consideration, he decided to sacrifice the potential of his chains conjuration and instead enhance the capabilities of his Dowsing Chain on his ring finger.
Thus, other abilities like Chain Jail and any remaining potential for development vanished with this decision.
Also gone were the Vow and Limitation he had previously established specifically targeting the Phantom Troupe.
In other words, the upper limit of his chains conjuration was now fixed.
The remaining Dowsing Chain, however, received comprehensive enhancements, no longer bound by the Limitation of only working on Phantom Troupe members, and capable of incorporating new ability effects within its framework.
Kurapika raised his arm, the Dowsing Chain hanging from his ring finger, its metal ball swaying slightly before the numerous screens.
During this test, examinees frequently exchanged answers on their exam papers.
However, the final question on the paper involved some degree of personal privacy, so most examinees would temporarily skip it.
Only as the test neared its end would examinees begin answering the final question one by one.
One of the abilities Kurapika added to his Dowsing Chain was lie detection.
This ability allowed him to accurately obtain information when dealing with those beasts in human skin without resorting to torture methods he despised.
Now, he would use the Dowsing Chain's ability to test whether the examinees gave dishonest answers when responding to the final question.
Menchi and the others nearby were all watching Kurapika's actions.
They tacitly refrained from asking any questions.
Meanwhile, Kurapika maintained his Dowsing Chain while simultaneously controlling the surveillance view.
—--
At the same time.
The test was nearing its conclusion.
The examinees successively wrote down their answers to the final question on their test papers.
Throughout the entire test, they had all realized the importance of the hints, so upon noticing the words "truthfully" in the question, there was no need to hide anything; each wrote their genuine response.
For instance, Gon's answer was that he took the test simply to follow the path Ging had walked.
Leorio's answer was quite straightforward, purely for money to support his dream of studying medicine.
Basically, every examinee answered truthfully.
Morrow's response was for convenience, and he gave several examples, such as not having to pay for airship rides.
When there was little time left for the test, Tonpa's team quickly returned the books to their original positions.
After all, returning borrowed books to their proper places before leaving the library (when the test ended) was common sense.
To avoid being disqualified for violating rules at the last moment, they naturally couldn't afford to be careless.
After Tonpa's team returned all the books, only a few minutes remained before the test concluded.
For the examinees present, they had done all they could.
So, in these final moments, they could only wait quietly for the "results."
A few minutes passed quickly.
Kurapika arrived as promised, stepping into the library with his cold aura.
Beans, dressed in a suit, followed closely behind Kurapika.
As the two entered, all the examinees immediately turned their attention toward them.
Kurapika remained silent, while Beans walked straight to the examinees and collected the test papers one by one.
Only after Beans had collected the last paper did Kurapika speak. "You have all adhered well to the library's rules, so..."
At this point, Kurapika paused, his gaze sweeping over every examinee present.
Hearing the first part of Kurapika's statement, almost all the examinees felt a stir in their hearts, vaguely sensing it might be good news.
And indeed, as they had hoped, Kurapika followed with words that excited them. "Only the examinee with the lowest score will be eliminated in the fourth test."
Upon hearing this, most examinees couldn't conceal their joy.
Even seasoned veterans like Tonpa, who had previously held little hope for obtaining a Hunter License, couldn't help but clench their fists tightly, their faces showing clear excitement.
Eliminating only one examinee meant the chances of passing were extremely high.
No, it should be said that passing was almost guaranteed.
Because there was bound to be someone at the bottom.
That's right, it was Hisoka, who hadn't collaborated with anyone.
Not just Tonpa, many examinees had noticed Hisoka's lone-wolf behavior during the test.
In their view, although Hisoka had been working throughout the six hours, relying solely on his own strength, he couldn't possibly achieve a good score.
And it just so happened that the proctor of the fourth test intended to eliminate only one examinee.
I don't want to be a rookie killer anymore... As long as I pass the final test, I'll get my Hunter License.
As if anticipating the upcoming development, Tonpa's cheeks trembled with excitement.
He had been concerned about Morrow's situation earlier, but this worry completely vanished with Kurapika's announcement.
The examinees who had collaborated with him initially felt something was amiss, but were now completely at ease.
For a moment, the vast majority of present examinees looked at Kurapika with expectant eyes.
Under everyone's gaze, Kurapika took the test papers from Beans and began grading them.
Since he had personally set the questions and most answers could be directly found with standard solutions from the books, his grading efficiency was extremely high.
Soon, Kurapika completed scoring all the papers and announced the results in descending order.
"First place, No. 502."
Hearing Morrow's examinee number, Gon's group wasn't surprised.
"Second place, No. 473."
This was Gon's examinee number.
Hearing this result, Gon's eyes lit up, then he turned toward Killua with a beaming smile.
Perhaps not yet fully detached from the library's rule influence, Gon didn't directly say "I won" to Killua.
But even without words, Killua could read this meaning from Gon's radiant smile and let out an unwilling "Tch."
"Third place, No. 472. Fourth place, No. 246..."
Kurapika recited the examinee numbers in a steady tone.
Each announced number represented another qualified examinee advancing.
"Eleventh place, No. 80. Twelfth place, No. 444..."
When Kurapika read Hisoka's examinee number, many examinees including Tonpa froze momentarily.
Hisoka was twelfth??
How was this possible!
Tonpa and the other examinees could hardly believe their ears.
Simultaneously, examinees whose numbers hadn't been called yet suddenly felt a rising sense of crisis.
They had assumed Hisoka would definitely be at the bottom...
Yet he turned out to be twelfth.
This meant those whose numbers remained unannounced could potentially be eliminated.
"Nineteenth place, No. 103."
The snake charmer Bourbon heard his number and relaxed completely.
Now only Tonpa and Bodoro remained without called numbers.
How... how could my ranking be this low?
Tonpa's excitement had completely faded, replaced by tension and bewilderment.
During this test, after Morrow finished clearing the way, he had immediately taken the lead in uniting examinees like the Amori Brothers to improve the overall completion rate of the test paper.
Not only that, he had kept a careful trick to ensure he maintained a slight advantage of one or two question types over his partners.
So even if Morrow's group took the top rankings, his position shouldn't have been this low.
Bodoro quietly clenched his fists. In his extreme tension, he glanced at Tonpa who had started sweating.
The next second, Kurapika announced in his consistently steady tone, "Twentieth place, No. 191."
"Yes!"
Hearing his number, Bodoro excitedly punched the air.
In contrast, Tonpa instantly stared blankly, his mouth hanging silently open as an incredulous expression gradually spread across his face.
How could I be the last one?!
He snapped back to reality and suddenly stared at Kurapika's face, his eyes widening as he exclaimed, "I clearly confirmed that I answered more questions than Bodoro, Bourbon, and the others!!!"
"..."
Kurapika's expression remained unreadable as he simply held up the test paper corresponding to number 18, facing everyone.
The crowd looked at the test paper, only to see...
A blank sheet!
Everyone then turned their gaze to Tonpa, their eyes tinged with something peculiar.
"How is this possible?!"
Tonpa could hardly believe his eyes, his body trembling uncontrollably.
He hadn't submitted a blank test!
Yet the number on the paper was indeed his, 18.
What in the world was going on?
To prevent examinees from using the test paper surface to communicate through writing, the examiners had not only restricted the blank answer area but also uniformly distributed ballpoint pens.
Once answers were written, they couldn't be erased.
So the only explanation was that the test paper had been swapped...
But how was that even possible?!
Tonpa's thoughts instantly became chaotic. The thought of losing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity felt like countless heavy blows pounding against his nerves.
"There must be some mistake! I didn't submit a blank test; this absolutely isn't my test paper!!!"
Tonpa, who usually maintained a more playful attitude toward life, completely lost control of his emotions in that moment.
It was as if he had become that chubby kid eliminated in the first phase, unwilling to face and accept his current failure.
The opportunity had been right there within reach.
Why give him hope... only to cruelly shatter it.
A faint redness tinged Tonpa's eyes.
The Amori Brothers and other examinees who had collaborated with Tonpa during this test had all seen him writing furiously on his test paper.
So they knew Tonpa hadn't submitted a blank test; something had definitely gone wrong somewhere.
However, not a single person stepped forward, all merely watching in silence as Tonpa reacted with that stressed, devastated expression.
As long as Tonpa's elimination was confirmed, it meant everyone else had passed.
Under such circumstances, why would they help Tonpa fight for so-called fairness?
Even though just minutes ago, they had been cooperative partners...
But such is human nature.
Facing Tonpa's protest, Kurapika remained perfectly calm, stating flatly, "The numbers don't lie. Unfortunately, you are the only one eliminated in this test."
"...!"
Realizing there was no possibility of reversal, Tonpa weakly collapsed to his knees, but then Hisoka's figure suddenly flashed through his mind.
Could it be that guy...
At this thought, Tonpa abruptly lifted his head again.
Yet, remembering how terrifying Hisoka was, Tonpa's spine, which had just straightened, suddenly went limp again as he slumped powerlessly.
He recalled how long ago he had abandoned the extravagant hope of becoming a Pro Hunter, content instead with being a rookie crusher who destroyed others' dreams.
He never expected that during this year's test, he would rekindle the dream of obtaining a Hunter License.
Just when he thought it was almost within his grasp, the outcome mirrored those rookie examinees whose spirits he had personally broken, watching his hope shatter before his eyes...
Tonpa let out a silent, bitter laugh.
—--
Among the examinees, Morrow glanced at Tonpa who had been hit by the boomerang of fate, then turned his gaze to Hisoka who looked completely unfazed.
It's Texture Surprise, isn't it?
Hisoka, you bastard...
Morrow had already guessed it was Hisoka's doing, subtly shaking his head almost imperceptibly.
To make an old bird like Tonpa suffer a shattered spirit; that's quite a skill in itself.
However, judging by the current lineup of examinees, if the final test remains the same as in the original storyline, then...
Tonpa's chances of passing the final test would be extremely high.
Unfortunately, there are no "ifs."
If Tonpa still had the will to participate in the Hunter Exam, even if he never obtained a Hunter License in his lifetime, he could at least aspire to seize the top spot for the record of most participations in the Hunter Exam.
That could barely be considered an achievement.
—--
In the monitoring room.
Netero watched the twenty examinees who had passed the test through the screen, a thoughtful glimmer appearing in his aged eyes.
How should he arrange things to make the final test more entertaining?