Chapter 2: Determination X Deceit
Sinbad casually jogged in the middle of the crowded applicants and next to him was Killua whistling as he skateboarded. It had been thirty minutes since the Hunter Exam had begun and Sinbad figured out the main reasons for his father to recommend starting here. Potential and information.
He scanned the rather useless and weak applicants but he sensed a few people of worthy talent. His attention turned toward Killua. 'He has potential to be a worthy Vessel for my Household.'
"Why are you taking the Hunter Exam?" Sinbad asked while running around a slower contestant.
Killua pressed a finger to his lips in thought. "I heard it was challenging so I thought it would be fun."
"You don't fear the Exam's reputation?"
Killua relaxed his arms behind his head. "Nope. It should be a piece of cake."
'Piece of cake? What the hell does that mean? But I like his confidence.'
"So, do you come from a line of swordsmen?" Killua asked, pushing off the smooth concrete floor to stay in stride with Sinbad.
"No, but I am trained," answered Sinbad.
"Why do you want a Hunter License?" Killua asked before leaping into the air with his skateboard.
Sinbad had already come up with this answer before starting this conversation, wanting to keep his Succession Contest and lineage a secret. "I come from an isolated island so I'm here to adventure and prove to my family that I am capable of surviving on my own. I also want to enjoy the perks of being a Hunter."
"What kind of perks?" Killua asked, slightly intrigued.
"Women and treasure mostly," Sinbad answered, laughing.
Killua nearly fell off his skateboard from his blunt response as his skin flushed red from the thought of women. "How old are you anyway!"
"Fourteen," Sinbad replied, but then his face took on a serious expression. "But on a more serious note, I love the sense of adventure and feeling the wind and smelling the ocean breeze. I've never left my homeland, so meeting new people and exploring new lands sounds exciting."
Killua stared at the boy's infectious smile. 'Must be nice to live without heavy burdens.'
As the two continued forward, a tall man wearing glasses dressed in a black suit while also carrying a briefcase rushed next to Killua, thrusting an accusatory finger at him.
"Hey! That is unfair! Why do you get to ride a skateboard?" The man shouted as his two companies chased behind him. A blonde hair kid and an innocent looking kid wearing a green jacket and shorts.
"There's no rules against it," said the green wearing boy behind him.
Sinbad's gaze locked onto the boy, sensing something amiss. After another half of a second, his acute intuition figured it out.
'He has the potential of being extremely dangerous. But the way he is right now doesn't pose any threats, unlike those two.' Sinbad's gaze flickered between a man wearing makeup and facepaint to a strange man with needles stabbed into his face. The man with a teardrop and star painted underneath his eyes seemed to notice Sinbad, turning around to give him a creepy smile.
"Gon, it doesn't matter! He should show some respect and run like the rest of us!" The tall man wearing glasses shouted.
"And what about you, Mr.?" Sinbad asked, directing his question toward the loud man. "Will you share the same respect to us when you utilize whatever you brought with you?"
Everyone's attention fell on the tall man as he went silent.
"He's right," The blonde haired teen said. His eyes scanned the other examinees. "We all happened to bring something here with us and there weren't any prohibitions."
"Exactly," Sinbad cut in. "If we needed to fish for the next phase, would you demand the same respect from Gon and forbid him from using his fishing pole?"
"I guess, you're right," groaned the man, showing signs of fatigue.
Sinbad laughed. "Are you already getting tired old man?"
"Old! My name is Leorio and I'm only sixteen!"
"What?!" They all responded simultaneously.
Killua flipped the board as he landed on his feet and caught the board. He began jogging like the rest. "I will run like everyone else, it's not a big deal nor is it difficult."
Gon's eyes sparkled in awe. "How did you do that?"
Gon and Killua engaged in their own conversation and then sprinted off.
Sinbad decided to stay with the grumpy Leorio and the blonde haired kid. The terrain elevated as they began ascending stairs, to their left and right, people laid tiredly on the steps. He faced the other two. "I wonder what's going to be at the top of the tunnel."
Leorio huffed. "Someone has too much energy, talking and running. He is trying to show us up, huh, Kurapika?"
"You misunderstand, Leorio." Kurapika responded as he picked up his pace. "I am fine."
Sinbad matched his pace as the two put distance between the slower Leorio. He took a quick glance to gauge Kurapika's reaction.
"Has he offended you?" Sinbad asked as they jogged up the endless set of stairs. "I have gained the impression that he tends to run his mouth without much thought."
Kurapika sighed. "Yes, we had a disagreement."
Sinbad wasn't in a hurry to inquire on the reason for the argument. This type of information must be willingly given to him so he remained quiet and focused on the body obstacles blocking his way.
"He disrespected my fellow Kurta and stomped over my conviction," answered Kurapika in a cold tone. However, Sinbad noticed the deep anger and sadness in the teen's heart when he mentioned his people.
'This is what my intuition was telling me.'
"Revenge?" Sinbad asked the question but he didn't wait for a response. "I am a firm believer of a man doing what they believed was necessary for retribution. "May I ask for the story of your people?"
"Our people have very special eyes, once we feel extreme emotions they change to a bright scarlet color. My brethren were killed to harvest and sell their eyes. They—"
"Who?" Sinbad's question cut Kurapika off.
"Excuse me?" Kurapika asked, taking a quick glance at the long purple haired Sinbad. Kurapika's eyes widened, noticing the anger on the man's face. He collected himself, remembering the question he was asked and tried to calm his raging heart. "A group of extremely dangerous bandits. Wherever they go only destruction and chaos is left behind as they only serve their own selfish desires. The Phantom Troupe."
'Never heard of them.' Sinbad acknowledged inwardly but remained his angered expression. Putting an extra effort into the act, he clenched his jaw and his running form turned sluggish.
"Have they killed someone you loved?" Kurapika couldn't help but dig deeper to understand Sinbad's overt reaction.
"No, nor have I ever ever heard of these villainous scoundrels but I am a sympathetic man," Sinbad answered, stopping in his tracks. He gripped the hilt of his blue ornate sword as Kurapika stopped to listen. "I have a father who shares the color of my eyes. I have a mother in which I inherited her purple hair and I have a dear twin brother who shares my pulse. If they were taken from me, I'd burn the world in their name and it still wouldn't be enough to satiate my anger."
'The conviction and passion in his voice is calling to me.' Kurapika thought as his heart pounded.
Without another word or waiting for a response, Sinbad rushed back up the stairs and Kurapika silently followed.
'I hope I didn't take it too far,' Sinbad thought as a light shone from the top of the stairs, finally the exit in sight. This pushed the two to move faster and reach the top, exiting the tunnel. A deep thick fog clouded their surroundings.
Sinbad and the rest of the Hunter Applicants reached a new location. Their landscape shifted to a misty bog, the croaking of frogs, the flapping of birds, and the moaning of much bigger creatures waking up. The sun penetrated the fog in a blurry white light.
Behind them, Leorio collapsed out of the closing tunnel, shutting off the protests of the slower contestants. Now with the first part of phase one complete, the participants reduced to [NUMBER]
Satotz clapped, stealing the participants' attention. "I will now tour you to the second phase, please continue to follow me through Misty Wetlands. I advise you all to keep your wits, the ecosystem loves to play games of deceit."
And with that, Satotz turned around and began trotting in his unusual form, swinging his arms back and forth. The skinny man's appearance vanished in the thick mist. The applicants exclaimed and rushed to follow, charging into the fog.
Sinbad didn't mind losing the Examiner because something like this was trivial to him and began to jog. Confident in the early connections he formed, he allowed for fate and time to operate as he expected.
After running for about ten minutes, he stopped relying on his eyesight, noticing the fog's manipulation and separating the groups of people through illusions. With his eyes closed, he moved forward as the screams blended with the warm mist.
The screams morphed into calculated directions, crows flew above him, shouting out misdirections to steer Sinbad into danger. He ignored them because a King must always rely on their intuition over the nonsense of others, especially some animal. The correct path toward safety unraveled before him like a golden road designed for his majesty.
Unabled to be deceived, Sinbad reached the second phase without difficulty. Finally, he opened his eyes. The mist cleared but high towering walls stood in front of him. A circular dome with two metal gates at the center.
Sinbad noticed the abnormally skinny man, Satotz's stare as he faced his attention to him.
"You are quick," Satotz asked, fishing for information.
Noticing this, Sinbad flipped his long hair in confidence and smiled. "I don't fall for petty illusions and deceptions."
Satotz approached Sinbad. "But, you got here before I did. It's like someone told you the path ahead of time."
"I used my intuition," Sinbad replied. "I do hope the rest of the exams are in cleaner environments, I hate to get my clothes dirty as I wouldn't be able to replenish my hometown's fine quality."
Satotz ignored the teen's last remark, his mind focused on a singular word. 'Intuition? Is this the person we are looking for?'
"What examinee number are you?"
"Eleven," answered Sinbad as a group of applicants reached the destination. Satotz ended the conversation by walking away.
A few minutes later, Sinbad spotted Killua. He ran up to him and gave him a celebratory high five. "Nice, you made it."
"Of course I did," Killua replied, closing his eyes and folding his arms. "When did you get here anyway?"
"Barely before you," Sinbad lied, not yet wanting to feed into Killua's competitive nature as he observed his and Gon's race to the top. "I got lucky, my group didn't run into any trouble."
Killua groaned. "When is this Exam going to get tougher?"
"I'm not sure but for the first phase, It was easier than I expected," Sinbad responded. He scanned the remaining applicants and found Tonpa resting against a tree trunk. "Look, even Tonpa is still alive."
Killua couldn't help but laugh.
'Those arrogant rookies, I can't wait to crush them. Even if I don't, the Hunter Exams will.' Tonpa snickered internally.
Gon, Kurapika, and a knocked out Leorio arrived to put an end to the first phase.
The large heavy gates of the brick wall opened, revealing the expansive space inside which was filled with stoves and kitchen appliances. Fruits, spices, and vegetables lined on silver platters on top of counters. Sinbad's eyes filled with horror as the proctor of the second exam wielded butchering knives at her hips.
'No!' Sinbad thought internally, taking a few steps backward. 'This can't be!'
The beautiful lady with pointy hair rose to her feet. "My name is Menchi and I will be your Examiner for the second phase of the Hunter Exam! My test is simple. Make my friend and I roast pig, if it satisfies both of us, then you will pass the second phase."
Sinbad fell to his knees. 'A King isn't supposed to cook.'