High above the snowy plains.
An airship decorated in cute pink colors, with its nose cone modified to look like a cartoon rabbit, drifted over the gathering point where the candidates stood.
Standing at the exit of this girl-power-themed airship...
Was a blonde girl with twin tails. She wore a lavish winter dress and held a red, Lolita-style parasol. She scanned the candidates below and let out a sigh of relief.
"Ah... almost late."
The blonde girl leaned on her red umbrella and snapped the pocket watch in her other hand shut.
Standing in the snow below, Yuu instantly sensed a massive, powerful presence hovering in the sky not far above his head.
He followed the sensation and looked up, immediately spotting the blonde girl in the fancy dress.
"That silhouette looks familiar..."
Yuu squinted, staring at the figure in the sky. But before he could think any further...
The girl took a step forward. Without any safety gear or parachute, she leaped off the airship, free-falling into the biting wind.
From an altitude of several hundred meters...
Even with the thick snow below acting as a cushion, for a normal person, this was a suicide jump.
However, anyone capable of doing something this crazy...
Was obviously not a normal person.
"...It's her?"
Yuu muttered to himself, a look of realization dawning on his face.
He recognized her.
That was Chairman Netero's disciple—
Biscuit Krueger. Or Bisky.
A Nen master of the highest caliber.
As for how high? She was definitely stronger than the series' standard measuring stick for power—Hisoka.
"A master like that wouldn't come to a place like this just to kill time...
"Looks like Bisky is the examiner for this phase," Yuu thought to himself, already guessing what kind of grueling test she might have in store.
...
...
"Hey! Someone jumped off the airship!!"
Some of the candidates noticed the petite figure falling from the sky and pointed upward, screaming.
"It looks like... a little girl!?"
"Idiots, stop staring! You're gonna get crushed! Move!"
Seeing the figure plummeting toward them, the candidates scattered in a panic.
BOOM—!!!
A deafening crash shook the snowfield. An explosion of white powder erupted into the sky, followed by a violent shockwave that swept through the area.
"Making an entrance with an explosion... as expected of a fifty-something muscle monster..."
Yuu watched the petite silhouette through the veil of snow dust, mentally commenting on the spectacle.
Moments later...
As the dust settled, Bisky's small form became visible in the mist.
Just as Yuu had seen earlier, she was dressed in elegant winter wear, holding her red Lolita umbrella, looking every bit the noble young lady.
However, after that impact crater landing, no one was going to mistake her for a delicate flower.
...
"Close one... but I made it."
Bisky frowned slightly, muttering under her breath.
Then, she stepped out of the crater she had created. Ignoring the stunned expressions on the candidates' faces, she introduced herself:
"Hello everyone. I am the examiner for this phase of the Hunter Exam, Biscuit Krueger. I'm 13 years old, and a 2-Star Stone Hunter."
"Please take care of me."
Saying this, Bisky lifted the hem of her skirt with one hand and performed a perfect, ladylike curtsy.
"..."
Silence descended on the snowfield.
It wasn't just the regular candidates; even Yuu had a complicated look on his face.
Though, his surprise was for a different reason.
13 years old?
Yuu's corner of his mouth twitched as he screamed internally:
"You mean 53!!"
He knew Bisky was sensitive about her age, but he didn't expect her to be this shameless!
Talk about mutton dressed as lamb!
However...
Seeing her in person, her physical age really did look incredibly young.
Her vitality, the sheen of her hair, the elasticity of her skin... she looked indistinguishable from a regular teenage girl.
It was the power of "Nen."
"The stronger the Nen user, the longer they live and the slower they age... that part is definitely true," Yuu thought.
While he was pondering this, he noticed...
Bisky suddenly pulled a blue gemstone the size of a chicken egg from her pocket. She held it up to her forehead for everyone to see.
"Candidates, here is the task for this round!"
Bisky flicked her wrist, showing off the blue gem.
"This gem comes from the nest of a cave-dwelling beast native to this snowfield—the Ice Crystal Bear."
"Your task is to find this gem!"
"You have three days. Anyone who brings me a gem that satisfies my standards within the time limit passes!"
"Now then... the Second Phase of the Hunter Exam officially begins!"
With that, Bisky pocketed the gem and added a warning.
"By the way, the Ice Crystal Bear is a very dangerous species. If you're unlucky enough to run into one, I suggest you don't try to fight it."
"Also, once you get the gem, don't touch it with your bare hands. It affects the gem's texture and luster, which might cause you to fail..."
After dropping those helpful hints, Bisky turned and walked back toward the cute rabbit airship that had landed nearby. She left them with one final sentence:
"I'll be back here in three days."
"Good luck until then!"
"..."
Perhaps because her entrance was too shocking, not a single candidate dared to make a joke or complain.
On the flip side, seeing an examiner with superhuman abilities lit a fire under them.
As soon as Bisky finished speaking, the candidates dispersed, rushing off in all directions.
Yuu was the only one who moved at a leisurely pace, heading toward the area with the fewest people.
"Three days... forget finding the gem, I should probably worry about how to survive out here first."
Yuu quietly activated his Nen, conjuring his Nen beast in the palm of his hand.
"It's grown again."
Upon closer inspection, Yuu noticed that as the beast's size increased, the four small bumps on its belly had become more distinct. Clearly, this snake-like form wasn't its final evolution.
If his previous theory was correct, "appetite" correlated with the size of what it could swallow.
Increased size...
For a living creature, meant a larger appetite, as well as better resistance and digestion for whatever ended up in its stomach.
In other words, it could swallow much larger amounts of "Nen."
"If there's no limit to its growth... I wonder what kind of monster it will eventually become."
Yuu stopped that train of thought. He looked at the Nen beast, whose stomach was flat and empty again, and muttered:
"I just hope these Ice Crystal Bears aren't an endangered species..."