All the venomous snakes fell to the ground. One after another. They landed, and at the moment of impact, they split into two pieces.
A massive spray of blood gushed forth, flooding the nearby area. Bapen was drenched from head to toe.
Ron retracted his Rotten Life Blade and slid it back into its sheath.
Bapen stood there in a daze. Ponzu was as well. This scene was entirely beyond Ponzu's expectations.
"Incredible! So this is the captain's true strength? He took out so many venomous snakes with a single strike!"
Ron glanced over at Ponzu.
"Ponzu, let's go."
Ponzu finally came to her senses and hurried after him.
By the time Ron and Ponzu arrived at the port, a few examinees were already waiting there.
A ship was docked, with a plank set between the vessel and the island.
An examiner stepped off the ship.
"Congratulations to all of you. I need to record the tags each of you obtained. Those whose names I read out, please present your tags."
Hisoka held four tags in his hand.
"Hisoka: one target tag, three unrelated tags, totaling six points."
"Pokkle: your own tag and your target's tag, six points."
"Gittarackur… six points."
"Killua… six points."
"Bodoro… six points."
"Hanzo… six points."
"Ron… six points."
"Elita… six points."
"Ponzu…"
The examiner looked at Ponzu.
Ponzu shook her head. "I didn't get enough points."
The examiner nodded. "Then congratulations to those eight examinees for passing this test and moving on to the final stage. Ten minutes remain."
Just as he finished speaking, three more people jogged over—Leorio, Kurapika, and Gon.
The examiner's eyes lit up slightly. "Congratulations to Leorio, Kurapika, and Gon for passing as well. Congratulations to these eleven examinees!"
Ron scanned his surroundings. Compared to the original storyline, two more people had passed this exam—himself and Elita.
He was a transmigrator, never part of this world to begin with. As for Elita, she was only here because of him; otherwise, she might already have died in Aurean's No. 2 research facility.
Ron's gaze swept over Elita. Following his instructions, Elita pretended she did not know him.
Ron did not fully trust Elita, regardless of her claim that he had once saved her life.
First, her words might not be true. Second, even if they were, that didn't guarantee she was truly grateful.
There are plenty of instances of returning kindness with betrayal in any world.
Still, since Elita had said so, Ron went with it and gave her a task: gather intel on the Underworld Mafia.
In the upcoming Yorknew storyline, the Zoldyck Family might target the Underworld Mafia, and any information Elita gathered could prove very useful.
If she failed to gather anything or simply reported him to the Ten Dons, Ron wouldn't really lose out.
He glanced at the crystal sphere before him. The progress bar upon it rose slowly.
"Sixty-one percent! Not bad. It's pretty much what I expected."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Everyone, please board the ship. We'll transfer to an airship shortly," the examiner said, then turned to Ponzu.
"But those who didn't pass can't board the airship. Once we dock, you'll have to leave on your own."
Ponzu nodded. "Understood."
The examinees boarded in turn.
"Doo! Doo! Doo!"
The whistle sounded again, and the ship began to leave Zevil Island.
A figure emerged from the woods.
Ruco watched the departing ship with a conflicted look.
"Ron was right. Gittarackur really isn't someone I can afford to provoke. We're not on the same level at all. And the same goes for Ron."
"Should I try to get in touch with him?"
Ruco paused in thought.
She had come to the Hunter Exam to become stronger. Having failed now, this path was closed until next year.
But the power Ron had shown was something she had never seen.
A powerful person isn't necessarily good at teaching, but they certainly know how one might grow stronger.
At Another Scene
Bapen let out a deep sigh as he stared at the countless snake corpses.
"I'm still too weak."
Elsewhere in the Forest
Two bodies lay deeper in the forest—Amori and Umori.
Only Imori survived among the Mori Brothers.
Imori had no idea how long he'd been running. Even though Killua no longer pursued him, he couldn't bring himself to stop.
He ran all the way to the island's edge and found a small cave where he hid.
"That kid… too terrifying. Amori and Umori are both dead. What am I supposed to do now? How can I face Mom?"
Imori curled up tightly, then came up with an idea: simply never go back. Wander outside, never return home, pretend he'd died.
"Would Mom be sad? Then again, maybe it doesn't really matter to her."
High Above on the Airship
In a conference room, Netero, Menchi, Buhara, Satotz, and Lippo were seated.
Many individuals had served as examiners during the Hunter Exam—some in the preliminaries, like the Foxbear, and even the ship's captain, the quick-quiz granny, and the Trick Tower prisoners.
But the main examiners were only these few people gathered here now.