"Ugh… where am I?" I groaned, my voice raspy.
I found myself in a well-lit stone room, lying upside down with my back against the floor and my legs up the wall.
"Damn, my back hurts… Good thing I asked the system to reinforce my body with Nen — otherwise, with that terrible landing, I might've snapped my neck."
Despite the Nen reinforcement, a dull, itchy ache throbbed in my upper back, so I asked the system to heal the injury.
Almost immediately, I felt a warm sensation spreading through the sore spot, soothing and relaxing the bruised area.
Within less than a minute, I was back to normal — maybe even better than before.My posture straightened, and my neck moved more freely than ever.
"Compared to the last examiner, this one clearly doesn't give a damn about the participants.Anyone else in my position would've been barely able to keep going."
Grumbling a bit, I began looking around the room. And I had to admit — for such a rough start, the setup wasn't bad at all.
There was a bed, a mini-fridge, a sink, a portable electric stovetop, basic cooking utensils… and even ventilation.
After washing up and checking the fridge, I filled a small pot with water to boil, took off my shoes and dirty clothes (which clearly needed a wash), and gratefully collapsed onto the bed.
Naturally, I asked the system if the room was safe — and received the answer I wanted.
But just as I sank into the mattress, I heard the crinkle of paper under the blanket.
Pulling it back, I found a single sheet, printed on both sides.
× Instructions ×Wanderer, you have found yourself trapped within the dungeon… ×
After reading just a few lines, I had a pretty good idea of what kind of examiner we were dealing with: a fantasy-obsessed roleplaying Game Master.
My brow twitched with every paragraph, and by the time I hit the one-third mark, I could feel a vein pulsing in my temple.
Unable to take it anymore, I asked the system to extract all useful information from the text.
Turned out we'd been completely misled — even the timing was a lie.
The entire trial would last a week, and we were inside what the examiner called a "Dungeon."
Along the way, we might come across up to five "Taverns" — safe zones just like this one.
Inside these zones, violence and killing were strictly forbidden. But once you stepped beyond their "green" boundaries, all bets were off — lawlessness resumed.
The only part the examiner didn't lie about… was the danger posed by other participants.
"So as long as I stay here, I'm safe…And since this is labeled a 'tavern,' that means others might show up eventually.Too bad it's still early — I'm wide awake.Would've loved to nap for an hour or two.Although knowing my luck, I'd probably wake up the second things got interesting again."
"Better to eat first — then check what's behind the door."
Pouring a little boiled water into a mug of cocoa powder, I dumped in some instant noodles, sealed the cup with its lid, and set it aside.
Next, I placed a metal plate on the stovetop and started frying some sausages — sliced into rings and sprinkled with black pepper and dill.
My mouth watered at the smell.
Once the sausages were perfectly golden-brown, I added in the noodles and transferred everything into the same pot.
I drained the leftover noodle water and began making a simple tomato-based sauce.
If I had the choice, I'd go for a garlic sauce or something creamy and cheesy — but neither were available.
Once I finished cooking and plating, I pressed my palms together for a brief moment of gratitude — thanking myself for the meal.
Full to bursting, I couldn't resist the satisfaction of flopping onto the bed and rubbing my now-stuffed belly in bliss.
Of course, you're not supposed to lie down right after eating — you should at least stay upright — but I just couldn't resist this particular weakness of mine.
"Life is good…"
After lazing around for 10–15 minutes, I finally got up — reluctantly.
"Time to go scouting.This is the Hunter Exam, after all — and the examiners usually have a quota.They need to eliminate at least half the participants.Which means, out of 108 of us, only 54 will make it at best."
But just as I approached the door, for the first time… I got a prompt from the system:
[ Would you like to skip to the end of Phase Two? ][ Cost: 200 Nen ]
The offer intrigued me. I mean, if there's a shortcut… why not take it?
I paid the fee. The system then asked me to choose between a text guide or a visual one.I picked the latter.
From my stomach, a glowing white arrow appeared — leaving a dotted trail behind as it moved.
It flew up to the door and spiraled in place, pointing at it.
Not being a complete idiot, I opened the door and followed the arrow through a series of long corridors.
I passed several other doors along the way, and the overall interior was surprisingly well-designed — especially the lighting and the framed artwork on the walls.
Eventually, I reached a dead end with a lone door and a potted ficus tree sitting in front of it — exactly where the arrow had been leading.
As I approached, the arrow didn't spiral like before — instead, it began circling the pot.
Scratching behind my ear, I tried lifting the plant, only to find it was firmly glued to the floor.
I poked around a bit — and when I shifted my weight to the side, a floor tile slid open.
It stood out thanks to the wood grain; this section of the floor looked slightly off compared to the rest.
Turning the flower pot and floor tile counterclockwise, I uncovered a hidden vertical passage with a ladder.
"Looks like a maintenance route — probably used by staff to set up this phase of the exam.Well… not my fault they forgot to lock it."
Climbing down, I closed the hatch behind me using a latch beneath the flower pot.
And right at that moment, as Mousse sealed the hidden entrance and descended into the unknown...
A door across the room swung open, and in stepped a short, pudgy man with dark brown hair, thick eyebrows, and a boxy nose.
"Okay, looks like this leads into the next chamber. Guess the trial starts for real after this…"
That man was none other than Tonpa, also known as… The Rookie Crusher.
Right now, he was feeling great — freshly cleaned up, settled after a light snack and a bit of warm-up exercise.
"I really hope I run into that newbie again.If he hadn't shown up late, and if Phase One hadn't started so fast, I would've at least had time to offer him my laxative soda…"
He cracked his knuckles with a smirk.
"Well, no matter. Crushing him in the later rounds will be even sweeter.Even if I have to drag him down with me —he'd be lucky to get eliminated before we meet. Bu-hahahaha!"
In the end… Tonpa never did meet Mousse.
He was eliminated halfway through the Second Phase.