The world does not belong to a class society, yet classes have always existed.
It uses various privileges to divide people into different ranks, and among these, the Hunter Exam is a prime example in the Hunter world.
Anyone who passes the Hunter Exam and obtains a Hunter License:
Can enter 90% of countries that prohibit entry and 75% of restricted areas.
Can use it as collateral to obtain massive loans.
Can use 95% of public facilities worldwide for free, until death.
Can even sell it. The proceeds from its sale can support seven generations of descendants, who will never have to worry about food or clothing.
Therefore, to obtain these privileges, the candidates who gather for the Hunter Exam each year are all elites from across the continent. Some have even gone through a series of cruel competitions, or even massacres, in their own countries or tribes just to barely secure a precious spot. And the result... is to be blocked at the door and humiliated like this. Even a saint would be angry!
The scene fell silent. The waiting hall was rendered red by the furious "aura"... The bandaged man, the snake charmer, the muscular man, the bald ninja... every single Hunter exam candidate glared angrily at Pariston.
The blond youth, far from being afraid, was delighted. His very soul trembled with excitement... 'Yes, just like that. Those eyes, wishing they could kill me... they're just too wonderful...' Pariston was intoxicated, mesmerized.
He hugged himself in bliss, seemingly not noticing the crowd surging toward him.
Soon, he was surrounded. Among them, the bare-chested muscular man reached out to grab him, his movement powerful, heavy, and extremely fast: "Kid, I'll play with you... I, Donovan, don't accept being called 'trash'!"
"Donovan! It's Hercules Donovan!"
Someone called out the strong man's name... "Hercules Donovan, the 16-time consecutive champion of the 'World Powerlifting Cup,' with a bench press record of thirty-six tons!"
"With him here, uh..."
Splat!
Before "Hercules'" hand could even touch Pariston, the fat bodyguard beside him swatted down, turning him into meat paste!
Hiss— The pungent smell of blood filled the air. The pile of meat paste lay right before their eyes. The sound of sharp, indrawn breaths rose one after another, followed by... terrified screams!
It was chaos. The surrounding crowd, as if in a rehearsal, retreated in unison. Many people held onto chairs and vomited. Some even collapsed, their legs giving out, and soiled themselves.
The perfectly fine waiting hall had instantly become an inferno of "panic"...
"Young master, that fat man should be an 'Enhancer'." A palm strike reinforced with "aura" was like a sledgehammer; whoever it hit would die. It wasn't that Donovan was weak, only that... for a normal person, fighting a Nen user is a one-sided slaughter.
Gotoh, using [Gyo], saw it clearly... Roy, however, had no reaction. Instead, he cast a surprised glance at the Kurta girl sitting diagonally opposite him. Her face had only turned pale for an instant before returning to normal. Her mental fortitude was uncommonly strong.
"Alright, I've said my piece. Who agrees? Who objects?" With Donovan as an example, Pariston smiled and scanned the room. At his feet were countless potential Donovans...
The crowd fell silent. Someone shouted, "Let's just rebook! Maybe we can still make it. There's no need to fight this madman to the death."
A few people began to leave, then a small group, then a large crowd. After about five minutes, the huge waiting hall was empty, with only about ten people left.
Among them were the bandaged man, the snake charmer, the boy with the bow, the ninja, the Kurta girl, Gotoh, and... Roy!
"Clap, clap, clap..." Pariston applauded. "It seems you all are very confident in your abilities... Good. Very good." The blond youth's gaze swept over them one by one, finally landing on Roy for an instant. He smiled even more happily. He pulled up a chair and sat down, resting his chin on one hand. "I said it, I asked you all to do me a favor. Since you won't agree, then..."
Pariston looked at them all playfully. "Either I beat all of you to death, or all of you get beaten to death by me. Choose."
"Ding-dong... Ding-dong... Passengers for flight L8975, please note, boarding has now begun. Please proceed to gate L6 for boarding..."
"Ding-dong..." The airport broadcast rang out at that moment, announcing that passengers for the flight to the Z Bheel Republic could begin boarding.
The atmosphere instantly dropped to a freezing point.
The blond youth just watched them quietly. The snake charmer and the boy with the bow glanced at each other, snorted coldly, and turned to leave. Pride had made them stay, but Donovan's miserable fate could not be ignored.
They had to admit, they couldn't beat the fat bodyguard next to the youth.
"Hehehe... 'He who understands the times is a wise man.' Don't let me keep you two..." Pariston waved at their retreating backs. He then turned to look at the bandaged man. The man tensed, quietly clenching his fist. Finally, he glanced fearfully at Pariston. His intuition told him this youth was no weaker than the fat bodyguard who had just acted; in fact, he was much stronger. In silence, he chose to turn and leave, to rebook on the next flight.
'I just hope I can make it in time...'
"Oh my, has everyone left?" The ninja rubbed his bald head, glanced at Roy and Gotoh, and said with regret, "I was counting on three versus four, the advantage was on my side. But now that one is gone... 'A ninja doesn't stand under a collapsing wall.' I'm outta here."
With that, his figure flashed, and he followed the bandaged man out of the waiting hall to rebook his ticket.
Soon, only Roy, Gotoh, and the Kurta girl were left in the hall.
The girl pushed up the glasses on her nose, closed her travelogue, and, without a word, walked directly toward the exit. As she passed Roy, she gave him a polite nod.
Roy returned a smile.
Across the rows of seats, only he and Gotoh remained. One sat cross-legged, the other had his hands in his pockets. They sat quietly from beginning to end, showing no sign of leaving.
Whoosh! A cold wind blew into the waiting hall through the glass window.
Pariston whistled, his eyes smiling, as if he had long predicted this situation.
He spread his arms and said with praise, "The world's number one family of assassins really has prestige."
With one sentence, he had exposed Roy's identity. Behind him, the fat and thin bodyguards both looked over, their expressions full of shock and uncertainty...
"Hey, hey, hey! Playing is playing, messing around is messing around, little Hill. I can protect you, but if you want me to kill a Zoldyck, I'm not doing it!" The fat bodyguard said this and promptly tucked his hands away. Beside him, the thin bodyguard glared at him, frowned deeply, and also said nothing.
Pariston shrugged. "See? Even my men are too scared to make a peep. Roy Zoldyck, how about...
"Let's play a game... If you lose, the exit is out and to the left. As for if you win... I will bow and see you off, without another word of nonsense. How about it?"
"Young master..." Gotoh looked at Roy.
The boy closed his notebook, steepled his fingers against his chin, and looked at Pariston with a matching smile. "I think beating you to death would be better."