Ever since he'd climbed to the second floor, Higuruma had eyes only for Gotoh.
No, he wasn't gay and had no particular taste for it.
He was simply paying close attention to the man because of his knowledge about the individual who had tested Killua's friends.
Thus, he didn't miss a single one of his words.
That's why, when Gotoh uttered the two words "first arrived," Higuruma immediately got an idea of the second trial.
He leaned slightly forward, moving from the back to a more advanced position among the other aspiring apprentice butlers.
When he saw Gotoh shift to the side, Higuruma was already ready to act at any moment.
He leaped like a leopard after Gotoh's following statements.
"First arrived, and no matter the means."
Those last words, as short as they were, contained a multitude of information in the analytical mind of the former lawyer.
The second trial was a race.
Only the first two to cross the finish line would pass the trial. The key, in a race between people with similar physical abilities, was to gain the advantage right from the start.
The one who dashed off first already had a lead for the entire race.
The second-floor window was tiny, allowing only one person to pass through at a time.
Only the fastest could slip through it. The others, slightly behind, would find themselves facing this narrow window.
The inevitable result was a scramble, immediately placing the latecomers in a critically weak position.
Like a fox in a chaotic whirlwind, Higuruma took advantage of the situation and followed the tall, thin man.
The two men running at full speed on the dirt path.
At the same time, his brain was working frantically, analyzing the situation and the environment.
Even with the advantage of having taken the lead, Higuruma remained on his guard.
Even though he could still use cursed energy, he preferred to avoid doing so in Gotoh's presence.
He didn't know if the man was already a Nen user, nor if cursed energy could be perceived by such individuals, but he preferred to limit its use.
Besides that element, there were also four important words in Gotoh's statement:
"No matter the methods."
In short, those words authorized hindering the progress of opponents, even killing them.
Those who were behind could attack the two individuals in the lead, even kill their opponents.
Higuruma had no illusions: the inhabitants of Meteor City were not ordinary people nor naturally honest.
As a former lawyer, he believed in the presumption of innocence for the accused.
Yet, Claud knew it well.
'Any person who has reached adulthood in Meteor City is no saint,' he thought to himself through gritted teeth.
He had good reasons to believe that killing for resources was as common for them as eating or drinking.
Currently, he and the thin man ahead of him occupied the two spots necessary to pass the test.
It was obvious that they wouldn't attack each other.
On the other hand, the situation was uncertain for those pursuing them.
Thus, the second position was undoubtedly the most unfavorable. That's why Higuruma decided to subtly and discreetly amplify his strength with cursed energy.
He was taking the risk of being noticed by Gotoh, but he preferred that to the uncertainty of the fate reserved for those not qualified for the apprentice butler position.
He didn't believe that the Zoldyck family would kindly take him back to his junkyard city.
As he thought this, a whistling sound suddenly reached his ears.
His exceptional intuition and lightning reflexes allowed the former lawyer to react instantly.
His body swerved sharply to the side, after having used cursed energy to maintain his speed while avoiding the unknown attack.
A cold light flashed from behind, grazing a lock of Higuruma's hair.
The unknown object sped forward and embedded itself firmly in a tree by the roadside.
After a moment of focus, Higuruma perceived a dagger solidly lodged in the tree.
Someone had tried to kill him.
"They've already caught up?"
Higuruma glanced at the cuts in his hair and quickly turned his head to look behind him.
Five hundred meters back, an effeminate young man with messy hair was chasing him.
The strange young man was manipulating several short, shiny daggers between his fingers, after realizing his failure against Higuruma.
At the sight of the latter's gaze, his eyes quickly turned cold and his eyebrows furrowed.
With a sharp swing of his arm, another dagger shot toward Higuruma.
The projectile was incredibly precise, heading straight for the former lawyer's exposed nape. Thus, he was forced to dodge again.
Dodging an attack from behind while running would doubtless have slowed Higuruma down, but cursed energy was a determining factor.
He was thus able to continue dodging while maintaining the distance with the dagger maniac and himself.
After escaping all the attacks without slowing down, the effeminate young man behind him displayed a confused face.
Anyone could read his thoughts: why isn't he slowing down? Unfortunately, he got no answer.
"Normally, he should switch targets soon after all these failures," he thought between panting breaths.
Higuruma, analyzing the situation, glanced at the tall, thin man running ahead of him and sketched a smile tinged with pity.
Whoosh!
Another sound cut through the air.
The effeminate young man's daggers behind Higuruma twirled like butterflies, and one of them suddenly shot out, targeting the tall, thin man at the head of the race.
"You, go to the back!" shouted the young man in a high-pitched, annoyed voice.
Caught off guard, the tall, thin man rolled to the side to dodge the dagger, momentarily stopping his run.
"I'll take it, thanks," declared the effeminate young man.
The moment the man stopped to dodge, Higuruma's silhouette and that of the effeminate young man sped past him.
However, the pseudo-employee didn't let it go and reached out toward the culprit of his situation.
His thin arm headed precisely toward the young man's right elbow and yanked it violently backward.
After this move, he tried to deliver a punch of rare violence.
John wasn't a gentle person. In Meteor City, no one was considered gentle by Earth's standards.
John wasn't the type to seek trouble; he had initially planned to pass the exam relying solely on his physical strength.
But he was attacked head-on in an brazen manner, and so decided to apply the law of retaliation.
The inhabitants of Meteor City believed in strength and independence. As an officially uninhabited zone, they naturally received no formal education. The law of the jungle reigned there: only strength or talent guaranteed survival.
The effeminate young man, alias Angel, was an expert in daggers and always carried several concealed on him.
For him, daggers were like an extension of his body, wielded with incredible dexterity.
Anyone who dared provoke him paid a heavy price. Though only 17 years old, he had already taken more than three hundred lives.
For him, attacking Higuruma and John was banal and logical.
"Someone's blocking my way? Attack him! Force him aside. If he dies, he dies. Whatever!" Angel thought during the race.
He had already killed all the other participants, except for Higuruma and John.
When Angel felt the enormous force on his right elbow, he reacted immediately.
His left hand grabbed a dagger backward and, without even looking, struck the audacious man who dared touch him!
Blood spurted from John's arm, who stepped back two paces.
"Good reaction. I was planning to cut off your hand." Angel turned and gave John a dark look.
Despite John's hand injury, Angel wasn't unscathed: his right elbow was bruised, and John's grip had directly injured his joint.
'My right arm is unusable,' Angel noted, assessing the situation.
"Next, it's your left arm," declared John, wiping the blood from his arm with his palm and staring at Angel without showing emotion. "So come try." he said, in an arrogant tone while pulling out a dagger.
The problem with his right arm didn't affect Angel mentally, who sneered at John's statement.
As the two men faced each other, they forgot it was a race.
After several dozen seconds of sprinting, Higuruma finally spotted the finish line: a low wall and a small iron gate.
Next to the gate, Gotoh was already waiting, though Higuruma didn't know how long he'd been there.
"First place validated," said Gotoh in a neutral voice.