I'm Really Not A Nen Exorcist (HxH Fanfic)

In the first half of the second phase of the Hunter Exam, a total of thirty-one examinees had passed.

Excluding Moses, the actual number of people who passed was thirty.

Inside the warehouse.

Moses put his Netero face mask back on and stood at a more marginal position.

The other examinees gathered in front of Menchi and Buhara, with Killua and a few others standing closer to Moses.

However, after returning to the warehouse, Killua and his friends refrained from actively approaching Moses.

The reason is that Kurapika speculated that Moses was most likely the hidden examiner for this Hunter Exam.

The basis for his speculation is simple:

They already know Moses's identity, and as a Single-Star Pro Hunter, apart from serving as an examiner, are there any other possibilities for him to take the Hunter Exam?

Therefore, before the second phase is completed, Kurapika suggested they distance themselves from Moses, so as not to impact the integrity of the final evaluations.

Menchi stepped forward from behind Buhara to address the examinees.

"Just to let you know, I'm not as lenient as Buhara. You'd better be mentally prepared."

As she spoke, Menchi put one hand on her waist and the thumb of her other hand lightly rested on her chin, looking thoughtful.

When the examinees present saw Menchi's expression, they were almost all shocked.

'Could it be that this female examiner hasn't thought of the test content yet...?!'

They speculated in their minds.

And this is indeed the case. Menchi hadn't prepared the test in advance.

"Hmm…"

Menchi pondered for a moment. She had initially considered a sushi-making challenge, but without any sea fish around, if she rashly made such a test, it might embarrass her master.

And that simply wouldn't do!

Just as Netero once remarked about Pro Hunters as examiners...

Many Pro Hunters have an unpredictable way of setting challenges, often disregarding fairness.

In the past, Pyon was one of the best example, and this year's Menchi was no different.

She was afraid of embarrassing Moses, so she thought about how to reduce the difficulty of the test.

After thinking for about a minute, Menchi finally decided on the test.

"For the second half of the second phase, what I want is..."

She looked at the examinees present and said seriously, "Tiger-striped puffer cuisine."

After saying this, without caring about the examinees' reactions, she pulled out a small blackboard, and then took a pen and drew a round, puffed-up fish on it.

"This is your hint. And..."

Menchi's face twisted into a slightly menacing grin as she waggled her pen, and reminded: "The tiger-striped puffer contains deadly toxins, so be careful."

"!"

After hearing Menchi's reminder, most of the examinees present were visibly shocked and they looked at the outline on the blackboard with wide eyes.

Among the examinees, the expression of a short boy with a bow and arrow on his back shifted slightly.

'Tiger-striped puffer... My luck is pretty good.'

The boy's name is Pokkle. He is determined to become a Magical Beast Hunter and had a vast knowledge of various creatures, including the tiger-striped puffer, which gave him an undeniable advantage.

Suppressing his urge to rush to the river in the forest, Pokkle quickly lowered his head to hide his fleeting excitement.

Knowing about the tiger-striped puffer was an advantage in this test, and if he used it well, his chances of obtaining the Hunter License would significantly increase.

To that end, it was critical to keep this 'information' hidden.

Pokkle had already planned to hunt the tiger-striped puffer at a more distant river and prepare it without returning to the warehouse.

Not far away.

Hanzo glanced meaningfully at Pokkle, who lowered his head and remained silent.

The others didn't notice Pokkle's fleeting change of emotion, but Hanzo did.

'It seems that that kid also knows about pufferfish...'

Hanzo's own excitement had dimmed somewhat.

Although he wasn't familiar with the tiger-striped puffer specifically, after seeing the hint drawn by Menchi, he immediately realized that it should be a creature similar to regular pufferfish.

At the edge of the crowd.

Moses raised a hand to his chin and thought to himself, 'I thought Menchi would go with an impossible sushi challenge, like in the original work...' (T/N: For Anime Watcher only, in the manga, Menchi's test is after Buhara's roasted pork, and she asked for sushi.)

Menchi's sudden change of plans surprised Moses a bit, but he didn't dwell on it.

"Listen up! I'm giving you only two hours."

Menchi looked around at the examinees and announced, "So, the second half of the second phase officially begins now!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the examinees present rushed towards the door.

Most of them had no idea what a tiger-striped puffer was, but based on the hint given by Menchi, they at least knew that it was a kind of fish.

Soon, only Moses and Pokkle were left in the warehouse.

'That guy…'

Using the corner of his eye, Pokkle glanced at Moses, then quickly picked up his pace to leave.

Moses didn't pay attention to Pokkle's movements. He lowered his head and thought about it, and decided to take part in the test given by Menchi.

Thus, he followed Pokkle toward the door.

This unintentional action aroused Pokkle's vigilance.

'Damn, has he caught on?'

Pokkle walked in front with a slightly solemn look on his face.

Meanwhile…

In the forest path leading to the river.

"The tiger-striped puffer is a fish. Judging from its name, it should have distinctive black and yellow stripes on its body, and we needed to pay attention to its toxins."

Kurapika spoke up to remind Gon and the others.

With Menchi's sketch as a rough outline, and the specific 'tiger-striped' trait, Kurapika felt that locating the tiger-striped puffer shouldn't be too difficult.

The real concern was its lethal toxin.

"If only that chubby guy with the laptop were here…"

Leorio remarked, recalling the pudgy, slicked-back candidate who brought a laptop to the exam.

With his help, they might have easily pulled up an image of the tiger-striped puffer.

Unfortunately, that guy hadn't made it through the Swindler's Swamp.

Based on the many hints given by Menchi, the thirty remaining examinees began searching various rivers for the elusive tiger-striped puffer.

Moses was also among them, wandering alone along a riverbank.

As for Pokkle, who had left the warehouse before him, his whereabouts were unknown.

After half an hour, examinees began to trickle back into the warehouse, each holding what they believed to be tiger-striped puffer.

As soon as they entered the warehouse, they hurried to the kitchen counter and began to process the fish they had hunted.

Menchi and Buhara observed their food preparation from the sidelines.

Is that fish a tiger-striped puffer?

Is there something wrong with the way it was processed?

Menchi would offer no indication. Nor would she betray any reaction through her expression.

Buhara, however, was another matter.

He looked at the way these examinees handled the ingredients and couldn't help but shook his head.

Only the flesh of the tiger-striped puffer is safe to eat, while the rest contains toxins.

Needless to say, the liver is the part that contains the most toxins. Even the skin, which is often overlooked, contains toxins.

So-

As long as examinees weren't meticulous in the preparation process, they are wasting their time from the very beginning and are pushing themselves toward elimination.

Because Menchi will not take the initiative to offer guidance throughout this process, when the examinees bring the dishes they has prepared with great difficulty to the table, what awaits them will be an examiner who wouldn't even lift her chopsticks.

'Why is that big examiner shaking his head and sighing? Could it be that the fish I caught is not a tiger-striped puffer?!'

One of the examinees noticed Buhara's expression and felt nervous.

After a moment's hesitation, he decided to trust his judgment. Abandoning the half-prepared fish, he bolted back out of the warehouse.

"Menchi, that examinee is quite capable. He realized something was wrong while preparing the fish."

Buhara looked at the examinee running out of the venue and couldn't help but praise him.

Upon hearing this, Menchi was silent for a moment, then heaved a long sigh.

Though she hadn't pointed out the issues, she couldn't deny that Buhara's unintended hint had slipped through.

After all, there are only thirty examinees left. If she is too harsh, then her master in charge of the third phase of the test would have no one to test.

'It's all because of that murderous guy...'

'Otherwise, there would be at least nearly a hundred examinees at this stage.'

'Still, that guy hadn't shown up at the venue. He must have been dealt with by Master.'

Thinking of this, Menchi leaned back on the sofa, looking particularly relaxed.