Chapter 21: Making a Friend!

As he approaches the entrance, he’s stopped by one of the men. “Excuse me sir, this park is closed today.”Calmly, Auren replies, “I have a ticket,” and presents it without hesitation.

The man waits a second before intently staring at the ticket.

Using Gyo, huh?

“Your name, sir?” the man asks, his tone softening a little.

“Auren Nilum,” Auren responds casually.

“Welcome, Candidate. Please proceed to the arena,” the man says with a smirk, pulling out a white badge with the number 123 while jotting something down in his notebook.

“Thank you,” Auren replies, taking the badge and slipping it into his pants pocket, choosing not to display it openly.

Suddenly, the crowd behind him erupts.

“UNFAIR!!!”

“THIS IS BIASED!”

“They got bribed—filthy cheaters!”

“FUCK YOU!!”

Damn losers! What use is insulting me or the examiners? They deserve to fail!

Ignoring the commotion behind him, Auren enters and takes a moment to scan the park and notices a few more presumed candidates entering right behind him. They clearly share his goal of taking the exam, and they also enter without any resistance or struggle.

Auren does his best to recall any prominent characters from his fragmented memories, regardless of how harmless they may seem.

If this is about fighting, I won’t lose. Not if most of the candidates don’t know about Nen! But… there’s a big chance I’ll struggle if the tasks are different. Still, I’ll do my best!

Auren then catches sight of a few candidates scaling the side wall and slipping into the park on their own. They look strong—definitely not your average civilian—and they’ve apparently managed to get through the tight security, even with the sea of police officers outside.

So blatant!! They’re not even hiding! Surely they’ll get stopped later? Or… is this enough to qualify? Making it past a bunch of normal police officers? Surely not!

Auren continues toward the Arena at the park’s center, but nothing exciting happens. No one gets stopped. No one is chased. Once inside, the officers completely ignore the candidates.

Wait a second… they didn’t receive a badge, so I’m guessing they won’t be recognized as candidates. This is going to be interesting!

He walks on and eventually arrives at the large Arena situated in the heart of Triangle Park. As he steps toward the entrance, another man in a suit stops him, and another candidate who happens to arrive at the same time.

“I assume you two aren’t just a couple of unlucky men who randomly decided to visit this park, huh? I’ll need your names to hand over your badges. If you haven’t registered for the exam, you can’t participate!”

The other candidate answers first. “Mili Nutra.”

The suited man quickly checks a thick list—more like a small book—makes a note, and then hands him a black badge. Mili takes it without saying a word and confidently walks inside.

Auren smiles faintly and waits until the man’s attention shifts to him. Then he silently pulls out his white badge from his pocket, flashing it briefly.

The man in the suit nods and smiles, noting down Auren’s number, 123, and gestures for him to enter.

Inside, Auren sees hundreds of candidates. There are no seats, no stages—the Arena is completely cleared out. But it’s not just an empty hall. Arranged neatly are multiple small fighting stages.

Auren counts exactly 16 small fighting rings, just slightly elevated wooden rings set in a tidy 4 by 4 formation.

Yes! Exactly how I like it.

His mood lifts as he begins to count the candidates. Around 300 have arrived so far, but the number keeps rising every minute. Over the next hour, that number multiplies more than fivefold—leaving Auren absolutely stunned.

So many candidates… this isn’t good!

Finally, at exactly 10 AM, the Arena doors slam shut. Multiple men in suits walk in—some station themselves in front of the doors, while most move toward the center of the Arena.

Auren notices that each small fighting stage is manned by at least one of the suited men, each of whom takes up a silent position inside the Arena rings.

Then the door opens once more—and a single man walks in.

Auren recognizes him immediately.

The man wears a white and black outfit—a pair of pants, a jacket, and a hat adorned with two horn-like decorations. Every piece of his clothing is patterned with a distinctive black-and-white motif, closely resembling a cow’s hide.

Mizaistom Nana… The Crime Hunter! One of the Zodiacs!

The man confidently walks toward the center stage, then raises his voice and calls out, “Welcome, everyone. Congratulations on making it to this year’s Hunter Exam. I am Mizaistom Nana, a Two-Star Crime Hunter. It appears that exactly 1,711 candidates have found their way to this year’s venue.”

His tone suddenly hardens.

“I like people who obey the law and follow the rules. I hate those who cause unnecessary chaos and go against the established order. Don’t you think this year’s exam was a little too easy to find? As some of you might know, we usually prescreen heavily so that the number of candidates remains manageable. But this year, the only task before the actual exam was to enter this park. We had security personnel stationed outside to prevent people from forcefully entering from the sides, but let’s be honest—that shouldn’t even qualify as a challenge for a Hunter.”

Mizaistom’s gaze sharpens, and his voice turns steely.

“According to information provided by my co-examiners, we have 215 people who entered the intended, and lawful way. Anyone with a white badge, please gather in that corner over there. Congratulations on making it to this year’s exam!” He points to an isolated area of the Arena, taped off and separated from the rest of the Arena.

A few examiners, wearing the typical black suits, guide everyone, including Auren, into the taped-off area, while Mizaistom continues his announcement.

“Now, all you others… in my opinion, you’re a bunch of filthy, no-good burglars! You deserve to fail, because people like you are exactly the kind of Hunters the association does not need. However, I’ll give you a chance! Wear your badges now—if they aren’t visible in the next ten seconds, I’ll disqualify you immediately. Since we have 215 people who reached the exam the correct way, I’ll allow a maximum of 185 of you to move forward, to make it a nice, even number.”

He pauses briefly before continuing with a grim edge in his voice.

“I’ll give you exactly three hours to challenge each other in duels! The loser hands over all their badges to the winner. After time’s up, the 185 people with the most badges will proceed. If there’s a tie at the cutoff—everyone with that number fails. So don’t try to play it safe.”

His voice rises slightly.

“Each fight lasts one minute. If there isn’t a winner within that time, both participants lose all their badges. Anyone who uses force outside the ring gets disqualified on the spot. Not happy with these restrictive rules? Then follow the official rules next time. Now—have fun!”

Certainly harsh... he really does like punishing 'criminals.’ Out of the remaining 1,496 candidates, only 185 can pass? Probably way fewer, especially if anyone who ties gets disqualified too...

Auren watches from a distance as the crowd begins to erupt into chaotic battles. Everyone is challenging each other, desperate to collect more badges. He notices multiple people being disqualified by using force outside the rings or trying to force someone to duel them—some get caught by Mizaistom himself, others by his men.

The multiple disqualifications finally restore order, and the other candidates with the black badges challenge each other in an orderly fashion.

Auren scans the crowd carefully and finally spots someone he recognizes among the people with the black badges.

A small, fat man with brown hair, thick eyebrows, and an unkempt beard is chatting with another participant who looks naive and easily fooled.

Tonpa! I somehow remember that guy—he’s a damn cockroach participating solely to sabotage others. A dark, twisted individual. Looks like he already started with his scheme… if I get the chance, I’ll end his ‘career’… for good.

Auren shifts his focus away from the “criminal” group and walks around inspecting the other participants. After walking through the entire sectioned-off area of the large arena, he spots two more familiar faces.

I know this guy with the weird curled-up sideburns... but I don’t remember his name. I think he’s an emitter who can conjure eleven balloon-nen beasts that follow simple commands.

Auren evaluates him carefully with Gyo, but sees nothing suspicious.

Probably not a Nen user yet—or he’s good at hiding it, which I doubt. This method isn’t reliable, but I believe a skilled Nen user always carries a distinct, calm, and powerful Aura around them. Someone at that level wouldn’t bother faking a weak Aura just to blend in with uninitiated folks. This can only mean he does not know Nen yet.

Then he sees someone whose name he actually remembers. A man with a well-built stature, with short, dark hair.

Goreinu!

Auren activates Gyo again—this time, noticing a strong and stable Aura radiating from him.

Another emitter and a Nen beast user. Goreinu definitely knows Nen. Looks like he’s the strongest participant here, I’ll definitely have to watch out for him. I can safely ignore the others—at least when it comes to raw combat. Overall, this is great.

To Auren’s surprise, Goreinu notices him too. With a calm smile, he gestures for Auren to follow. Auren steps over.

“Nice Ten, boy. I’ve been a bit disturbed by the other candidates. This exam is going to be a joke, at this rate,” Goreinu says with a confident smirk.

“I agree, if it’s just about combat. But will it really be that simple? Mizaistom is a Crime Hunter. This part isn’t even part of the exam. He’s just using a barbaric method to punish the ‘criminals’ who broke the entry rules. Call me Auren,” he says, extending his hand.

“I’m Goreinu. Nice to meet you! So, what kind of Hunter are you aiming to become? Since you already know about Nen, I assume you don’t simply need a Nen master, right?”

“Not so sure. I want to use the power and protection of the Association to conduct my business. I guess I’m interested in becoming a Treasure Hunter. I’m specifically focused on weapons—but also rare martial arts techniques. Not exactly sure how you’d classify that. If you ever come across a rare weapon or item that has an independent Aura source, contact me. I’ll buy it at a fair price, and I’ll owe you one.” Auren hands him a plain business card he prepared ahead of the exam.

The card simply has his name and an email address—no phone number.

Goreinu takes the card and offers one in return, his including the same info, plus a phone number. “A Weapons Hunter, huh? Interesting. I’ll keep your offer in mind. I wonder how someone your age got so interested in weapons. As for me, I’m going to be a Jackpot Hunter—for now, anyway. I don’t really have a specific focus. I might also go for Blacklist or Temp Hunter—they seem easy and rewarding enough.”

“Honestly, those three appeal to me too. It feels silly to tie yourself to one path. I’ll just do whatever I feel like. Aren’t Hunters supposed to be free?” Auren replies with a smirk.

“Exactly! Why chain yourself to a field when you’re curious about many things? I like your mindset, Auren. Can I be honest? I was hoping to make a small deal with you.”

“Heh, I was planning to offer you one too. How about you go first?” Auren says, casual but still eying Goreinu intensely.

Goreinu grins. “Simple. If possible, let’s avoid fighting each other. From what I can tell, it’d be stupid for us to clash with each other. There are easier targets out there, and I’m not here for glory—I just want the license. You’re young, but I feel like I’d be taking a real risk confronting you. Despite your age, your Aura seems unusually developed. I’m a little bit freaked out, to be totally honest. I won’t cower in fear in front of you, but I simply don’t like taking unnecessary risks.”

“How about going one step further?” Auren replies, eyes narrowing slightly. “Let’s team up. I’ve got issues with certain knowledge gaps, but when it comes to pure force or strategy, I can crush anyone here. Including you, my friend,” he adds with a confident, arrogant expression.

Goreinu stares at him, visibly taken aback. But then he bursts into laughter.

“Haha! Looks like I dodged a bullet, then. Deal! Glad to be working with you, Auren. This exam’s looking promising already. How about we enjoy the show? We’ve got time to kill.”

Auren nods in agreement, and together they watch the rest of the chaotic matches unfold.