Chapter 3

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 "Those who have passed the First Phase, step inside. Welcome all!" A girl with green hair was sitting with her arms draped behind the chair. She held a confident expression. Behind her was a guy who was really big. "I'm Menchi. Your examiner for the second phase." The girl with green hair spoke first.

"And likewise, I'm Buhara." The much larger examiner said.

"I'm Bella!" I raise my hand. It seemed like we were all introducing ourselves.

"Bella, huh?" The examiner leaned forward, looking me up and down. "You're Bisky's kid, right?"

"You know my mom?" I never would've imagined that so many hunters knew my mom. I know she is a pretty good hunter, but I didn't think she is that good. The examiner simply nods, not saying anything else. Just then, a large gurgling noise came from Buhara.

"Sounds to me like you're getting hungry."

"Not just hungry; I'm famished."

"Well, there you have it. The second phase will be cooking." Menchi stood up and pointed towards the crowd.

Cooking? I'm not very good at cooking. Last time I tried cooking something alone; I almost burned the house down. Mom banned me from cooking anything after that, but I'm sure she would be okay to make an exception here. But why would they choose cooking? I put a hand on my chin, thinking over possible explanations for why we would cook something. "I got it!" I saw, a little louder than anticipated. "You guys are gourmet hunters! You guys go on crazy adventures, right? And then you make really good food!" I've never met a gourmet hunter before, but Mom talked about them before.

"What are you going on about, kid?" A guy approached from behind me, pushing me out of the way. Or attempting too. I managed to step just out of reach before he could push me to the floor. "We are here to try out for the Hunter Exam. Not cooking."

"You heard correctly. Your challenge for the Second Phase is to make a dish that will satisfy us."

Oh no. They probably have really good food every day. That's their job. To make good food. I've never even cooked before. I guess the best I can do is try my best.

"Why cook?" A guy from behind me asked.

"Wow. A little girl is smarter than you." Menchi pointed towards me. "She said it herself. We're gourmet hunters." I smile towards them.

"This is so exciting! I've never–" I was cut off by some guy laughing. I turn towards him, with my fist clenched. I really want to knock him out, but that would do more harm than good. I take a deep breath and just ignore the fact that he interrupted me.

"Wow, talk about a letdown." The guy that laughed said.

"Hey! Gourmet hunters are really cool. They go on all sorts of fun adventures, right?" I turn toward the two examiners.

"You don't know what you're talking about, kid." The guy tries pushing me again, but I avoid the attempt again. The laughing continues. I look up towards Mechi, who seems really angry. These guys were making fun of her entire life. Very few people wouldn't get mad. "So, you're both gourmet hunters, and what exactly do you want us to make?"

"Buhara." Menchi said, signaling Buhara to step forward. With his step, a giant vibration spread throughout the crowd.

"Today the required ingredient will be pork. Feel free to use any species of pig you find in the Visca Forest Reserve. You will use the tools and appliances here to prepare a dish using the pig. To pass the examination, you must create a dish that will satisfy both of our pallets."

"But we won't be examining taste alone. So take this seriously. Is that clear? When we've both eaten our fill. This portion of the exam will be over."

I've seen Mom cook before, and she's let me help her a few times, but I'm not sure how well I'll do with this. Aren't you supposed to cut the pig before you cook it? What are the parts of a pig even?

"Okay, enough talk, let's just get to it all right?" The guy from before was obviously still not taking this seriously. I hope he fails.

"Let the exam's second phase...begin!" Buhara's voice echoed throughout the space, causing all of us to run to find a pig.

I ran out into the forest with Gon, Killua, Kurapika and Leorio.

"We got to catch a pig, huh? This is way easier than the first exam."

"I don't know about that." I sigh. "Last time I cooked something, I almost burned the house down. I haven't been allowed to cook anything since then."

"You burned down a house?" Gon asked. His eyes gleamed toward me.

"I said almost." I waved a hand. "I guess we'll see how this goes." Gon started sliding down a hill. I followed behind him. "Weeeeeeee" I said, with my arms in the air. I was like a giant slide! My excitement quickly diminished though as Gon didn't move once he reached the bottom. "AAAAAAHHHHH! Oof." I crashed into Gon, then Killua crashed into me.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Killua yelled at me.

"How am I supposed to know why Gon stopped!" I yell back.

"I found them." Gon said calmly, pointing over to a group of pigs. The pigs were giant, and chewing on bones.

"Why did they have to be carnivores?" I sigh, looking at the giant pile of bones. The pigs started charging at us, so we started running away. We definitely don't want to be food right now. Or ever, I guess. The pigs crashed into everyone in their path. I'm starting to think these pigs are more like bulls than pigs. I move slightly off course from the others, a pig following me. Perfect. I start running straight toward a tree, moving at the last second, causing the pig to run right into the tree. The pig moved away, seeming unaffected. Shoot. I really thought that was going to work. Right as I started getting ready to fight, fruits from the tree above started to fall, hitting the pig on its forehead, causing it to die. I deflate slightly. If that's all it took, I could've saved so much time. I take my pig and run back to where we were supposed to cook the pig, setting the pig down on the workstation.

"Hi guys!" I say, once I entered the place where all the cooking things were. I didn't get a response. "I'm sure the rest of the people are coming soon. I never would've guessed that carnivore pigs existed." I smile, placing the pig down on the worktable. "Now how do I get bacon from a pig?" I look over the pig, thinking of where bacon would live. "Well bacon is also called pork belly, so it probably comes from the pigs belly." I mumble, voicing my thoughts. I take the knife and cut into the pig, blood spewing out. I quickly grab a rag and pick up the blood coming from the big. I'm going to make a cookie. Cookies are the only thing I know how to make because Mom makes them all the time. I've seen her make enough cookies where I think I can make them.

I cut thin pieces of meat from the pig's belly. The pieces didn't look like bacon, but all they asked for was pig, so I think it'll be fine. I cook the bacon and then some cookies, placing bacon bits in the cookies. I think I overcooked the cookies, but I didn't start anything on fire so that's a win! I go up and place my plate in front of them. "Here are my bacon cookies!" Buhara and Menchi both eat their cookies, chewing carefully. Buhara gave me a passing mark.

"This is definitely a creative idea, but your cookies are way too dry to eat. Also, what did you do with the rest of the pig? Did you just waste it?" Menchi held up an X, while explaining. Well, that was it. My hunter exam experiment is done now. I guess I can't go and play the game with my mom. I walk away sadly. I really wanted to pass, so I could do more things with my mom. She has started to go to more dangerous places, so she's been leaving me with some of her friends. She told me I could go with her when I get my license, so I was really hoping to get it on the first try.

After every applicant got judged, Menchi stood up. "So, none of you passed to the next phase. Exams are over!" She yelled. A murmur spread through the crowd. I guess that's the end of it.

Word Count: 1476

A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you all are enjoying the book. Please leave a comment; I love hearing from you guys. Have a blessed day <3.

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