[𝐄𝐧𝐠] to ---- a monster | Hunter x Hunter Fanfiction

hunter exam arc ❚ trick tower ✕ judgement ✕ friends

And there you have the catch.

She rolled her eyes before closing them--with that, she expanded her En again just to confirm her suspicions: there were secret passages all over the place and, from what she could sense, quite some applicants already found theirs.

Satisfied, she walked up to the closest hidden trap door and jumped down, without much of a sound.

.

.

.

The Trick Tower surely lived up to its name.

Eirene began her way down, wearing a little wristwatch with a timer that shower how many hours she still had. A large screen had greeted her and explained the rules of her route.

«Welcome to the Route of Judgement! In order to make your way down, you will have to fill in the shoes of Judge, Jury and Executioner! For each room you'll walk in, you'll be requested to choose between Innocent and Guilty for each person you meet. Bear in mind, should you choose Innocent, you'll be able to proceed to the next door without a fight at the cost of some of your Time. Should you choose Guilty, instead, you'll have to fight until one of you isn't able to fight anymore.»

The altered voice of who she deemed to be the examiner was followed by the bright letters on the screen in front of her.

For once, Eirene really couldn't believe her utter luck.

.

.

.

In the poorly lighted control room, Lippo and his fellow examiners looked at the screens with passive curiosity. 

One of the two men standing appeared to be much more interested in one specific applicant than the group as a whole, but the main examiner didn't seem to mind. He chuckled as he saw the last examiner find a trapdoor--it was a little past four hours since the beginning of the test--and settled in on his armchair in a more comfortable position.

«This year's batch seems to have promising elements, don't you think?» he commented, turning slightly to the fellow examiner on his left. The man nodded, folding his arms at his chest with a light smirk on his lips.

«I'm sure the convicts will be able to thin down their numbers, though. Except, there are a few applicants that are above their league.»

They all noticed, or remembered, #44. He was the infamous examinee that even their fellow hunters and examiners mentioned before; moreover, the scarred man on the prison warden's right was the still living proof that he was not to be underestimated.

Though more discreet than the magician, were #301 and #369. They all felt like #301 would be one of those who'd reach the base with little to no efforts--he, for one, already knew about Nen and Lippo suspected him to be a master of it already.

Those three were possibly the strongest, not to say most dangerous, of that year: the other participants held potential, but it still was like comparing a cub with an adult beast.

One of the screens flickered with static for a moment. The next thing that appeared on it was the image of one blonde woman, dressed in black from head to toes, looking down at what once was a living human disappointedly.

Lippo tsked, snatching up another handful of chips. That was her sixth victim, which meant she was past halfway down her route already.

The Judgement Route, as the name implied, was meant to test one's own judgement skills: not knowing how many hours they'd have to sacrifice to avoid fighting nor how many fights awaited them, nor how long it will take to get at the base at all--usually, these were the main reasons why examinees tended to use most of their time to avoid fighting, unless their victory was certain, or to have as many fights as they could and then rest for a while with a verdict of innocence.