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墨書 Inktalez
Soon, after a quick warm-up, Freyr and Xiong Tai prepared to head back as the time approached.
They were going to the second floor of a building, where some people had already arrived. Upon seeing newcomers, they glanced over with evident impatience.
A few of them exchanged looks while smoking, and suddenly, a short and stout man stepped forward. It was clear that he approached Xiong Tai with a friendly demeanor, pulling out two bottles of drinks to offer. These individuals were all examiners for this round, but some had participated in multiple assessments over the past years and had surprisingly received an Invitation Letter again this time.
"Hey there, big guy! Thanks to your words, we managed to get through. These drinks are for you, and there's one for your buddy too," the stout man said.
Expecting a tough opponent, they were taken aback when he initiated the friendliness himself.
"No need to thank me. Brothers are everywhere; we should help each other out," Xiong Tai replied cheerfully, stuffing both bottles into his backpack.
"Wait, you're taking them all? Aren't you giving your friend one?" the stout man asked, puzzled.
"Hehe, he doesn't like these sodas. We can't waste your kindness now, can we?"
At this remark, the stout man chuckled and pulled out another bottle from his seemingly endless bag. It looked like a treasure trove filled with drinks. He handed one over to Freyr.
"Here you go, brother. This is for you. I'm Owen. I've received invitations for three consecutive assessments now; I really don't know how much longer I can keep this up. How about we team up? I see you both have some skills; you'll definitely make it to the end and be on the list of hunters," Owen said with a friendly smile.
Freyr glanced at him briefly before nodding and placing the drink into his own backpack without saying a word.
"Great! We're all in the same boat now. I'll head ahead to gather information on others and will come back to connect with you later."
Owen chuckled again, crossing his arms over his chest as he waved goodbye and squeezed into the densely packed crowd.
Once Owen was completely out of sight, Freyr took a deep breath and calmly said, "We need to be cautious of that guy in the future; it's best not to open his drinks."
The words were meant for Xiong Tai, but just then, a sound of a pop interrupted him. He turned his head to see that Xiong Tai had already opened the bottle and was gulping it down. After swallowing several mouthfuls, he turned back to Freyr with an innocent expression and said, "What did you just say? I didn't catch it; some voices were too loud."
"Uh, you've already drunk it. You might have killed yourself. What if he poisoned the drink? There's a saying: 'Be wary of others.' And another: 'No good deed goes unpunished.' We should be cautious around him, like listening for useful information to judge whether we can trust him."
Freyr took out the drink bottle from his backpack. With over ten years of combat experience, he might be able to withstand some toxins due to his current physical condition. However, if he suppressed the toxins in his body for too long, he would still feel unwell. In a place like this, if any drugs were detected in his system, it would severely damage his reputation and eliminate any chance of receiving another invitation from the association.
To truly assess a person, one must observe their eyes; they are the windows to the soul. From the moment Freyr locked eyes with the overweight man, he sensed that the man harbored many secrets. He accepted the drink without further thought, already on guard against any of his actions.
"Did you feel anything unusual after drinking it? Or do you feel uncomfortable?" Freyr quickly asked.
"Well, it's a bit strange," Xiong Tai replied, smacking his lips. He then examined the bottle for any signs of tampering and continued, "It feels like it's past its expiration date—not uncomfortable per se, but it has some characteristics of certain drinks mixed with a weird taste. What a waste of a good drink! Just to be safe, let's handle it this way."
After complaining, Xiong Tai poured out the remaining drink and then leaned against the wall, lowering his head to spit out a considerable amount of yellowish liquid. Freyr thought to himself that no wonder he felt so fearless; he had mastered the art of vomiting anytime and anywhere. However, this skill ultimately helped him.
No one could deceive Xiong Tai's taste buds. For a foodie like him, food was incredibly precious; wasting food or committing food-related crimes could easily trigger his suspicion. The fact that there was no expiration date or manufacturer on the bottle was enough to raise doubts.
"It seems my instincts were right; that fat guy really is suspicious. We need to be more careful," Freyr warned.
Xiong Tai straightened up while holding his head. He wiped his mouth and sneered, "That fat bastard tried to pull one over on us! When it comes time to fight, we’ll take him down first; I won’t believe it until I see it."
"Now that everyone is here, my assessment this round is quite simple: just follow me to the finish line. If anyone strays more than 100 meters during the process, they will be considered to have forfeited automatically. The association does not accept hunters without determination."
While waiting, a figure slowly emerged from the corner. No one had noticed that someone was hiding in those blind spots since the beginning. It wasn’t an ambush; however, since the assessment had officially started now, this period between passing the first round and starting the second round counted as part of their observation.
Even if there were other thoughts in mind, they were meaningless. Since it was an assessment, there was no rule stating it had to be fair and square. The darker side of nature is survival of the fittest; there are no regulations against secretly plotting against others or even passing assessments through bribery—this decision ultimately depended on whether Gordon the Examiner took responsibility for himself.
However, once Gordon the Examiner made his appearance shortly after, several candidates in front began showing signs of distress on their faces. One person cried out in pain, "Gordon the Examiner! Can we postpone the exam? I need to use the restroom."
Although there was nothing wrong with his words, they were immediately met with a disdainful glare from Gordon the Examiner, causing those present to instinctively take a step back. While feeling unwell was not against the rules, Gordon had his own methods of assessment. His recent careful observations and the following actions proved that he was the one setting the policy for this round.
Gordon glanced at them and stated firmly, "You can go to the restroom, but I won't wait for you. Whether you stay or leave is up to you. If you can't endure this little pain, even if the Hunter Association declares you a Professional Hunter, you won't be able to complete dangerous missions. Moreover, there are high-risk tasks involved; are you going to refuse to carry them out just because they are risky? How can that be? Do I need to continue?"
"This?" One person hesitated, but his stomach suddenly began to ache intensely. He let out a cry and, unable to bear the pain any longer, hurriedly ran back.
"Quickly go and come back; you might still make it in time."
In an instant, more than ten people dashed away. After a while, Gordon the Examiner finally focused his attention on observing his surroundings.
"Hmph, truly useless," a voice sneered from somewhere in the crowd, mixed with a sinister chuckle.
"You really are impressive; you've eliminated quite a few people. Congratulations."
"This time, it will definitely succeed."
After waiting for a while, Gordon suddenly turned around. He had unbuttoned his jacket and tied it around his waist, looking particularly serious as he muttered some incantations that resembled rituals. This version of Gordon appeared quite intimidating.
"Follow me; whether you can stay depends on your own willpower."
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