Fearsome monsters... Exotic creatures...
Vast riches... Hidden treasures...
Evil enclaves... Unexplored lands...
The word "unknown" holds magic.
And some incredible people are drawn to that magic.
They are known...
...as Hunters!
The Hunter Exam will now begin!
I am Satotz, the Phase One examiner.
You must follow me to Phase Two.
This is the exam's First Phase.
Hope x And x Ambition
Two hours have passed since the start of the exam.
The applicants have traveled
over thirty kilometers from the start.
None of them knows how far they must go.
They are forced to run at the leader's pace, with no goal specified.
It's a monotonous course with no end in sight.
And many applicants have already dropped out.
Extrapolating from historical data, this exam type usually
involves a forty-kilometer course.
My calculations suggest that
we are nearing the goal...
I underestimated the Hunter Exam.
Every person here is a monster.
It's a gathering of monsters...
Hey! Wait up, kid!
Hmm?
You should show the Hunter Exam some respect!
What do you mean?
Why are you using a skateboard?
That's cheating!
Why?
Why...
This is an endurance test!
No, it isn't.
Huh?
Gon, what are you saying?
The examiner only told us to follow him.
Whose side are you on, eh?
Hey, how old are you?
I'm twelve years old.
Hmm...
We're the same age.
Huh?
Guess I'll run too.
Wow!
That was cool!
I'm Killua.
I'm Gon.
Damn it...
Making a fool out of me...
Impossible.
It's impossible!
My calculations are never wrong!
So why...
Am I... going to fail?
For me to fail...
That's absurd.
Unthinkable!
I won't accept that!
Hey, rookie!
You're a mess.
It's rare to see someone out of steam so early.
You must be a hell of an incompetent.
People like you are doomed to fail the Hunter Exam.
So don't come back, snotrag!
Here. Thanks.
Great work.
He won't recover from the abuse we just dished out.
I doubt he'll ever take the Hunter Exam again.
Anyway, Tonpa...
You really do love crushing rookies.
I live for it.
It's been about four hours since the exam began.
We must have traveled at least sixty kilometers.
How much farther do we need to go?
Only one rookie, every three years, passes the Hunter Exam.
So for a normal human like me,
it isn't even worth dreaming about...
Damn it.
Hey, forget him.
Let's get going.
Screw that...
I'm gonna become a Hunter!
Damn it all!
Cool!
Let me try that later.
If you let me try your skateboard, okay?
We've reached the eighty-kilometer mark.
It is now time to pick up the pace a bit.
Wait, are you serious?
That guy's insane.
He's prancing up the stairs, as if they're not even there.
If he keeps up this pace,
tons of people will fail.
Gon, wanna race to see who finishes first?
Sure.
The loser has to buy dinner.
Okay, you're on!
Ready...
Go!
Leorio, are you okay?
Sure!
Just look at me.
I realized that I can keep going
if I don't worry about how stupid I look!
I should probably follow his example.
Leorio...
I have a question.
What?
Is this too easy for you, Kurapika?
Talking just wastes energy!
Are you really trying to become a Hunter for the money?
You aren't, right?
We've only been together for a few days,
but I know you better than that.
Sure, you have a nasty attitude, and you aren't very bright.
But you're not a shallow person.
I've seen many who live for money.
You're nothing like them.
You and your logic...
Scarlet eyes.
That's why the Kurta were targeted.
We Kurta are known for our unique scarlet eyes.
When our emotions are heightened,
our eyes turn scarlet, as though on fire.
The eyes in that scarlet state
are considered one of the seven most beautiful colors in the world.
They command high prices on the black market.
That's why the Phantom Troupe attacked you?
They took every single eye from my brethren's corpses.
I can still hear their darkened eyes crying out in anguish...
I swear I will capture the Phantom Troupe!
And I will reclaim the eyes of my clan!
That's why you want to be a Hunter?
Yeah, if I become a Hunter with rich clients,
I'll gain access to black market information.
But you'll have to swallow your pride
and become the kind of Hunter you despise!
The blow to my pride is nothing,
measured against the suffering my clan endured.
Sorry, but I have no noble cause.
Huh?
I'm just after money.
Don't lie!
I'm not lying!
You really believe you can buy everything with money?
You bet!
For the right price, you can buy not only treasures, but dreams, hearts,
and even people's lives!
Take that back, Leorio!
If you're insulting the Kurta, I won't forgive you.
Why? I'm telling the truth.
If I'd had money, my friend wouldn't have died!
An illness?
It was a treatable disease...
The problem was that the operation costs a fortune.
I was naïve!
I thought I could become a doctor...
I wanted to cure kids who have the same disease,
and be able to tell them it was free of charge!
Then I could have told his parents, too.
That was my dream...
What a joke.
Turns out that to become a doctor,
you need even more money!
Got it?
The world runs on money...
So I want money!
See you at the goal, Kurapika.
Catch you later, old timer.
I'm not old!
I'm a teenager, just like you guys!
Huh?
No way!
Hunter Vocabulary
Killua
Can't take another step...
Th-This is it...
I'm impressed that you can keep up with me.
Really?
Or maybe it's just that everyone else is too slow.
Man...
The Hunter Exam is gonna be a breeze.
That's no fun.
Hey, why do you want to become a Hunter?
Me?
I'm not really interested in becoming a Hunter.
Huh?
I heard the exam was supposed to be really hard,
so I thought it'd be fun.
But this is disappointing.
What about you?
Well, my dad's a Hunter.
So I want to become a Hunter, like my dad.
Hmm...
What kind of Hunter is he?
I don't know.
That's kinda weird.
Really?
You want to be like your dad,
but you don't know anything about him?
I was raised by Mito-san,
so I've only seen my dad in pictures.
Who's Mito-san?
Aunt Mito.
Oh...
When he was twelve, my dad took the Hunter Exam.
He passed and became a Hunter.
Then he left the island.
I want to find out why he chose to be a Hunter
over being with me.
The exit!
Whew...
Finally, I can get out of this dark tunnel!
Now, let's see how many made it this far.
Goal!
Yay! I win.
What are you talking about?
I was faster...
I was.
No, I was!
I was faster, so you have to buy dinner!
Nope!
I was faster.
So you buy me dinner.
But I was faster.
Hey, who was faster?
I believe that you crossed the finish line simultaneously.
Oh...
Then I'll buy you dinner.
Huh?
Then you buy me dinner!
I don't get it.
Hey, Satotz-san.
Is this where the Second Phase of the exam takes place?
No, we still have quite a way to go.
Oh...
Hey, Kurapika!
Is this our destination?
No, it isn't.
I see.
The fog is fading.
Really?
The Numere Wetlands,
also known as Swindlers Swamp.
We must cross these wetlands to reach Phase Two of the exam.
This place is home to many bizarre animals,
many of them being cunning, insatiable creatures
who deceive humans and prey upon them.
Be very careful.
If you let them fool you...
...you're dead.
Wait for me!
These wetland creatures will use
every trick in the book to fool their prey.
An ecosystem in which creatures obtain food through deceit...
Hence the name Swindlers Swamp.
Stay very close to me so you won't be deceived.
What a joke.
How can they fool us, when we're expecting it?
Don't let them fool you!
I just said that they can't.
D-Don't fall for it...
He's lying to you!
He's an impostor!
He isn't an examiner...
I'm the real examiner.
An impostor?
What's going on?
Then who is he?
Look at this...
He looks just like Satotz-san!
It's a Man-Faced Ape, one of the creatures that dwell in the Numere Wetlands!
A Man-Faced Ape?
Man-Faced Apes love the taste of fresh human flesh.
However, their limbs are long and thin, so they're quite weak.
That's why they disguise themselves as humans.
They trick humans into following them into these wetlands,
where they team up with other animals to kill and devour them.
He intends to trap every single applicant!
Bastard...
He certainly doesn't walk like a human...
Huh?
I see, I see...
That settles it...
You're the real one.
What? He's the real examiner?
Huh?
Examiners are Hunters
selected by the committee to perform this duty without pay.
Any Hunter, bearing the title we seek,
would have been able to block that attack.
I shall take that as a compliment.
However, should you attack me again, for any reason,
I will report you for turning on an examiner.
And you will be immediately disqualified.
Are we clear?
Sure.
Nature really can be brutal to watch...
So he was a Man-Faced Ape, as well.
He was attempting to confuse the applicants,
to lure some of them away.
We cannot relax our guard.
Yeah.
You will be encountering such deception on a regular basis.
I believe that a number of you
were fooled into suspecting my identity?
Do you understand?
If you lose sight of me in the Numere Wetlands fog,
you will never reach the exam's Second Phase.
Do bear that in mind.
Then let us be on our way.
Please follow me.
Tsk, another marathon.
And we're running through marsh this time.
Running on wet ground requires more energy.
The applicants have finally escaped the long, dark tunnel.
Thus far, 36 candidates have withdrawn from the exam,
leaving 368 remaining applicants.
Their next challenge is the Numere Wetlands,
also known as Swindlers Swamp.
The brutal Hunter Exam continues.
Next time: Hisoka x Is x Sneaky!
Okey-dokey!