Phantom Troupe's Web

Chapter 7.

With the introduction of the Second Phase examiners, everyone was intrigued with the next challenge of the exam would be. The horde of examinees fell into a painful silence before an obnoxiously loud grumble was heard, many questioning what the sound was and where it had originated from. "You must be hungry," Menchi commented, leaning her head back to face her friend with a smile.

"I'm starving..," Buhara whined with closed eyes, a hand on his stomach.

Standing from the loveseat that was placed on a forum, the professional Hunter walks up to stand over the crowd with a broad smile, hands resting on her waist. "There you have it. Phase Two will involve..," anticipation clouded the air as everyone waited for the woman to complete her lingering sentence. "Cooking!" she declared, many participants deflating at the grand reveal.

"Cooking? We're here to take the Hunter Exam!" an applicant complained, others mimicking them when Menchi explained the challenge for the Second Phase was to cook a dish that satisfied her and Buhara's palates. Among the crowd, Iris rolled her eyes at the commotion caused by the individual who had been ignorant enough to provoke one of the examiners for this phase, wishing they would drop dead within the next few seconds that passed.

'Are you that incompetent that you can't cook?' silently Iris clicked her tongue, turning from the situation and gazing up at Hisoka who stood close behind her, his bloodlust oozing the area secretly; as the rookie examinees had yet to learn about Nen.

Annoyed by their whining, the professional Hunter stood with crossed arms, glaring down at the large group that was mostly defying her challenge. "That's because we are Gourmet Hunters," she informed the uneducated bunch, ignoring the concerned gaze her partner was giving her from behind the loveseat.

"So, Gourmet Hunters, what are we supposed to make?" the original provoker asks, mockery in his tone and an overconfident smirk plastered on his wide face.

Menchi huffs with a look of displeasure, calling on her partner to announce the main ingredient for the task. "The required ingredient is pork. You're free to use meat from any species of the Viska Forest pigs. You must use the cooking stations here to prepare the pork. And you only pass if we both find it delicious," the brunette proclaimed. As Menchi goes to further speak, she is cut off by the cocky applicant waving a dismissive hand at her, causing her companion to continue. "Then the exam's Second Phase begins now!" Buhara says, hitting his stomach as a gong. Both he and Menchi watch as the group rush out the gates in search of the required ingredient needed for the exam.

Jogging among the examinees, the emerald-eyed woman launches herself into the air and lands on a tree branch, steadying herself as she leaps from tree to tree in an attempt to find the needed ingredient. 'According to one of Chrollo's books...Great Stamp pigs should inhabit these parts' the female stopped as she stumbles upon a herd of the carnivores, a pleased smirk appearing on the female's face as she propels off the branch and stepped onto the pig's forehead, backflipping to land upright on the ground. 'Now to cook it.'

Returning to the site of the Second Phase, Illuki notices almost everyone had returned with a Grand Stamp pig for themselves and began roasting them in similar ways. The female watched the others for a second as she maneuvered to where her cooking station was positioned, unknowingly, between Gittarackur and Hisoka. The former assassin seasons the corpse with regular salt and pepper before grilling it on the stove, turning the carnivore rotationally while listening to the miserable reviews Menchi and Buhara were giving other participants.

"She's going to fail all of us," Illuki muttered softly so only she, her brother and the magician were able to hear her. She turned her head to the redhead, narrowing her changed hues at the male who innocently smiled at the petite woman. "This is your fault," she says, scoffing at him before turning to her pig and removing it off the grill to plate it. Like everyone else, Iris had failed as well, shockingly (sarcasm).

Buhara beams, patting his stomach. "That was so much food. I'm stuffed," he sighs contently, his partner grumbling on the loveseat beside his seated figure.

"Yeah, I'm stuffed, too," she said, standing up from her seat. "Therefore no one passed. We're finished here!" she announced.

At the provided station, the magenta-haired woman snickers at the dramatics of the situation, enjoying the tension caused by the enraged participants who were complaining at the blue-haired Hunter.

"I won't accept it...I absolutely refuse to accept this!" one growled out, breaking his station. "Stop screwing around! You asked for pork, so we risked our lives to–"

"I said to prepare the pork in a manner we both found delicious. None of you made anything remotely delicious," the Hunter cuts the applicant off. "You all did almost the same thing. There was no effort made...Just when I thought someone actually tried, they only changed the appearance. No one attempted to emphasise the flavour. I'm positive that none of you took cooking seriously!" she ranted at them.

The back and forth between the whining participants and Menchi continue, one lunging forwards to attack the hunter but was lifted by her brunette friend and thrown into the Viska Forest. Illuki whistles at the throw, shielding her eyes from the sun as her irises travel with the body before snapping back to the drama; both hunters talking about how Menchi would've killed the applicant if Buhara hadn't interfered.

"Probably. Let me clarify this...We frequently venture into the dens of ferocious beasts, searching for ingredients," the blue-haired woman tosses the set of knives she used as weapons, juggling them as she educated the rookies. "Every Hunter knows some form of martial art. You lack focus and willingness to experiment. That alone disqualifies you from becoming Hunters!" Menchi loudly declared, catching the four knives in her right hand.

Quietly witnessing the ordeal from the countertop of her cooking station, she eyes her acquaintance who held up one of his playing cards, readying himself to attack the woman to test her strength. "That said," a voice rang out from above the site. "It would be excessive to fail every single applicant," glancing up, everyone noticed a blimp floating above them and descending from said blimp was an old man. He wore a traditional white kimono that had blue detailing on it for men and a pair of geta.

"The Chairman of the Selection Committee. He's in charge of the Hunter Exam, Chairman Netero," Menchi recognised easily, walking closer to where he stood with his arms folded and hidden by the sleeves of his kimono.

"Well, I work behind the scenes. I only take action when there's an issue, like now," the old man explained with a kind smile. "So, Menchi-kun..," his eyes trailing from her face to her chest and back again. "You failed all of the applicants because you disapproved of their reluctance to try new things?"

"No, sir...I lost my cool when one of the candidates insulted Gourmet Hunters and I made the exam harder than necessary," she admitted.

"In other words, you're aware that this exam was unacceptable," Netero clarified, to which the blue-haired Hunter agreed and requested for the Second Phase to be retested by a different examiner. "But it would be difficult to find another examiner on such a short notice," once more, Menchi apologies to the chairman. "Very well. How about this? I'd like you to continue serving as an examiner. But you must also participate in the new test you propose. Is that acceptable?" he requests. "I'm certain that will help the applicants to accept the results," Netero concluded.

Considering the proposition for a second, Menchi beams at the chairman with her hands resting by her waist. "That's true...Then the new challenge will be boiled eggs!" she announced brightly, turning to the old man. "Chairman, can you take us to Mt. Split-in-Half in your airship?" she asked.

"Mt. Split-in-Half? I see what you're doing. Certainly, I can," Netero confirms with a cheery tone, inviting the mass of candidates into the aircraft.