The fact that Shen hadn’t managed to dodge that spit said everything—the beggar’s skill level was a notch above his own, which clearly grated on Shen more than the disrespect itself. He lowered his voice as he threatened the beggar.
“I am going to prove to you my skill, you insufferable beggar.”
His aura began to swell and spread, thickening the air around us. Typical Fighter aura, but concentrated to a degree that even I had to admit was impressive.
The atmosphere felt like it was pressing down on my chest, almost suffocating. Selena yanked me by the cuff of my suit, her impatience cutting through the tension. I’d dressed up a bit for today, sticking to my usual sharp style. Selena, on the other hand, was still wearing her clothes from yesterday, though they looked pristine—she must’ve cleaned them up with her aura. She cast me an annoyed look, muttering about how I was too easily distracted and that we should get moving.
“We’ll be fine,” I reassured her, unable to tear my eyes from the scene.
Then, without warning, the suffocating aura disappeared. Shen looked baffled, his fierce expression flickering into confusion. I noticed why—an unassuming, bald man with a calm, blank expression had his hand resting on Shen’s shoulder. He looked almost too ordinary, but I knew better.
It was the Hunter’s Association chairman himself.
For someone in a position of power, Bob was remarkably young-looking and had a sort of unassuming, almost fragile appearance. His aura barely registered, roughly stronger than mine, which—given his rank—was odd. The only real standout feature he had was his bald head, so conspicuously shiny that it was almost painful to look directly at it. Maybe that’s why he wore that short red cape… though, honestly, the cape was just as hard to ignore. It was awkwardly flashy, contrasting with the simple white shirt and shorts he wore underneath. If the intent was to look dangerous, it missed the mark.
But even with that ridiculous outfit, no one could deny it: this was the most dangerous man here.
Bob’s voice cut through the thick silence, calm and almost bored. “You shouldn’t let yourself get provoked so easily, Shen. This poor guy’s just trying to get you disqualified.”
The beggar whipped around, his face contorted in anger, and shot back, “Who’s calling me poor?”
Without missing a beat, Bob replied, “I did.”
The beggar fell silent, his face paling a bit as he glanced around, realizing the crowd’s gaze was now solidly on him. After a tense pause, he muttered something under his breath and slunk away from the platform, melting into the mass of people.
Selena raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed. “Well, that was something.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, still watching the beggar’s retreating figure. Even with his strange appearance and easygoing attitude, Bob had everyone here in check.
The bullet train pulled in smoothly, and just as the doors opened, Bob hopped onto the roof in one swift, effortless motion. He looked down at us all with his usual expressionless face, as if this was the most natural place to give an announcement.
“Good job for being here!” he started, raising his voice so it echoed across the platform. “Please, call me Bob. But don’t underestimate my handsome looks because I am, in fact, the chairman and so-called leader of the Hunter’s Association. I’ll be your chief proctor for the latter half of the exam.” He paused, scanning the crowd, his face unreadable. “I’ll also be taking the test alongside you all as a way to supervise, interfere, or support.”
He sounded flat, almost robotic, as if even he couldn’t believe he had to give this speech. Around me, I could see a mix of reactions—some people looked excited, some were whispering to each other, and a few looked as wary as I felt.
The idea of the chairman joining us for the second half was both reassuring and… unnerving. Bob might look unassuming, even silly, but after watching him effortlessly diffuse that scene with Shen and the beggar, it was clear he was leagues above any of us. I wouldn’t have been surprised if his joining us was just another part of the test.
Selena nudged me with her elbow. “Looks like it’s not just the Spear God we have to keep an eye on.”
I chuckled dryly. “Yeah. Seems like ‘interesting’ just got a new definition.”
The train doors finally opened, and we all filed in, still keeping an eye on Bob, who perched on top of the train roof as if it were the most comfortable place in the world.
Having the chairman oversee the hunter’s exams would become routine in the future, so his sudden appearance didn’t catch me off guard. What actually surprised me was that Silhouette had handled the first half. I remembered he rarely got involved at all, so I wondered what had prompted the change.
I turned to Selena, curious about her thoughts on the train. “So, what do you make of this place?”
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
She shrugged, looking around casually. “Pretty standard for a train. Doesn’t seem like there’s much hidden here—at least not anything obvious.”
Just then, a faint aura marker appeared over our heads, indicating where each of us was assigned to sit. I groaned internally; they were separating us again. “We can always check in with the tarot cards,” I offered as we shuffled down the aisle.
She offered a pretty much obvious alternative. “Or we could just text. No need to burn through aura for small talk.”
I nodded with a smile tugging at my lips. “Smart call.”
I settled into my seat by the window, sending a quick message to Selena. ‘Already seated, and guess who’s next to me… Diamond Black… What are the odds?’
I looked over at my unexpected seatmate. Diamond Black, infamous for his near-psychotic dedication to hunting Devils, sat there like he was just another passenger. He wore a sharp black suit, but unlike mine, his was marked with thin white pinstripes that gave him an even more imposing look. His eyes, cool and sharp, met mine as he spoke in a relaxed tone, “Author, nice to meet you.”
Keeping my expression neutral, I replied just as casually, “Just call me Rey.”
He gave a slight nod, seemingly satisfied, and leaned back, arms crossed. I resisted the urge to let out a sigh. This was going to be an interesting ride, that much was certain. Diamond wasn’t the type to chat casually or make idle talk; he tended to keep his words concise and precise. I couldn’t tell yet if this was a problem or a blessing.
“Didn’t expect to see you in this exam,” he said, his eyes never leaving mine.
I shrugged, matching his ease. “Figured it was about time. Can’t let you have all the fun.”
Diamond’s smirk lingered, his eyes still unreadable. “Fun, huh? So are you a repeater?”
“Nah,” I replied, keeping it casual. “Just started. You?”
I knew he had to be a repeater; he wasn’t in the first half of the exam, and I’d remember someone like him.
“I skipped the first half,” he replied, his tone as flat as ever. “The chairman owed me a favor.”
Fuck you.
“So you want the gold pass then?” I asked the obvious.
“Yes.” And his answer was just as obvious.
It made sense. A gold pass through the exam was invaluable to hunters like him, especially if it granted him easier access to the Forbidden Region. Diamond Black lived to hunt Devils, and with him, that meant he''d go where the Association would barely dare to send even their seasoned members.
This was actually a lucky break. With Diamond Black focused on his own agenda, the chances of running into a devil during the exam decreased dramatically. I wasn’t nearly prepared for a devil encounter yet; even a single devil was as dangerous as an entire Elsewhere Cult. The thought alone made me shiver—those things were dreaded for a reason.
Just then, my phone buzzed. I glanced at the screen and smirked when I saw Selena’s message:
“Seatmate with Spear God and the damn homeless guy. The homeless dude is flirting with me. I’m stuck in the middle. SAVE ME.”
Amused, I sent her a thumbs-up emoji. I could practically feel her fuming through the screen.
Diamond noticed my smirk and gave me a questioning look. I just shrugged, pocketing my phone.
The chairman’s voice blared over the speaker, “Hello!? Hello? The bullet train is about to take off—”
A moment later, a voice cut in, trying to correct him, “Chairman, we don’t ‘take off’… this is a train.”
There was a pause, then Bob’s voice came back with its usual flatness, “Ah, sorry, my bad… but I like the word ‘take-off,’ so don’t ruin my drift. Anyway, please return to your seats and relax; the super train is about to depart! Also—no killing unless I say so, or you’ll be disqualified. Promise!”
"Technically... using the word ‘take off’ when a train departs isn’t entirely wrong," I remarked, half to myself.
Diamond responded with a simple, "Ah, I see..."
Such a bland reaction. If it had been Leora, we’d be debating the technicalities of jet engines versus train mechanics right now. Smirking, I took out my sleep mask—a cat-themed one, complete with little whiskers—from the inside pocket of my suit. Diamond didn’t even blink. Instead, he reached up, feeling around the front seat pocket, and casually pulled out a Playboy magazine. Oddly, rather than feeling grossed out, I found myself kind of intrigued by his nonchalance.
I pulled the sleeping mask over my eyes, letting myself sink back in the seat, but I wasn’t exactly resting. Instead, I focused on the Soul Marks I’d managed to leave on a few hunters throughout the day. Since a simple touch was all I needed to mark someone, I’d made sure to tag a fair few. Couldn’t afford to be careless, especially when trouble might be brewing.
Those marks were my fallback. If something went down, I’d have aura reserves to draw on. My abilities had limitations, though. At first, I could only borrow two attributes at a time, but with constant practice, that cap had nudged up to three. The progress wasn’t fast, but it was steady, which was the usual pace given my aura’s relatively low density.
There was this theory about aura that seemed to match my own experiences. The less dense your aura, the easier it was to awaken attributes. The reverse was true, too: a denser aura made it harder to awaken, and too many inexperienced hunters ended up with warped or misaligned attributes. Most hunters only ever managed to work with a single attribute, and a few had even compromised theirs through a lack of control.
A question then: since I’d unlocked the “Connection” attribute, did that mean I could now handle four attributes simultaneously, given my current borrowing limit of three? Unfortunately, no—it wasn’t that simple. While my max was indeed three borrowed attributes, my aura worked in an odd way that forced me to disable “Connection” if I wanted to use all three borrowed ones at once.
The feeling of toggling off my “Connection” attribute was strange, to say the least—like being able to detach a limb, use a substitute, and then reattach it seamlessly when needed. There was so much about aura, and my particular abilities, I still didn’t fully understand.
The oddest part came to me just this morning. It seemed I’d gained something new with this evolution of my “Connection.” For now, I’d call it Skill Stealer. Borrowing a hunter’s attribute was something I’d done before, but this new layer allowed me to keep the attribute under specific conditions: use Soul Link on the target, equalize our aura, maintain the connection long enough, and then… terminate the original owner.
That’s how I’d ended up with “Puppetry”—the same eerie attribute the assassin had used to control those mannequins after the fourth test.
A prickling sensation tugged at my consciousness. It was Selena, using the tarot card I''d given her. "Hey, I think the fifth test will be... happening here..."
Pulling off my sleep mask, I scanned the compartment warily before answering her mentally. "Why do you think that?"
I could feel my fingers instinctively trace the Soul Marks I’d left on a few nearby hunters, each one reassuringly in place. Nothing seemed off, but Selena was rarely wrong when it came to her intuition.