READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Majority Vote
Point of View Switch: Kai
Hours after waking from the training room, I quickly go to the dining room to eat before we arrive at the site of the third phase. There, I find Nicholas just woken up, and he immediately invites me to have breakfast with him when he sees me. As Nicholas and I go over the data he has collected while we eat, an announcement echoes through the blimp.
"What?! Let me finish it first!" I protest annoyed, and stuff all the remaining food in my mouth, before drinking water.
We then leave the room and glance at the window, where beautiful scenery is in view. It give me a small sense of serenity. We enjoy the view while waiting for the airship to land.
The blimp descends, eventually landing on top of a stone pillar. The other contestants are confused, seeing nothing around them but empty space. Some mutter, "There's nothing here," while others question, "What are they planning?"
"Kai!" Gon call out as he see me and Nicholas coming out among the applicants. Looking in the direction of the voice I see Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio. I walk to them along Nicholas while waving my hand.
In front of the applicants, Beans is standing while looking at the remaining applicants which are 45, 'It seems that going with Gon prevented Killua from killing the two unknown examinees.' I think to myself
"Examinees, you are now at the Trick Tower, where that the third phase shall take place," Beans stars to explain, "The Task is very simple; reach the bottom of this tower alive. The time limit is 72 hours. With that, we will begin the third phase! I wish every of you luck for this phase of the exam!" Beans says as he walks back into the airship.
"Three days, That means this phase is going to become much difficult than the other phase. We must not let our guard down." Kurapika says as he looks at his friends.
'Kurapika is right, this trial is going to be challenging, even with my knowledge of the story. My experience is primarily through the main characters perspectives, so navigating this tower now can lead me into unforeseen situations. Thankfully, I am not alone; I have my lackey, Nicholas.' I think as we watch the blimp fly into the distance.
"What are we going to do?" Gon asks as we look down on the edge of the tower.
"There are no windows on the sides. Climbing down would be a suicide." Kurapika says.
"Yes, for most people." Applicant #86 ,a muscular man who appears out of nowhere says.
He then continues. "But if you're a skilled rock climber, it's not difficult to climb down with this much foothold." He says starting to climb down the tower's exterior
"Man, If I were you I wouldn't do that," I say as I look at the guy with pity, knowing what is to come.
The muscular guy don't listen to me and continues to climb down the tower.
"Wow." Killua express surprised.
"He's gone down that far already," Gon says.
Suddenly, the sound of flapping wings is heard, and a group of very ugly Winged Beasts fly to the tower targeting the muscular guy before. The Winged Beasts then carry the man in its jaws without struggle and fly back to their nest.
"I already warned him, but he didn't listen," I say with a sigh.
"I guess we shouldn't climb down the outer wall," Leorio says as he looks at the group of Winged Beasts flying away.
'I wonder why those creatures don't attack those of us at the top of the tower?' I think to myself.
"There should be hidden doors that lead down to the lower level." Kurapika says as he looks at the other applicants. "I guess everyone has the same idea."
"Then we'd better spread out and each look for his own hidden door." I say without much care since from what I remember, Gon found five hidden doors in the canon.
Realizing that the sides of the tower aren't an option, the other participants start searching for hidden doors or compartments on top of the tower.
Nicholas and I stand in the center, ensuring no one had any funny ideas of pushing us off. It allows us to observe the other participants closely. We notice a few of them discovering hidden doors
activated by specific floor tiles. I instruct Nicholas to use his computer to make a logarithmic estimate of where these hidden doors are located. While doing it, I see Tonpa staring at us.
I squint my eyes looking at Tonpa as if threateningly saying "get lost". Tonpa see my expression and looks away. "Weird guy." He mumbles.
Ignoring the strange look Tonpa was giving before, I turn my focus back to Nicholas. After some quick calculations, we find six different doors to choose from.
As we observe, we see the main protagonists huddled together, discussing their next move. I remember that the hidden doors close to each other led to the same room, so I tell Nicholas to get ready. We both jump simultaneously close to each other, activating the hidden doors beneath our feet.
We land in a room with stone walls. While I land on my feet, Nicholas lands on his ass due to not being trained enough, and once I go to help him up, we look around the dim room, spoting a pedestal with three wristwatches, and a board with instructions above it, which we quickly read. It states; "The Path Of The Luck". The three who drop into this chamber must pass a trial to reach the bottom of the tower."
"So we need to wait for another more candidate to join us?" Nicholas asks while we put the wristwatches.
"Who is it?" Nicholas asks surprised.
"Did he say prison custodian?" Nicholas asks.
After Lippo's explanation, we each put on a wristwatch. I try to put a second watch on my other wrist out of curiosity, but it doesn't close like the first one. It seems that you can't connect two wristwatches on the same person after all.
"Well, looks like we'll have to wait. You make yourself comfortable, Nicholas. I'll keep an eye out for anyone who falls on their ass like you did." I say standing and looking up at the ceiling while Nicholas looks at me annoyed by my comment.
'So, it will be a three-group trial, and it looks like a bonus game without much complexity. Looks like I've been lucky for once.' I think while smiling and waiting.
It takes almost no time at all for someone else to fall.
"Catch me!" A voice rings out of the room.
I quickly position myself in the place and catch that someone before it hits the ground. When I lay my gaze on the person who fell in my arms, I gasp. The last participant is a young girl with green eyes and water green hair. She wears a big yellow hat with white flaps, a reddish sweatshirt with white lapels, beige trousers with white lapels, orange shoes and her badge is #246. She is Ponzu.
"Excuse me... Can you put me down now?" At her request, I snap of my stupor and take her down of my arms, very nervous and blushing.
'Come on man, get a grip. You need to learn how to deal with women.' I think, trying to calm my nerves as I look at Ponzu. "Are you okay?"
"Um... Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for catching me up. I wasn't as ready for landing as I thought I would be." Ponzu says as she locks her eyes on us.
'That's her; that's Ponzu. The bee manipulator who was Leorio's target in the fourth phase of the Hunter Exam, and who later went to the NGL in the Chimera Ant arc, where she suffered one of the top 5 worst deaths in Hunter x Hunter. She's going to be my companion in this phase.' I think as I look at her with a mix of emotions in my heart. 'She is such a cutie in person.'
"No worries, I'm glad I could help you. I'm Kai Ikeda, examinee #15." I say as Nicholas approaches us.
"And I'm Nicholas Van Rossum, his loyal subject and examinee #187." Nicholas says standing next to me.
"It's a pleasure. You can call me Ponzu, applicant #246." Ponzu says with a slight bow. "So, why are you guys still here?"
Nicholas responds this time, "We were forced to stay here until there were three applicants in the room. That sign on the wall gives you the rules"
Ponzu approaches the sign Nicholas is pointing at, and realizing Nicholas is correct, puts on the last wristwatch.
And without waiting for a second, a wall near the instructions board moves up like as a door appears. On it is a panel with our first choice: Press "O" to open the door or "X" to not open it.
We proceed to push the buttons; O 3 /X 0. With the absolute majority saying yes, the door moves aside, giving way to a new passage.
"Very good. Now we can move forward." Ponzu says trying to get ahead, but is quickly intercepted by Nicholas.
"How do you dare try to get ahead of the boss?! He's the best in this group, so we both should follow him like good subordinates if we want to get through this phase!" Nicholas exclaims very excitedly, to which I slap him, "Boss, why?" He complains looking at me.
"You shouldn't act like that with someone you just met. I know you would follow me blindly, but that doesn't mean that others have to do the same. And if Ponzu doesn't want to follow me, or thinks she's more capable than me, I'll gladly follow her until we reach the base of the tower." I say looking at her.
Nicholas, who was previously upset at Ponzu's attitude, quickly calms down thanks to my words. I realize we are in a challenging spot. I have never spoken to Ponzu before, and obviously she doesn't have any reason to trust me. But we need to work together for now if we want to overcome this phase. So I prefer to avoid any conflict with Ponzu if I can help it.
Ponzu however waves nervously her hands in denial, "No, no, it's alright. It's not that I want to be in charge, I was just being a little impulsive. I think it's best if you lead us."
I nod to her acceptance and walk to be ahead of them."Well, I'll be taking the lead if there are no objections."
Nicholas is the first to respond. "I understand, boss. Whatever you do, I'm right behind you all the way."
"As long as you can prove that you are helping us get through this phase of the exam, I will follow your instructions." Ponzu adds with a cheerful smile.
Since both of them agree, we move on with me taking the lead. We walk through the door and find ourselves in a corridor leading to two paths, one right and one left. In front of us, we find a panel with a new choice: Press "O" to right or "X" to left.
"To me, it doesn't matter which way we go, so I choose right." I say pressing the button.
"I will follow your every decision, boss." Nicholas says quickly pressing the same button.
Ponzu just presses after us and the answer appears on the panel; O 3 /X 0. The bars on the right rise, and we continue down that path.
As we walk, I glance at Ponzu behind me. 'I'm going to save her. She may not know me at all, and helping her survive may alter the timeline. But still, I can't stand by while one of my beloved characters from my favorite anime suffers such a gruesome fate.'
'I won't let her die from a shot to the head to be devoured by a Chimera Ant. No matter what, I have to make sure Ponzu survives.' I think as I stare ahead, guiding the group towards the next trial.
The path is small and kind of dark, but big enough for us to walk on without stumbling. After coming out from the short and dark path, we see a light in the distance. Walking to it, we find ourselves in an open space with an squared ring suspended over an endless drop into darkness. Across the gap are three hooded and cuffed individuals.
'Here we go.' I think as I display a confident smile on my face.
Remaining time: 68:56:26.