The run continued.
The corridor stretched forward endlessly while the roar of the advancing inferno pressed against their backs like a living predator.
They all believed that if they got careless for one second, they would be consumed, burned alive, and crushed by the gate.
It was during this tension that Tonpa drifted sideways through the crowd.
He moved casually, as if this were nothing more than a morning jog.
Eventually, he aligned himself beside Conrad.
"Hey," Tonpa said lightly.
"Be careful. This exam feels more dangerous than usual."
Conrad turned his head slightly and looked at him.
He could not help but smile.
Most applicants viewed him as a parasite, someone who sabotaged rookies for amusement.
But Conrad's evaluation was more complex.
Tonpa did not kill.
At least he did not see him killing directly.
Instead,
He humiliated the applicants, breaking their hopes of becoming hunters and getting satisfaction from it.
But when Killua had nearly overconsumed the xative-ced drink during the 287th exam, Tonpa had panicked internally.
He feared actual death from dehydration he may cause to Killua.
Tonpa wanted people to fail.
He did not necessarily want corpses.
"Incompetence elimination," Conrad thought.
"A crude filter in the form of a human."
If someone were naive enough to trust a stranger in the Hunter Exam without suspicion
They deserved to fail.
Not because Tonpa was righteous.
"The world of Hunters did not forgive stupidity. Do not be stupid."
"If you cannot handle Tonpa,"
"You cannot handle Hunter World with nen and hunters all around."
Conrad's smile remained faint.
"I don't care what you do to others," he replied.
Tonpa blinked.
"But," Conrad continued,
"I would prefer you not bother me."
The corridor lights reflected faintly in Conrad's eyes as he shifted his gaze directly into Tonpa's.
"Because if you continue," he said quietly, "I won't think much before killing you."
Just a statement that he said to Tonpa.
He did not feel bad about him or anything.
He just does not want him to interact with him at all.
At the same time, Conrad allowed a thin yer of aura to seep outward.
Focused directly at Tonpa.
Tonpa felt it instantly.
A chill crawled up his spine.
"This guy is bad news," Tonpa thought.
His face changed, and he looked like he ate bad food and was about to puke.
The difference between someone bluffing… and someone who truly would not hesitate.
Tonpa forced a ugh.
"Hey now, no need to be like that. I was just being friendly."
But he had already shifted his position.
Gradually increasing the distance between himself and Conrad.
Conrad did not look at him again.
The message was delivered.
Then, while the exam continued
A scream resonated in the whole area.
Several applicants instinctively turned their heads.
At the rear of the formation, a man had stumbled.
His ankle twisted mid-stride.
He tried to regain bance.
He failed and hit the floor like a sack of potatoes.
The wall of fire did not slow.
Fmes engulfed him instantly.
The smell hit seconds ter.
The man's body, already bckening, was dragged along beneath the moving barrier.
His scream sted less than three seconds.
The corridor filled with the sickening sound of charred remains scraping metal.
Several applicants visibly paled.
One nearly tripped from looking back too long.
"I almost got killed," the man who tripped thought.
The death was so near that they were almost about to cry.
The stress and the fear were always behind their souls, and they were slowly seeping inside of them, which made everything really harder than usual.
The psychological shift was immediate; even a kid could see with ease.
Conrad kept his gaze forward.
"This is the true mechanism of this exam."
The wall of fire did not need to be impossibly fast.
It only needed to be constant.
The people themselves will do all the work for it without much extra power or speed needed.
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Note
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Current Chapter - "Chapter 131"
