Chapter 496 An Examiner Passing By

Ponzu’s venomous bees were far from harmless honeybees, they were formidable yellowjackets capable of delivering lethal stings.

Normally, just a few stings from these yellowjackets could induce a severe allergic reaction in their target, causing a red, swollen area that would gradually spread across the body, leading to shock and death from excruciating pain.

This was the fearsome power of her precious yellowjackets.

Although less aggressive than murder hornets, these bees would never get close to a stranger so easily.

This strangeness overwhelmed Ponzu’s understanding, as if a dragon had struck her with incomprehensible force… both the examinee who, despite severe swelling from stings, seemed perfectly fine, and the man surrounded by her bees defied her understanding.

"Who exactly are you?”

Faced with Ponzu’s question filled with strong emotions, Moses casually discarded the needle that had lost its Nen and took a moment to consider.

After a few seconds, he looked down at Ponzu, whose face was full of disbelief, and said calmly, "An examiner passing by."

"What?!"

Ponzu was stunned and subconsciously glanced at the number plate on Moses’s chest. A series of question marks suddenly popped up in her head.

‘Examiner?’

‘How is that possible!’

Besides the fact that each phase only had a single examiner, under ordinary circumstances, even the Review Committee would not intervene if an examinee faced danger or an accident.

Yet here was this man with a silicone mask rescuing her, something typically only done after a round ended.

This is something that most candidates already know before signing up for the Hunter test.

Ponzu also knew this very well.

‘It’s just-’

Her eyes moved away from the number plate on Moses’s chest and turned to look at the eerily accurate Netero silicone mask on his face.

‘If I had to find something wrong with this man before me...’

‘Apart from the somewhat strange number plate zero, there is also this silicone mask with the appearance of the Hunter Association's Chairman Netero.’

If not for these two strange details, Ponzu might have thought Moses was simply joking.

"You are really... an examiner?!"

Ponzu looked at Moses in surprise and doubt.

Although the number plate and silicone mask were strange, in her opinion, examiners weren’t supposed to interfere mid-test.

“Sort of.”

Facing Ponzu’s questioning, Moses replied nonchalantly.

His current identity is both an examinee and an examiner.

After answering Ponzu’s question, he didn’t wait to see her reaction but instead turned his gaze in a specific direction.

When the Needle People are in action, they will emit an unmistakable Nen fluctuations, which can be used to quickly locate their position.

But compared to dealing with these Needle People active nearby, his higher priority was stopping Illumi himself.

Ponzu looked up at Moses in a daze, and for a moment, she forgot to get up.

‘What do you mean by ‘sort of’…?’

She opened her mouth to say something but hesitated.

On one hand, she wanted to ask further, but on the other, she realized the implications: ‘If this mysterious man was indeed an examiner, did that mean him rescuing me meant I was disqualified?!’

These puzzling thoughts only heightened her mental strain as Ponzu pondered.

As Moses stared in a certain direction, he suddenly thought of something, and raised his finger.

Buzz-

A graceful yellowjacket alighted on his fingertip.

"Interesting."

Moses looked at the yellowjacket on his fingertips, and muttered with a faint smile.

In addition to mental resilience, the Buff effect of [Star Of Mankind's Shine] also includes an attribute called affinity.

The initial affinity level was level 1, and then it was upgraded to level 2 due to the reward from Perception.

The specific effect of this ability is just as its name suggests, which is to enhance affinity at the living creatures.

Moses had experienced this firsthand when accompanying Menchi in the deep mountains to search for new ingredients, where he was naturally loved by many animals.

Though this effect didn't extend to magical beasts or aggressive creatures, it was plausible that as his affinity buff increased, it might even influence rare magical and aggressive creatures.

Even if it doesn’t work-

Moses also has the powerful [All Extinct] skill.

So in a sense, Moses has the potential to become a top-tier Beast Hunter.

What Moses didn't expect was that the affinity buff also affected animals under someone else’s control, such as Ponzu’s bees, which he found amusing.

It must be known that, even without the blessing of Nen, there are many exceptional talents in this world like Ponzu, who have the ability to control animals.

Moses’s affinity buff is simply the nemesis of this kind of people.

"Go back to your master."

Moses said, flicking his finger gently, and the yellowjacket flapped its wings and flew away.

Then, Moses waved his hand, and the yellowjackets that were originally hovering around him flew towards Ponzu.

“…”

Seeing that Moses could command her bees freely, Ponzu was stunned and utterly confused.

‘Are those really my precious bees I raised?!’

Once more, Ponzu found herself questioning reality.

But Moses didn't care how much impact his behavior would have on Ponzu, and he turned around and left.

‘There are still a lot of Needle People that needed to be dealt with.’

‘So troublesome...’

Moses sighed slightly.

By the time Ponzu came back to her senses, Moses had vanished from her sight.

"Who on earth is he?"

Ponzu stared blankly at the direction where Moses disappeared.

Everything that had just occurred left her shaken to the core.

In the forest.

Moses followed the Needle People’s presence and quickly moved through the forest.

‘There is no reward… It seems that I still need to establish some kind of relationship...’

After saving Ponzu, Perception did not give Moses any reward.

But this is normal, after all, the difficulty and risk of the rescue are almost zero.

Supporting characters like Ponzu, with low presence, likely only yielded rewards when he established a relationship with them.

As his strength increased, it had become challenging to earn rewards purely through combat.

Because becoming stronger is equivalent to reducing the risk of combat, and risk correlated directly with reward probability.

Thus-

If he wanted to continue to frequently obtain rewards from Perception, he must actively interact with these characters from original work and establish some kind of relationship with them...

This clear path aligned well with the Hunter Association’s system, where a Single-Star Hunter must cultivate connections to progress to Double-Star.

Though Moses was interested in digging for potential rewards from Ponzu, the current situation left no room for that. Rescuing Ponzu was, for now, a seed planted for later.

And compared to Ponzu, Killua and the others have a higher priority.

Of all the individuals, Moses looked forward most to potential rewards from Killua’s ‘Gacha Box’.

If it weren't for the Zoldyck Family's control...

Moses would have formed a relationship with Killua back at Heavens Arena.

As he gathered these thoughts, Moses’s shared vision from his shadow clones revealed new developments.

Illumi had come into sight...

‘Killua’s presence really does make his movements predictable.’

Moses sighed in his heart.

Chapter 497 So Busy

Somewhere in Visca Forest Preserve.

The bodies of three Needle People lay on the grass.

Kurapika knelt beside one, examining it carefully while Killua and the others watched.

Normally, Killua would not be interested in ‘corpses’ that no longer posed a threat, but these corpses exuded the same Aura as Illumi when they were alive, which made him a little concerned.

Kurapika examined the corpse closely, then eventually spotted a strange needle embedded in the back of its skull.

"A needle…?”

Kurapika pulled out the needle that was deeply embedded in the corpse's head with great difficulty, and a strange look flashed in his eyes.

‘Is this the root that is controlling these three people?’

Kurapika’s mind swirled with questions as he held the bead-tipped needle.

He thought of a technique called acupuncture that he had seen in a book, but that technique was used in medical treatment.

“This needle looks like…”

When Gon saw the needle in Kurapika's hand, he immediately thought of the ugly man who had kickedHisoka away.

That man had been unforgettable, and Gon distinctly recalled him being covered in similar needles.

Kurapika was still unconscious at the time and did not see the strange sight of Illumi kicking Hisoka away. When he heard Gon's reaction, he couldn't help but look over.

Tap, tap, tap-

Just as he was about to ask, a series of undisguised footsteps suddenly echoed from the forest.

Kurapika, Killua, Gon, and Leorio all instinctively turned towards the source of the sound.

The reason they overreacted was not because they suddenly heard footsteps, but because they felt an extremely dangerous aura coming with the footsteps.

‘Is it Hisoka...?!’

Their expressions grew wary as they peered into the forest, speculating about the identity of the person approaching.

The sensation was eerily similar to the danger they’d recently felt from Hisoka.

So, when they sensed this dangerous aura, although they did not communicate, they all guessed that the person coming might be Hisoka.

But as the owner of the footsteps walked out of the woods, the person Kurapika, Gon, Killua, and Leorio saw was not Hisoka, but a man with needles stuck all over his face and a long, ugly face.

A terrifying aura that was almost the same as Hisoka's was emanating from this man.

“It’s him…!”

Except for Kurapika, Gon and the others all looked grim.

This man, able to work alongside Hisoka and deliver a kick that left Hisoka utterly speechless, had left a lasting impression on them.

Kurapika turned his gaze toward Illumi, who is in disguise, with a serious look in his eyes.

He saw the shadow of Hisoka in Illumi, causing his eyes to turn slightly red.

"Huff-"

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down, then quickly glanced at the bead-headed needle in his hand.

The man had at least twenty needles of the same style on his face, the only difference being the size of the beads...

Which meant-

The person who had controlled those three examinees was none other than the man standing before them, wearing number plate 301.

"Destroying someone else’s tools at will isn’t a good habit, you know."

Before Kurapika could inform Gon and the others of his discovery, Illumi, under the alias Gittarackur, took the initiative to acknowledge it.

His voice carried a natural reverberation, creating an eerie effect. Then, in front of Kurapika and the others, he slowly pulled three bead-headed needles from his body, holding them between his fingers.

The three needles represented his intent to eliminate Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio. However, the others did not understand this gesture’s true meaning.

"So, please go and die."

Illumi raised his hand and, with a flick, sent the three Nen-infused needles hurtling toward Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio.

Killua reacted the fastest. As the three needles flew towards them, he dashed forward, striking out with his sharpened, skeletal hand. Three sharp clangs rang out as he deflected all the three needles.

"I was the one who killed them."

Killua stood protectively before his friends, his gaze cold as he fixed on Illumi, who still held his throwing pose.

Now that he had awakened his Nen, he understood one crucial truth.

With just a small amount of Nen, even an ordinary needle could deal devastating damage to a regular person. This was the innate gap between Nen Users and non-Nen Users, which prompted Killua to block those Nen-infused needles.

Illumi tilted his head slightly with a creaking sound, and looked carefully at Killua, who seemed to have undergone some kind of transformation.

"Sure enough, my decision not to allow you to come into contact with Nen was correct."

Illumi sighed softly, speaking in a calm tone: "Because this only fills you with unnecessary confidence."

"Huh?"

Killua frowned, not understanding what Illumi means.

Illumi slowly raised his hand to remove a needle from his forehead, and then said in a cold tone without any emotion: "Killua, I taught you before- reckless confidence without understanding the situation only leads to death."

"You…!”

Suddenly realizing something, Killua’s eyes shrank sharply, fear flashing across his face.

Without another word, Illumi pulled out a second needle from his face.

As he removed more of these needles, his ugly, horse-like face began to ripple and shift. Black hair sprouted from his scalp, cascading down his shoulders.

Under the stunned gazes of Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio-and the increasingly terrified look from Killua- Illumi gradually returned to his true form.

His hair flowed down to his shoulders, his complexion was pale, and his eyes were deep, as dark as obsidian.

Illumi’s transformation into his true self brought a chilling shift to the air, making Killua’s entire body shiver as if plunged into an icy abyss.

"Big… Brother!"

Killua’s voice was a mix of terror and disbelief as he stared at Illumi.

Hearing Killua’s address, Gon and the others, who had been ready to fight, couldn’t help but freeze momentarily.

Illumi, with his dark, bottomless eyes, fixed his gaze on Killua and said in an expressionless tone: "Killua, I have a lot of things I want to ask you now, but before that, let me kill these outsiders first."

“…”

Killua’s heart skipped a beat and though he opened his mouth to protest, no words would come.

"Run… get away..."

With his back to Gon and the others, Killua said in a trembling voice.

"Killua...?"

Gon and the others were tense, with sweats streaming down their faces.

They didn't understand the current situation, and even if they wanted to escape, they couldn't break free from Illumi’s overwhelming aura.

Watching Killua’s reaction, Illumi continued in his cold, unwavering tone: "Killua, as I’ve told you many times, an assassin has no need for friends. But don’t worry, I have the patience to help you correct this."

"!!!”

Killua's eyes widened, and his mind quickly flashed with the innocent people who died at Illumi’s hands, and his pupils couldn't help but tremble violently.

He seemed to be able to see Gon and the others lying in pools of blood.

"Run… you have to escape."

Killua said again with difficulty.

But he actually knew very well that when Illumi was set on killing them, with Gon and the others’ current strength, there was no way to survive.

‘Is there anyone who can stop Big Brother...?’

‘Moses!’

‘Only Moses can stop Big Brother!’

Struggling for each breath under Illumi’s suffocating presence, Killua’s chest felt unbearably heavy. He couldn’t bear to see Gon and the others perish at Illumi’s hands...

“I always feel like… I’m so busy lately.”

Moses emerged from the forest on the side, and his eyes hidden under the silicone mask were locked onto Illumi.

His appearance immediately attracted the attention of everyone present.

Seeing Moses, Killua felt like a drowning man clutching a piece of driftwood. The oppressive weight in his chest lifted, and he could breathe freely again.

On the other hand, Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio also felt a sense of security when they saw Moses, who is wearing a silicone mask.

‘But what is going on with these people...’

‘Why did their mere presence feel like sinking into quicksand?’

‘Nen-’

‘What kind of existence is this?!’

Although they had not been involved in the battle, Kurapika and the others, having faced similar overwhelming experiences twice in one day, were already beginning to feel emotionally drained.