Suddenly, Menchi let go.
Her body dropped further. As she approached the so-called "Phantom Egg," she scooped one into her hand. Because of gravity, she continued to fall…until a powerful gust of wind blasted upward from below, lifting her. Cradling the egg in one hand, Menchi rose back to where the examinees stood.
"Just do as I showed you."
A few candidates looked uneasy.
"At that height, there's no way an ordinary person could pull it off—or even dare jump…"
Before they could finish, several already leapt down: Gon, Killua, Leorio, Kurapika, Pokkle…
Ron approached the cliff's edge. Many candidates jumped together, but Ron didn't. He simply stood there. In his hand, out of nowhere, appeared a Phantom Egg—seemingly plucked from midair.
No one noticed Ron's action except for Netero. With a slight frown, Netero walked over, stopping a short distance away.
"Ron, aren't you going to jump in yourself?"
"Chairman, I'm an Emitter who uses Nen Beasts."
For a Nen Beast user, unless forced by absolute necessity, there was no need to act personally—any task a Beast could handle would be left to the Beast.
"That's true." Netero nodded. "Ron, what do you think of the Association's exam arrangement?"
"From what I've seen so far, it's pretty good—tests a wide range of skills."
"Have you gotten any inspiration from it?"
"A bit, yes."
"Excellent. That means our exam setup isn't bad. How's Maha been lately?"
"He's doing fine."
"When this exam ends, will you have some free time?"
"Is there something you need, Chairman?"
"We're a bit short-staffed," Netero said. "This year's group has a lot of promising candidates, but the Association doesn't have many people free to train them. So, I'd like you to help. Are you available?"
Ron froze for a second, wearing a puzzled expression.
"Chairman, wouldn't it be odd to have me—their fellow candidate—guiding them in Nen training? They might not accept it, which could mess up their practice."
Netero merely smiled. "If they can't handle that, how can they become decent Hunters?"
Ron thought it over. He hadn't expected such a request. But now that Netero had made the offer, it didn't seem impossible.
His biggest goal in participating in the Hunter Exam was to maximize what he could gain from it. Thanks to obligations in the Saheerta United Republic, Ron had missed last year's exam. Attaining a full hundred percent of his "progress" simply by joining this year's exam was by no means guaranteed—it would be tough. But if he also took part in teaching new Hunters about Nen, that might count as an extension of the exam itself, boosting his observation gains. It could nudge his crystal ball progress to completion.
From that perspective, Ron felt inclined to accept. In terms of ability, he was fully qualified to teach. Not only had he been trained by top-tier Nen users like Maha Zoldyck, Zeno, and Silva, but he'd also refined his mastery of techniques like Ten, Zetsu, Ren, Hatsu, Gyo, In, En, Shu, Ken, Ko, and Ryu to an impressive level.
Moreover, Ron's breadth of experience was unmatched: he'd sparred or witnessed fights involving Ging Freecss, spent time at Heaven's Arena, visited countries like Taris, been exposed to the abilities of strong Nen users in places like Fiore Kingdom and the Saheerta Union… And in his own mind were memories of many "other worlds," filled with concepts he could sometimes apply here.
"All right, if the Chairman deems it appropriate, I don't mind."
Netero gave a pleased smile. "It's settled, then."
Just then, a powerful gust shot up from the ravine, carrying the examinees who had jumped. Each clutched a single egg in their arms—the Phantom Egg. Netero quietly drifted off.
Ron found himself wondering why the Chairman had specifically asked him and not someone else. The Association had many registered Hunters who would accept the task for the right price. Why hadn't he asked Illumi?
"Is it because I was trained by Great-Grandfather, and Netero's curious?"
Ron pondered. "I'll call Great-Grandfather once the exam ends. If he objects, I'll find a reason to turn it down."
He also knew that even if he helped, it likely wouldn't be Gon or Killua he'd be training. They already had their own paths—both would end up following Wing's Shingen-ryu route. So presumably, this was for others like Leorio, Kurapika, Pokkle, or Hanzo.
As the returning candidates gathered atop Mount Split, the area buzzed with excitement. Some who had jumped were all smiles—relieved or thrilled—while a few wore expressions of lingering dread. Those who hadn't mustered the courage simply stood aside, looking embarrassed, but lacking the guts to leap.
Ron noticed that the numbers didn't match—fewer came back than had gone down. Meaning some never made it up again. With no special powers to handle the fall, a person would almost surely be smashed to pieces.
"Congratulations on passing this trial," Menchi announced.
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