Gon and Leorio had returned to their seats, as had Vish. In the center of the room, Kurapika and Jenna faced each other across the small table, now broken from Vish and Gon's arm-wrestling match. Jenna sat in a prayer-like pose, while Kurapika sat cross-legged.
"The test is simple," Jenna began. "I'll ask you ten questions of varying difficulty. Then, within one minute, you'll need to recite the answers in order. Get at least five correct, and you pass. Clear?"
Kurapika nodded in agreement.
Leorio, meanwhile, was dissecting the test's premise. 'Ten questions, huh? A memory challenge. With only a minute to answer, the questions are probably easy, even if she said difficulty's random. The real trick is remembering them in order. I used to play games like this with friends. Kurapika's got this.'
"Obviously, writing down the questions or getting help is forbidden and grounds for failure," Jenna added.
"Makes sense," Kurapika said, lowering his gaze to the floor.
"Here we go," Jenna announced, eyeing Kurapika. "First question: When you're thirsty, do you eat or drink?"
A stunned silence followed. Gon's eyes widened, and Leorio's heart skipped a beat. 'What kind of question is that?! I knew they'd be easy, but this is downright dumb,' Leorio thought.
"Second question: What's 1 + 1?" Jenna continued.
'Seriously?' Leorio wondered.
"Third question: If you have three chicks on your farm, how many chicks do you have total on your farm?"
Jenna paused for about five seconds between each question.
"Fourth question: If six fingers are cut off, how many are left? Fifth question: What's your name?"
After the fifth, she paused longer. Kurapika remained still, eyes fixed on the floor.
'Good, I've memorized everything so far. This means Kurapika shouldn't struggle. I don't get the point of this absurd quiz, but it works in our favor,' Leorio thought.
"Sixth question: What's a jib in sailing?"
Gon had followed along decently, given the questions' surprising simplicity. But the sixth question scrambled his fragile mind, making him lose track and frying his brain.
'Huh?' Leorio thought, sensing something off.
"Seventh question: What's 75 × 2, then divided by 3? Eighth question: I have a cat's ears but I'm not a cat, a cat's tail but I'm not a cat, a cat's eyes but I'm not a cat—what am I?"
'Damn it!' Leorio cursed inwardly. The difficulty had spiked unexpectedly from the sixth question, and he'd lost the thread by the eighth.
"Ninth question: My son has several brothers—exactly as many brothers as sisters. Each sister has twice as many brothers as sisters. How many girls and boys do I have?"
Jenna studied Kurapika, who hadn't moved an inch since the quiz began. 'His concentration is impressive, but that alone won't cut it,' she thought.
"Final question: What was question number two?"
That concluded the ten questions. Reactions varied. Gon had checked out long ago. Leorio was racking his brain to recall the questions in order, tangling himself up. Kurapika remained motionless. Vish smirked. 'Still as cunning as ever, Jenna.' It was no coincidence he handled strength tests and she took psychology.
"You now have one minute to give the answers in order," Jenna said, picking up the hourglass from Vish's arm-wrestling test. "Begin," she added, flipping it to start.
Everyone expected Kurapika to speak, but he stayed silent. Five precious seconds ticked by.
"What the hell are you doing, Kurapika?!" Leorio shouted, unable to contain himself.
Finally, Kurapika reacted. He straightened, his face calm, devoid of tension. "No need to yell, Leorio," he said casually.
"Are you kidding? Time's running out!" Leorio snapped, fuming.
Kurapika smiled and turned to him. "Tell me, Leorio, did you memorize all ten questions in order?"
'Has he lost it?' Leorio thought, incredulous. "Seriously, you think now's the time for that?"
But Kurapika kept staring. Leorio sighed in exasperation. "I got tripped up at the eighth, but only 'cause I wasn't really focused. Otherwise—"
"And you, Gon?" Kurapika cut in, to Leorio's annoyance.
"Me?" Gon said, snapping out of his daze. "I totally lost it after the sixth," he admitted, scratching his head sheepishly.
Kurapika chuckled. "This test seems to be about memory, but it's really about using your head. Ten questions: the first five are dead easy, the last five are medium. The trick lies there. You only need five correct answers to pass, so you focus on nailing the first five. Their simplicity lowers your guard, and you get overconfident. Then the sixth question hits, and the sudden jump in difficulty throws you off. You don't notice the shift, and by the end, you're lost."
He faced Jenna. "Am I wrong?"
A faint smile crossed her lips. "It's commendable that you saw through the trap, but you haven't given any answers yet."
Only a few grains of sand remained in the hourglass. "You drink, 2, 3 chicks, 4 fingers, Kurapika," Kurapika rattled off.
Just then, the last grain fell, stopping the hourglass. A heavy silence hung for a moment. Then Jenna spoke: "Time's up. You answered five questions correctly in order. Congratulations, you pass."
Her words hit like a bombshell. "Wow, Kurapika, you did it!" Gon cheered.
Leorio clicked his tongue. "If you knew the answers, you should've said them from the start instead of showing off."
Kurapika calmly stood and rejoined his companions. "All three of you passed our tests, proving you're worthy of the Hunter Exam," Vish said, standing. "I'll now take you to the site of the first exam. Follow me outside."
The trio got up and followed Vish. "Young Kurapika," Jenna called from behind.
He stopped and turned. "Is something wrong, ma'am?"
Jenna shook her head slightly. "No, I just need you to confirm something. You knew the last five answers, didn't you?"
Kurapika smiled. "Who knows?" he said coyly. "Either way, I had fun."
With that, he left Jenna and joined the others outside. "Wonder how we're getting to the exam site," Leorio mused.
As if on cue, Vish whistled into the wind. Moments later, a noise echoed, and a massive creature appeared in the night sky—an enormous bird. It landed near the group, nuzzling Vish's hand.
"Incredible!" Gon marveled.
"It's a Giant Eagle, one of the world's top predators," Leorio noted.
"His name's Roxy. Wouldn't hurt a fly. He'll take us to the exam site," Vish said, leaping onto the bird's back. "Hop on."
Gon climbed up eagerly, followed by Kurapika. Leorio hesitated before joining them. "Hold tight," Vish warned, stroking Roxy's feathers. "Let's go, buddy," he whispered.
Roxy let out a soft cry, as if replying, and spread his massive wings. With one beat, they soared into the sky.
"Yippee!" Gon whooped, his face alight with excitement.
"Damn it, Gon, stop squirming!" Leorio yelled, struggling to balance.
"Don't be a scaredy-cat," Kurapika teased.
"Who said I'm scared?!" Leorio shot back.
The preliminaries were over. Next stop: Zaban, where the first Hunter Exam challenge awaited.
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