The third phase had concluded, and the examinees gathered at the airship.
As for those examinees who had been defeated in the competition among the teams, members of the Review Committee will come to rescue them.
Moses stood at the gangway, waiting for Beans to come and take over.
On the flat ground not far away…
The group of examinees looked at Moses silently.
Although they had given it their all, passing the test in such a manner left most of them with little joy.
To console themselves, they could only reason that 'the true purpose of the test was to assess one's abilities'.
Soon, Beans came down the gangway.
Moses looked over and casually tossed a list he had prepared in advance to Beans.
"This is the ability assessment list from the third phase. It can be used as a reference for the fourth phase. Of course, you don't have to use it."
"Ah, thank you for your hard work."
Beans took the list and nodded at Moses.
Moses waved his hand and said, "Then I'll leave the rest to you."
After saying that, Moses climbed up the gangway without looking back, and directly threw the complicated matters after the third phase's completion to Beans.
Beans watched as Moses boarded the airship, then looked down at the list, on which were written the names and numbers of the twelve candidates from highest to lowest.
"1. Hanzo, #294"
"2. Killua, #399"
"3. Gon, #405"
"4. Raizo, #1"
"5. Kurapika, #404"
"6. Geretta, #384"
"7. Leorio, #403"
"8. Urtaido, #188"
"9. Pokkle, #53"
"10. Ponzu, #246"
"11. Bourbon, #103"
"12. Hisoka, #144"
Beans glanced at the list and saw that Hisoka, who usually held the top position, had dropped directly to the last place.
But this is not surprising. After all, Hisoka did not put in any effort in the third phase and passed the test simply by doing nothing.
"If that evaluation will be used as a reference for the fourth phase, then we must have the right to know, right?"
It was not until Moses's figure disappeared on the gangway that Hanzo tactfully asked Beans about the list's rankings.
Beans looked at Hanzo and said sincerely, "The rankings assigned by the examiner may not necessarily affect the next test, so there's no reason to keep them secret."
"Then read it aloud for us."
There were twinkling stars in Hanzo's eyes.
He was certainly interested in the ranking's potential impact on the fourth test, but more importantly, he wanted to...
"First place, No. 294."
Beans complied with Hanzo's request and began reading the list.
When Hanzo heard he was in first place, the corners of his mouth could not help but curl up, but he quickly composed himself, maintaining an air of calm indifference, though he was inwardly delighted.
Except for Hisoka, all the examinees present subconsciously looked at Hanzo.
But Hanzo still maintained an unruffled demeanor, as if being ranked first was of no significance to him.
"Here."
Urtaido suddenly came to Hanzo's side, holding up a photograph that was gradually coming into focus.
Hanzo and the other examinees around him craned their necks to see the photo.
In the photo, Hanzo's grin was so wide it practically reached the back of his head, a far cry from his current calm expression.
Hanzo first looked at the photo, then looked at Urtaido, and the corners of his mouth twitched several times.
"I… thank you."
He said through gritted teeth.
'God knows how this bastard seized this opportunity to capture such a perfectly timed shot!'
"You're welcome. It's just a photo. It doesn't cost much."
Urtaido enthusiastically thrust the photo into Hanzo's hands.
Hanzo stared at Urtaido with a forced smile, but the latter seemed to have no awareness at all and walked away calmly.
Beans didn't pay much attention to the minor disruption and continued reading the rankings.
Hanzo's embarrassment lingered until Beans read out Hisoka's name.
Examinees like Pokkle gazed in surprise at Hisoka, who had suddenly dropped to the bottom of the list.
In terms of raw strength and danger, Hisoka was unquestionably the top examinee here.
This was a common understanding among the examinees.
However, due to some unknown circumstances, Hisoka, who had previously held the top spot, had now fallen to last place.
Kurapika, Hanzo, and Raizo understood the reason, but all of them had blank expressions on their faces.
Encircled by the other examinees' surprised glances, Hisoka remained completely unconcerned, giving off an air of indifference.
The third phase was too boring for him. If he could pass without lifting a finger, he certainly wouldn't bother to exert himself.
After reading out the rankings that Moses had compiled based on the examinees' performance, Beans began to introduce some brief information about the fourth phase.
Meanwhile…
Moses boarded the airship, greeted Menchi and the others briefly, and then returned to his room to experiment with his newly acquired ability, Ken: Bone-Plating Armor.
As for the upcoming fourth phase, it has nothing to do with him anymore, and he wasn't inclined to waste any time on it.
Most likely, just like in the original work, Netero would oversee the final test and eliminate a single examinee from all the examinees.
'Forging the bone plating in the Ken state will require about twenty seconds of preparation time at this point.'
In the room, Moses stood in front of a floor-length mirror, observing the Aura around him that faintly revealed a scaly pattern.
He wasn't yet sure of the bone plating's impact resistance, but the preparation time was still too long. In the heat of battle, aside from preparing the bone plating in advance, it would be difficult to activate it a second time.
If his Aura Control hadn't already reached A-level, the preparation time would probably have to be more than doubled.
When his Aura Control reached A+ in the future, the preparation time of bone plating should be further reduced, but the current preparation time of about 20 seconds can be said to have significantly limited the ability's practicality.
Still, it was too early to make a final judgment.
Not to mention that he had not yet tried the possibility of cooperation between Bone Plating and Divine Script, at least he needs to confirm the specific effect of this ability first.
'It just so happens that I'll be sparring with Netero, this will be a good chance to test the augmentation Bone Plating provides."
While Moses was thinking of this, he kept practicing the forging process of the Bone-Plated Armor.
This process is like using Nen as a hammer to forge scales on his stabilized, condensed Aura.
While Moses practiced in his room, outside, Beans was leading the examinees onto the airship.
Moments later, the airship slowly took off, heading toward the location of the fourth phase.
Three days later.
The airship landed at an oasis in the desert.
Moses looked out at the sandy landscape through the window, and vaguely remembered that this place was the location of the final test in the original work.
'It looks like the final test question will be the same as in the original. I wonder who the unlucky one will be this time.'
Moses stared at the swirling sand outside the window.
Under the influence of him as the butterfly, Illumi was eliminated early, while candidates such as Geretta, Ponzu, and Bourbon, who should have been eliminated, along with two unfamiliar examinees not seen in the original work, had made it to the final test.
'I wonder what the final result of the test will be. But without Illumi's interference, I think Killua will be able to get the Hunter License this time, and he won't be forced to go home by Illumi.'
After the airship arrived at its destination, the Review Committee did not immediately begin the final test, but instead gave the examinees another day to rest.
The next day, at noon.
Menchi knocked urgently on Moses's door.
"Come in."
Moses, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, slowly opened his eyes and looked at the closed door.
Creak—
The door was pushed open forcefully.
Menchi walked in briskly and quickly said: "Master, the final test is about to begin, don't you want to go and watch it?"
"Not interested. You go on."
Moses shook his head.
He was now completely focused on practicing the Bone-Plated Armor, so how could he waste his precious time watching a fight between a group of non-Nen Users?
"Huh?"
Menchi looked at Moses, who was still sitting cross-legged on the bed, and seemed to want to say something but stopped herself.
"Alright, then I'll go first."
Knowing that her master had entered a state of crazy training again, Menchi gave up the idea of begging him to go with her.