[Hunter x Hunter] Scamming My Way to the Top

[Boumargood]

Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter × Hunter or any of its original characters. They belong to Yoshihiro Togashi and their respective rights holders. This is a non-commercial fan work.



Chapter 1: A Bad Deal


The first thing that alarmed him was his hand.

It remained raised before his face for several seconds, plump and short-fingered, with faint wrinkles crossing the knuckles—wrinkles that did not exist in his memory. He slowly turned it over, then moved each finger one at a time, as though expecting an exquisitely crafted glove to slip off and reveal his real hand underneath.

Nothing happened.

A broad-shouldered man bumped into his back as he passed, then turned with an irritated glare.

"If you're going to sleep standing up, do it somewhere out of the way."

He opened his mouth, but the man had already disappeared into the crowd before he could respond. He remained where he was as his awareness finally began taking in his surroundings.

He was standing inside a long tunnel whose walls were washed in pale white light. Hundreds of people crowded the place. Some were stretching in preparation for whatever lay ahead, others exchanged nervous glances, and a few stood in silence as though the sight of a man carrying an axe or a child riding a skateboard through an underground tunnel was perfectly normal.

His unfamiliar hand dropped to his chest, then descended to his stomach.

It stopped there.

He pressed his fingers into the soft mass bulging beneath his shirt, and his face gradually tightened. He had not been thin in his previous life, but he certainly had not possessed a belly like this. He felt his face next, discovering a broader nose, fuller cheeks, and an entirely different jaw.

His breathing quickened.

'Calm down.'

It was good advice—simple, rational, and precisely the kind he used to offer people before convincing them to transfer their savings into a bank account that did not exist.

His body, however, did not seem interested in rational advice.

'Calm down? I'm wearing someone else's body, and the first thing you suggest is calming down?'

His name was Asnos. Or at least that was the name people knew him by; the truth had never mattered much in his line of work. He had spent years behind computer screens creating fraudulent stores, investment opportunities that possessed everything except actual investments, and online personas more convincing than most real people. He had deceived thousands and learned long ago that fear made people stupid.

He was now discovering that the rule applied to con artists as well.

He tried to retrieve his final memory, but found only scattered images: the glow of a screen, a furious message from a victim who had realized the truth far too late, and then a black void without beginning or end.

He remembered no accident, no illness—not even falling asleep.

'I must be dreaming... right?'

He pinched his forearm hard.

Pain immediately pierced his skin, sharp and distinct enough to make him curse under his breath. He tried again, this time digging his nails into the back of his hand, then closed his eyes and counted to five before opening them.

The tunnel remained.

So did the unfamiliar body.

'Either this isn't a dream, or my mind has finally decided to punish its owner.'

He retreated toward the wall, searching for somewhere that would give him a little space. The smell of sweat, metal, and damp stone was far too real, as was the wall's rough surface beneath his fingers. The sounds were neither distant nor dreamlike. He heard shoes scraping across the ground, someone cracking their knuckles, and a man boasting that he would finish the exam before noon.

Exam?

Asnos slowly raised his head.

Until that moment, his preoccupation with his new body had prevented him from considering how strange the people around him looked. Their clothing did not belong to the same country—or even the same period. A man in leather armor stood beside a young man wearing a formal suit, while a woman carrying a staff taller than herself spoke to someone whose face was concealed behind a metal mask.

'Have I been abducted into some second-rate television show?'

The thought almost brought him comfort, until a loud voice reached him from the other side of the tunnel.

"I'm not shouting! This is how I talk!"

He turned toward it instinctively.

The speaker was a tall man wearing a suit and carrying a small briefcase. Beside him stood a blond youth in traditional blue clothing, watching him with a calm expression that barely concealed his impatience. A few steps ahead of them was a young boy wearing a green jacket, a fishing rod strapped across his back.

Asnos's heart stopped for a beat.

He stared at the boy's black hair with its green-tinted tips, then shifted his gaze to the blond youth and the man in the suit.

'No.'

A silver-haired boy rode a skateboard between the applicants, weaving effortlessly around them before stopping a short distance away.

Asnos's mouth went dry.

'Don't tell me they're...'

Gon.

Kurapika.

Leorio.

Killua.

He did not need a fifth piece of evidence, but the world was generous enough to provide one anyway. On the other side of the tunnel, a tall red-haired man leaned against the wall, turning a playing card between his fingers. His faint smile alone was enough to send a slow chill crawling down Asnos's spine.

Hisoka.

Asnos immediately looked away.

The place was no longer merely strange.

It was something far worse.

He was inside the world of Hunter × Hunter.

His mind tried to reject the conclusion, but the characters stood before him in every recognizable detail. They were not drawings or actors wearing cheap costumes. They were living, breathing people—and the real Hisoka was not someone any sane person wanted to catch them staring.

That realization left him with an even more disturbing question.

If he was here... then who was he?

His eyes dropped to a small bag hanging at his side. He reached inside and pulled out a plastic bottle filled with orange liquid, followed by a second and then a third. They were all identical, and their presence stirred an old scene from the anime in his memory.

The juice.

The rookies.

The laxatives.

Something cold settled in his stomach.

"What's wrong with you, Tonpa?"

The question came from a thin man passing nearby. He glanced at the bottle in Asnos's hand, then smiled contemptuously.

"Couldn't find a new rookie to poison yet?"

The man walked away laughing, leaving Asnos frozen in place.

Tonpa.

He lowered his gaze to his stomach, then to his short fingers and the bottles of orange liquid. His faint reflection stared back at him from a metal panel fixed to the wall: a round face, broad nose, and coarse dark hair.

There was no longer any room for denial.

He had become Tonpa, the Rookie Crusher—the man who had spent dozens of Hunter Exams sabotaging other applicants because he could never become a Hunter himself.

He stared at his reflection for several seconds before the corner of his mouth twitched.

'Wonderful... It seems the entity that dragged me here read my résumé very carefully.'

At least he could not accuse the mysterious entity of miscasting him.

His smile quickly vanished. In the novels he had read, transmigration was never free. There was always a reason, some mysterious power, or an absurd mission demanding that the protagonist kill a god within a week using a wooden spoon.

Considering his current luck, the spoon probably would not be included.

A clear sound suddenly rang inside his head.

[Ding!]

Tonpa flinched so violently that he nearly dropped the bottle. He quickly looked around, but no one reacted. The applicants continued talking as they waited for the exam to begin.

A line of glowing text appeared before his eyes.

[...Synchronization between soul and body completed successfully.]

A second line followed.

[Compatible host detected.]

[Welcome to the Con Artist System.]

He read the name twice, then closed his eyes for a moment.

'Even the system decided to insult me immediately. No introduction, no "Supreme Ruler System" or "Heir of Legends." Just Con Artist.'

A new window appeared.

[Do you agree to activate the system?]

[Yes/No]

Tonpa hesitated. He had built a considerable portion of his former wealth from people who agreed to terms they had never read. Pressing "Yes" without knowing the details was precisely the kind of stupidity he had spent years exploiting.

However, refusing the only thing that might explain why he was here seemed even more foolish.

He focused on Yes and selected it.

[Consent confirmed.]

[Activation initiated.]

A translucent panel appeared before him.

[Host: Tonpa]

[Level: 1]

[Experience: 0/100]

[Strength: F]

[Speed: F]

[Endurance: E]

[Talent: E]

[Nen Points: 0]

[Nen Status: Unawakened]

[Locked Features: ???]

He inspected the numbers, then glanced down at his stomach again.

'Strength: F? That isn't a stat. It's a condolence message.'

'At least they aren't all F... Apparently, carrying this belly around raised my endurance to E.'

He dismissed the panel and surveyed the tunnel again. He spotted a bald man dressed like a ninja, a tall figure with pins driven through his face, and several applicants he remembered would die before the exam ended.

He was no longer watching an anime from behind a screen. The pain here was real, and death was probably permanent.

The thought of returning to his own world suddenly struck him.

His old world had not been good, but at least it had made sense. Its dangers came in the form of police officers, furious victims, or frozen bank accounts—things he could escape with a new identity. Here, people like Hisoka could kill him simply because the way he walked annoyed them.

'How do I return?'

The system did not answer.

'Open the return option. Log out. Cancel synchronization.'

Silence persisted.

Then another notification rang.

[Main Quest generated.]

Tonpa felt his chest tighten before he even read it.

[Time Limit: Five years.]

[Objective One: Become the strongest Hunter in the world.]

He stopped breathing for a moment.

[Objective Two: Conquer the Dark Continent and bring it under your control.]

He stared at the words, waiting for them to change or for another line to appear and inform him that this was merely a terrible welcoming joke.

Instead, the final line appeared.

[Failure Penalty: Death.]

Immediately afterward, a red countdown began ticking.

Tonpa slowly raised his eyes toward Hisoka, then returned his gaze to the m
ission.

For the first time since awakening inside the tunnel, the card-wielding magician was no longer the most terrifying thing in the room.

'Five years?'

His lips trembled, but no sound emerged.

'This system is joking with me... right?'

 

[Boumargood]

Tonpa received no answer.




The red countdown continued ticking before his eyes, indifferent to his stare and to the last shred of hope he had placed in the possibility that the mission was merely a bad joke. Five years to become the strongest Hunter in the world, then conquer and rule the Dark Continent—two feats that had eluded people capable of killing him with a single move.




Meanwhile, his greatest qualifications were a large belly, a bag full of poisoned juice, and a criminal record that had unfortunately failed to make the trip with him.




He closed his eyes, drew in a slow breath, and released it just as carefully. The mission did not disappear, but the trembling in his fingers eased.




'Panicking won't send me back, and it won't make this body any thinner. Think now. Fall apart when the schedule allows it.'




He dismissed the mission timer and summoned his status panel. The translucent interface reappeared, displaying the same information as before.




[Host: Tonpa]




[Level: 1] [Experience: 0/100]




[Talent: E]




[Stats:]




[Strength: F] [Upgrade Cost: 10 Nen]




[Speed: F] [Upgrade Cost: 10 Nen]




[Flexibility: F] [Upgrade Cost: 10 Nen]




[Endurance: E] [Upgrade Cost: 100 Nen]




[Intelligence: E] [Upgrade Cost: 100 Nen]




[Nen Points: 0]




[Nen Status: Unawakened]




[Additional Features:]




[???: Locked]




[???: Locked]




[???: Locked]




Tonpa stared at Strength, Speed, and Flexibility. Ten points were enough to raise any one of them to the next rank. The problem was that he did not possess a single point, nor did he know how to earn one.




The three F grades stood beside one another like a collective assessment of his new life.




Talent, meanwhile, was separate from the rest of his stats, with no upgrade option beside it. Whatever an E-ranked talent meant, it appeared he would simply have to live with it.




'So all I've received so far is neatly organized ignorance inside an elegant panel.'




He studied the interface for another moment.




'Even my victims used to hesitate longer than I did.'




Then he remembered that he had already selected "Yes."




He decided not to pursue that line of thought.




Instead, he focused on the Nen Points entry.




'How do I obtain them?'




The system remained silent for a moment, long enough for him to wonder whether he was expected to discover the answer himself. Then a new notification appeared.




[Nen Points can be acquired by deceiving or persuading others.]




Tonpa's eyebrows rose.




A second notification followed.




[Rewards increase according to the target's strength, intelligence, and resistance to influence.]




He stared at the words, then slowly turned his gaze toward the surrounding crowd. For the first time since his arrival, it seemed that life had not abandoned him entirely.




He had spent years doing precisely this. He could not shatter a wall with his fist or outrun a car, but he had once convinced a rational man that an investment company registered three days earlier would double his savings within a week.




'Finally, an ability based on my actual qualifications.'




He could not decide whether to thank the system or feel insulted that it had assessed his character so accurately.




Before he could investigate further, a sudden disturbance spread through the applicants. Conversations died away one after another as every face turned toward the front of the tunnel.




A tall, slender man had appeared, dressed in an unusual purple suit, with a thin mustache extending along both sides of his face. Tonpa had not heard his footsteps or noticed the moment he arrived, but he recognized him immediately.




Satotz.




The man stood before the crowd and calmly swept his gaze over the applicants. He did not raise his voice by much, yet his words reached all the way to the back of the tunnel.




He introduced himself as the examiner for the First Phase, then told them that their only task was to follow him to the site of the Second Phase. He gave them neither a distance nor an estimated arrival time. He merely warned that anyone unable to keep up would be eliminated from the exam.




Uneasy murmurs spread through the crowd.




"That's all? We only have to follow him?" asked a man near Tonpa.




Another tightened the belt around his waist. "It can't possibly be that easy."




'For the first time today, someone said something that justified keeping his head attached.'




Satotz turned and began walking without another word. His calm steps gradually became a steady jog, and after a brief hesitation, the applicants surged after him.




The entire crowd moved at once.




Tonpa found himself running with them before consciously deciding to do so. The body seemed to understand what it was doing better than he did. His feet settled into a stable rhythm, and his breathing became controlled in a way that contradicted his heavy appearance.




Perhaps his E-ranked Endurance was not merely the result of carrying that belly around for years.




The original Tonpa had participated in more than thirty Hunter Exams. Even if he had never passed, repeatedly fleeing dangerous phases still counted as physical training.




'Apparently, regular retreat is a certified fitness program.'




Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio moved through the middle of the group, while Killua glided between the applicants on his skateboard as though he were out for a leisurely ride. At the front, Satotz maintained his pace without showing the slightest effort.




Tonpa chose a position near the center of the crowd. Staying close to the front would waste his energy, while falling behind would make him one of the first to be eliminated if the pace increased. The middle was safer, and it placed a comforting number of bodies between him and Hisoka.




Using strangers as human shields was not particularly noble, but he could not recall the system asking him to be noble.




A notification chimed inside his head as he ran.




[Side Quest Generated.]




Tonpa's expression tightened.




'Of course. The first mission left far too much room for hope in my life.'




He opened the notification.




[Side Quest: Pass the Hunter Exam.]




[Reward: Determined according to performance.]




[Penalty for Failure: Forced transfer to the Dark Continent.]




His stride faltered, and he nearly collided with the applicant ahead of him. He recovered his balance with difficulty, then stared at the message, hoping he had somehow misread it.




The penalty was not death this time.




It was death after a very long journey.




Blurred images of the Dark Continent surfaced in his memory: colossal creatures, unnatural diseases, and calamities that had wiped out entire expeditions. Even the finest fighters currently inside the tunnel were not prepared to enter it yet.




So what chance did Tonpa have when his Strength was ranked F and his finest weapon was a bottle of laxatives?




'The main mission pretended to be merciful and gave me five years. This one didn't even give me five minutes.'




He cursed his luck, the system, and whatever entity had sent him here before forcing himself to focus on his breathing. He had no choice but to pass the Hunter Exam—something the original Tonpa had failed to accomplish after dozens of attempts.




But the original Tonpa had not possessed a system.




Nor had he been Asnos.




Several minutes passed, and some applicants' breathing began to grow heavier. The pace was not particularly fast yet, but anxiety was already causing many of them to waste their energy.




Tonpa approached a thin young man running with both hands clenched around the straps of his bag. The youth kept staring at Satotz's back as if expecting the examiner to vanish and abandon them inside the tunnel.




Frightened, nervous, and unfamiliar with Tonpa.




A suitable beginning.




Tonpa slowed slightly until he was running beside him.




"This is your first attempt, isn't it?"




The young man gave him a wary look, then nodded.




"Is it that obvious?"




"You're watching the examiner more than the road. Every rookie does that."




The young man's expression shifted. His suspicion did not disappear entirely, but interest entered his eyes.




"Have you taken the exam before?"




Tonpa offered a small smile, careful not to make it look condescending.




"More times than I care to admit."




That was true, even if the experiences did not personally belong to him. Truth was the best wrapping for a lie. It saved a con artist the trouble of inventing everything from nothing and gave him something solid to stand on when the rest began to collapse.




The young man swallowed.




"Do you know how long this phase is?"




Tonpa could have told him the truth: the phase was absurdly long and could continue for hours. But aside from being discouraging, the truth would earn him nothing.




He pointed toward a distant bend in the tunnel.




"This section is shorter than it looks. We'll reach a rest point after a few kilometers, so maintain this pace and you'll be fine."




Relief immediately appeared on the young man's face. His shoulders loosened, and his breathing became steadier.




"Really? Thank you. I thought we might be running for hours."




"Don't worry. The examiners are harsh, but they're not insane."




Tonpa nearly choked on the sheer audacity of the lie. He knew perfectly well that the examiners were insane, and some of them carried sharpened playing cards to prove it.




A notification appeared before him.




[Deception registered.]




[Nen Points +1]




[Experience +1]




Tonpa blinked, then stopped his smile from widening.




It had worked.




This was no theory or vague promise from the system. One simple deception had earned him a real point, and ten similar lies could raise his Strength, Speed, or Flexibility to the next rank.




He looked at the young man beside him and felt something close to professional gratitude.




'My first customer in this world. He'll only lose some stamina and hope, so this is still the most ethical transaction I've ever conducted.'




Tonpa gradually fell back, then summoned the system interface while continuing to run. His first point had appeared in the deception record, and the experience counter had changed as well.




[Nen Points: 1]




[Experience: 1/100]




The additional features, however, remained concealed behind gray question marks.




[???: Locked]




[???: Locked]




[???: Locked]




He focused on one of them, but all he received was a brief notification.




[Unlock conditions have not been met.]




'Wonderful. Even the system meant to save my life hides its conditions in the fine print.'




He closed the interface and began searching for another target.




He avoided anyone who recognized Tonpa or openly stared at the number sixteen on his chest with disgust. His body's old reputation would make deceiving veterans difficult, but most rookies had never heard of him—and there were plenty of them nearby.




He told two applicants that Satotz was watching anyone who moved too close to the front and that crossing a certain point would be considered a challenge to the examiner. The pair exchanged nervous glances before dropping behind Tonpa.




[Deception registered.]




[Target Count: 2]




[Nen Points +2]




[Experience +2]




Both of his balances rose to three.




'Even lies come with bulk discounts.'




Next, he approached a muscular applicant who was forcing his way toward the front by shoving aside anyone in his path. Tonpa told him that Satotz might suddenly reverse direction to test their reaction speed, and that conserving his strength was more important than gaining ground now.




The man was not easily convinced.




He looked at Tonpa's belly, then at his face, as though Tonpa's physique alone were reason enough to reject any advice he offered about running. Tonpa had to mention how many times he had participated in the exam, describe several previous trials, and add small, useless details whose only purpose was to make the rest of his story sound true.




The man finally hesitated, then reduced his pace.




[Deception registered.]




[Target Difficulty: Moderate.]




[Nen Points +3]




[Experience +3]




Both totals reached six.




'So the system doesn't care only about the number of lies. The quality of the victim matters more than the quantity of words.'




That made sense. Deceiving someone frightened was not equal to deceiving someone strong or intelligent, just as persuading an old man to transfer ten dollars was not the same as convincing a company to hand over its entire budget.




Tonpa continued running as pain gradually began to spread through his legs. He did not allow it to interrupt his work. Poverty was an excellent motivator, and the threat of forced transfer to the Dark Continent was even better.




He selected four rookies running near one another, then approached them in a confidential tone that suggested he was sharing information no one else was meant to hear.




He told them that this phase secretly evaluated teamwork and that applicants who maintained a stable formation would receive an advantage in the next stage.




They did not believe him immediately.




Tonpa had to cite the number of exams he had taken, describe several previous trials, and point toward other small groups while claiming they had already discovered the hidden rule.




The four rookies looked toward the groups he had indicated.




Those applicants had no idea they had just become supporting evidence in an unrelated scam, but the fact that they happened to be standing close together was enough.




After a brief discussion, the four rookies were convinced and fell into formation behind Tonpa.




A new window appeared.




[Group deception registered.]




[Target Count: 4]




[Nen Points +4]




[Experience +4]




[Total Nen Points: 10]




[Experience: 10/100]




A small thrill ran through Tonpa, reminiscent of the feeling he used to get whenever a successful bank transfer notification appeared on his screen.




Ten points, gathered near the beginning of the First Phase alone.




If he maintained this pace, he might be able to improve his body before they reached the end of the tunnel. In a world where a child could tear a man's heart out with his bare hand, advancing from "humiliatingly weak" to "acceptably weak" was no minor achievement.




'The first round of capital has been raised.'




He glanced back at the four applicants behind him and found them working hard to maintain their imaginary formation.




'And no successful enterprise can exist without investors.'




Before he could open the Stats section, the system interface suddenly trembled. The first unknown slot lit up, and its question marks slowly began to fade.




[Unlock condition for the first feature fulfilled.]




[Unlocking new feature...]

 

[Boumargood]

Chapter 3: The Pauper's Lottery


[Total Nen Points: 10]



[Condition for revealing the first feature has been met.]



[Revealing new feature...]



Tonpa watched the final line flicker before his eyes. His irritation with the endless running quickly gave way to curiosity. Ten points was hardly a fortune, but it was the first thing he had earned since arriving in this world—and the first proof that the system might offer him a genuine means of survival.



A new window appeared.



[New Feature Revealed: Hunter Lottery.]



[Feature Locked.]



[Unlock Cost: 10 Nen Points.]



[Would you like to unlock this feature?]



[Yes/No]



Tonpa nearly stopped running from sheer indignation.



'You're making me pay after announcing that I met the requirement?'



His objection received no response, naturally.



Satotz continued running at the front of the crowd without changing his steady pace. The gaps between the applicants were gradually widening. Some still spoke with confidence, but others had already begun panting heavily. Tonpa did not have the luxury of standing around and arguing with a window no one else could see.



He looked at the two options again.



His ten points were enough to raise his Strength, Speed, or Flexibility from Rank F, but he had no idea how significant the improvement would be. The new feature, on the other hand, might offer him something mere statistics could not.



It could also be a trap designed by a system bearing the name "Scammer."



That particular detail made the offer feel strangely familiar.



'The worst purchase is the one that leaves you wondering what you might have received if you had paid.'



He selected Yes.



[10 Nen Points deducted.]



[Current Balance: 0]



Seeing the zero caused him genuine pain, even though he had possessed those points for only a few minutes.



[Feature Unlocked: Hunter Lottery.]



A dark wheel appeared before him, surrounded by small silver symbols. Blurred images were scattered across its surface: a sword, a book, a mask, a bottle, and several shapes he could not identify. A golden pointer rested at the center, with a single button beneath it.



[Spin]



The corner of Tonpa's mouth rose.



Skills, techniques, weapons, and strange items... If he obtained something powerful from the beginning, his chances could change completely. Perhaps he would not have to spend the next five years fleeing from monsters and Nen users. One fortunate result might give him exactly what he needed to turn everything around.



Then he read the line beneath the button.



[Cost per Spin: 100 Nen Points.]



His smile disappeared.



'One hundred?'



He had deceived seven people, pushed his lungs to the brink of collapse, and earned only ten points. Now the system had calmly informed him that all of that was not enough to purchase even a single spin.



He opened the feature description, hoping the rewards would justify the cost.



[The Hunter Lottery grants the host a chance to obtain random rewards, including skills, techniques, weapons, tools, materials, and items of unknown origin.]



His hope began to return.



[Rewards vary in value and rarity.]



[Probability of receiving a high-value reward: Extremely low.]



[Results may include common items or items of limited utility.]



Tonpa stared at the final line.



'So I pay one hundred points and might end up with a spoon.'



The system did not deny the possibility.



He closed the lottery interface in annoyance, causing the abbreviated feature panel to reappear.



[Nen Points: 0]



[Additional Features:]



[Hunter Lottery: Unlocked]



[???: Locked]



[???: Locked]



Tonpa dismissed the panel and focused on the tunnel. The question was no longer whether he would try the lottery, but how he was supposed to collect one hundred points without dropping dead before the exam ended.



The method was obvious.



Deception and persuasion.



He scanned the applicants around him, searching for a suitable target. Exhausted faces were not difficult to find, and fear had begun showing even among those attempting to conceal it. This should have been easy. All he needed was someone who did not recognize Tonpa and a lie they wanted to believe.



He approached a young man wearing a red headband and noticed that his breathing was becoming irregular.



"Don't exhaust yourself this early," Tonpa said in a friendly tone as he matched the young man's pace. "Satotz will give us a break at the first gate."



The young man turned toward him, then looked at the orange bottles hanging from Tonpa's bag.



"And will you be serving us juice during the break?"



A mocking smile appeared on his face before he accelerated and pulled away.



No notification appeared.



Tonpa watched him for a moment, then slowly exhaled.



'All right... perhaps he wasn't as new as he looked.'



He did not give up. He spotted two young applicants running beside each other and approached them.



"A word of advice from a veteran applicant: the running isn't the real test. There's a side passage after several kilometers, and anyone who misses it—"



"Don't listen to him."



The voice came from behind them.



Its owner was a short-bearded man who ran alongside the pair before pointing at Tonpa with contempt.



"That's Tonpa. He comes here every year to ruin the rookies' chances. If he offers you food or a drink, throw it in his face."



The two young men immediately moved away, whispering to each other as they glanced back at Tonpa suspiciously.



Tonpa pressed his lips together.



He was beginning to understand the real problem.



Asnos had not created this reputation, but he had inherited its full cost. The original Tonpa had spent years deceiving applicants, poisoning them, and sabotaging their chances until his face became well known among the veterans. Worse, they did not merely avoid him—they warned the newcomers as well.



In his previous life, Asnos had changed his name, picture, and accent whenever one of his identities became compromised. Now he was trapped inside a face whose reputation had been ruined before he ever arrived.



'I inherited a weak body, a heavy stomach, and the reputation of a low-rent criminal... What a generous welcome package.'



He tried a third time.



He chose a large man who appeared preoccupied with watching Satotz and told him that the examiner was deliberately keeping the pace low to lure the applicants into relaxing. The man gave him nothing more than a sideways glance.



"Get away from me."



His tone was enough to convince Tonpa that insisting might cost him several teeth.



He immediately retreated.



Nearly ten minutes passed before he found another target. It was a young applicant running on the far side of the crowd, away from most of the veterans.



Tonpa approached him carefully.



"Conserve your strength. There's a short rest stop after the next three turns."



The young man looked at him doubtfully.



"Are you sure?"



"I reached it during a previous exam."



The young man hesitated, then slowed slightly and began regulating his breathing.



A notification appeared.



[Deception Registered.]



[Nen Points +1]



[Experience Points +1]



Tonpa felt a measure of relief.



'One.'



Before he could move away, a voice called out from behind them.



"Don't believe him! That's Tonpa!"



The young man turned sharply, but Tonpa had already slipped into the crowd.



Finding his second victim took more than ten minutes. She was a woman who kept looking around anxiously while panting. Tonpa approached and told her that several assistants to the examiner were running among the applicants in disguise, recording the names of anyone who complained or asked to stop.



She immediately closed her mouth and straightened her back despite her exhaustion.



[Deception Registered.]



[Nen Points +1]



[Experience Points +1]



'At this rate, I'll afford a spin after the exam is over.'



After that, he could not approach anyone without attracting suspicious looks. His movements had become obvious. He would slow down beside an unfamiliar face, speak with them for a few minutes, and then move on to someone else. It did not take the veterans long to understand what he was doing.



"Watch out for number sixteen!"



"Don't take anything from him!"



"And don't believe his advice!"



The warnings spread through the crowd faster than Tonpa could move through it.



He hid the juice bottles inside his bag and crossed to the other side of the tunnel. Instead of approaching the first unfamiliar face he saw, he waited. After roughly fifteen minutes, he found a short man who seemed more focused on his feet than on the people around him.



Tonpa told him that Satotz would change their route at the next gate and that remaining near the left side would grant him an advantage.



The man studied the other applicants, then gradually moved toward the left.



[Deception Registered.]



[Nen Points +1]



[Experience Points +1]



Tonpa's satisfaction did not last long.



A veteran applicant approached the man and whispered something to him. Both of them turned toward Tonpa, so he moved away before their stares could develop into a direct confrontation.



His next four attempts failed.



The first person ignored him. The second laughed in his face. The third threatened to break his nose, while the fourth merely pointed at Tonpa's stomach and asked whether he truly looked like someone qualified to offer advice about passing a physical examination.



Tonpa had no suitable response to the last one.



It took even longer to obtain his fourth point. He selected an exhausted applicant who had fallen behind his group and told him that the numbers pinned to their chests recorded their running pace, and that changing speed too often could result in disqualification.



The man looked at his number nervously, then forced himself to maintain a steady pace.



[Deception Registered.]



[Nen Points +1]



[Experience Points +1]



'Four.'



The fifth was the most difficult.



By then, most of the rookies knew his face. Some moved away before he could even open his mouth. He had to keep running for nearly twenty more minutes before finding someone who had worked his way up from the rear of the crowd and had not heard the warnings.



Tonpa told him that the first one hundred applicants to reach the end of the tunnel would receive an advantage in the next phase.



The man's eyes widened.



"Really?"



Tonpa nodded confidently.



"Satotz didn't announce it because it's part of the test."



The man gritted his teeth and surged forward, spending what remained of his strength.



The notification rang for the fifth time.



[Deception Registered.]



[Nen Points +1]



[Experience Points +1]



Tonpa quickly opened his status.



[Nen Points: 5]



[Experience: 15/100]



Nearly an hour had passed since he unlocked the lottery.



An entire hour of searching, maneuvering, and enduring insults had earned him only five points. Worse, the situation grew more difficult with every attempt. Each person he deceived became another source of warning, while every veteran applicant spread his reputation among the rookies faster than he could reach them.



He dismissed the interface irritably.



'This method isn't practical.'



The situation was becoming clear, and he did not like it.



Weak targets were easy to deceive, but they offered very little. Stronger and more intelligent targets could provide more points, yet deceiving them was far more difficult—and the consequences of failure could be painful. If he relied on deceiving one person for every point, he would need one hundred victims for a single spin that might reward him with nothing more than an "item of limited utility."



This was not a plan.



It was a full-time job where the employee paid the employer.



'Collecting points this way will take forever. With Tonpa's reputation, the exam might end before I even reach twenty.'



He needed a better method—either a deception that did not target only one person at a time or a high-value target from whom he could extract a large number of points in one go. However, executing a larger deception in the middle of the Hunter Exam would require preparation, information, and the right opportunity.



More importantly, it required him to stay alive.



Tonpa forced his body to keep running as some of the applicants at the rear began slowing down. Ahead of him, Satotz continued moving as if the distance meant nothing, while Gon and Killua ran with an ease that was frankly irritating.



Tonpa was considering alternative targets when a sharp sound rang inside his head.



[Warning!]



His carefully maintained smile froze.



[Potential Hostile Interest Detected.]



[A high-threat individual is observing the host.]



Cold sweat gathered at the back of his neck.



He did not turn immediately. He continued running, maintaining his pace and expression as best he could while his eyes slowly moved toward the edge of his vision.



Someone really was watching him.



And before Tonpa even knew who it was, he felt certain that the worst thing he could do now was let them notice his fear.