While Conrad settled and focused on training, the rest of the applicants were trying everything they could to reach their goals in the exam.
Conrad did not know, but many things happened in both the East Side and the North Side.
A group of eight applicants had decided early that numbers meant safety, so they grouped up.
They were not wrong.
They found a nest faster than expected and got ready to take the eggs for themselves.
The Bck Centipedes did not scatter like ordinary creatures.
More than twenty of them emerged almost at once.
Against the attacks of the centipedes, the applicants tried to hold formation and defend themselves.
Most of them were martial artists, so they were not scared away from fighting.
Two stood forward with spears.
One used twin bdes.
A centipede coiled around one applicant's leg; another one struck his exposed shoulder.
Bck centipedes were better than just humans grouped together when it comes to working together.
Of course, if the humans were accustomed to each other's capabilities and knew each other, the result and cooperation that may arise from it would be different.
But centipedes moved with instinct, and compared to inexperienced teamwork, instinct was better and more effective.
The stinger entered one of the applicants.
"Aggghh…"
Foam touched his lips within seconds as he screamed with pain.
He dropped on the ground not much time ter.
A woman attempted to grab three eggs at once while others fought.
"This is my chance!" she thought.
Three centipedes abandoned the front line and lunged toward her simultaneously.
One bite.
Two bites.
She too dropped on the ground like a sack of potatoes.
Most of them died in less than a minute.
"It is not going to happen..."
"Yes!" said the two that were lucky enough to not get attacked and have some distance.
Two survived only because they fled immediately, abandoning pride and eggs alike.
The centipedes did not pursue far; when they saw that the danger for the nest was gone, they returned to the nest.
Elsewhere, smarter applicants had observed, the battles of others to understand more about the creatures or find anybody that may have some eggs to stop them and take them from them.
They did not rush to nest like many other applicants.
When groups like that drew attention and triggered full swarm responses, other nests nearby were left thinly guarded for brief windows.
Several individuals secured eggs without ever facing more than two centipedes at once.
Not much time ter, it would be expected that those who had eggs would become targets.
It was safer to fight humans.
This was the first thought all exam takers had when Elina told them about the exam rules and the completion conditions.
Across the pins and forest edges, small skirmishes erupted.
People were struck unconscious and beaten into the pulp by the others.
Nobody was killed, but they were gravely injured if they fought back.
Then there was another oddball, danger and death in the form of a human.
Some may even say that he is a pervert, and it would not be wrong at all.
Hisoka moved through the grassnds like a grim reaper.
He had observed two separate groups successfully steal eggs during swarm distractions.
He watched them hide behind a cluster of low trees, dividing their collected eggs between four members.
Hisoka licked his lips slowly.
"Oh… they think they are smart…"
He was amused as he stalked a group of people.
He stepped forward without masking his presence.
The four noticed him almost immediately.
Tension froze the air.
One of them tightened his grip around a knife.
Another shifted backward slightly.
They knew who he was.
Not in the general sense, but they can all sense and understand that this clown guy was bad news for them.
Hisoka tilted his head slightly.
"I only need a few," he said softly.
The knife-wielder grimaced and moved.
"You are not going to take what I have!" he shouted as he charged.
Bravery or stupidity—hard to tell.
The fight sted less than ten seconds.
Hisoka moved like a dancer.
He swiped his hand with the joker card he was holding, and one swipe was all it needed.
The attacker colpsed.
Another attempted to fnk him.
Hisoka stepped aside casually, using minimal effort to dodge the attacker with a smirk.
A sharp strike to the neck with the card.
Sleep.
The third tried to run.
Hisoka appeared in front of him almost instantly.
A gentle tap behind the neck.
The applicant who tried to escape dropped on the ground.
Sleeping soundly from that moment on.
He simply handed over two eggs silently.
Hisoka smiled wider.
"Good choice."
He could have killed them.
But rules were rules.
He wanted to get a hunter license, so he did not want to lose his chance this year to just kill some of the people.
He gathered what he needed.
Four eggs.
More than enough.
He crouched briefly, observing the unconscious bodies.
"So fragile…"
There was genuine disappointment in his voice.
He stood and walked away, humming softly.
Behind him, the four remained alive.
Which was a good result, considering they have encountered Hisoka.
Elsewhere in the forest, simir scenes unfolded.
Eggs changed hands without centipedes ever being involved.
Human strategy proved more dangerous than insect venom.
Back near the stream, Conrad felt disturbances.
But he did not recognize these disturbances as fights.
He did not have such an ability; he could just sense it because of the fact that he was a nen user and his senses were more powerful, but that was it.
"I would not be surprised if the skirmishes were happening right now."
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Note
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