Gourmet Hunter (HxH Fanfic)

The first round of the exam required candidates to finish all the food listed on their assigned sheet within ten minutes.

'Isn't this way too easy?'

Most of the seated examinees couldn't help but think this to themselves.

Hunter Exam in the past have always been fraught with danger. But this time, not only was the test simple, there didn't seem to be any life-threatening risks involved. It might just be the friendliest Hunter Exam in history!

As soon as Adini finished explaining the rules, the incredibly efficient waiters had already arranged all the dishes.

Santa Maria Restaurant wasn't typically a buffet-style establishment, but for the sake of the first round, it had been temporarily rearranged into a buffet setup.

The foods listed on the sheets were mostly dishes from the restaurant's menu. There are 621 examinees in the venue, and each person has a list with five kinds of food listed on it, so if there is no overlap, there will be 3,105 kinds of food in total.

But can a single restaurant have this many dishes? Obviously not.

If overlaps were excluded, the buffet table didn't have nearly enough portions. What if multiple examinees had the same dish on their lists and there wasn't enough to go around?

The portion issue alone was enough to eliminate more than half the candidates right from the start, so how could this be simple?

Adini pulled out a timer and announced, "The exam begins."

With only the briefest explanation of the rules, he abruptly started the exam. The information provided was minimal, leaving examinees to rely solely on the sheets they had exchanged with coins.

The previously quiet examinees suddenly erupted into action, grabbing plates and rushing toward the buffet table, which was now filled with an overwhelming variety of dishes.

The buffet table was designed as a hollow ring, with all the dishes placed along the outer edge, causing most candidates to form a circle around it.

However, once they reached the table, none of them dared to recklessly grab any of the dishes … because they didn't recognize them at all!

There were only the names of the dishes written on the paper, with no accompanying images. Without prior knowledge, how were they supposed to identify the right ones?

Adini's explanation had been brief, and the sudden announcement of the start had acted like a starting gun in a race, causing many examinees to act before thinking.

Therefore, they were now standing around the dining table in confusion, with a small number of examinees hurriedly taking out their lists to look at them again.

The sheets didn't just list the dish's names, but also provided two crucial tips. Violating these tips would likely result in immediate disqualification.

While most examinees had rushed in blindly, a small number of them had taken a different approach, like were through the restaurant's menu, hoping to find pictures of the dishes.

Law didn't bother looking for a menu. Instead, he headed straight for the crowded buffet table. He didn't need reference images to identify the dishes on his list, after all, those months of studying hadn't been for nothing.

Tonpa watched as Law moved to grab his food and cautiously followed behind him, though his intentions were unclear.

Less than ten seconds had passed since the exam began, but the examinees' approaches had already diverged sharply.

Adini stood not far away and watched the ongoing exam with an impassive expression.

Out of the 621 examinees, only 32 hadn't immediately rushed into action. The rest had all charged toward the buffet table, yet not a single one had taken a dish yet.

The tips on the sheets were no joke. If they violate them, they will be eliminated on the spot. Because of this, the examinees are worried and dare not act recklessly.

In other words, firstly, they had to pick the right dishes, then secondly, they had to take the correct portions, and thirdly, they had to consume them in the right order.

'If you don't prepare in advance, how can you create a delicious meal?'

Adini first swept his gaze over the crowd surrounding the buffet table before turning his attention to the small group of candidates searching for menu books.

The earlier instructions had specified that candidates must arrive at the restaurant by 4 PM. Almost all examinees arrived at the restaurant in advance, with almost none arriving exactly on time.

Both the instructions and the sheets obtained through coin exchanges contained clues about the first round. But those who had arrived early hadn't bothered to observe the restaurant's layout or use their limited time to research the dishes on their lists.

He wondered what kind of misplaced confidence had led these people to make no preparations at all.

'This year's candidates are only at this level, huh?'

Adini shook his head slightly, then he noticed what Law and Tonpa were doing.

When Law reached the crowded area, he found it troublesome. Releasing his Aura was the simplest and most straightforward way to clear a path, but it would also come off as too arrogant.

The exam's time limit was ten minutes, so every second counted. Over twenty seconds had already passed, but the first group to act was still standing frozen around the buffet table, not taking any food.

"The menu actually has pictures and descriptions! Now I finally know which dishes match the names!" Law suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs.

The examinees crowded around the buffet table froze. The small group who had been searching for the menu stiffened.

While Adini, who was watching from the sidelines, twitched at the corner of his mouth. The slightly noisy restaurant abruptly fell silent.

The next second, the many examinees who had been surrounding the buffet table dispersed in unison and went to look for their menus.

With just one well-placed hint, Law had cleared the crowd blocking his way. Then, he leisurely walked over and took a spoonful of mint sweet sauce, a spoonful of Yuri caviar, two salt-baked crab claws, a slice of Caracol melon and an Egg Benedict from the dazzling array of delicacies.

The entire process took him less than ten seconds, because Law could recognize the dishes, so he moved with precision, wasting no time.

While it seemed simple, in fact, it was incredibly difficult.

Take the mint sweet sauce, for example. Someone unfamiliar with it might think of mint, associate it with the color green, and assume the sauce must be green.

In reality, mint sweet sauce was translucent. And in the condiment section alone, there were 26 different sauces, seven of which were green, which is enough to mislead anyone.

Unless one was already familiar with this particular condiment, they'd have to rely on the menu books Adini had strategically placed around the restaurant, which contains detailed descriptions.

And that was just the mint sauce. The Yuri caviar was placed among 32 different types of fish roe. The Caro melon and Benedict egg were in similarly tricky positions. Only the salt-baked crab claws could be considered an easy pick.

Therefore, the fact that Law could identify the correct dishes from such a vast selection, without relying on the menu, and even measure the portions accurately, was an exceptionally impressive feat compared to the other examinees.

'However… this guy could have just quietly secured his advantage. Instead, he deliberately gave away the hint.'

The frown on Adini's forehead had not yet disappeared, and he stared at Law, who was the first examinee to successfully retrieve his dishes.