Chapter 46: Hunter Examination (Part-4)

Black let out an annoyed grunt and peeled the webbing off with one paw like it was lint. The spider lunged for a bite, jaws glowing faintly with venom.

But this time, Black made its move.

Its massive left paw swept out in a wide, effortless arc and hit the spider clean across the face—WHAM!

The arachnid’s body twisted mid-air like a ragdoll before slamming into the stone wall with a wet CRACK. Blood splattered. Its body twitched once, then fell limp.

[Enemy Defeated.]

Lin Fang blinked.

“One hit?” he muttered in a daze. “But it’s only level-21 at the moment, though? Is this the difference in grades?”

He looked up at the score screen, beginning to flicker into place overhead.

Congratulations. Level-2 Cleared.

Time Taken: 00:09 seconds

Score Awarded: 180 Points

Total: 280 / 500

Lin Fang stared at the numbers, then slowly clenched his fists. “So that’s the penalty for not choosing the strongest opponent.” His jaw tightened. “I need 220 more to pass the final trial. That means I need to ace the third level.”

Meanwhile, Black returned to its baby state. The small Direwolf cub waddled over to him on all fours and crawled onto his lap with a quiet yawn.

Lin Fang’s irritation softened. He stroked the cub’s fuzzy head with a warm smile. “Thanks, Black. You were amazing.”

Inside the Examination Control Room;

The air was still except for the soft clicks of keyboards and quiet murmurs among the staff.

Banks of monitors displayed various examination rooms, showing flashes of combat, struggling applicants, and roaring beasts.

“Room 14 just cleared Level-2,” a technician announced, glancing toward the lead examiner.

Feng Xiu turned slightly, raising a brow. “Room 14? Who was it? Leng Xuenyi?”

“No, sir,” the technician replied, scrolling through the digital panel. “Candidate name: Lin Fang.”

“Lin Fang…?” Feng Xiu leaned forward, clearly intrigued. “Show me the footage.”

One screen flickered as the replay queued up. The room was lit with a faint blue as Lin Fang appeared on-screen. They watched as Black dropped to the ground, grew rapidly, and then, with a single paw, smashed the jungle spider into the wall.

BOOM. Instant kill.

“Hmm…” Feng Xiu’s brow furrowed. “A monster that hides its level? That cub didn’t show any combat capability until transformed.”

“Sir?” the technician asked, noticing his interest.

“Pause it,” Feng Xiu ordered suddenly. The footage froze. Lin Fang stood alone, the Direwolf now in baby form at his feet.

Feng Xiu narrowed his visible eye. “He looks… familiar.”

The technician tilted his head. “Should I pull up his personal record, Sir?”

Feng Xiu took a long breath and ordered sharply. “Do it. Pull Lin Fang’s full profile, birth registry, academic records, and previous monster interactions. Everything we had in our database.”

“Yes, sir.”

As data began loading, Feng Xiu leaned back, eyes never leaving the screen. “Let’s see what you’re hiding, Lin Fang…”

*

Almost an hour passed.

Lin Fang stood still beneath the cool artificial lights of the room with his eyes locked onto the hanging screen above. The digital timer ticked down—00:10… 00:09…

0:01

[Welcome to Level 3 of the Monster Hunter Examination]

A mechanical clang echoed through the room as an empty cage descended from the ceiling. A prompt blinked onto the display:

[Place your monster companion inside the cage to proceed.]

Lin Fang glanced at the baby Direwolf nestled in his arms. Black woke up and looked up at him. “Don’t worry. Just wait here for a bit.” He smiled, gently placing it into the cage. With a soft hiss, the cage rose back into the ceiling, disappearing from sight.

Immediately, a wall behind Lin Fang split open, revealing a large panel with three screens. Each displayed a different monster:

Tundra Bison – Level 15

Tundra Bison – Level 25

Tundra Bison – Level 38

Beneath them, a fourth display prompted him:

[Select your opponent.]

Lin Fang stared at the options, muttering under his breath, “If I pick the middle one and win… I might scrape a total score around 300. I will reach the pass mark but…”

Lin Fang glanced at the strongest one. “Level 38… If I manage to beat it, even if it’s an ugly victory, I will prove my potential. But seriously, this one’s as strong as the Infernal pegasus before its evolution, back in the dungeon. However, even then, I had to take the help of Master Li and his mana weapons. Can I truly defeat it with Po’s strength alone? Without any mana?” He began pacing back and forth, biting his thumbnail.

He stopped suddenly.

His eyes widened a little as an idea lit up behind them. “Wait a second. I have the Amulet of Velmura that suppresses mana. So, even if I gain mana all of a sudden, no one would suspect it. Right?”

He looked up, locking eyes with one of the overhead surveillance cameras, and raised a hand. “Hey, uh, can I get a bathroom break?”

Unfortunately, there was no response from the authorities.

“Figures,” he muttered.

He glanced left and right. “Alright. Forget about the Coagulation pill then.” Then, under his breath, he whispered: “System, Open Character interface.”

A translucent screen flickered to life in front of him, invisible to everyone but him.

Meanwhile, inside the control room…

Feng Xiu narrowed his eyes at the monitor.

The screen showed Lin Fang… moving his fingers strangely in the air, like he was drawing something invisible. It was subtle, but odd. The young man had requested a bathroom break moments earlier, but was rejected by default, per examination protocol.

Then he started whispering something under his breath and tapping the air.

Feng Xiu leaned forward with his hands on the desk, staring intently at the screen. “Let’s see what he’s doing first.”

Back inside the testing chamber…

[Combat Merge: Activated]

[Black’s stats transferred to the host. Duration: 3:00 minutes]

A faint shimmer passed over Lin Fang’s body. It wasn’t visible to the examiners, though. But for Lin Fang, his limbs felt lighter and his muscles surged with power. The heartbeat in his chest became faster.

“Let’s go,” he muttered.

His eyes locked on the screen, and, without flinching, he selected the final option. Level 38: Tundra Bison (Commander Tier).

The screen recessed. The metallic cage slammed down from the ceiling a second later, dust puffing as it struck the floor.

*Sssss*

The cage hissed open.

The beast wasted no time in charging with its hooves thundering, the ground subtly shaking under its weight.

“Sh*t. It’s fast.”

Lin Fang’s pupils dilated. A second later, he sidestepped, moving with almost supernatural speed, barely dodging the full-force slam as the beast smashed into the wall behind him.

The impact sent cracks spreading through the stone.

Lin Fang didn’t pause.

He lunged forward as his body was still adjusting to the newfound strength. He leapt with a tightly clenched fist, aiming a crushing overhead punch straight for the bison’s back.

But the monster turned mid-air, stabbing forward at him with its horn. The strike pierced through Lin Fang’s abdomen before he could land a punch at it.

“Gaah.”

The force sent him flying across the room like a rag doll. He crashed hard into the wall, leaving a crater.

In the control room;

Another staffer turned toward the chief examiner.

“Sir, Candidate 14, Lin Fang, has been struck by the Commander-Tier Tundra Bison, head-on.”

The monitor flickered as the camera zoomed in.

“He’s… moving?” Feng Xiu narrowed his visible eye.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep