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>Last time on Hunter x Hunter quest.

Derrick decided that he would take on the hunter exam after months of perparation and training, he said goodbye to his home at the Drowned sorrow bar and promised that he would come back home a successful hunter. he got on a flight to the Kukan'yu Kingdom where the hunter exam is to take place. Derrick gets on the flight and quickly heads to bed only to be awakened by an announcement saying that a couple had been murdered and so he was forced to seek out the killer to end his crimes, with the aid of a woman named Rea Springfield and a man named Noell Cromwell in tracking down the killer, he finally corners him in the pools of the airship and now a battle of life and death is about to begin.

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"YOU WANT BRING JUSTICE!!TO BRING PEACE TO THE SHIP!!WELL! ANSWER ME!", as he brings his blade up in both hands, you glare at him with all the hate you can hold in your heart, you respond calmly, "Nah."

"I just want to kill you.".

You bring your body low and spread your legs to shoulder length, you turn your left foot to the side and bring your fist up and wait, you wait till the very final moment of his attack, feet firmly planted on the ground and eyes focused.

As he begins to swing his blade downwards you wait until the blade is a few meters away from your face then you quickly turn on your heels and dodge to the side of the attack. At this angle it's impossible for him to dodge a direct hit, you pull your fist back to deliver a skull shattering blow to the side of his head.

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His eyes immdeitaly turn to look at your fist in mid-swing, he pulls the blade back at surprising speed, instead of smashing his skull, your fist smashes into the sword's hilt and sends him sliding across the pool's edge.

He stands up from your strike and readies his stance, he brings his blade low and grips it with both hands, puts his left leg forward and right leg back while bending his body forward. Switching up your fighting style you take a kick-boxer's, bending your front knee slightly and pulling your back leg up slightly, you bring up your fist and prepare for another attack.

He speaks, "That was good, i blocked that attack and yet i could still feel a shock run through my head, a punch like that is the product of real life or death battles, those fist can and have killed before." He begins to laugh to himself, "How can you demonize me for murder when your a murderer yourself?"
"That's where your wrong."
"Hm?"
"Every life I've ever taken, I've done so because i was forced too, you kill people because it fulfills your sick desires"
"Don't give me that shit, you've never felt angry at someone and killed them before? , you've never felt vengeful and destroyed someone for hurting you or someone you care about? You never had that kind of feeling before?"

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A terrible memory from the past comes rushing back to you and causes you to stand still for a moment.

"You've lost everything you ever cared about and what do you have to show for it? a corpse of a man who died a long before you ever killed him. Well done Derrick, you failed everyone, again" a voice you wanted to forget resonates through your head. He takes advantage of your momentary weakness and dashes forward.
You wake up from your reminiscence and dodge to the left, narrowly avoiding a slash across your chest from below. As you escape from your Trance, even greater rage overtakes you, "Forget burying you along with those you've killed." you ready yourself to attack "When i'm done with you, there won't be anything left to put in the dirt."

>Roll 1d100 to fight
>DC:70

Rolled 71 (1d100)

>>1820391

Rolled 20 (1d100)

>>1820391
Let's curbstomp this motherfucker.

Rolled 84 (1d100)

>>1820391
Nat 1

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>>1820432
More like nice 1.
>writing

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>>1820406
>>1820409
>>1820432

>Rolled 84
https://youtu.be/tDcWkHrrbkY?t=20m24s

You glare at each other for a moment, each waiting for the other to move and slip up. the killer takes the first step. He jumps forward and attempts to slash you across the stomach, you jump back, just outside the blade's range, as you land you spin on one heel and attempt kick him in the head with a roundhouse kick, he ducks under it and moves back.

He's being cautious of your strikes, he better be, all it would take is to land a few well placed strikes to put him in the ground, however he holds the distance advantage, he's wielding a modified Nodachi blade, those are native to the nation of Jappon, it's 29 inches long and has a wooden hilt so he can block and strike with, it's also a lot lighter then it looks. As you thought he's smart, but you have an advantage in reaction speed and raw power.

Long weapons have one distinct weakness, it's that they have no close range defense, you dash to the side and close in on his blindside, he slashes horizontally to catch you mid-dash, however you duck under his slash and deliver an uppercut to his ribs, knocking the wind out of him but you don't stop there. As he staggers backwards, you grab him by the collar and pull him in for a brutal headbutt and push him to the ground where you mount him while still grabbing his collar. You punch in the face twice to make sure he can't regain his focus.

You have a moment to think about your next actions, will you......

>Call out to Rea: You can't fight to guy alone, you should have Rea call in reinforcements from the ship so we can swarm this bastard!
>Grab his Sword:Disarm the bastard, if you can rob him of that sword he'll lost the advantage and you'll be able to fight on equal ground.
>Brutalize the fucker: You have him where you want him, time to let out all that pent up rage all and just lay into this asshole.

>>1820479
>Grab his Sword:Disarm the bastard, if you can rob him of that sword he'll lost the advantage and you'll be able to fight on equal ground.

>>1820479
>Brutalize the fucker: You have him where you want him, time to let out all that pent up rage all and just lay into this asshole

>>1820479
>Grab his Sword:Disarm the bastard, if you can rob him of that sword he'll lost the advantage and you'll be able to fight on equal ground.

I will wait 20 minutes before closing the vote.

>>1820479
>>Brutalize the fucker: You have him where you want him, time to let out all that pent up rage all and just lay into this asshole.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

Well time's up and we still have the vote divided, so instead of waiting 20 more minutes how about i just roll and decide between the two?
1= Grab the sword
2= Break his face

Well okay then, it seems the Dice gods want to see some blood on the floor
>Roll 1d100
>No DC, Give'em a show boys.

Rolled 81 (1d100)

>>1820600

Rolled 12 (1d100)

Rolled 37 (1d100)

>>1820600

>writing

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>>1820617
>>1820615
>>1820614
Rolled 81

>NO MERCY

https://youtu.be/a6BbvCC0VI0

You hold him by the collar as you bring down punch after punch on his face, nothing stopping your brutal assault against this murderous piece of trash. This asshole is the reason you had to wake up at 1:30 in the morning and solve the murder of an innocent couple, he's the reason why you had to remember all that terrible shit from your past. He's done nothing but bring out the worst, most toxic parts of yourself that you wanted to forget, guess you got to show him how terrible you can be.

You pull him up by the collar and slam him into a nearby wall and let go him causing him to stagger into a right hook, you punch him in the nose and slam his head back into the solid concrete wall, as he falls back you knee him in the stomach and then repeatedly knee him in the face until you see him sneeze up blood. then you throw him on the floor with a loud wet *thud* sound.

You're about to stomp him, but he lashes his sword out and you narrowly avoid a slash against the shin, you hop back to a safe distance as he weakly pulls himself up by using the sword like cane, after coughing up some blood, he gets back into stance and stares at you, smiling through all the blood on his face.
(Continued)

He gets up quickly and wipes the blood from his mouth, you re-take your fight stance and watch his movements, "That was a brutal assault, i would've died if i didn't move you away. Just as i expected, you're a monster, no different then me! how many lives have you taken with those fist!" he says while smiling to himself.

"It amazes me you can still scream so much bullshit through all that blood and snot, I've told you once and i'll say it again, I've never killed anyone i wasn't forced too."
"Oh please, the only difference between you and me is that at-least i'm honest about my feelings. Didn't you feel a little excited when nearly killed me just now? you sure seemed pretty intent on not stopping until you broke something vital."
"Stop blabbering, i have nothing to say to someone whose basically half-dead."
"Half dead? You have a fatal misunderstanding there kiddo" He drops his sword and brings his fists low and and moves his legs close together, "When you live a life like mine, a few broken teeth and shattered bones is child's play, here's where the real fight begins." What the hell is that stance? he's unbalanced as hell, what the hell is he planning? well who gives a shit, he's obviously bluffing, his legs are wobbling from that last beating, another set of attacks like that last one should put him down.

>Roll 1d100 to finish this
>DC:80

Rolled 45 (1d100)

>>1820728

Rolled 92 (1d100)

>>1820728

Rolled 56 (1d100)

>>1820776
Nice

>>1820776
Very nice
>writing

>>1820738
>>1820776
>>1820804
>Rolled 92

>Time to end this

You dash forward, whatever he's planning doesn't matter, you'll destroy him with one final strike! As you dash forward he pulls his hands into his sleeves, what the hell? with his hands hidden in his coat there's no way you can tell how he's going to attack but even then you press on and don't turn back.

His hands flash out of his coat and reveal two hidden knives, he stabs forward with both knives at full force using all the strength in his legs. That would've have been a fatal wound if that hit you, yeah IF that hit you.

Your moving too fast to stop your momentum or dodge back, you weren't expecting him to have even more weapons but a couple knives aren't enough to scare you into slipping up. You react instantly, you keep your body steady and pull your palm low, you then push your palm out to his elbow, knocking the first knife out of his hands, you then turn your body to just barely dodge the other while bringing your own elbow up to use your momentum to slam his head against the wall in a brutal elbow charge.

As you jump back, he falls to the floor and this time doesn't get back up. You look over to Rea whose been watching the battle the entire time, more then likely observing your skills in real combat and her eyes tell you she is not disappointed.

You look to the murderer's unconscious body and wonder if that was enough to put him under or if he's faking it.

You walk over to his prone form and deliver a light kick to his head to turn his face over. You look at his face, his glasses have been broken, blood running down his face and his eyes are open but his pupils are clearly not looking at anything, completely knocked out, servers you right asshat.

You look over to Rea and speak, "Well i guess that's the end, no more murders now, our deal's over now. Guess that's back to bed for me and back to Cow research for you" she doesn't react to your joke but instead holds her chin in thought, "Huh? don't tell me your still worried about this guy reviving or something? if you want i can throw him into the pool and just end, not like i care about him." she continues to think and not respond to your questions, "Um, okay now your making me scared. Is something wrong? we caught the murderer so what is there to think about?"
"Why are we the only people here?" she finally responds after stopping her train of thought. "What do you mean by that? we we're the first people to run into that's why."
"No we weren't, when we met him he said we were the first to survive his ambush and that we were the most skilled group he had faced this evening."
"Damn your right, wait doesn't that mean that there should be other bodies around here?"
"No, there isn't even a sign of conflict around here from the previous melees. As i suspected, this is a test. From his confession he seems to have fought here a multitude of times, we took about an hour to get here, during that time the power was working and the cameras were on."

It hits you, the adrenaline has worn off and your thinking clearly now, you look to the side and see several cameras in the room, they had to have watched the entire fight and yet no one came here to help, or even sounded an alarm? "I see you've realized it as well, if the crew watched that entire fight and all the ones before it, that means they have known the killer's location the whole time and yet did nothing about it? This could only be a test."
"YOUR EXACTLY RIGHT!!!" a loud voice comes blaring through the intercoms.

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You both look to the door as man burst through it with a microphone followed by two other people. The man with the microphone has sunglasses and a white long scarf running down both sides of his body, you remember him, he was the shifty eyed guy from the dining hall, what really surprises you is the two behind him.

A man in a tuxedo with brown hair along with a woman in a short red dress with blonde hair, those were the murder victims of the case! they notice you staring dumbfounded and begin chuckling to themselves, the hell's so funny! you worked your ass of and nearly died for those two! the man with microphone also notices your surprise and speaks up, "Your probably wondering what's exactly going on here. Well you've probably figured out by now but this was all a big test! the couple behind me are the murdered duo and there names areeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" he gestures to the two behind him and they smile and dance in front of him, "The most handsome and brave man on the ship! Sheldon Carlton!" then the woman follows up, "The most elegant and beautiful lady on the ship! Ami Carlton!" they pose simultaneous and dance right back behind the man with the mic and he speaks up, "And my name is Jesper Myerscough and we were your examiners for the night! and we are all glad to say. Derrick Holums, Rea springfield." they gather together and jump in the air "YOU PASSED!!!"
https://youtu.be/-YCN-a0NsNk


Music blares through the speakers and consumes the room as confetti falls on top of you. The examiners clap and cheer your victory.

You can't even begin. This was all a big test, there was no murder and you unknowingly participated in the first part of the Hunter Exam. You have some many things to say but first you feel....

Happy: Nothing bad happened in the end you already passed the first test the hunter exam threw at you. You couldn't be happier!
Confused:What's even happening anymore? you wish just went back to bed and ignored this whole mess.....
Annoyed: All that pain and thinking and it was just a test. Well nothing happened in the end and you did pass the test so you can't too mad.
Angry: You had to be reminded of all the horrible things in your life and had to go through so much shit to get here. After all that and this was all a test? fuck off!

Damn forgot the green-text arrows.

>Happy: Nothing bad happened in the end you already passed the first test the hunter exam threw at you. You couldn't be happier!
>Confused:What's even happening anymore? you wish just went back to bed and ignored this whole mess.....
>Annoyed: All that pain and thinking and it was just a test. Well nothing happened in the end and you did pass the test so you can't too mad.
>Angry: You had to be reminded of all the horrible things in your life and had to go through so much shit to get here. After all that and this was all a test? fuck off!

there we go

>>1821455
>>Annoyed: All that pain and thinking and it was just a test. Well nothing happened in the end and you did pass the test so you can't too mad.
with a hint of
>Happy.

>>1821455
>>Annoyed: All that pain and thinking and it was just a test. Well nothing happened in the end and you did pass the test so you can't too mad.

voting closes in 10 minutes.

>>1821468
>>1821508
>Writing

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Well so much for life-threatening battles and crazy mysteries, you almost feel disappointed that it was all just some test! you only got two hours of sleep and were thrown through one hell of a emotional roll-coaster but you did pass the first exam and you guess you're kinda happy that no really got hurt in the end..... wait a minute, "Does that mean guy over there was only pretending to be psychopathic murderer? and that the blades and knives were fake too? jeez, i was half-way to killing him! You guys should take him to the hospital!"
When the examiners hear you, they begin to laugh their asses off, "Huh? what's so funny? that guy's seriously hurt you know!" after a good minute they finally stop laughing.

"Jeez Derrick you sure are kind to worry about a guy who nearly killed you!" Jesper says holding his stomach, what? "This is the hunter exam, this may be a test but we wouldn't put you against some fake loser, that guy you just knocked flat was a famous murderer who lurked in Yorknew city, he had a total of 32 victims, all of which were dismembered and hidden in special fridges he created and placed all over the city, we called him the "Freezer burn" killer. he was caught two months ago by the three of us!".

You know that guy! He killed one of the regulars to the bar, the guy was a family man who stopped by to talk to boss after a long day of work. You never really talked to him yourself but you were pretty scared to hear someone you know died thanks to a serial killer, "wait are you saying....." you grasp the grave meaning behind your actions, "Yes Derrick, everything that happened in this fight was real, knives, swords and all. He was ordered to attack anyone who entered the pool area and render them incapable of moving. there was ten other people who entered this place,all were taken down by him in the first attack."
"Holy shit! that's extremely dangerous! what if he cut someone in their vitals, they could've died!"
"Being a hunter is dangerous." Jesper says, sounding deadly serious
"What?"
"Every single day hunters like me and my friends are risking their lives to help people and stop monsters like him. Even the slightest lapse of concentration can mean death in this business, by passing this test you two have proven that you can calmly look over a dangerous situation and neutralize dangerous threats without letting your emotions control you. Being a hunter means battling your way through hell and back if you want to survive." He looks you dead in the eye and asks "Derrick Holums, Rea Springfield, the further you walk down this path, the more you will see monsters scarier and deadlier than that scumbag. will you continue you forward even if it means seeing hell?"

That's horrifying, it took everything you had to avoid getting slashed by that psycho. Jesper looks like he's waiting for an answer......

>Yes
>No

>>1821786
>>Yes

>>1821786
>Yes
Glad you're running again

>>1821786
>>Yes
Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to punch that guy's face in.

>>1821795
>>1821883
>>1821887
>writing

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If this was enough to stop you, you would have stayed in the bar and wasted your life away, you won't disappoint yourself, Nubes and everyone else you ever promised to change yourself for the better, for you there is no turning back . "Yes, i won't back down simply because things get dicey. I came here fully aware of what kind of life i would be taking on if i passed this test and the danger of taking it on in the first place, even i have to walk a road of fire and brimstone with nails beaten into my feet, i will come out. Alive.".

You look Jesper in the eye and he looks away satisfied with your response,he then turns to Rea, "What about you, Miss Rea Sprinfield?".
Rea looks down and considers her thoughts before speaking, after a few seconds she pulls her head back up and looks him in the eye, "I feel the same, i couldn't back down even if i wanted too. i must become a hunter even if it kills me."
"What drives you to say that Miss Rea?"
"There's someone i have to meet no matter the cost, if i can't, then I would rather die here and now." she says without changing expression. What does that mean? now that you think about you really never asked Rea why she wanted to become a hunter in the first place. you're kind of curious who would be so important to her that she would rather die then not meet them but if growing up in the city
has taught you anything, A question can have a thousand answers, don't be mad if one is a bullet. Jesper stares at Rea for a moment then turns back to face the both of you, "Well no matter what your reasoning, congratulations on passing the first test with such ease! Your skills and intelligence are un-rivaled on this ship, young hunters!" he returns to his happy go lucky voice and keeps on praising you.

"As a reward we will show you the path to the hunter exam site!" as he says that, the two behind hop in front of you each a map with vague directions and symbols that look like a bunch of funny drawings scribbled on for no real reason, no doubt as a prank by the two examiners themselves since they are giggling from your confused reactions.

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Jesper giggles a little from your reactions then continues. "This is a map of the Delle reigon of Kukan'yu, you will be landing in Roamanly Airport of Zaban city, from there you will have to follow the directions exactly and head to the moonlight forest."
"The Moonlight forest?"
"It's a forest with trees so tall it looks like it's stuck in a perceptual state of night, there are many dangerous creatures within, but you must go through this forest in order to get to the Hunter Exam site."
"I see, any advice from examiner that may help a beginner?"
'Well i'm not supposed to tell you anything but i kind of like you two so i'm share a little something, here's some good advice, the cuter it looks, the less trustworthy it is."
"the hell does that mean?"
"Trust me, you'll know soon enough."
"is that all your going to give us?" asks Rea,
"Well we have words of kindness and encouragement!"
"So yes, you have nothing." You say disappointed. All you're going to get is a marked-up, vague map. Before you stop however, Rea interjects, "What do all these symbols mean, i do not believe they are just funny drawings." she asks of Jesper, "Ah! good eye young lady! you see the path to moonlight forest isn't exactly clear, you will have to pass through some minor obstacles."
"Like?" you ask, hopefully he will drop some kind of hint, he puts a finger to his lips and says, "Sorry guys, no matter how much i like you, a test is a test and an examiner cannot give away answers." you feel your hopes die as you sigh and say, "Yeah, don't worry i understand.".

As you say that, he checks his wristwatch and says, "Well would you look at the time! if we don't set back up soon, the other passengers might also realize the truth about the test. We ask that you head back to your rooms and don't make mention of this to anyone okay! if you do, we'll take that map away.". That makes sense, can't have people figuring out the trick, but you do have some questions.....

>The Killer is Dead: I knocked out the star of your serial killer mystery, how are you going to test people now?
>Failure: What will happen to everyone who doesn't solve the mystery?
>Worry: No has actually died from this test so far have they?
>Nah: Your too tired to question this guy, time to hit the hay.

>>1822327
>The Killer is Dead: I knocked out the star of your serial killer mystery, how are you going to test people now?
>Failure: What will happen to everyone who doesn't solve the mystery?
>Rhea care to get a drink before we go back to sleep?

>>1822327
>The Killer is Dead: I knocked out the star of your serial killer mystery, how are you going to test people now?

>>1822327
>The Killer is Dead: I knocked out the star of your serial killer mystery, how are you going to test people now?

That's a good videogame.

>>1822336
>>1822343
>>1822361
>>1822361
>Rhea care to get a drink before we go back to sleep?
I already love my following and I've barely even started.
Vote closes in 20 minutes. i will allow two questions but it looks like failure and killer is dead are going to win.

>>1822327
>>The Killer is Dead: I knocked out the star of your serial killer mystery, how are you going to test people now?
>>Failure: What will happen to everyone who doesn't solve the mystery?
>>Rhea care to get a drink before we go back to sleep?

I shall start with
>Killer is dead
writing

>Dead is the killer

"I knocked out your serial killer friend, how are you going to make a murder mystery with no murderer?" you ask before he has a chance to walk away, "Don't worry, let's just say we have a VERY good doctor aboard the ship, we will have this guy healed up and back on the job in no time flat!"
"Why did you choose a psychopath like that to test people anyway? he nearly ripped my guts out three times over."
"That's the weird thing , he was actually quite calm before he met you, he didn't lash out un-necessarily up until now, he ended all the other fights in one or a few strikes and didn't go over board on any them, yet it seems something about you excited him."
"What? excited him?"
"That bastard over there may be a mass-murdering psychopath but after he got caught he became really docile, he was so bored-looking with everyone else he had fought yet when you fought him he looked so enthralled and happy! It's weird to say but i can kind of understand him."
"Huh?"
"Just talking to you has re-ignited an old flame in my chest, one i haven't felt since my younger days, your determination and bravery are quite infectious Mr. Derrick." If your determination makes serial killers excited maybe you should try and give up on things more often, "I think your overestimating me there Jesper, it's not determination or bravery, i just fear death and didn't to let that bastard go un-punished. If the situation were a little different i would've chosen to run away or ignore the entire thing"
"But you didn't, that's why i'm so impressed and I earnestly believe that you will go even further then this Derrick." He looks at you with a sort of proud look in his eyes, "You said earlier that you had people you promised you would come back successful to, if i can ask you a favor, would you add me to that list." he stretches out his hand, you don't have to think about it as you grab it firmly and say "Of course.".

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>Failure
While your grabbing his hand you ask him another question, "Oh yeah, just curious but what would've happened if we never solved the mystery?"
"Well nothing in particular these, preliminary tests are more optional then anything, it's still possible to reach the Hunter Exam site without the map we gave you, it would just take much longer then you would without it." Oh great, not only was it a test, it was an OPTIONAL test, you can almost feel yourself physically deflating from the disappointment but you get over it quickly, at least this shitty map was worth it (maybe...)

"If that's all you have to ask then this will where we part ways, sorry, but if we wait even a few minutes longer then someone might come in here and figure out the trick so we have to pick up our friend over there" he points over to the still unconscious killer as his two assistants go over and pick him up and carry, a serial killer being carried to a doctor by his victims, you've seen some bizarre crap in your life but damn. You feel it will only get worse from here on out.

As they carry the tall man through the door with ease, Jesper follows after them, "I wish you two the best of luck in passing the exam!" he shouts as he passes through the door, "Your gonna need it...." he whispers to himself after he heads down the hall. You look over to Rea and speak, "Well that sure as hell happened, thanks for all the help while i was fighting for my life by the way." you say sarcastically, "If had interfered while you and the killer were fighting, i fear i would have done more damage then i would've stopped and you seemed to handle everything just fine."
" 'Sorry' was also an acceptable answer but i guess having to explain everything makes you who you are huh. I know a way you can make things up to me though! wanna grab a drink in my room?"
"We have a very important Test in the morning, we cannot be drinking this late into the night."
"Well aren't you the responsible one, a little fun before a big test always helps, you know!"
"We can have fun after we survive the incoming test" she says making her way to the door, well that's disappointing, you didn't think she was such a spoilsport, "If it's soft-drinks...."
"Huh?", she turns around, a light blush on her face, "If we drink sodas and juice it will surely replenish our energy for the in-coming battles and test, so if we have soft-drinks, then i will go to your room." she says while grabbing at her arm and turning her head away, this the most emotion she's shown all night.

You smile a big grin as you run up and grab her by the hand and pull her with you straight to your room, "If you just want to have fun then say so!", she looks distraught from you pulling her around but you see a small smile on her face as you go forward.

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Andddddddddddd done, The Qm is tired now, but i have to say this going a lot better then last thread, i will be up to post again tomorrow. I will write a short epilogue revealing some character backstory and that will be last post for the night.

If you have any criticisms or questions, then i shall answer them now before i head to bed,

>Epilogue

>Few hours later

You and Rea have settled into the room and had a good talk about what the strategy to take tomorrow, at some point you managed to crack that steel-like exterior of her's and she agreed to have a few cold ones. You only have Blazienken lagear, it's basically alcohol laced-piss in a can but you don't want to get too drunk anyway so it works.

At-least that's what you hoped, you barely feel anything from this garbage but Rea looks she got slapped on both sides of her face with how red her checks are, her eyelids keep falling, looks like she can barely handle even the weak stuff, yet another cute trait to add to the growing list.

You've only known Rea for a day but you're sharing a drink with her on a bed in your room before you head to what might be a painful and brutal death in the morning, something about imminent death and destruction brings out the best and worst of people, this right here is proof of that.

You speak up, "You look your ready to drop any minute now, i thought you would be tougher than this." you in a teasing voice, she talks back slowly, "You seem to have the wrong impression about me *hic* this was the reason i didn't want to drink anything alcoholic *hic* but then you had to force me my hand *hic*." she says in a slurred tone, "Force you? all i did was hand you the can, you're the one who opened it and poured the drink down your throat"
"*hic* only after you called me a bunch of me a bunch of mean names and told me that i couldn't handle a drink!*hic* that's peer pressure!"
"Yeah sorry about that. but i was right about one thing, You can barely take even the light stuff Rea!", she holds her hands to her face to hide her embarrassment, "Why did i ever agree *hic* to do this."
"The time for regret is gone, the time for another drink is nigh." you denote that statement by chugging what's left of your can and cracking open another one.

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"Hey derrick" she says sounding a little serious despite her drunken state, "What?" you ask, "When we were fighting the killer you said that you never killed because you wanted too, you did so because you were forced too *hic* can you elaborate on that?" your eyes jump open at the question but you quickly relax,"Why do you want to know that?"
"If we are going to work together from now on *hic* we need to build a certain level of trust *hic* one of the best ways to do that is to share something personal or a secret with someone."
"Okay, Why do want to know that specifically?"
"Because your face when the killer asked that was one of deep regret and sadness." she says, with much of the slur in her voice gone, she is clearly focused now, you look down and think.

Remembering your past is something you try and avoid doing, it was filled with hardship and regret but most of all it brings back the faces of all those you called friends and how you failed everyone of them. You speak again, your voice low, "I can't tell you that, it's not mis-trust, i just can't bring myself to talk about it yet." you say with your head still down, "I understand" Rea says, not trying to dig against old wounds, "if you want, i can tell you a little about my past, but my story isn't a very interesting or happy one"
"That's okay please go on." she sits down properly and looks straight at you as you begin to re-tell the story of your life.

>14 years ago
You were born to a family of 10, you were the second youngest brother at 10 yrs old at the time. Your mother couldn't send you or your brothers to school, so the older ones would go out and work, while the younger ones would beg on the streets for any cash the people passing by would give, you of course also begged so you knew a thing or two about tricking people into believing anything you told them.

However the money you earned from begging was insignificant and inconsistent, the jobs your older brothers worked were used to pay the landlord, but that mean't we had no toys or ways to pass the time but playing with each other, this formed a strong bond between you as family. Your brothers weren't mean or violent, the younger ones were fun to make up games with while the older ones taught you how to defend yourself and live in the real world. It wasn't a good life but it wasn't a bad one either.

You get from your bed at three in the morning and quietly exit your room, you heard a loud thumping sound coming from your mother's room and you got worried that she might be hurt, you hurry down the short rickety hallway of your apartment home to your mother's room,

Mom always told you not to enter her room when that loud thumping noise was going off, that mean't that she was working and her clients hated being interrupted, you at the time had no idea what any of that mean't but you still listened and tried your best to ignore the loud noise and the occasional pain-filled screams that would bleed out from your mother's room.

The walls were thin this apartment, that mean't until Mom finished her work you couldn't sleep. Mom work involves bringing men to her room and doing something private for them, after that they pay her large sums of money. Many different kinds of men came to Mom for her "services", family men like Harvey next door when he is tired of dealing with his wife to important men like politicians came to visit Mom, despite her age, Mom was a very beautiful woman, who everyone in the neighborhood loved

You slowly open the door to your mother's room as you see her sitting on the edge of her bed with yet another different man asleep in it. You never understood why so many people needed Mom's services, all of them men as well, Mom did this service so she could buy you and your brothers food and toys but you never felt happy about things bought using money earned from Mom suffering, the only thing you ever wished for was for Mom to be happy.

You told her this once and her only response was to smile and tell you that your happiness was her happiness so try your best to be happy. After that you tried to seem happy and energetic at all times, so that Mom would be happy, even when you felt sad you would continue to act in this manner so that Mom wouldn't worry about you, whenever she smiled at you for being so happy, you felt that you gave her what she wanted so you would never let your smile die, no matter what.

As you look into the room, you see mom brushing her hair and looking sad, she sees you peering in and quickly put on the smile that she loves so much. She smiles back and gestures for you to go back to bed, you run back down the hallway and back into your shared bedroom with your brothers.

At the time you didn't realize just how well mom could fake a smile but even back then to your younger, stupider self, That smile looked empty.

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>>1822613
Good thread so far, keep it up. Can't always play because fuck timezones, but this is great.
>Epilogue
Fuuuck man. Curious how that all ends poorly

>>1823337
Probably horribly. With mom raped and killed by a shit head and us painting the town red with his bloody entrails.

Sorry for the delay guys, i'll start posting in an hour or two, just need a moment to sort everything out.

>>1823626
Take your time. Don't rush yourself, take time and deliver Quality.

And now i'm ready, it's time to resume hunter x hunter quest!

You wake up to a bright morning sun blasting through your open windows, it takes your eyes a moment to adjust but once they do you see a sleeping Rea on the other side of your bed, you quickly feel yourself up to see if clothes are still on and are both relieved and sad to say that your clothes are still on and you didn't have your way with your new teammate while she was drunk.

You take a moment to stare at her beautiful sleeping face, you pat her on the head and get up slowly from the bed as to not wake her.

You check the time and see that it's 9:00am, you got a full five hours of rest, great, your glad you trained to work at well with minamal levels of rest, Last night you and Rea shared drinks and exchanged stories with one another, however re-collecting that through the light hangover along with blur from your drunken stupor is way too much work this early in the morning.

So instead of doing that, you use your remaining hours before the flight lands to get ready for the test. You head to the dining hall, it's pretty early in the morning so very few people are here, none of which you know, so you just head to the food table to grab some well-made classic breakfast items and sit down at an empty table.

You drink a cup of delicious coffee and pull out the map you folded in your pocket and take a look at it, those examiners from the last test were the absolute strangest people you've ever met and you've met some pretty out there kinds of people, like that retired circus performer who would swallow a sword for every free drink he got, okay maybe those guys weren't the weirdest people you've ever met but the point stills stands, who the hell uses a real-life serial killer as a method to test someone!


As you debate the ethical the use of serial killers for a tests along with the physics and economic value behind sword swallowing for beer, Rea enters the dining hall and looks highly annoyed at you, you smile and call her over to your table. She grabs a plate of food you've never seen before, more then likely made of foods to boost her thinking power and energy levels for maximum efficiency or whatever excuse she comes up with for grabbing all that weird food , you just think she loves expensive nonsense to sound smart.

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As she sits down and begins to eat she keeps this look of embrassment and annoynace in her eyes when she looks at you, you begin with a smile on your face, "So how's the hangover cowgirl? Do one of those foods on your plate have a natural healing agent to lessen the headache?" you say remembering Rea's cute, drunken state from last night, Rea responds, "Yes one of them does actually, I can't believe i actually got drunk and slept in the room of a man i only met last night, This is a clear cut case of peer pressure."
"And i'm guilty as charged officer, what's my punishment? a slap on the wrist? a quick trip to the slammer? If my crime was making you have a little fun, then i'll gladly serve my time but this is clearly kangroo court."
"The fact that you have such a way with words is proof i had no means escape, this is no kangaroo court Derrick, i'll make sure you suffer for your crimes." She says trying to tease you back for making fun of her, you blush slightly but quickly retaliate.

"Oh yeah? why don't you list my crimes then officer?"
"L-List them?" she says caught off guard by your prompt response, "Yeah. I got you drunk but what other crime could i have committed, what could i have done to you in your drunken state?"
"W-well...."
"Well what?" you keep the pressure up
"I-I have no proof but there is a chance that you might have...."
"Might have? Might have what, officer? what could i possibly done have to you while you were drunk?"
"I-I, you might have, Um, well...."
"Welllllllllllllll"
"You didn't do THAT to me while i was in your room, right?" at this point the blush her has completed taken over her face, she looks down but there's no way to hide that, you have a grin that could only be described as the most smug, shit-eating grin in the known universe,"Well i have no idea what you're talking about but no officer, whatever lewd and crazy crime your thinking of, i did not commit it."
"That's good" she sighs in relief, "Maybe." you say to see her face turn redder then a tomato.

That will teach her to try and out bully you, you might die later today but you will die a testament to what every bully should strive to be.

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She coughs into her palm and speaks, "Well we'll deal with that topic later, for now we'll be landing in two or so hours and we have to make a proper plan of action." she says after the blush finally subsides, you focus and start thinking, after a good minute you speak up, "Well it's not something we have to think too hard about, we've been handed a map that tells us where we need to go and how to get there albeit with the hieroglyphics rather then proper directions scribbled on it."
"Then we should start by understanding those symbols so that we don't get caught of guard by some kind of trick." as she says that she un-folds her own map and places on table and points to the various symbols. you worry for a second that this might be revealing the map to those who haven't passed the test but most of the people in the room don't even look at you and those who do, just regard as a couple of weirdos.

You look to the map and see a multitude of symbols and shapes, especially around the Moonlight Forest where you need to pass to reach the hunter Exam site, before it you see a set of vague directions that take you southwards through the city and into the countryside, from where you are now, it would take around 9 hours, to reach by foot, 6 by car, maybe even longer considering the "Obstacles" you'll run into along the way, the first of which is represented by symbols that appear halfway through the city.

You see three symbols as you reach the half way point of the map, one is of which looks like a gang of angry people charging forward, the next is an angry looking head with a shotgun with the sounds effects *POW* *POW* beside it and finally two cars underneath it moving at high speeds with the*VROOM* *VROOM* sound effects above it.

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You want to say you completely understand what these stupid symbols are saying but nope, this stupid crap goes right over your head, what do these symbols represent? why are they all centered around this specific point? why are you pointed to go this specific path when their are a million other ways to reach the countryside? the examiner even said that the map wasn't necessary for reaching the Moonlight forest so why even give it?

As you're racking your brain trying to figure it out, Rea speaks up, "Derrick, how much do you know about Zaban City?" huh? "I believe this is will be my first time entering this city and i have no way of knowing what ways to walk and i don't know which streets to go to reach this Moonlight forest, i didn't even know the moonlight forest existed before we passed that "optional" test this presents an obvious un-fair advantage to those who are born in or visited that area and know where to go."
"Your right..... but then what of it?"
"You also asked Jesper what would happen if they you failed correct? and he said "nothing in particular, you don't even need this map to reach the area but it helps" that's what he said correct?" you begin to piece together what she's trying to say, the Hunter Exam begins today, however you, her and many other passengers are foreigners to the area and would not know the way to The Moonlight Forest or even of it's existence, only those who have been to the area before have knowledge of it, yet you would be expected to reach it before the Exam starts up..... Now you understand, you look to Rea, "I see you figured it out, what does Jesper mean by "you don't even need this map"?"
"He mean't that you would be told of the moonlight Forest and it's importance irregardless, however you wouldn't be told how to reach it." you answer confidently, "Exactly, that means as soon as we land, we will most likely be met with another examiner and they will tell us to seek out the Moonlight forest, those who have been to area will head straight towards it but those who are new to it will be forced to waste time questioning the locals or following someone else who figured out the path."
"While we have the map and don't need to waste time doing either."
"that's not all" Rea says bringing up a finger and then bringing it down on the map, "I would bet that if we follow this path, despite it's roundabout nature we will be the first to reach the hunter Exam site while also losing any tails who may follow us, in essence, this map is showing us the fastest and safest route to the Exam."

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"That's all well and good" you say feeling like you understand the purpose of the map a little more then before, "But that still doesn't mean we understand what half this nonsense on this paper is, Jesper called them "obstacles" and from the looks of it the our directions lead us straight into three of them in order to get to the Moonlight forest, that doesn't sound like the safest path to me" you say bring criticism to her theory, "You are correct, bare in mind i am just guessing based on what little information I have on me at the moment, it would be logical to assume that maybe facing these particular obstacles would be beneficial to us in some way."
"Or it could be the examiners putting an unnecessary challenge in our way to screw with us."
"That is also possible, in-which case avoiding it all together and taking the long way around may be safer."

The exam hasn't even begun and your beginning to feel the pressure, you have to make a strategic move here, with what little info you have will you..........

>Attempt to figure out the symbols (1d100+10) ((DC:70))
>Trust: Put your faith in the examiners and follow the map
>Safe choice: Take the long way and save yourself the trouble of fighting your way through another serial killer or something

Rolled 34 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>1824348
>>Attempt to figure out the symbols (1d100+10) ((DC:70))
>>Trust: Put your faith in the examiners and follow the map

Rolled 47 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>1824348
>Attempt to figure out the symbols
>Trust: Put your faith in the examiners and follow the map

Gotta get that imaginary exp.

Rolled 73 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>1824348
>>Attempt to figure out the symbols (1d100+10) ((DC:70))
>>Trust: Put your faith in the examiners and follow the map

>>1824455
Well you just saved our collective assess anon.
>>1824429
>>1824352
>Attempt and trust wins
>writing

>>1824465
Glad I did. This story is so far really enjoyable and I'm glad you are writing it.

>Rolled 83
>Puzzle solved

You look at the the symbols and try and decipher their meaning, You get no results after a few minutes but then an idea pops into your head. You look to Rea and speak, "Maybe we've been looking at this map the wrong way." you say after having a great idea, "from the wrong way? could you elaborate?"
"Well we've done nothing but try and figure out what each individual symbol means and got nothing, maybe the key to our problem isn't the symbols but the area they're centered in" hearing your what you said it seems Rea grasps your meaning, you continue, "Is there a computer lab on this ship?"
"No, but i have a smartphone on me, they're basically the same thing."
"Then bring that out and look up a map of the Kukan'yu kingdom, Dolle region." she does exactly as you say bringing up the exact same map as the one on the table but without all the scribbles and marks blocking out the area's name.

As you look unto the digital map you notice the area with all the symbols is known Barry's street, you tell Rea to look up the name and she comes up with a bunch of search links that explain the history and naming of the street, however the important part is it's history with gang violence. You search through multiple articles all telling tales of tourists being assaulted and even murdered on the infamous street.

The street is filled with many abandoned buildings and houses very violent gangs and drug dealing spots , the reason for this is that the area was set to gentrified 5 years ago, however the project failed when a gang of extremely dangerous robbers named the "Blackwood" gang chased out anyone who tried to enter the area with plans to change it. The police have made many attempts control the area but the gang proved too deadly for the local police and thus the area has been deemed a no-go "Lawless" zone.

Well holy fucking shit that explains everything there, that means symbols more then likely represent the gang and their violent tendencies which are represented by the shotgun and mob of people on the sheet.

"Well i guess we just saved our asses checking up on that, we almost went down Barry's " shoot me in the ass" street, we just have dodged a bullet both literally and figuratively."

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>>1824476
That is exactly what i wanted to hear anon, things like this keep me going

now writing. >trust in me

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>You can always trust a guy in sunglasses

"Are you sure Derrick?" she says holding her chin in that deep thinking fashion again, "What do you mean "if i'm sure"? Yes i am sure i don't want a bullet in my asschecks Rea."
"That's not what i mean't, i mean't that if we aren't supposed to avoid this area."
"It has no-go order issued by the local police, if that isn't reason not to go, then i don't know what is."
"If you look at the map this is the quickest path between landing and our destination, the path through Barry's street is almost a straight path to the entrance of The Moonlight forest. it would take us a mere 4 hours in comparison to
the long way."
"It's also a straight path to our deaths, where i came from, if you walk down a dangerous street and get shot, no one will help you, why? 'cause it was your own dumbass fault for going there in the first place, i'm no dumbass Rea."
"Did you already forget the promise you made with Jesper?" she says looking little disappointed in you,
"What?"
"Jesper told us that if we wanted to become hunters no matter what, we would have to face monsters deadlier and scarier then that serial killer, i'm sure this a part of what he mean't." you go slient as Rea reminds you of last night, "Success isn't something you can take the long the road to reach, it's a path full of risks that only the best of the best can take on and survive. It's like climbing a steep mountain with sharp rocks covering it, the higher you go the harder it becomes to turn back and the more dangerous it becomes to move forward but even so you must move forward." Rea looks you straight in the eye and says, "If you earnestly think that heading down this path is too dangerous, then i will abide by your decision to pull back, even i'm not a 100% certain that following these directions is the right choice, since you made the right choice last time, i trust that you will make the right choice this time Derrick, do we go down Barry's street or not?"

And she was the one berating YOU about pressuring people earlier, you've been making nothing but life-threatening choices since yesterday and this is no different, Rea may have said all that sweet stuff earlier about rocky cliffs and long roads but she can only do that because she's alive, you head down this street and that may change forever.

This is an important decision, will you.......

>Go:You trust in Jesper. You promised you him you wouldn't back down and come back a successful hunter, you plan to keep that promise.
>Avoid:You can make all the promises you want, all of them become meaningless with one well placed bullet, You can die and have kept his promise craved on your tombstone or walk ahead with one more broken promise added to the list.

>>1824655
>Go:You trust in Jesper. You promised you him you wouldn't back down and come back a successful hunter, you plan to keep that promise.

>>1824655
>Go:You trust in Jesper. You promised you him you wouldn't back down and come back a successful hunter, you plan to keep that promise.

>>1824655
>>Go:You trust in Jesper. You promised you him you wouldn't back down and come back a successful hunter, you plan to keep that promise.

>>1824655
>Go

>>1824655
A true shonen protagonist must always put themselves into the path of danger, even if it is unnecessary

>>1824669
>>1824686
>>1824700
>>1824769
>>1824769
>>1824778
Seems like a unanimous decision then
>Go
>writing
"Let's go, we can no longer back

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https://youtu.be/p6eyWNYyCc4?t=7m33s

>Go

You have no idea what the hell you're doing anymore, the you just 5 yrs ago would have told Rea to jump off a bridge if you're going to be that suicidal but instead of words minced in cynicism and self-doubt you give a quick and clear answer.

"Let's go, i can't let him or anyone else i promised down now."is all you say, you have a million things you wanna say about keeping promises and what it means to move forward regardless of the dangers but you save it, when you see the smile on Rea's face, you know she already understands, she speaks, "Then let's go,i'll be relying on you to defend me again, my brave, strong bodyguard."

You blush as you hear her teasing agreement, is this revenge for earlier, "I thought that deal was over after the serial killer incident."
"Oh yes, i would like to extend our deal to the end of the hunter exam, I've found your services to be top of the line so i will rely on you again, in exchange i will do my best to make sure you never lose your way, do we have a deal?" you smile at her coy way of saying that she wants to stay with you longer, "Sure thing, we may be put in the ground because of my petty need to trust some guy i barely even know but somehow i feel things might workout if i'm with you Rea." Rea laughs for the first time since you met her and then says, "I couldn't have said it better myself Derrick."
(Bond Deepened: Rea Springfield: Rank 2)(True Ally)

you get from the table, the bright morning looking even brighter as you head back to your room to prepare. As you and Rea exit the dining hall, a small and mischievous laugh can be heard ringing throughout the dining hall as a man talks to himself, "What a beautiful friendship, they've forged a bond deeper then most good friends by walking the path of hell together. Ahhhhh, nothing warms my heart like a good happy story." he pulls out his phone and opens a map to the Dolle region of Kukan'yu.
"But what's a happy story....." he zooms in on Barry's street and smiles, "without a little tragedy?"
https://youtu.be/SC4wrFWR9HY

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>End of Episode 2 of Hunter x Hunter Quest

Well this took only half the time the last one did since we had a much better reception then last time, Who is this mysterious man who watches our heroic duo? find out next thread which should be on Friday 2:00pm EST

>Player question
Who is your favorite character so far?

>Previous thread
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/1804243
I know it's late, but this is for newcomers who want to read the previous thread

Leave any criticism or questions below, if you have none, then i hope to see you in the next thread Aspiring Hunter!

>>1825091
>Who is your favorite character so far?
Rea but that's because we spent the most time with her.

>>1825091
I think we're the best character, though their maybe some bias there. Rea is rather cute and I'd like to learn more about her, but you did hut my parinoid side at the beginning of our interaction with her right after out nat 1. I still partially feel like all of our interaction with her is an act of hers to catch us off guard and murder her, even though must of me thinks that she is actually just a good girl.

I like the fact that our character is already comes with a backstory, though I do wonder if we the players will have any choice over some of the characters past history.

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>>1825253
I will not confirm or deny any theories any anon comes up with but paranoia is certainly not discouraged, everything may be running smoothly now but don't think everyone you call a friend, Feels the same way about you.

>>1825091
Great thread.
>Who is your favorite character so far?
Still too early.
>>1825311
Nice. Time to warm up my shadowrunning brains.

>>1825311
Also, stories great and I hope to see this turn into a long running quest. On another note, hunter X hunter has taught me to not under estimate what people are capable of.

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Da fuck i wanted more

>>1826088
Just like HxH, amirite?