Rebirth in HxH World With Gardevoir

In the crowd, Illumi—who had been absentmindedly tilting his head back and forth, producing faint "click-click" sounds—suddenly stopped. His expression, which had remained neutral up until now, turned slightly curious. "...Larry." Where had he heard that name before?

Satotz quickly snapped out of his initial shock, forcibly reining in his composure. He cleared his throat and turned back to the room, now filled with murmuring examinees. With a firm, authoritative voice, he cut through the noise. "The Hunter Exam has now officially begun."

Instantly, the room fell silent. Satotz scanned the crowd with sharp eyes. "One final warning." His voice was steady, carrying across the hall. "This exam is not for the weak. If you lack the skills or the luck to survive, you will be injured—or worse, you will die." A brief pause. "This is your last chance to turn back. If you wish to withdraw, you may take the elevator back up now."

Silence. Not a single person moved. "...Good." Satotz adjusted his tie, then raised his head. "In that case…" All 405 of you will proceed to the First Phase."

Normally, there should have been 406 candidates in the exam now that Larry had joined. But before Gon and the others had even finished talking to Dongba, an unfortunate participant had already been taken out—his arms crushed by an irritated Hisoka.

So by the time Satotz made his official announcement, the number had quietly dropped to 405. Then, without further delay, Satotz suddenly turned around and—ran. His movements were unnatural, almost puppet-like, as he spread his arms and legs in an oddly stiff yet fluid manner. "For the first phase of the exam, follow me to the next location!" he declared, his voice carrying through the tunnel.

The candidates took off immediately, surging forward like an unstoppable tide. From above, the endless wave of runners looked like a massive swarm, stretching into the distance. Larry glanced at the crowd around him and sighed. "Hah… Yeah, no thanks. This kind of boring running is exactly why having a mount is so useful."

Muttering to himself, he casually reached out.

"HEY! What the hell is that?!"

"Damn, am I seeing things?!"

"Is this some kind of magic trick?! How did something that big just appear?!"

At the front of the crowd, right next to Satotz, a massive orange beast suddenly materialized like a flash of light, keeping pace effortlessly with the examiner. It was Arcanine. Its thick, fiery-orange fur looked warm and soft, almost too perfect to be real. Its massive black-striped tail swayed rhythmically behind it, and every step it took was both elegant and powerful. And perched comfortably on its back, looking completely at ease, was Larry.

Jogging at his own pace, Hisoka tilted his head slightly and gazed at the creature. His sharp, narrow eyes flashed with undisguised interest. "...A Nen beast?" To the ordinary participants, the sudden appearance of Arcanine was nothing more than a sleight of hand—some flashy trick that made no sense. But to Nen users, it was something far more terrifying. Especially to Hisoka.

The sight of this majestic beast instantly brought back the memory of that monstrous steel-plated creature he had encountered earlier. Hisoka was certain. This too… was Larry's beast. And even though it seemed more docile than the previous one, the sheer pressure radiating from Arcanine was undeniable. It was stronger than him. Even the dog Larry was riding… was stronger than him. Hisoka's lips curled into a twisted smile. The more he looked at Larry—his relaxed posture, his easy-going expression, the carefree way he rode his beast while others struggled to run—the more terrifying the gap between them seemed. "Mr. Larry… is this also a Nen beast?" Satotz's voice wavered slightly as he turned to glance at the giant dog running beside him. 

The hot air it exhaled was enough to distort the space around its breath, creating a visible heatwave in the tunnel. Even though it wasn't doing anything threatening, Satotz couldn't help but feel its presence pressing down on him. A chill ran down his spine. 'This beast… was dangerous.' Even his normally fluid running rhythm stuttered slightly. What Satotz didn't know was that Arcanine had a natural "Intimidation" ability. 

Even when it wasn't trying to exert pressure, its sheer presence was enough to unsettle people around it. And yet, Larry simply patted its head and grinned. "Yeah, this is Arcanine. It's my mount. Cute, right?" He ruffled the thick, fluffy fur on its head with both hands, clearly enjoying the sensation.

"WOOF!" Arcanine let out a happy bark, its massive tail wagging so fast it blurred. Sparks of electricity crackled from its mouth. Satotz could only stare. Larry was petting a creature that exuded a presence stronger than most Hunters.

At this point, Satotz was numb to being surprised by Larry. But there was one thing that had genuinely caught him off guard earlier. Larry… wasn't even a Hunter yet.

Just moments ago, in front of everyone, Satotz had unintentionally revealed his shock at seeing Larry here. The reason? He had assumed Larry was already a licensed Hunter. Just like Menchi before him, he had taken one look at Larry and believed he was someone who had passed the exam long ago. The idea that someone like him was only now taking the Hunter Exam was absurd. And yet, here he was.

As if reading his thoughts, Larry raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? What is it?"

Satotz snapped out of it and exhaled. "Actually, Mr. Larry, there's something I should inform you about." Larry glanced at him curiously. "After Pyorn and I submitted our reports about your past achievements, the Hunter Association reviewed them. As a result, they've officially drafted your merits and submitted a proposal for your rank."

Larry's eyebrow twitched slightly. "My merits?"

"Yes. You've made three major contributions. First, you eliminated the Death aura infesting the Karym Ruins, also known as the 'Land of Death.' Second, you purged the lingering Death aura from the Solvren Ruins. And finally, you took down two S-Class criminals from the infamous 'Seven Deadly Sins'—Envy and Wrath. Given the significance of these achievements, the Association has deemed your contributions exceptional." He paused briefly, then let out a wry smile. "Because of that… they've decided to directly promote you to a Two-Star Ruins Hunter."

Larry blinked. "...Huh?" To become a One-Star Hunter, you had to make a major contribution in a specific field. To reach Two-Star, you needed to train a One-Star Hunter as your disciple—an entirely different level of prestige. But Larry… had skipped all of that. His achievements were so overwhelming that the Association had decided to make an exception and award him the Two-Star status directly. It was unprecedented.