As Cena sat on the sidelines, waiting for the matches to wrap up, he contemplated the rest of the Exam. If too many people had been accepted to attempt to become Pro Hunters this year, then the rest of the Exam had to be centered around a small group of people. Most likely, they wouldn't be working together, but instead would be competing to achieve a goal faster or more efficiently than the other applicants.
That was fine with John Cena, he hadn't revealed all his tricks yet. He didn't intend to show his whole hand, but he liked having cards up his sleeve just in case. Cena may have been deep in thought, but his eyes never left the fights in front of him. Kanye West had beaten his opponent easily, and after Brittany Spears was victorious, she began shaving her opponent's head.
Rick Ross was in combat now, and he just stood there, absorbing blow after blow from a Hunter hopeful that Cena didn't recognize. Ross didn't flinch, didn't blink, until his opponent's movements started slowing. Cena watched, his curiosity keeping his eyes locked on Rick's large body. He knew Rick Ross had also learned and studied Nen, just as Cena and Scott Steiner had. Cena wondered if one of Rick's Nen abilities was damage absorption.
It happened in the blink of an eye. Rick Ross crouched down and sprang forward like a cannonball launched at the speed of sound. His opponent got caught in Rick's spongy stomach, and before he could free himself, Ross slammed directly into the wall. The wall nearly collapsed from the impact, and when Ross managed to peel himself away, all that remained of his opponent was a mess of bones and blood. Cena was impressed, but power like that was something to be wary of. Just as Cena predicted, Scott Steiner and Rick Ross were the two most dangerous men here.
Macklemore clapped twice, "Alright! That ends the first round of the Hunter Exam! The ten of you remaining will advance to round two, and spoilers! Only eight will advance to round three! All you have to do to get to the next round is climb this staircase, the next Examiner will be waiting there for you!" Macklemore pointed behind him, and Cena looked up to try and find the top of the stairs. He couldn't see it from here, which meant this was meant to be a test of endurance.
As soon as Macklemore finished speaking, Scott Steiner screamed, his neural pathways unable to understand this was not a race, and he charged up the staircase as fast as he could. Kanye West, not to be outdone, started running after Steiner. One after another, the effect of mob mentality, the rest of the applicants ran up the stairs. All except two, Rick Ross and John Cena. Cena took the gamble that placement didn't matter as long as you finished, and Rick Ross didn't run. Ever.
John Cena started up the seemingly eternal staircase at a decent pace. There was no reason to burn himself out, and no reason to prove his speed to the rest of the applicants. As the minutes ticked by, Cena pondered more about the rest of the exam. He had done plenty of training to prepare, but you can only prepare so much for the unknown. Cena kept his pace, and as he took deep, even breaths, he started passing the other applicants. One by one, they fell behind as he jogged, their faces drenched in sweat, their lungs heaving, their legs shaking.
At last, Cena saw the top of the stairs. Scott Steiner was smashing his head into a wall at the top, Kanye looked tired, but had finished as well. Cena set his foot on the top of the stairs, and looked around. He was standing at the entrance to a savannah, but when he looked up, he saw clouds painted on blue concrete, which meant they were in an enclosed area. Cena stepped forward, taking in as many details as he could before the other applicants dragged themselves over the finish line. Eventually, everyone had finished, except Rick Ross. Cena wondered if it was physically possible to drag that much mass up that many stairs, but as he wondered, Rick appeared. He hadn't even broken a sweat.
"Well, seems we're all here. Great. Real good stuff. Glad to meet you. Gonna be some great stuff." Cena looked around, and spotted a man in a suit and tie, a tuft of yellow hair on his head. Cena was briefly stunned, why would this Pro Hunter be part of the Exam? Donald Trump stood in front of the applicants. A One Star Fame Hunter, he wasn't a fighter, but instead focused on being as big a celebrity as possible. He had many fans, but many people disliked his methods of achieving success. His main Nen ability, "A Small Loan", was known by many, as Donald Trump could use it to generate currency, up to one million dollars at a time. The currency was not counterfeit, and by technicality, he was one of the richest Hunters of all time.
"Welcome, future Hunters. Some may fail, but hey, that's the dream of the people. Success. Like me. Great stuff. Here's the second test. The great second test. I thought of it, so it's great. Just like being a Hunter, real great stuff. What you see before you is a thirty-mile savannah. In it are eight gilled antelope. They're like regular antelope, which are just great, except these have gills, so they can breathe underwater as well. Real great stuff. Your objective is to capture one of these antelope, but be careful. They're exceptionally fast, and there are deep lakes laid out around the area. If they get away from you, they'll immediately find water and dive down to the bottom. They'll be hard, very hard, to catch after that, if you can even swim that deep. I know I can, I've done it. Done it a million times, real great stuff."
John Cena stared out at the expanse of land in front of him. There were plenty of trees, and shrubbery, but not a lot of real solid cover to hide and approach from stealth. He also had to work fast, two of the remaining candidates would not advance. Cena smiled to himself, that was fine. The antelope wouldn't be able to see him coming. Cena broke out into a full sprint, trying to create as much distance as he could between himself and the other applicants. He was determined to be the first to finish this test.