Disclaimer: I don't own Hunter x Hunter.

CHAPTER 14

Trick Tower (Start Line)

The airship dropped the examinees off at the top of a very high tower. They were then told to reach the bottom of the tower within three days or in other words within seventy-two hours. The airship then left and continued its flight leaving the examinees atop the tower. A professional rock climber immediately took the chance to climb down but before he could go far, some carnivorous flying monsters came and ate him. Seeing this, the others thought that there must be another way down.

"Minna! I found some secret passages." Gon announced.

"Where is it?" Killua asked.

The other five approached the two. Leila and Iris stood a little bit farther from the group. They both didn't notice that they were standing on a really wide stone slab until Eclair approached the two of them. It just happened in a split second. The boys' eyes widened as they saw the stone slab flip making the girls fall together down below. As soon as it opened up, it closed.

The boys immediately ran to the spot. They tried to open up the entrance but it was no use.

"Damn. It won't budge." Leorio cursed.

"I guess the entrances can only be used once." Kurapika commented.

"Do you think the three of them are alright?" Gon asked.

"They should be." Killua replied as his gaze lingered at the closed entrance.

The girls composed themselves after their sudden fall. They realized they were on a small room with only a table on the middle of the room. The table had devices that looked like watches.

"Welcome." A man's voice came from some hidden speaker in the room. "I never thought that a bunch of girls would land on this test."

"Being a sexist is not good, you know." Leila glared at the camera. So what if the three of them were girls?

"Sorry about that. It wasn't really my intention to offend you." The man replied. "But anyway, you must have realized by now that I'm your examiner. Now, take and put those watches on."

The girls obeyed and put on the watches. It turned on and showed the time they seem to have left for the third phase of the exam like a countdown. Then they noticed one small button just below the LED screen.

"This test requires the three of you to work together as a team. If one of you fails, you all fail. If one of you dies, the rest will also fail. In other words, the only way you could pass is to make sure all three of you could pass. Your fate rests on your teammate's shoulders now. 'All for one, one for all' as they usually say it." The examiner explained. "That button on your watches is a 'help' button. If you press it, you may request for any help except help that gets you out of this tower. You each get one chance to use it."

"That's quite generous of you." Iris remarked.

"Oh, it's not generosity. That 'help' comes with a price: twenty hours in exchange for every 'help' that you press. So better use it wisely."

"Nah, we probably won't need it." Eclair cockily smirked.

"I see. Then there's no problem, is there?" The examiner responded.

With the explanations finished, a door opened. The girls then proceeded to enter it. They walked on a long hallway for a while then they stopped at a dead end. They stood in front of a wall with three slide puzzles attached to it. They looked up and saw some instructions above that said:

[Each one of you must solve a puzzle. Coaching each other is forbidden. No time limit.]

"Isn't this obstacle a bit easy? I mean, they actually put no time limit." Leila asked.

"On the contrary, the 'no time limit' is actually a ruse they put in the obstacle." Iris said.

"Yeah, we actually have a real time limit here." Eclair swung her wrist showing the others her watch to emphasize the point.

"Oh, that's right. If we take too long here, we're going to waste time we might need for the other obstacles." Leila realized.

"Yep. The examiner is a bit mean, don't you think?" Iris smirked directly at the camera in the room.

The examiner felt goose bumps on the back of his neck. The smirk the teenage girl made seemed eerily familiar. Then a face came across his thoughts.

'Don't tell me...this girl is actually that guy's daughter...' The examiner thought.

"Well we better start solving this. The two of you any good with puzzles?" Éclair asked.

"I love puzzles." Iris grinned.

"Being friends with a puzzle maniac for two years does have its perks." Leila smiled.

"And I play puzzle games quite often." Éclair smirked.

With a few swipes, the girls managed to solve the puzzle. It didn't even take them a minute.

The girls walked through another long hallway then they spotted a door at its end. The three of them entered it without hesitation. They noticed the instruction on the wall beside the door.

[All three of you must leave the room through the door on the other side. No time limit.]

The instruction was simple enough but the problem lies with crossing the room to the door on the other side. The room was a whole obstacle course. The obstacles were: (list starts on the obstacle nearest to the girls)

Four huge scythes swung from the ceiling like pendulums.

Fire shot from the wall like geysers.

Then there was a climbing wall that spouted magma from the top randomly.

Sliding down on the other side, there was pool full of bloodsucking leeches with small stepping platforms that could only be used once.

Then lastly, metal spikes shot from the floor below.

Iris shivered, not out of fear, but because somehow the obstacle course eerily reminded her of something really familiar. It reminded her of the obstacle course her father made back at home. This obstacle course was just a lot deadlier.

'If dad had something to do with this obstacle course, I'm really going to greet him with a flying kick the next time I see him.' Iris thought.

Leila also felt nostalgic as she observed the obstacle course. Looking at Iris, she managed to point out the reason why it felt familiar. She certainly had good memories playing with Iris and Gon at the obstacle course Iris's father made back at Whale Island.

Eclair, meanwhile, felt ecstatic. It was a full blown obstacle course in front of her like the obstacle courses she plays in her games. When you've been playing virtual for so long, you get to want to play it in real life.

"So who wants to go first?" Eclair asked.

Iris sighed. "I guess I'll go first."

Iris went through the whole course fast and flawlessly. Somehow, her body was used to the motions.

Eclair whistled. "She's not bad."

"That's Iris for you." Leila responded.

"Who's next?"

"Do we really have to do this one by one?"

"I guess not."

Eclair and Leila went through the course together. Their attempt wasn't as flawless as Iris though. Leila was delayed a little at the fire geysers since she somehow couldn't get the timing right at first. Eclair almost fell at the pool as she slid down on the back of the climbing wall. Then they both almost joined the leeches down at the pool as they both almost slipped at the small stepping platforms.

Iris snickered. Leila and Eclair gave the older girl a death glare and simultaneously said:

"Shut up."

Author's Note:

Reply to IamAmazing326: Thank you very much for the review! It's great encouragement. And thank you for favoriting and following this story!

I'd also like to thank Youko Okami-chan and PrincessSylveon for following and favoriting this story. :)

Once again, reviews are greatly appreciated so don't hesitate to express your thoughts.