"The Numere Wetlands," announced Satotz, mustache wiggling. "Also known as 'Swindler's Swamp'. We must cross these wetlands to reach Phase Two of the exam." Ronnie briefly surveyed the deadpan expressions of those in front of her.

"This place is home to many bizarre animals, many of them being cunning, insatiable creatures who deceive humans and prey upon them. Be very careful. If you let them fool you, you're dead." Rolling her eyes, Ronnie huffed in impatience. No shit. She jumped slightly when a steel door at the entrance to the tunnel they had all just come out of began to close, cutting off one applicant who had just gotten to the top of the stairs. Satotz continued to speak.

"These creatures will use every trick in the book to fool their prey. An ecosystem in which creatures obtain food through deceit… Hence the name Swindlers Swamp." Satotz turned to face the wetlands ahead. "Stay very close to me so you won't be deceived." Some nodded in understanding; some looked a little confused, and only one decided to outright say that it would be a piece of cake.

"Don't let them fool you!" shouted someone from behind the tunnel entrance. A scuffed up man with a slightly bulb shaped nose limped into view, appearing to be dragging something heavy behind him.

"D-Don't fall for it… He's lying to you! He's an imposter!" the man shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at Satotz, who gave him a deadpan stare. Ronnie glanced over to meet Satotz's eye, quirking up an eyebrow. Should I get rid of him? The man in the purple suit shook his head ever so slightly. Ronnie let out a slight huff.

"He isn't an examiner… I'm the real examiner." Ronnie was barely able to hold in a little grin threatening to appear. I don't remember you from the meeting, and you obviously don't recognize me. I call bullshit~

However, many of the naïve Hunter applicants decided to blindly believe this strange man they had only met thirty seconds ago.

"An impostor?"

"What's going on?"

"Who is he?"

"Look at this…" The stranger began to lug whatever it is he had with him into view, and it was revealed to be a sort of ape, with a grotesque version of Satotz's face, complete with sharp fangs. "It's a Man-Faced Ape, one of the creatures that dwell in the Numere Wetlands! Man-Faced Apes love the taste of fresh human flesh. However, their limbs are long and thin, so they're quite weak. That's why they disguise themselves as humans. They trick humans into following them into these wetlands, where they team up with other animals to kill and devour them. He intends to trap every single applicant!" the man shouted. The crowd began to hum with dialogue.

"Bastard…"

"He certainly doesn't walk like a human…"

That may be true, thought Ronnie. But if you base someone's humanity on the way they walk, then we must have a lot of Sasquatches running around our cities and towns. Images of all the teenagers Ronnie had seen slumping along with their shoulders hunched over flashed through her mind.

Suddenly, several playing cards sliced through the air, hitting the stranger in the chest, embedding in his heart and forehead and making him fall to the ground. At that same moment, several more were whipped at Satotz, who easily caught them between his fingers. A chuckle was heard over the confusion at what had just occurred. Ronnie looked over to see #44 grinning in that creepy snakelike way and shuffling a deck of pink playing cards.

"I see, I see… That settles it… You're the real one." More sounds of confusion echoed around the crowd, and everywhere Ronnie looked there were nonplussed faces. The supposedly dead Man-Faced Ape twitched awake, and upon spotting the large crowd of humans, it leapt away, shrieking and jabbering. #44 continued to speak.

"Examiners are Hunters selected by the committee to perform this duty without pay," Ronnie made a sour face. Yeah, and we don't really have a choice now, do we? She thought, thinking about that crazy Chairman. I should at least get some compensation money… "Any Hunter, bearing the title we seek, would have been able to block that attack."

"I shall take that as a compliment," said Satotz. "However, should you attack me again, for any reason, I will report you for turning on an examiner, and you will be immediately disqualified. Are we clear?"

"Sure." #44 said dismissively. A cloud of vultures descended upon the corpse of the stranger behind them (who turned out to actually be a Man-Faced Ape) and started to pick at his flesh. Satotz noticed everyone staring in disgusted fascination at the scene in front of them.

"He was attempting to confuse the applicants, to lure some of them away. You will be encountering such deception on a regular basis. I believe that a number of you were fooled into suspecting my identity?" A few of the applicants laughed in embarrassment, rubbing the backs of their necks.

"Do you understand? If you lose sight of me in the Numere Wetlands fog, you will never reach the exam's Second Phase. Do bear that in mind." Ronnie began to feel jittery again. Soon she would be able to drop her act and spy on people instead.

"Then let us be on our way. Please follow me." Satotz turned and started to walk at a very fast pace once again, forcing the applicants (plus Ronnie) to start running. As soon as the fog got thick enough to hide her exit, Ronnie would make her way as fast as she could to the site of the Second Phase before Satotz and find a good hiding place to spy on the rookies.

Gradually, the fog began to get thicker and thicker, eventually reaching the point where Ronnie could slip away undetected. Gathering strength in her legs, she sprinted off in the direction of the site of the Second Phase, taking long strides. Water splashed around her boots and mud splattered up her legs, but she kept going. Just barely making out a rather large ditch up ahead, she seized her spear and used it to pole vault over the opening, accidentally poking the sleeping predator inside in the eye. She shouted back a quick 'Sorry!' before darting off again.

Almost precisely a half an hour later, Ronnie skidded to a halt in front of the gates to the property on the Biska Forest Park. Panting heavily, she wiped her brow with the corner of her scarf and proceeded to knock loudly on the huge metal gates. They slid open before her and shut once she walked past them. She began to stroll leisurely up the gravel pathway to the fancy manor up ahead. Rows and rows of outdoor cooking stations were set up on the emerald green lawn, and the next two examiners were sitting in front of the big house up ahead. The woman lounged on a red and purple couch while the man just sat on the ground behind her, being so large that he was still quite visible

This phase happened to have two examiners instead of one. The man was large and a bit more than pudgy (putting it lightly) with dark brown hair and wearing a yellow t-shirt, while the woman was small and fit, with hair dyed a bright electric blue and tied up into several top knots on her head. She wore a bikini top with a mesh shirt over it, and daisy duke denim shorts. As Ronnie approached, the woman looked unimpressed by her overall scruffy look.

"Couldn't you have gotten here without getting all filthy?"

"I guess I could've, but where's the fun in that?" the woman rolled her eyes.

"Just go and keep a lookout in front of the gate." Ronnie crossed her arms.

"Don't tell me what to do. But I'll do it anyway. But not because you said so." She sauntered off back down the gravel path to climb up on top of the tall castle-like stone wall that surrounded the manor. She lay down on the sun-warmed shingles, and started to drift off into a light snooze.

One hour later, Ronnie awoke to the sounds of many footsteps and labored breathing. She sat up, rubbing her eyes blearily before darting behind one of the towers on either side of the gate to hide from the approaching applicants. She sighed in relief. That was close… why does this weather suddenly have to be so perfect?

Satotz appeared from between the trees, several of the applicants trailing behind him and looking quite exhausted. Ronnie watched them slump against trees to catch their breath, and a few stragglers still trickled in from the forest.

It was around twenty minutes later that #44 jogged into view, carrying an unconscious man over one shoulder and sporting his creepy smile. The white haired kid with the skateboard arrived three minutes later, and ten minutes after that saw what looked like the last two applicants arrive at the gates.

Leaning against the tower that she was hiding behind, Ronnie pulled out her booklet and marked off the applicants that hadn't made it. There were quite a few. Now there were only 148 remaining out of the 405- *ahem* 404 that had previously entered into the First Stage. Satotz began to speak from down below.

"Excellent work, everyone," why, thank you very much! Ronnie thought to herself, feeling very much impressed by her unfair strange scoring strategy. "Phase Two of the exam will occur here, in the Biska Forest Park. So, I shall take my leave. Best of luck to all of you." And with those parting words, the mustached man strode back into the forest, taking those long and strange looking steps. The applicants watched him disappear into the trees, and only looked around when the huge gates began to open. Ronnie crouched down behind her tower, booklet and pencil at the ready. The woman examiner (Ronnie had forgotten the Second Phase examiners' names as well; she must have dozed off during introductions) called out to the Hunter applicants.

"Will all applicants who passed the First Phase please enter?" the woman's bright lime green eyes were wide and she had a friendly smile on her face. "I'm Menchi, the Second Phase examiner."

"And I'm Buhara, the other examiner." Said the large man behind the woman. Ronnie scratched her chin, nodding. I'll be sure to remember their names next time we meet. Probably.

As the curious applicants began to file onto the front lawn of the manor house, Ronnie adjusted her position so as to not be spotted. She now had a clear view of the entire lawn. Once all of the applicants had entered, she settled down on the warm red shingles, lying on her belly and peering over the top of the wall. The sound of a stomach growling rumbled around the lawn, and Ronnie let out a tiny chuckle. Some of the applicants looked around, confused.

"You must be hungry." Stated Menchi, looking up at the large man behind her.

"I'm starving…" complained Buhara. Ronnie was reminded of her meager breakfast that morning, which had consisted of a single granola bar. Her stomach threatened to growl loudly. Menchi stood up, hands on her hips.

"There you have it. Phase Two will involve… cooking!" Many of the applicants looked stunned.

"Wait! Cooking? We're here to take the Hunter Exam!" shouted a large man with dyed blonde hair. Oh, you'll find that being able to cook is quite useful in the field. Thought Ronnie, shaking her head. I would've starved to death within the first month of getting my license if I didn't know how to cook. She thought of all the remote places she had travelled to previously. They wouldn't even be able to find my body… Meanwhile, Menchi continued to speak.

"That's quite right. Your challenge for the Second Phase is to produce a dish that will satisfy our palate." She said, a bright smile etched upon her face.

"Why do we have to cook?!" someone shouted.

"That's because we are Gourmet Hunters." At Menchi's words, the crowd started to laugh. As Menchi's eyes narrowed in a scowl, Ronnie docked points from some who were laughing the loudest. Even though I can see where they're coming from, Gourmet Hunting can actually be quite dangerous, as most of the best ingredients aren't found in the most accessible of places. Ronnie pondered, tucking her pencil behind her ear and resting her chin on her hand.

"So, Gourmet Hunters, what are we supposed to make?" asked the man with dyed hair. The tag on his chest read #255.

"Buhara." At the call of his name, Buhara stood up and addressed the crowd.

"The required ingredient is pork." The crowd began to buzz again.

"Pork?"

"As in pig meat?" raising an eyebrow, Ronnie tilted her head to the side and considered this applicant's intelligence. What other kind of meat is called pork, dumbass?

"You're free to use meat from any species of Biska Forest pigs. You must use the cooking facilities here to prepare the pork, and you only pass if we both find it delicious." Announced Buhara, gesturing to the many cooking stations set up on the lawn.

"And we will evaluate more than just the taste. Don't underestimate the intricacies of cooking. Got it?" said Menchi. Ronnie's eyelids began to droop as a soft breeze played lazily across her face. If I stay in this position too long, I think I might fall asleep again. She blinked her eyes rapidly, focusing on the scene in front of her once more.

"When we've both eaten our fill, the exam will end."

"We get it, we get it. Let's just start." Said #255.

"Then, the exam's Second Phase…" Buhara smacked his large belly, emitting a gong-like noise. "begins now!" All of the applicants dashed off in a stampede back toward the gates, darting into the forest. Ronnie ducked her head as they passed and finally flopped over on her back. She stared up at the fluffy white clouds cruising by before a streak of realization hit her. Oh, they are too cruel… she thought, the two examiners' happy smiles floating to the forefront of her mind.