"Fearsome monsters... Exotic creatures... Vast riches... Hidden treasures... Evil enclaves... Unexplored lands... The word 'unknown' holds magic. And some incredible people are drawn to that magic. They are know as..... Hunters!"
Ques "Departure!"
The melody of raindrops rhythmically pattering against the rooftops of skyscrapers that inhabited the sovereign island of Eporasong had lulled the residents into a tranquil state. It was quite ironic, actually, it took the threat of a hurricane to calm the usually bustling and vibrant island. The residents had a reputation of being hard workers, with the best businessmen from all over the Azian continent flocking to the city as part of their relentless pursuit for bigger and better things. So, when a natural disaster forced them to stay indoors, they all gave a sigh of relief and began enjoying their brief respite, comforted by the knowledge that their competitors were also stuck in the same position and poised no threat to overthrow them while they indulged in contentment. Yes, it was at last a day of rest for the overworked adults, but for one confined child it was a catalyst to become all the more restless.
The top floor penthouse apartment of one of the tallest buildings in the city was home to the Rose family, often jokingly referred to as the "Barons of Eporasong" as their family business dynasty had allowed them to separate themselves from the other rich inhabitants of the island. It was the dream life to all those who gazed upon them, but for Theo, the sole child of the family, it was a suffocating prison. It didn't matter that his room was second biggest in the city (second to only his parents' master bedroom), it was still just a room and the child longed for more. Typically, he'd find a way to sneak out of the apartment and run far past the city limits to play with the less wealthy children who lived on the cost, but for a number of reasons it was not an option on that day.
The first and most obvious was the threat of a hurricane that meant any venture outside would put him at risk. The second, his father had disappeared without a trace just a few months ago which caused his mother to reach new levels of overbearing. But most importantly of all, today was the one and only chance Theo would have to take the Hunter's exams.
The 290th Hunter's exam promised to be an abnormal one. With the death of the former chairman and many of the best remaining hunters embarking on a quest to the fearsome Dark Continent with a low chance of return, there was a greater need than ever for hunters to rise and serve the mainland. However, the threatening displays of power by the Phantom Troupe and Chimera Ants also served as a wakeup call that now was a time where hunters needed to be stronger than ever before. It was a truly desperate situation, the demand for exceptional hunters was higher than ever but the supply had become extremely scarce. The solution? Nothing short of genius (or at least according to "The Boar"). The 290th Hunter exam would be made more accessible than ever before whilst also weeding out applicants at a quicker rate than every other, thus ensuring that only the most promising gems would make it to further levels of evaluation.
This was executed in a fairly simple manner. There would be no general application to take the exam this year. Instead, a giant blimp floated around the world, staying low in the skies as it passed over every city and town around the world. The only requirement to take the test: board the blimp that had no interest in picking you up.
Theo had been planning this for weeks, anxiously watching the blimp tracker on his computer as it got closer and closer to Eporasong, teasing him with the notion that he would soon have his chance to cast away his shackles for good. He rocked back and forth on his bed, chewing the dark gray strings of his hoodie and going through his plan once more in his head.
Mom's got an alarm set to go off if I try to leave my room, so once I open the doors I gotta go fast. I'll climb from the balcony up to the roof to avoid the butlers, and if my timing is right I'll be able to easily throw a rope onto the blimp and climb aboard!
23 seconds. After weeks of practicing, 23 seconds was the amount of time Theo needed to make his escape, though that was also without intense winds and rain. He fiddled with the Ben's knife his father had given him for his birthday a year ago, tying a rope around the end while admiring the wing shaped design of the blade that allowed it to be thrown like a boomerang.
Beepbepbepbep...Beepbepbepbep.... Theo's computer alarm began going off, letting him know it was time to go. He took a deep breath and looked around his room one last time. Besides the clothes on his back and his knife, he had decided to leave everything behind. This was the end of his lavish and luxurious life style, from this day forth he would be his own man.
GO! The boy's red eyes surged with a feeling of excitement and he jumped off his bed and kicked the large twin chamber doors open with such gusto that the two butlers stationed outside were knocked down on their backs. One. He could hear the alarms begin to sound as he skidded to a stop along the marble floors of the living room and began dashing for the balcony. Two, three, four.
Pzzzt. "The young master has left is room." A butler radioed in, leading to two others emerging from side rooms with intent to intercept Theo. Five, six.
Sorry about this guys... His pointy canines being playfully revealed as he smirked at their impending misfortune. Years of playing with the "rough" children and months of planning had made him a bit more formidable than the average spoiled rich kid. He slide between the first butler's legs. Seven, eight, nine. Then, he pulled the carpet, offsetting a bookshelf and causing it to tumble and pin the other butler. Ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen.
He flung open the glass doors, making it out to the balcony where intense winds whipped his black hair around made raindrops feel like needles against his skin. Just a little farther! Theo grabbed onto the ladder he had planted a few days prior and began the climb up to the rooftop. Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty. I made it!
Theo looked around the rooftop, expecting to see the blimp just passing over him. Wait... this can't be right, where is it? I timed everything perfectly. Panic began to set in. Had he missed his chance? How much was his mom going to yell at him for breaking the bookcase? Everything was ruined, or at least that's what he thought.
The sound of propellers compelled Theo to run to the edge of his roof, and upon looking down he was faced with the image of the top of a blimp. The boy had overlooked one crucial detail in his planning: The blimp had to be flying low enough for the average person to gain access, and living in a skyscraper meant he was too high up.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! He chastised himself, realizing that he had made the situation far harder than in needed to be. No... calm down... you can make this work. You have to become a hunter! It's now or never!
It was as if something had possessed the boy. Before Theo even realized it his legs began sprinting and before he even processed his decision he had hurled himself off the tower and was free falling towards the blimp. Wind rushed against his face and blinded him to the point where he couldn't even tell if he was on the right course when suddenly, Boing! He made fell into the rubbery surface of the blimp's balloon before being bounced right off it, sending him on a trajectory to crash towards the streets if something wasn't done quick. This is it! One shot! He had practiced for this moment thousands of times, but that was from standing on a steady surface without wind and rain. It was now life and death as he freefell through the storm, but somehow he found the clarity to let out a little chuckle. I guess if I die now I wasn't going to be worth much as a hunter anyways.
He grabbed the Ben's knife in his left hand, checking one more time to make sure the rope was tightly fastened to it and tied the other end around his right wrist. He waited until he fell level with the main cabin, cocked his arm backwards, flicked his wrist, and let loose a throw that would determine his future. Call it luck or an act of god, but somehow the blade navigated through the storm and looped around one of the wings branching out from the main cabin.
The jerk from the rope being stretch taut nearly dislocated Theo's arm, but all he could feel was an enormous sense of relief. Using the leverage, he swung all the way through and landed on his feet just outside the main cabin entryway. As if on que, the door opened and the face of the famous Leorio looked out with a grin. "We got another one! Welcome aboard." He stretched out his hand and pulled the child inside, telling him to make himself comfortable. A task that seemed nearly impossible as he could feel the icy stares from all the other applicants who had made it to this preliminary stage.
Ques "Departure!"
The melody of raindrops rhythmically pattering against the rooftops of skyscrapers that inhabited the sovereign island of Eporasong had lulled the residents into a tranquil state. It was quite ironic, actually, it took the threat of a hurricane to calm the usually bustling and vibrant island. The residents had a reputation of being hard workers, with the best businessmen from all over the Azian continent flocking to the city as part of their relentless pursuit for bigger and better things. So, when a natural disaster forced them to stay indoors, they all gave a sigh of relief and began enjoying their brief respite, comforted by the knowledge that their competitors were also stuck in the same position and poised no threat to overthrow them while they indulged in contentment. Yes, it was at last a day of rest for the overworked adults, but for one confined child it was a catalyst to become all the more restless.
The top floor penthouse apartment of one of the tallest buildings in the city was home to the Rose family, often jokingly referred to as the "Barons of Eporasong" as their family business dynasty had allowed them to separate themselves from the other rich inhabitants of the island. It was the dream life to all those who gazed upon them, but for Theo, the sole child of the family, it was a suffocating prison. It didn't matter that his room was second biggest in the city (second to only his parents' master bedroom), it was still just a room and the child longed for more. Typically, he'd find a way to sneak out of the apartment and run far past the city limits to play with the less wealthy children who lived on the cost, but for a number of reasons it was not an option on that day.
The first and most obvious was the threat of a hurricane that meant any venture outside would put him at risk. The second, his father had disappeared without a trace just a few months ago which caused his mother to reach new levels of overbearing. But most importantly of all, today was the one and only chance Theo would have to take the Hunter's exams.
The 290th Hunter's exam promised to be an abnormal one. With the death of the former chairman and many of the best remaining hunters embarking on a quest to the fearsome Dark Continent with a low chance of return, there was a greater need than ever for hunters to rise and serve the mainland. However, the threatening displays of power by the Phantom Troupe and Chimera Ants also served as a wakeup call that now was a time where hunters needed to be stronger than ever before. It was a truly desperate situation, the demand for exceptional hunters was higher than ever but the supply had become extremely scarce. The solution? Nothing short of genius (or at least according to "The Boar"). The 290th Hunter exam would be made more accessible than ever before whilst also weeding out applicants at a quicker rate than every other, thus ensuring that only the most promising gems would make it to further levels of evaluation.
This was executed in a fairly simple manner. There would be no general application to take the exam this year. Instead, a giant blimp floated around the world, staying low in the skies as it passed over every city and town around the world. The only requirement to take the test: board the blimp that had no interest in picking you up.
Theo had been planning this for weeks, anxiously watching the blimp tracker on his computer as it got closer and closer to Eporasong, teasing him with the notion that he would soon have his chance to cast away his shackles for good. He rocked back and forth on his bed, chewing the dark gray strings of his hoodie and going through his plan once more in his head.
Mom's got an alarm set to go off if I try to leave my room, so once I open the doors I gotta go fast. I'll climb from the balcony up to the roof to avoid the butlers, and if my timing is right I'll be able to easily throw a rope onto the blimp and climb aboard!
23 seconds. After weeks of practicing, 23 seconds was the amount of time Theo needed to make his escape, though that was also without intense winds and rain. He fiddled with the Ben's knife his father had given him for his birthday a year ago, tying a rope around the end while admiring the wing shaped design of the blade that allowed it to be thrown like a boomerang.
Beepbepbepbep...Beepbepbepbep.... Theo's computer alarm began going off, letting him know it was time to go. He took a deep breath and looked around his room one last time. Besides the clothes on his back and his knife, he had decided to leave everything behind. This was the end of his lavish and luxurious life style, from this day forth he would be his own man.
GO! The boy's red eyes surged with a feeling of excitement and he jumped off his bed and kicked the large twin chamber doors open with such gusto that the two butlers stationed outside were knocked down on their backs. One. He could hear the alarms begin to sound as he skidded to a stop along the marble floors of the living room and began dashing for the balcony. Two, three, four.
Pzzzt. "The young master has left is room." A butler radioed in, leading to two others emerging from side rooms with intent to intercept Theo. Five, six.
Sorry about this guys... His pointy canines being playfully revealed as he smirked at their impending misfortune. Years of playing with the "rough" children and months of planning had made him a bit more formidable than the average spoiled rich kid. He slide between the first butler's legs. Seven, eight, nine. Then, he pulled the carpet, offsetting a bookshelf and causing it to tumble and pin the other butler. Ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen.
He flung open the glass doors, making it out to the balcony where intense winds whipped his black hair around made raindrops feel like needles against his skin. Just a little farther! Theo grabbed onto the ladder he had planted a few days prior and began the climb up to the rooftop. Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty. I made it!
Theo looked around the rooftop, expecting to see the blimp just passing over him. Wait... this can't be right, where is it? I timed everything perfectly. Panic began to set in. Had he missed his chance? How much was his mom going to yell at him for breaking the bookcase? Everything was ruined, or at least that's what he thought.
The sound of propellers compelled Theo to run to the edge of his roof, and upon looking down he was faced with the image of the top of a blimp. The boy had overlooked one crucial detail in his planning: The blimp had to be flying low enough for the average person to gain access, and living in a skyscraper meant he was too high up.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! He chastised himself, realizing that he had made the situation far harder than in needed to be. No... calm down... you can make this work. You have to become a hunter! It's now or never!
It was as if something had possessed the boy. Before Theo even realized it his legs began sprinting and before he even processed his decision he had hurled himself off the tower and was free falling towards the blimp. Wind rushed against his face and blinded him to the point where he couldn't even tell if he was on the right course when suddenly, Boing! He made fell into the rubbery surface of the blimp's balloon before being bounced right off it, sending him on a trajectory to crash towards the streets if something wasn't done quick. This is it! One shot! He had practiced for this moment thousands of times, but that was from standing on a steady surface without wind and rain. It was now life and death as he freefell through the storm, but somehow he found the clarity to let out a little chuckle. I guess if I die now I wasn't going to be worth much as a hunter anyways.
He grabbed the Ben's knife in his left hand, checking one more time to make sure the rope was tightly fastened to it and tied the other end around his right wrist. He waited until he fell level with the main cabin, cocked his arm backwards, flicked his wrist, and let loose a throw that would determine his future. Call it luck or an act of god, but somehow the blade navigated through the storm and looped around one of the wings branching out from the main cabin.
The jerk from the rope being stretch taut nearly dislocated Theo's arm, but all he could feel was an enormous sense of relief. Using the leverage, he swung all the way through and landed on his feet just outside the main cabin entryway. As if on que, the door opened and the face of the famous Leorio looked out with a grin. "We got another one! Welcome aboard." He stretched out his hand and pulled the child inside, telling him to make himself comfortable. A task that seemed nearly impossible as he could feel the icy stares from all the other applicants who had made it to this preliminary stage.
