HxH Cards x Stitches

Welcome Back, Joker

"May the trials begin! Good luck!"

[40 examinees remain.]

At exactly 8 am the next day, all examinees were dropped off at the top of the Trick Tower where the third stage of the Exam would take place. In the next 72 hours, their goal was to reach the bottom of the tower by using any means possible. 

That gave them exactly 3 days.

So to say, in this tower, killing people was not at all illegal. Actually, it seemed that this whole exam just completely disregards whatever law there is about not killing. Or was killing actually legal in this world? Juzou never did get to read about any laws or new world common sense.

He might have been doing many things illegal already yet never knew. Well, it's not like he'll stop doing them anyways if that were true.

Hmm? Where's Vodka?

Juzou tilted his head, finding his snake companion having gone missing during the time he was lost in thought. Actually, around ten other people had also disappeared but, it wasn't like he cared enough for any of them to take note of their presence.

Looking off to the side, Juzou spotted a familiar clown walking off to a particular tile. Said clown then sent him a flirtatious wink upon having met his eyes, then pointed meaningfully towards the tile beneath him before jumping down, disappearing downwards.

"Oh~ I see!" Juzou exclaimed in realization. So some of the tiles were actually hidden trap doors!

Now, having known of the fact, Juzou began walking around, discretely tapping the tiles beneath his feet and eventually finding a lone trap door.

Though, the way he found it wasn't exactly ideal as the tile just gave way beneath him the moment he stepped on it, giving him no second option than to just accept his fate as he slid down like he would in a slide, albeit a very long one.

[Welcome to the Crossroad Path. Here, you will encounter many tunnels where you may meet the Tower Prisoners, other Examinees, or be asked to complete puzzles. The possibility is endless.]

A particularly bored voice said from speakers possibly hidden within the walls. He must've been saying similar lines over and over again for several times now.

[The Challenge officially begins once the Timer is worn on the examinee's wrist.]

And, right on cue, a spotlight turned on, shining upon a table where a single Timed watch was placed.

Immediately, Juzou grabbed the watched and put it on. The earlier he starts, the earlier he can finish. He'd rather get done with it within a day else his phone would run out of power, and this tower didn't look like it had any outlets to charge it.

[Good luck.]

The moment the watch was on his wrist, a green light flashed on a nearby wall, and, with a rumbling sound, the wall slowly opened, revealing a long, dark tunnel leading to who knows where.

Though, where it led to didn't matter at all to Juzou as he skipped on forward with no hesitation.

"C-hu.. Choo-se? A Tah- tunnel?" Upon arriving at the end of the path, Juzou came across a fork, presenting him three other paths to choose from. "Oh! Choose a tunnel!"

It was a good call to immediately study the new alphabet upon realizing the difference from what he was familiar with, otherwise, he'd be completely confused trying to read anything.

"Test of Luck..." Juzou muttered thoughtfully. "Why do they test luck in a skill-based exam?"

In the end, he just shrugged it off and casually chose by spinning a pencil, the end point landing on the rightmost tunnel.