About two minutes ter heat rolled forward in waves, licking at their backs.

  The air itself felt thinner.

  A few applicants cursed under their breath.

  Some ughed nervously.

  "If we made it this far," one applicant muttered.

  "We won't fail because of running."

  Confidence spread through the group.

  Despite this, it was not a powerful motivation for many people in the group.

  But it was something.

  Human psychology worked differently in the groups in most cases.

  When one starts to take on life-threatening tasks with others, they behave differently.

  The applicants did not work together, but the fact that they were experiencing the same event and feeling the danger together made them form a bond without too much time.

  Which made every comment from every applicant that is positive impactful and valuable.

  It's the same sort of thing Tonpa does, just from a positive way instead of a negative way.

  Conrad kept his breathing steady and kept focusing on the exam and Hisoka alike.

  Inhale through the nose.

  Controlled exhale.

  His stride lengthened slightly, matching the new required pace.

  He did not look back again.

  There was no need.

  The temperature alone told him everything.

  "I believe," Conrad thought calmly, "when attention narrows to the threat behind…"

  His eyes shifted forward, scanning the corridor.

  "…the real threat will manifest ahead."

  Hunter exams were yered.

  At least that is what he thought.

  They never relied on a single vector of pressure.

  The wall of fire was obvious.

  Too obvious to just be the only exam that tested people.

  "It will not be now," he continued, analyzing.

  Humans adapted quickly to steady stimuli that increased over time.

  Like a frog that is put into warm water.

  The frog will be accustomed to heat as time goes on and before it can notice that the heat is at a level that would kill it.

  It would be too te.

  The boiling water would kill its capability to move and then kill it.

  Humans were simir.

  Forty minutes of running would condition the body and dull alertness.

  That would be the true elimination.

  "When it happens," Conrad concluded internally, "many will hesitate."

  Even a second of hesitation at this speed was fatal.

  If the front line encountered traps, bdes, colpsing floors, darts, or gas, those in the rear would compress into them.

  He had no issue maintaining this pace.

  He could increase speed easily.

  A thin yer of ten reinforcement on his lower body would cut fatigue significantly.

  A moderate Ren output would make this trivial.

  In the end, the Hunter Exam is not tailored to or checking the capabilities of Nen users but ordinary applicants that trusted themselves.

  Any new user with some capability should have the physical and mental power to fast forward to the exam without much of a problem.

  But he refused.

  The reason was simple.

  "Hisoka."

  Conrad was aware of the magician's presence without directly looking.

  No one wanted to run too close to that man.

  If Conrad dispyed abnormal stamina or unnatural efficiency now, it would attract attention.

  "I do not need unnecessary attention on myself," Conrad told himself.

  The exam itself was manageable.

  Now pushing close to thirty… thirty-five kilometers per hour for those at the back.

  The distance between the tail of the group and the firewall shrank to roughly one hundred meters.

  Conrad, however, maintained roughly two hundred and fifty meters between himself and the advancing gate of fire.

  He scanned the corridor ahead once more.

  "They are waiting," Conrad concluded.

  When survival instinct overrode caution.

  The first real danger was about to reveal itself.

  He did not forget about the sound of the mechanism he heard as well as others heard.

  But he believed some of the people must have forgotten about it.

  -

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