The sporadically updated and extremely lengthy Hunter x Hunter manga and anime series focuses on the stories of Hunters, an umbrella term for adventurers who seek treasures, hunt dangerous creatures and criminals, and many other similar duties. Hunters are given a lot of freedom, and the Hunter License that proves their status as a Hunter grants them access to a large variety of benefits and facilities. While these benefits are meant to aid Hunters in their quests, there are many who attempt to take the exam purely for the advantages the Hunter License provides.
Because of this, it’s important that the people given these licenses areboth trustworthy and skilled, and so the Hunter Association created the Hunter Exam, a test that must be taken in order to become a professional Hunter is extremely difficult. Tens of thousands of examinees enter hoping to pass every year, and nearly all of them fail each time. While the Hunter Exam is rigorous, it also ensures that only the strongest and most resourceful applicants are the ones who become Hunters.
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Testing Begins Before The Exam
The Hunter Exam’s rigorous challenges begin before that exam even actually begins. Every year, the location for where the Hunter Exam takes place changes every year. The location is always a mystery, and hopeful examinees must find the location of the exam on their own. However, they are not completely without clues; by finding certain people called navigators, they can be guided to the exam location without too much trouble. Navigators are basically required in order to find the exam location, though finding navigators themselves is quite the task.
That’s not all, however. to trim down the numerous applicants that attempt to reach the exam location, the Hunter Association in charge of the exam hires people to test them before they even make it to the real test. These people include the navigators in charge of bringing applicants to the exam. The navigators can test the examinees however they like, and if they fail, the navigators will refuse to take them to the exam location. This part of the exam is so difficult that only one in 10,000 people are able to even reach the correct location. In order to even make it to the exam, applicants have to provetheir vigilance, tenacity, and resourcefulness.
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The Actual Exam
An aspiring Hunter’s troubles don’t stop once they get to the exam site, however. The Hunter Exam can last from a few days to a full month, and consists of five to six stages. Each stage is observed by a professional Hunter, and theparticular task needed depends on their discretion. In general, the tasks tend to be extremely dangerous and demanding, and many applicants can face injury and even death during the exam. Despite this, the benefits of becoming a professional Hunter are so numerous that a massive number of examinees attempt the test every year.
Throughout the test, applicants are graded on their physical prowess, mental ability, and various other factors based on the examiner’s discretion. If an applicant manages to pass all stages of the exam, they are considered to have passed the Hunter Exam. However, due to the intense difficulty of the tasks, if an applicant manages to pass at least the third stage, they are granted a free pass to next year’s Hunter Exam if they happen to fail, one of the few cases of leniency from the Hunter Association. In general, only a handful of applicants pass the exam every year; for example, the year that Gon passed had only seven people pass the exam.
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The Benefits Of Becoming A Hunter
A person that passes the Hunter Exam obtains a Hunter License, which serves as proof of their professional status and grants a variety of benefits. It works as a universal passport, granting free travel around most of the world. In addition, they get free access to most public facilities, as well as a Hunters-only website featuring secret underground information that can be purchased for a price. The License itself is extremely valuable, and can be used as collateral for a zero-interest loan of 100 million Jenny, or even sold for unfathomable sums of money. The Hunter License will even allow the holder to get away with murder.
With all of these benefits, it should be fairly understandable why the Hunter Exam is so difficult. If everyone could get their hands on a Hunter License so easily, the worldwould collapse into pandemonium. However, those who are willing to take on the responsibilities of a Hunter should be rewarded and given the resources necessary to practice their craft. The only reasonable solution is to make the actual exam to become a Hunter so hard that only a few people manage to become Hunters every year.
