Phase 1: Upstream Marathon

For some reason it felt very calming for Belladonna, it felt like she was in her happy place. The last thing she remembered was the fight with the redhead, but she lost her conciousness right after that. The mafia slowly opened her eyes, noticing that she was floating on the water. That explained why she felt calm, although not as amazing as the time when she could soak in the tub.  She noticed a number tag, clipped on her shirt, "110..." She read the number silently, as if trying to input it into her mind. Then the redhead began to look around, wanting to get a grasp of where she was at the moment. 

As the man began to speak to the contender, Belladonna would cross her arm, trying to use her head. She wouldn't say that she was a great swimmer, but she was pretty good at it. However, she had to think about the way to preserve her energy because she couldn't tell how long they would be swimming in this pool.... This test was surely to test their stamina and endurance, she could only hope that the current wouldn't be a nuisance. 

With a sigh, the red haired woman would begin to familiriaze herself with the water and do a little bit of warm ups so her body would be ready for the race.

One second Acha was getting ready to fight, possibly make a new friend. The next moment he was knocked out the last thing he saw was Nen charged flower petals floating towards him. The voice of the man floated inside his mind as he dreamed of riding a giant lobster in the ocean.

“BLAAAAAAAANTTTTTTTTTTTTT”

The sound of an airhorn ripped him from his crustaceous dream, ahead of him was water he was floating in shallow water. Had they moved them while they were asleep, or could the flower petals teleport you? Acha was once again in amazement at the power of Nen, he would need to train much harder to get somewhere even adjacent to these hunters. On his shirt was a patch with the number 279 emblazoned across. He looked across the pool opposite to them was a muscled man with a stern look. Naga would shout his name as well as the rules for the test. Telling them they had an hour to get accustomed to the pool. Acha didn’t have any trouble swimming he loved the sea; he’d look around to see if the man who punched him was nearby. If he wasn’t he wouldn’t worry about it, he’d surely see him during the test. At least he hoped he would, he had his allies as well. Hopefully they’d all pass otherwise he’d have to start building a new team.

Looking around the area there seemed to be a decent number of applicants more than 200 for sure. At first Acha had wondered if his number was picked at random or if there were truly that many hunters, the feast brawl had done a good job of stopping him from counting the crowd. In a pool it was a lot easier to see, and many were doing their stretches. Acha would wait until the 40-minute mark before he even considered it. He didn’t want to tire himself out, instead he was just floating on his back enjoying the peace.

Rocksy woke with a start, immediately swinging around her self with a heavy blow before her thoughts caught up to her actions, ready to slam whatever had attacked her and put her to sleep. It took a few scant moments to realise that it hadn't actually been an attack, and that everyone else was also still waking up. Sighing heavily she sat down at the edge of the swimming pool close to the slide, something the hunter had said struck a cord with her, "over the water".


Her plan was, if there was plants or foliage she could make a raft of some kind, enough to conserve energy on the water. Maybe fucking team up with some of the other hopefuls to take turns pulling it along the water. If that wouldn't work then at least she'd have a view of the rivers banks and could plan ahead as to how she'd take breaks.

Waking to the sloshing of water from others stirring nearby, Tenju rubbed his head to nurse a headache as he gathered himself. From banquet to soaking wet. What kind of treatment was this!? He hurried to check himself for the envelope he was supposed to deliver in a panic. It sat in his pocket somehow still firm and dry despite his haori being soaked through around it. He let out an exhale of relief which gave way to a puzzled expression. The envelope couldn't be opened or tampered with, but it also wasn't addressed to anyone so how could he know where to deliver it? He was so frustrated and focused on his own personal problem that he almost didn't notice the examiner until his loud voice started shouting information at them. Still perturbed, Tenju returned the envelope to its pocket and picked up his soggy bucket hat which floated nearby. With a huff he placed it on his head and glared through the drops of water dipping from the brim as he took in the instructions.

A marathon swim? Tenju felt conflicted immediately. He had never learned to swim! Life in the family estate had been spent studying and practicing medicine. Under his father and grandfather's strictly regimented training schedule there was no time for recreation. The most water he had ever been in was the house bath! The helpless Tenju's eyes began to dart back and forth rapidly as he searched for those who chose to practice and quickly set about doing his best to imitate them. He struggled in the kiddie depths like a fool for a full thirty minutes before finally learning to tread water and execute a rather amateur breast stroke technique. He then finally began to swim his way back to the shallow end where he would wait and conserve his strength for the remaining half hour.