The Charm of Multiplayer
If there was one thing I had overlooked, it was that I wouldn't be taking this exam alone.
Using a monster to evaluate just one person was a dangerous proposition. Even a brainless Pienos was still a monster more powerful than a human — that fact never changed.
So they used a single relatively easy monster to assess the potential of four candidates at once. That was the Hunter Association's thinking, no doubt.
But why four, exactly? No more, no less?
Because the standard recommended party size for monster hunting was four.
You could go larger, sure, but that wasted both manpower and resources. Unless you were dealing with a truly massive monster, more people just made things complicated — and the more humans present, the more agitated the monster became.
Four was the perfect number: one person covering front, back, left, and right. A reasonably well-designed exam, all things considered.
It could test cooperation, courage, and individual skill all at once, with a powerful enemy that demanded teamwork to defeat.
Personally, I would have preferred to just do it alone — but that kind of selfishness would be a black mark against anyone trying to become a hunter.
Besides, working together was fine. One of the reasons Hunter Land had gotten so popular was the party play, after all.
What were the downsides of soloing?
A limited number of tools you could carry alone. The pressure of having the monster's full attention locked on you, forcing you to tank every single attack yourself.
And the upsides?
The monster's aggro never jumped to anyone else. That was the real strength.
The stamina advantage was honestly negligible. But that second point? That was huge.
Just you and the monster, reading each other with no one else in the way. No interference. That pure one-on-one duel feeling — that was the true appeal of solo play, wasn't it?
Not that I was dismissing multiplayer. Solo had its charms, multi had its own. Different strengths, different thrills. And the real charm of multiplayer? Being able to help out the newbies, right?
Yeah.
I was feeling that charm right now.
"Gulp…"
By my standards, the three people who had to take down this Pienos with me were total newbies.
I swallowed without meaning to.
This was the Colosseum — a wooden-walled arena behind Antico's Association district. Not the kind of place that put on bloody gladiator spectacles like ancient Rome. This building had been raised for hunters.
Being told to fight a monster you'd never faced before was overwhelming, wasn't it? If you didn't want to get wrecked by a "learn by getting hit" pattern, you needed something to practice on.
In a game, you could watch YouTube tutorials or just smash your face into the wall until something worked. But this was reality. No YouTube. And if you charged in blind, you might crack open like an egg.
That was what the Colosseum was for.
Rookie hunters could experience monsters here without having to track down the ones senior hunters had already captured. Once research on a captured monster was finished, it was typically put to use this way — fighting hunters in a controlled Colosseum environment for the sake of experience.
Pienos, of course, was different. This thing had been caught so many times there was nothing left to research. It was pure practice fodder. A sandbag.
—Grrruu?
We stood at the Colosseum entrance, staring at the Pienos.
The creature made stupid little noises as it looked around, sniffing the air, then yawning wide and flopping onto its side. Completely at ease, with no idea it was about to die.
Aside from the hunter assigned to the Colosseum — there to protect us and evaluate us at the same time — no one else was present. Extra bodies would only agitate the monster unnecessarily.
I heard another gulp nearby.
My teammates were newbies who found even a Pienos like this terrifying. I was nestled in among them, cosplaying as a newbie myself, but…
Anyway, a ridiculous silence had settled over the place, all because of one measly Pienos.
"…Don't tense up. Just do what you can."
The Colosseum hunter offered a word of encouragement, trying to ease the tension. He was a middle-aged man with a scruffy, bristling beard.
"Yes, sir!"
"…Yeah."
The other three answered with full-throated energy. All of them wound tight as springs.
I nodded a beat late — and this body, with its complete lack of social grace, had only ever spoken in casual speech.
This brat. No filter for hierarchy whatsoever. A mouth without a shred of fear.
Fortunately, the Colosseum hunter didn't seem to care. Apparently satisfied with our responses, he nodded and continued.
"Your opponent is a Pienos. Show me what you've got. Tools are prepared in that crate over there. And keep your eyes open — look around carefully. There's bound to be something useful."
With that solid advice, the Colosseum hunter stepped back.
I rolled my shoulders. I didn't need any tools.
Thanks to the basic gear the Association had provided, the hems and sleeves fit snug without slipping. Easier to move in than the clothes Noah had given me.
Time to put our heads together, I supposed.
Honestly, my preferred approach was mindless headbutting until something died… but for now, I'd play along.
What could be more entertaining than watching newbies work?
Noah had told me to take it easy, so I'd mess around a bit and then hit hard.
The evaluation started now.
The Colosseum hunter stroked his chin as he watched them.
"Shall we introduce ourselves first? I'm Yor. And this is my weapon."
"I'm Ethan. Same weapon, looks like."
Two with sword and shield.
"I-I'm Sophie. Dual swords — a pair of blades."
One dual-wielder.
"…Alice. Greatsword."
And one greatsword.
Variety in weapons was good. Not that it really mattered what you carried. When it came to hunting monsters, you used whatever you were most comfortable with. Plenty of parties took commissions with four people all wielding the same thing.
The Colosseum hunter rubbed his chin, rough beard rasping under his fingers as he studied them.
The one that drew his attention most was the greatsword.
The girl holding it — Alice — said nothing at all, simply listening as her teammates talked. Her expression made it impossible to tell whether she was concentrating or completely empty-headed. Then again, the way she kept absently touching her chin suggested she wasn't ignoring the conversation entirely.
There were hunters like that. Passive types who simply moved with the flow of their teammates' energy.
The discussion didn't last long. Everyone dropped the idle chatter and prepared to head down into the Colosseum.
Healing potions, small bombs, poison vials — four of each. One set per person for a party of four.
They pocketed their supplies and took position before the iron gate.
Fair enough. They barely knew what kind of monster a Pienos even was, so the right approach was to clash with it first and figure things out from there.
A fight with a monster could turn on a dime. What mattered was improvisation.
That was what "look around carefully" had meant.
Inside the Colosseum, devices had been installed to give hunters an edge in combat. Cannons that could deal heavy damage to a monster were one option — but there were others, too.
What those were, you had to discover for yourself. First-timers would naturally have no idea. Spotting them was a hunter's job. Using them — or not using them — was entirely up to the hunter as well.
That was what it meant to be a hunter.
Survive by any means, any method, and win. That was all that mattered.
"All right. Go."
The Colosseum hunter pulled the lever.
Rrrrk— clank!
The iron gate barring the Colosseum entrance ground open, and the examinees stepped inside.
The Colosseum hunter loved this moment.
A hunter exam was the moment a new light appeared among hunters. There were countless lights already, but none ranked above another — every one of them shone beautifully in its own way.
Overcome this. Earn your qualification.
Starting with that monster, go forth and become a light brighter than anyone else's.
The Colosseum hunter grinned, pulled a strip of jerky from his pocket, and dropped into a seat.
Watching a fight without something to chew on just felt incomplete.
—Guuu?
The Pienos inflated its chin at the sudden appearance of four humans. A threat: I'm this big, so don't come any closer.
But no one here was going to be intimidated by that. They had come to this place to become hunters. A little chin-puffing wasn't going to stop them.
"Let's go!"
At Yor's shout, everyone hurled their poison vials. Alice played along at a reasonable pace, flinging hers as well.
The heavy bottles smashed against the Pienos's body and shattered, drenching it in poison.
Sizzle—.
—Grrruuu!!
The toxin seeped into its hide. The Pienos drooled in agony, then let out a pain-wracked roar and charged.
Its inflated chin made its gait waddle, but the speed was faster than expected. One press from that massive jaw and a human body would flatten like dried squid. Everyone scrambled clear of the charge.
But the creature didn't stop there. It planted its feet, swerved sideways, and charged again.
One target: the boy with the shield who'd been standing at the front. Yor.
This one was hard to dodge. The mistake of not expecting a second rush. Seeing the Pienos barreling toward him, Yor raised his shield tight and curled into a crouch.
BOOM—!
A tremendous crash sent his body flying backward. Hit by a living battering ram of pure mass, Yor's breath seized in his throat. He tumbled across the ground on his back, scraping along the dirt. Even a Pienos — mild-mannered by monster standards — was still a being superior to humans. That never changed.
"Ghk…"
"Yor, you okay?!"
"I-I'm fine!"
Yor nodded at Ethan's call and pushed himself up. His whole body ached. He pulled a healing potion from his pocket and gulped it down. The potion had analgesic effects, and the stabbing pain in his arms and back eased.
He tossed the empty vial to the ground, wiped his mouth roughly on his sleeve, and started thinking.
The Pienos's charge was dangerous. The Colosseum was a tight circular arena — far too little room to dodge. If the thing charged again, he'd take it just as helplessly as before.
"For now — stick close and fight so it can't charge!"
Yor shouted as he got himself back in order.
Ethan and Sophie raised their weapons and rushed the Pienos. There was a plan: Sophie would draw its attention with her dual blades, and the dangerous attacks would be blocked by a shield. Ethan's job was to serve as the dual-wielder's shield.
"Sophie, right side!"
"Hyaaah!"
The two of them were handling their roles well enough, at least.
Thud—!
And on the other side, the remaining shield would buy Alice time to charge up her greatsword swing. That shield role belonged to Yor.
But the formation had already broken on the first charge. Yor scooped up his sword from where it had rolled through the dirt and spat a mouthful of dusty saliva.
They had four people, but the weight-class gap was overwhelming. How were you supposed to win a fight like this?
Look around carefully.
Yor frantically scanned his surroundings. Focus had narrowed his vision to a tunnel, but he could still make out objects well enough.
In the corners of the circular Colosseum sat cannon emplacements and their access points.
Fire a cannon right now?
Solid idea — but the process would be brutal. Who was going to risk their life holding a monster at bay while someone else lined up a shot?
Yor checked his teammates.
Ethan was glued to the Pienos, marking its attacks, doing everything he could to prevent another charge. Sophie, dual blades in hand, was being extremely cautious. Ethan was covering her, but she had no idea what the Pienos might do next, so her attacks were timid and half-hearted. At this rate, they wouldn't land any real damage.
If things stayed like this, they were the ones who'd get worn down.
—Grrruaa!
Ethan and Sophie fell back to catch their breath, then immediately closed in again the moment the Pienos stamped its feet.
Good — we stopped the charge.
Using the cannon would make this easy. But how…
"Yor~!!"
"I-I'm coming!"
Ethan bellowed with pure frustration. Get over here and join us, already.
Right. Stop thinking. Stick to the plan. Stick to the plan…
…Wait. Where's Alice? Where is Alice right now?
Yor looked around again. White hair should have been easy to spot, but somehow he couldn't find her.
Then, over in the far corner — something like a pale snowball.
"Hmm."
Alice was in the corner.
She wasn't fighting. She hadn't even taken a single step forward. She stood against the wall with her arms crossed, calmly watching the situation unfold.
What? Why is she over there?
Their eyes met. Her peach-pink irises stared at him blankly.
Then she raised a hand and pointed behind her own head.
Yor's gaze followed her finger upward.
A small catapult.
Somehow, at some point, she had already wound the ropes taut, twisted and ready to launch a stone. It had been sitting there the whole time, concealed right beside her.
Since when?
No — it had been there from the start. Everyone had simply been too focused on the Pienos to notice.
Yor lowered his eyes back to Alice.
She nodded, then moved her lips. Yor watched the shape of her mouth carefully.
Ca-ta-pult.
Yor's eyes went wide. Alice had already finished surveying the entire Colosseum.
She hadn't said a word while they planned, so he'd assumed she was just a pretty face — passive, unmotivated, content to follow along. He'd been completely wrong.
Alice had been calculating with eyes sharper than anyone else's.
Holding her breath, concealing the blade that would kill the monster right there in her pocket.
Cen-ter. Draw it.
He understood her intent.
Yor made a snap decision, clenched his teeth, and sprinted straight at the Pienos.