Mist and Ambush

Before arriving at the competition, Jimmy had taken one last detour into the hidden markets beneath the Nexus with a mask, eyes are there. There, tucked away in the shadow of a runic vault, he bought a rough but valuable map of the mountain range. It was drawn in ink that shimmered under moonlight, showing ridges, herbs zones, dangerous zones natural shelters.

Now in the wilderness, Jimmy crouched beneath a jagged rock formation, unfurling the map under the muted blue glow of Luna's bioluminescent mane.

"We're near the river bend," he murmured to her in sign. Luna gave a soft, alert nod, eyes scanning the terrain. Wind swept over the cliff, the trees whispering secrets to the earth.

Meanwhile, back at the house from uncle goat's brother, Peeko was in training mode. The small fire-Whisp with feathers of blue flame had been slacking earlier, nipping at other Whisps and chewing at furniture.

Jimmy had given him a strict warning:

"If you misbehave—no food. Only water training. And pull-ups in the rain."

The threat worked.

Peeko now darted back and forth in the small training room under Mr. Goat's supervision, panting with determination. Every time he slowed, he looked toward the food box—locked and guarded. Mr. Goat gave a low grunt of approval.

.............

Back in Zone 1, Jimmy tucked his badge deep into his shirt pocket. He began walking along a slope near the riverbed. The terrain grew damper, hints of moss creeping up the tree trunks. Still, no sign of other participants.

But he felt it.

Something was watching him.

He didn't run.

Instead, he made a sharp left and disappeared into a patch of thick underbrush. He crouched behind a knotted tree root, steadying his breath.

Voices emerged minutes later—three boys, their footsteps crunching through fallen leaves.

"I swear he was here, Rano. Right on the hill," one of them said.

"Didn't your Whisp, Velunai, say he went this way?" the second asked.

The third boy, thin with spectacles and glowing rings on his fingers, glanced at his doll-like ghost Whisp. Its eyes flickered as it floated ahead like a sensor.

"Krat, krat… he went that way," it rasped.

The boys advanced into the muddy patch.

Their names, whispered between them: Rano, Jules, and Crix.

Their Whisps:

Jules had the ghost pet, a spectral puppet named Velunai, who spoke in broken whispers that mimicked the sound of creaking doors and distant rattles.

Crix hadn't summoned his yet.

Rano, the boldest of them, kept a frost-type Whisp called Cryslith hidden—a pale, serpent-like being with a semi-transparent body that left icy web trails wherever it slithered.

As they crossed the sodden land, the fog began to creep unnaturally. The air was heavier. The soil sucked at their boots. Water was everywhere.

"Something's wrong," Mama muttered. "Krat… krat… traps… near."

"It's just nerves. Let's move. We'll find another chicken if he's gone."

The word 'chicken' clearly meant low-tier targets to them.

As they pushed forward, Crix—still without his Whisp—stepped into a deeper part of the marsh. A sharp blast of water exploded from the side. Water Gun.

It hit him clean in the chest, sending him spinning into a tree trunk and splashing into the mud.

"Crix!" Rano shouted, eyes wide.

The fog thickened.

They heard movement.

Something—or someone—was circling them.

Flickers of a form appeared in flashes: a sleek four-legged shape with glimmering blue accents, hooves sliding silently across wet stone. Luna.

Then came thunder. Clouds amassed—unnaturally fast. Darkness dropped over the patch of land.

"Velunai! Ghost sense! Lock that thing down!" Jules screamed. 

"CRIX!" Rano yelled at Crix, who was barely recovering.

Velunai's eyes glowed with spectral blue as it scanned the gloom.

And then—a streak.

Luna burst from the mist, a blur of elegance and terror, water swirling around her like living armour. With a chilling howl, she lunged.

The boys screamed.

Jimmy remained still, watching from the shadows with precision.

Rano gritted his teeth. "Cryslith—ice cone, now! She's water-type. Obscure her senses!"

As the serpent-like Whisp uncoiled and unleashed a thick wall of freezing vapor, Crix finally pushed himself upright, mud-covered and shaking.

He called for his Whisp, voice cracking, "Scaldlet! Go! Ember the path—get us an escape!"

A small frog-like creature with steam sizzling off its back bounded out, eyes wide with concern. It croaked once, launched a glowing ember forward—and tried to light a trail.

But before the flame could carve a way, a sudden flash of cerulean light ripped through the fog.

A blast of pressurized water slammed into Scaldlet.

The tiny Whisp flew backward, rolled across the rocks, and didn't move.

"Scaldlet! My Scaldlet!" Crix cried, crawling toward him.

Rano's face darkened. "Jules! We're outmatched. Wrong opponent. Grab Velunai—we're leaving. Leave the loser."

Crix's head snapped up at that. His eyes met theirs—widened with betrayal.

But Rano and Jules had already turned, vanishing into the rolling mist.

Jimmy didn't move.

He simply whispered to Luna in his mind:

"We let this one go. Let them think they survived."

.................

And like that, the fog swallowed them all.

Then the fog thickened even more—becoming a blanket of chilling silence.

Rano suddenly stumbled. "Cryslith…? No! It's… frozen?!"

He looked down, panic flaring in his eyes. Ice was climbing his boots.

"No way... that Whisp isn't just water—it's Ice too!"

Beside him, Jules gasped. His own legs were frosting over, boots cracking as frost webs climbed.

Velunai hovered in distress. Seeing her master immobilized, she extended her senses outward with a low, mechanical croon.

She locked onto something—movement. A Whisp form rushing toward her.

Velunai launched a Shadow Ball, but the blur vanished into mist before impact.

Then, from two angles—

THUD. THWACK.

One water-coated tackle barely missed her, but the second—coated in sparks—slammed directly into her.

Electric Tackle.

The impact sent Velunai spiralling through the air. She hit a distant tree and stabilized mid-air, crackling faintly.

With a surge of will, she unleashed a desperate Energy Pulse that blew the entire fog away.

The scene cleared—

A majestic blue Whisp stood in the centre of the fading mist: Luna, elegant and glowing. By her side stood a black-coated boy with an eyepatch.

Jimmy.

In his hand—ID tags. Three of them.

Crix's. Rano's. Jules'.

Jules gasped. "Quick! Attack the blind b—"

But before he could finish, his badge blinked and deactivated. Then they teleported from there.

All three badges drained.

They were out.

Even though Velunaistill hovered, her trainer's tag had been claimed. It was over.

Jimmy checked the IDs:

E55 (46 pts)

D40 (61 pts)

D43 (70 pts)

Total gained: 46 + 61 + 70 = 177 *73 = 12,921 points

.........................................

Above the battlefield, in the grand Colosseum where nobles and commoners alike watched from enormous enchanted screens, the ambush had unfolded like a silent play. A sudden flare of blue mist. A flash of water. Electric trails spinning in fog.

And then—names flickered off the boards:

D40 – Eliminated

D43 – Eliminated

E55 – Eliminated

Gasps followed.

"Did you see that? That frog barely lit a spark before it got blasted!"

"That boy… the one in the black coat… is he blind?"

"He just erased three players in ten minutes! He is good."

"What's his number? D27? Mark it!"

High above, a few former champions leaned forward in their private booths.

"Ruthless. No chance to give any opponent move."

Meanwhile, the commentator's voice rang out, half-shocked, half-thrilled:

"And we've just witnessed an incredible ambush! Contestant D27 has wiped out D40, D43, and E55 using terrain, fog, and a highly coordinated Ice-Water Whisp! A clean 12,921-point sweep in under fifteen minutes!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, that puts D27 among one of the top scorers on Day One!"

As the crowd roared, lights across the betting district shifted. Odds updated. The name "D27" suddenly glowed brighter than before.

Chapter 4: The Fall Back Room

A flash of blue light marked the defeat. In a separate holding chamber, surrounded by softly glowing barrier runes, Jules, Rano, and Crix landed in an arc of teleport light.

Their expressions were stunned. Wet. Mud-streaked. Defeated.

Other eliminated contestants already sat on benches or in corners, grumbling, mourning, or blaming each other.

Crix stood silently.

Jules threw off his gear, rage in his eyes. "We had him! We should've…"

Rano didn't speak. He just looked at his frostbitten boots and clenched his fists.

But Crix looked straight at the wall—where a screen was replaying the moment Jimmy and Luna vanished into the mist.

He murmured, "We weren't even in his league."

Silence.

Then the door opened. Another player arrived, shaking with shock.

The room was filling fast.

And from the way the leader board updated on the wall, they weren't the only ones who underestimated the wrong person.

To be continued...