Jimmy glanced at Luna, lying weakly but alert in his arms. Her breaths were shallow, her bioluminescent coat flickering dimly.
"Can I get a bucket of water?" Jimmy signed.
Instructor Liam, observing from the judges' stand, nodded silently. She had been watching closely. Moments later, an assistant returned carrying a large metal bucket filled with cool, clear water.
Jimmy gently lowered Luna into the bucket. The water shimmered slightly as her body absorbed it. Her eyes closed, and soft bubbles rose from her mouth. A faint electric ripple hummed along the surface. He dropped in a few blue-leaf healing pods from his pouch. Steam rose and disappeared.
Nun Lisa approached quietly from the side, kneeling beside him.
"Are you confident?" she asked softly.
Jimmy didn't answer with words. He only looked up at her and nodded once—calm, unshaken. That was enough. But he was nervous, his first fight, fight with countered element whisp.
She smiled faintly, brushing his shoulder with maternal pride, and stood back.
Then, heavy footsteps echoed on the platform stones. The arena fell into a sudden hush.
From the opposite side of the ring, a tall red-haired boy stepped in—his stride confident, his hands tucked in his long dark-red coat with the academy's bronze insignia pinned near the shoulder. Two shining tamer badges glinted on his chest. His very presence shifted the atmosphere.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"Wait, isn't that Raelson?"
"That guy's already got two badges!"
"What the hell is he doing in the entrance test?"
"I heard he burned someone's Whisp so badly, they had to pull out of the finals."
A few students whispered in awe, others with fear. Some older applicants muttered bitter curses under their breath. A few laughed mockingly in Jimmy's direction.
"Poor mute boy's done for. That's the end."
"He should just forfeit."
Jimmy didn't react. His eyes stayed locked on Raelson.
Beside Raelson walked his Whisp—Chicnosuke, a tall and sinewy Fire-type canine Whisp, a primary level pet. Its body was lean and coiled with raw tension, black fur streaked with flame-orange lines along its spine and limbs. Ember vents glowed on its ribcage, and a constant trail of smoke curled from its nostrils. Its tail flickered like a slow-burning torch, and its claws glowed dimly red with built-up heat.
It didn't growl. It didn't even need to. Its gaze alone was terrifying—piercing, intelligent, predatory.
Raelson stepped forward and extended a hand to Jimmy.
There was an unsettling calm behind his smile. "Nice to meet you."
Jimmy stared for a moment. Something about him felt off. He raised his hands in sign:
"What is your talent?"
A murmur stirred the crowd again. A few students craned their necks.
From a distance, Liam nodded approvingly. "Good," she muttered under her breath. "Never trust the first hand that reaches for you."
Raelson smirked. "You're the fifth to ask me that. I like it. Never trust someone you just met."
He gave a thumbs-up to Jimmy and turned away.
Jimmy's eyes narrowed, still silent.
Chicnosuke sniffed in Luna's direction but didn't come close. Instead, it sat with deliberate discipline at Raelson's side, gaze never leaving Jimmy.
For five minutes, the two remained in opposite corners of the arena. Raelson chatted with Instructor Liam briefly, laughing once, then nodding. The whispers in the audience didn't stop.
"Raelson's fighting a blind and mute kid? That's just bullying."
"Or maybe… this Jimmy kid has something special."
A girl near the front, hugging a plush Whisp, whispered, "His Whisp… it's like moonlight."
Instructor Liam's voice echoed through the arena, cutting off the murmurs.
"Jimmy the Silence. Raelson the Fire. Step into the ring."
Both boys walked slowly to the centre platform. The arena lights flared brighter. The magical barrier reactivated, humming with shield runes and elemental absorption glyphs.
Chicnosuke's tail burned brighter. Luna slowly rose from her bucket, shaking the water off her body.
All eyes were on them now.
And the test—no, the battle—was about to begin.