Ficool

Chapter 28 - Chapter 28: The New Champion

The Volt-fang Panther was a living spear of lightning, meters away from its target. The Rock Vole was still digging, its back turned, seemingly oblivious to its own annihilation. Jin Kai's victorious laugh was already forming in his throat.

And then, it happened.

Just as the panther's supercharged claws were about to make contact, the Rock Vole, with a final, powerful heave, vanished. It plunged into the hole it had just created, disappearing completely from view a fraction of a second before the point of impact.

The Volt-fang Panther, locked into its high-speed, instinct-driven charge, had no time to process the change. Its target was gone. Its path, however, now contained a newly formed pit. Its front legs, expecting to find solid ground to launch its final pounce, instead found nothing but empty air.

Momentum, the unpitying law of physics that governed all things, took over.

The panther's body, propelled by the full force of its 'Lightning Rush', tripped. It didn't just stumble; it was launched into a catastrophic, uncontrolled forward flip. It flew directly over the hole where the Rock Vole was safely hidden, a black and blue blur tumbling through the air, and crashed, with a sickening thud, into the hard arena floor ten meters away.

The crack of breaking bones was sharp and ugly, audible even over the shocked gasps of the front rows. The panther, a moment ago a paragon of ferocious power, now lay in a broken, twitching heap, its electrical charge sputtering out into nothing.

For a full five seconds, the entire arena was plunged into a dead, suffocating silence. The thousands of people who had been roaring moments before were now collectively holding their breath, their minds unable to reconcile what their eyes had just seen. The laughter on Jin Kai's face was frozen, an ugly mask of disbelief.

Then, a single, small creature, covered in dust and debris, calmly crawled out of the hole in the center of the field. The Rock Vole shook itself off, looked towards its fallen opponent, and let out a single, sharp, triumphant squeak.

"Ji!"

The sound broke the spell.

The silence was shattered, not by a gradual applause, but by an instantaneous, explosive roar that shook the Guild Hall to its very core. It was a sound of pure, unadulterated shock and admiration. People were on their feet, shouting, pointing, their faces a mixture of confusion and elation.

"W-what... what just happened?" the announcer stammered, his professional composure completely gone. "The Volt-fang Panther... is down! The Rock Vole... tricked it! It used the ground itself as a weapon!"

On the field, Jin Kai stared at his broken pet, then at the small, victorious Rock Vole, and finally at Lin Ke, who hadn't moved a muscle. He saw the calm, analytical expression on his opponent's face, and in that moment, he finally understood. He hadn't been defeated by a pet. He had been defeated by a mind that saw the battlefield as a chessboard, and he had been checkmated from the very first move.

The examiner, her own face pale with shock, finally found her voice. She raised her hand, her voice trembling slightly as she made the official call.

"The Volt-fang Panther is unable to battle! The winner of the match, and the new Champion of the Mo City Beast Tamer Qualification Exam... is Lin Ke!"

In the VIP box, while the other executives were still trying to process the impossible turn of events, Chief Proctor Magnus leaned back in his chair. A slow, deeply satisfied smile spread across his face. He had seen past the F-rank pet and the humble exterior. He had seen the mind of a genius at work, and he had been proven right in the most spectacular way imaginable. A new era was beginning.

More Chapters