Chapter 8 Fire Against the Fog
The flames were small at first.
Just a flicker of orange light dancing at the end of the broken branch in Arjun’s hand.
But inside the Whispering Forest, even a small flame looked powerful.
The fog recoiled from it.
Not dramatically. Not like a wall being pushed back. But enough that Arjun noticed.
Enough that the Fog Stalker Commander noticed too.
Its twisted smile slowly faded.
“You disturb the balance,” the creature whispered.
Arjun lifted the burning branch slightly higher.
The fire crackled.
The fog shifted uneasily around them.
Kabir stared at the flame, then at the forest around them.
“…Okay, I think I understand the plan now.”
Meera stood beside Arjun, her bent metal rod held tightly in both hands. Her eyes moved across the mist, tracking the movement of the hidden monsters.
“You’re thinking the fog is more than just cover.”
Arjun nodded.
“It’s connected to them.”
Kabir scratched his head.
“Connected how?”
Arjun glanced at the Commander.
“Every time it moves, the fog moves. Every time it attacks, the fog thickens.”
Meera’s eyes sharpened.
“…Like the fog is feeding them.”
“Exactly.”
The Commander tilted its head slowly.
“You observe well.”
Its claws flexed.
“But observation will not save you.”
The fog surged forward.
Shapes rushed out of the mist.
Fog Stalkers.
Dozens of them.
Kabir cursed under his breath.
“Okay, that’s way more than before!”
Arjun didn’t panic.
His Predator Awareness skill pulsed through his mind.
Hostile presence.
Left.
Right.
Behind.
Every movement in the fog appeared in his senses like ripples in water.
“Stay behind the fire,” Arjun said quickly.
Kabir grabbed a fallen branch and shoved the burning tip from Arjun’s torch against it.
The wood caught slowly.
A second flame appeared.
Kabir grinned.
“Oh yeah. Fire squad.”
The first Fog Stalker lunged.
But the moment it entered the light of the flames—
It hesitated.
Just for a second.
That second was enough.
Meera moved like lightning.
Her rod smashed into the creature’s skull.
The monster collapsed into the dirt.
SYSTEM MESSAGE
Enemy defeated
Experience +5
Kabir’s eyes widened.
“…They hate fire.”
Another Fog Stalker tried to attack from the side.
Arjun stepped forward.
His instincts guided him perfectly.
He swung the burning branch across its chest.
The creature shrieked.
The flames clung to its gray skin like oil.
The monster thrashed wildly before collapsing.
SYSTEM MESSAGE
Enemy defeated
Experience +5
Kabir laughed nervously.
“Okay! Fire definitely works!”
The Commander watched in silence.
Its expression slowly darkened.
“You corrupt the trial.”
Arjun pointed the burning branch toward it.
“No.”
His voice was calm.
“We’re adapting.”
The Commander’s claws tightened.
“Adaptation… is temporary.”
The fog exploded outward.
More Fog Stalkers emerged.
Twenty.
Maybe thirty.
The forest suddenly felt alive with movement.
Kabir swallowed.
“…I think it’s mad.”
Arjun glanced at the timer.
SURVIVAL TIME REMAINING
03:52
Less than four minutes.
But the survival rule had already changed.
They had to defeat the Commander now.
And the Commander clearly wasn’t going down easily.
The monster stepped forward.
The fog swirled around its body like armor.
“You burn my servants,” it whispered.
Its smile returned.
“Then I will burn you.”
It lunged.
Faster than before.
Arjun barely reacted in time.
His instincts screamed.
He ducked as the claw tore through the air above him.
The ground cracked where the strike landed.
Kabir swung his flaming branch.
The Commander slapped it aside effortlessly.
The branch flew into the darkness.
Kabir stumbled backward.
“Okay! That thing doesn’t fear fire!”
Meera stepped forward suddenly.
“Then we burn the forest.”
Both boys looked at her.
“What?” Kabir said.
Meera pointed to the dry leaves scattered across the ground.
“The fog feeds the monsters.”
Her eyes moved to the surrounding trees.
“If we destroy the fog… we destroy its advantage.”
Arjun understood immediately.
Fire spreads fast in dry forests.
Too fast sometimes.
He thrust his torch into a pile of dry leaves.
Flames ignited instantly.
Kabir did the same nearby.
Within seconds the fire began spreading.
The fog recoiled violently.
The Fog Stalker Commander roared.
The sound shook the entire forest.
“You dare!”
The flames spread between the trees.
The fog thinned.
For the first time since entering the forest, the battlefield became visible.
Dozens of Fog Stalkers stumbled out of hiding.
Without the fog, they looked weaker.
Smaller.
Slower.
Kabir grinned.
“Oh yeah… this is happening!”
Arjun charged forward.
His instincts guided every movement.
A Fog Stalker lunged.
He sidestepped and smashed the burning branch into its neck.
The creature collapsed instantly.
SYSTEM MESSAGE
Enemy defeated
Experience +5
Meera fought beside him, striking with perfect precision.
Her movements were calm and efficient.
Kabir swung his flaming weapon wildly, somehow still managing to hit things.
The smaller monsters began falling quickly.
But the Commander remained.
And now its entire body was visible.
Arjun noticed something strange.
Thin lines of fog still connected the creature to the forest floor.
Like roots.
Energy flowing upward.
“Meera!” he shouted.
“I see it,” she replied instantly.
“That’s its source.”
The Commander realized what they were looking at.
Its smile vanished.
“You see too much.”
It raised both arms.
The remaining Fog Stalkers rushed forward in a desperate wave.
Arjun ran straight toward the Commander.
Kabir shouted behind him.
“Arjun are you insane?!”
Maybe.
But he had noticed something important.
The fog roots.
They connected the Commander to the forest.
If those were destroyed—
The creature would weaken.
Arjun leaped over a fallen branch.
A Fog Stalker attacked.
He kicked it aside.
Another lunged.
Meera smashed it away before it could reach him.
Kabir yelled and tackled another monster out of the path.
Arjun reached the Commander.
The creature swung its claw.
Arjun ducked.
The attack missed by centimeters.
His burning branch struck the ground.
Right where the fog roots touched the earth.
The flames spread instantly.
The roots burned.
The Commander screamed.
Not whispered.
Screamed.
The sound echoed through the forest.
The fog collapsed around it.
SYSTEM MESSAGE
Elite enemy weakened
Arjun’s eyes widened.
“It worked!”
The Commander staggered.
Its armor cracked.
The smile on its face finally broke.
And for the first time—
The monster looked afraid.
But the system timer suddenly flashed again.
SURVIVAL TIME REMAINING
00:48
Forty-eight seconds.
Kabir shouted from behind him.
“Arjun! Finish it!”
The Commander raised its claws one final time.
“You… will… be corrected.”
Arjun tightened his grip on the burning branch.
“Not today.”
He stepped forward.
And the final clash of the Whispering Forest began.
If you’re enjoying Karma Tower: The Player Who Returns After Death, keep climbing the tower with Arjun.
Your support and continued reading help this story grow stronger—just like the Karma System itself.
And the next chapter will reveal something shocking…
The Tower has a reward for players who break its rules.
