It began with a letter.
Not just a normal letter.
This one was special... it exploded with magic.
The wizard had just opened the mailbox outside his crooked little cottage when the envelope suddenly burst into glowing purple smoke.
"OH—!"
The wizard fell backward into a bush.
Whiskers, sitting calmly on the fence, watched the whole thing.
"Meow."
The purple smoke slowly formed into glowing floating words in the air.
The wizard crawled out of the bush and brushed leaves off his robe.
"Oh good heavens," he muttered. "A magical message that explodes. That's never a bad sign."
He read the floating message out loud.
"Congratulations! You have been invited to participate in the Great Magic Contest, where the greatest wizards from every world gather to compete for the title of World's Greatest Wizard!"
The wizard froze.
His eyes slowly widened.
He grabbed the floating message and read it again.
"…No way."
He read it a third time.
"NO WAY."
He slowly looked down at Whiskers.
"WHISKERS."
The cat blinked.
"Meow?"
The wizard grabbed the cat and lifted him dramatically into the air.
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?!"
Whiskers dangled there like a loaf of bread.
"Meow."
"This is the Great Magic Contest! It only happens every three years!"
The wizard started pacing back and forth across the yard, talking faster and faster.
"The greatest magical minds from every universe gather together in one arena! Ancient sorcerers! Dimensional mages! Wizards who can bend time itself!"
He pointed dramatically at himself.
"And me!"
Whiskers licked his paw.
"I have been preparing for this for YEARS," the wizard continued. "Late nights studying spells! Practicing advanced magic! Learning rare techniques!"
Whiskers rolled his eyes while the wizard ranted.
"Meow."
"…Okay some of those techniques exploded."
Whiskers stared at him.
"But that's not the point!" the wizard said.
He pointed at the sky.
"This is my moment, Whiskers! Finally I get to show the wizard who created this contest what I can do!"
Whiskers flicked his tail.
"Meow."
Later that afternoon…
A glowing blue portal opened in the middle of the wizard's living room.
The wizard stood proudly in his best robe, holding his staff.
Whiskers sat on his shoulder like a tiny supervisor.
"Alright," the wizard said nervously.
"Let's go become the greatest wizard in the universe."
They stepped through the portal.
And arrived inside a massive floating arena in the sky.
Thousands of glowing seats surrounded a giant magical stage.
Portals kept opening around the arena as wizards from other worlds arrived.
The wizard slowly looked around.
"…Oh."
A tall wizard floated past him without touching the ground.
Another wizard walked in wearing armor made of glowing crystals.
One wizard had three heads.
All three heads were arguing.
"Left head says fire magic."
"Right head says ice magic."
Middle head sighed. "I hate both of you."
A robot wizard rolled by on metal wheels.
"BEEP. GREETINGS, FELLOW ORGANIC MAGIC USER."
The wizard gulped.
"…Okay."
Another wizard casually summoned a giant dragon that curled up beside him like a puppy.
The wizard looked at Whiskers.
"…We may be slightly underprepared."
Whiskers yawned.
"Meow."
Suddenly a booming magical voice echoed across the arena.
"WELCOME, WIZARDS!"
A giant glowing wizard appeared above the arena like a magical hologram.
His beard floated dramatically in the air.
"I AM THE FOUNDER OF THE GREAT MAGIC CONTEST!"
The wizard gasped.
"That's him!" he whispered to Whiskers. "That's the wizard who created the contest!"
Other wizards whispered excitedly.
"The Grand Archmage!"
"The creator himself!"
"He invented competitive spellcasting!"
The founder continued proudly.
"For centuries this contest has proven who truly deserves the title of WORLD'S GREATEST WIZARD!"
He raised his staff dramatically.
"Today you will compete in three magical challenges!"
The crowd cheered.
The founder smiled proudly.
"Round One: Spell Accuracy!"
Targets began flying across the arena.
"BEGIN!"
Lightning bolts fired.
Fireballs exploded.
Ice spells shattered targets mid-air.
One wizard snapped his fingers and destroyed ten targets at once.
Another wizard yelled, "BEHOLD MY PERFECT AIM!"
The wizard took a deep breath and raised his staff.
"Okay," he said calmly. "Focus."
He aimed at a flying target.
Just as he was about to cast—
Whiskers spotted a glowing butterfly.
The cat leaped off the wizard's shoulder.
"WHISKERS WAIT—"
The wizard's spell fired.
But it blasted sideways.
It hit another wizard's hat.
POOF.
The hat turned into a chicken.
"WHAT—HEY!" the wizard yelled.
The chicken flapped wildly.
"BAWK!"
Another wizard shouted,
"WHO TURNED MY TARGET INTO CHEESE?!"
A third wizard screamed,
"WHY IS THAT CAT RUNNING THROUGH THE TARGETS?!"
Whiskers chased the butterfly straight through the arena.
"Meow!"
Up above, the founder wizard squinted.
"…Why is there a cat in my contest?"
Round Two began.
"Creature Summoning!" the founder announced.
Wizards began summoning magical creatures.
A giant dragon appeared.
A glowing phoenix soared through the air.
A massive stone golem stomped onto the stage.
One wizard proudly summoned a floating jellyfish made of lightning.
The wizard rubbed his hands together.
"Okay," he said. "This one I practiced."
He began drawing a glowing magic circle on the ground.
"Behold!" he announced.
But before he could finish—
Whiskers jumped directly into the circle.
"MEOW."
The spell exploded.
POOF.
Instead of one magical creature…
A hundred chickens appeared.
The arena instantly filled with clucking.
"BAWK BAWK BAWK!"
Chickens ran everywhere.
A wizard screamed.
"WHY ARE THEY CHASING ME?!"
Another wizard yelled,
"WHO SUMMONED FARM ANIMALS?!"
The wizard stared at the chickens.
"…That was supposed to be a griffin."
High above the arena, the founder wizard looked furious.
His eye twitched.
"…WHO BROUGHT A CAT."
Finally the founder shouted,
"FINAL ROUND!"
"The Grand Magic Display!"
The arena went quiet.
The wizard took a deep breath.
"This is it," he told Whiskers.
"I have been practicing this spell for three years."
He raised his staff.
Lightning began swirling around him.
Energy crackled through the air.
The crowd watched.
"This," he announced dramatically,
"is the greatest spell I have ever created!"
Whiskers jumped onto his hat.
The wizard froze.
"…Whiskers."
The cat sat proudly on top of his head.
"Meow."
The spell fired.
Instead of a beautiful magical display—
The blast shot across the arena and hit the judges.
Suddenly the founder wizard's beard turned into rainbow spaghetti.
It started floating.
The arena went silent.
One wizard whispered,
"…Is that spaghetti?"
Another wizard said,
"I think it's sentient spaghetti."
The founder grabbed his beard.
"THIS IS NOT PART OF THE CONTEST."
Spaghetti floated everywhere.
Chickens ran across the stage.
Two dragons started arguing.
One wizard was still a pumpkin.
The founder wizard finally shouted,
"ENOUGH!"
Thunder cracked across the sky.
"…THE CONTEST IS CANCELLED!"
The arena gasped.
The founder pointed angrily at the wizard.
"And NEXT TIME… LEAVE YOUR CAT AT HOME!"
Five minutes later…
The arena was complete chaos.
Chickens ran everywhere.
A dragon was eating popcorn.
The pumpkin wizard rolled across the floor.
The wizard sat on a broken chair.
"…I waited three years for this."
He looked at Whiskers.
"…for Whiskers to ruin it all?"
Whiskers sat proudly on top of a pile of magical trophies.
"Meow."
The wizard sighed.
"…Next time you're getting a babysitter."
Whiskers knocked a trophy off the pile.
CRASH.
A glowing sign appeared in the sky.
THE GREAT MAGIC CONTEST WILL RETURN IN 3 YEARS
The wizard groaned.
"Perfect."
He looked at Whiskers.
"…I'm now scared the magic contest will never return thanks to you."
Whiskers purred happily.
"Meow."