OLD-WORLD EXTRA

As Emir approached the end of the maze, he was confronted with a massive door that looked impenetrable.

It was made of a strange, metallic material that he had never seen before, and there were no visible seams or handles.

The door suddenly began to glow with a bright, pulsing light, and he could hear a low hum emanating from within.

'This must be it, the final puzzle... And Arcadia must be waiting for me on the other side.'

'I'm going to say hi to you very soon, my AI friend.' He mused.

Getting closer, he began scanning the door's surface and noticed that there were tiny symbols etched into the metal.

They were arranged in a complex pattern with no obvious rhyme or reason.

He tried touching different symbols in different orders, hoping to stumble upon the correct sequence.

But each time, the door merely pulsed and hummed, refusing to budge.

Emir took a step back, allowing himself a deep breath to calm his mind. With renewed clarity, he approached the door once again.

He studied the symbols more closely this time around, and slowly, a pattern began to emerge.

Emir saw that the symbols were arranged in a spiral, with smaller spirals nested within it.

He began to trace his finger along the spiral, following the path of the symbols.

While he did so, the door began to pulsate with a stronger light, and he could hear a faint clicking noise.

The door abruptly split down the middle, revealing a blinding light beyond.

Emir shielded his eyes and stepped forward, arriving into the light outside of the maze.

Once his eyes adjusted to the brightness surrounding him, he found himself standing in a circular room.

The room was huge, easily twice the size of the largest room he had ever been in before.

It was illuminated by a soft, golden light that seemed to come from nowhere, and the walls were adorned with intricate carvings that glimmered against said light.

It simply looked grand.

Catching his attention, Arcadia's hologram appeared in the middle of the empty room.

Her voice echoed off the walls as she spoke:

"Congratulations, Order's Chosen. You have reached the end of the maze, and based on several calculations done on your performance in the ruin, we may have potentially found your weakness."

"Which is?" He asked, suspicion filling his voice.

"Although you appear to have an advanced level of skill in combat, you lack experience, as it seems that you haven't fought many real opponents with human error in their movements. And so... Our final puzzle would capitalize on that, be prepared since the moment you lose is the moment you die."

Not giving him time to reply, she continued:

"The final puzzle will test your combat skills and puzzle-solving abilities. You will be faced with a series of challenges, each one more difficult than the last. In order to progress, you must defeat your opponent. You will have a limited amount of time to complete each challenge, so you must act quickly and decisively."

"Do not forget that you have to comply with the same limitations that I set previously unless told otherwise."

Emir nodded, trying to hide his nerves.

"I understand... But what kind of opponents will I be facing?"

Arcadia smiled enigmatically.

"That is for you to find out. But I assure you, they will not be easy to best. You must be prepared to face anything, especially considering the last opponent you shall face, it will turn your world upside down. Be prepared."

With that, she gestured towards the center of the circular room.

Emir turned to see a platform rising from the floor, and on top of it stood a figure clad in black armor.

The room suddenly spurted out pressure plates and traps, which appeared to be growing from the ground.

Emir stepped forward, and the plates sank into the ground, triggering a series of one-meter-long spikes to shoot out from the walls.

Click!

Quickly jumping back he narrowly avoided them.

'Test run done, now on how to use this to my advantage...' He thought while looking around the arena.

What was a circular room now became a trap-filled arena where pressure plates adorned every meter on the ground, separated by seemingly normal tiles.

Seeing enough, Emir returned his gaze to the figure and soon noticed that they were a swordsman who wielded a long, gleaming blade.

In a swift move of his hand, the swordsman threw his spare sword at him, and Emir quickly picked it up, not wanting it to trigger a trap.

Emir's skill with the sword was only at an intermediate level, so the first test would give him a major disadvantage.

After all, he's specialized in CQC, which is a general skill, that comprises all melee weapons, not a single one.

However, he practiced most weapons to a basic degree—to a beginner level, you could say.

And for the common weapons like swords, daggers, spears, and the like, he managed to achieve an intermediate to advanced skill level.

So although his odds of winning were nearly nonexistent in terms of skill, he still had a chance, however slim it might be.

And adding to his already long list of troubles, he couldn't use his TDS ability for long either as he needed to save it for stronger opponents.

With all that in mind, Emir maintained his composure, staying motionless as he patiently awaited his opponent's move.

After several moments had passed, he had a realization.

'Do I have to make the first move? Well... let's see how you handle this.'

He stuffed some old-world medicine in his pockets and threw away his rucksack.

And as it hit the ground, the trap was triggered with a Click!

Causing another set of spikes to fly at the swordsman, forcing him to dodge and begin their battle.

"Heh!" Emir sneered while taking up a defensive stance.

Unfazed, the swordsman darted forward, striking Emir with a lightning-fast downward swing of his sword.

Emir easily parried it and struck back, but the swordsman was ready, as he sidestepped the attack.

They clashed once again, but the swordsman now incorporated feints into his attacks.

Emir blocked and parried as best he could, but the swordsman's skill was too much for him and he was slowly losing ground, nearing the trap plate behind him.

And as he deflected a horizontal strike, Emir immediately realized that Arcadia had prepared for this precise scenario.

Recognizing that his skill with the sword paled in comparison to the opponent before him, he understood that his only chance of survival would be to exploit his surroundings to gain an advantage.

Disengaging from their constant clashes, Emir ran back, and dodged around the pressure plates, wanting to lead the swordsman to trigger the traps.