OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Looking behind him, he saw the swordsman keeping up with his movements, even in his heavy suit of armor.

Switching plans, Emir stopped moving for a moment and quickly rushed at his opponent.

And on the way, he stepped to the side causing spikes to shoot out from the walls behind him.

Click!

Now with a few feet separating them, Emir dropped low on the ground, laying prone as the spikes whooshed above his head.

In a desperate attempt to save himself, the swordsman ran to the side while deflecting all he could.

And somehow, he managed to protect his body from all the spikes Emir sent his way.

However, that didn't matter to Emir, as he wasn't about to let go of the initiative.

Springing back up, Emir unleashed a flurry of quick stabs and used the edge of his sword to deflect any attack that the swordsman threw his way.

His opponent was skilled, but he wasn't prepared for the combination of fighting and puzzle-solving that Emir had thrown at him.

And as the swordsman sidestepped and darted forward, Emir held up his sword to block the attack.

Their swords clashed hard against each other with a resounding clang causing Emir to feel the impact jolt up his arm.

The swordsman followed up with a quick series of flowing strikes, moving too fast for Emir to keep up.

Emir couldn't rival his opponent's speed, as he was not allowed to use his augmented strength, so even in the slight moments where he saw the swordsmen's movements clearly due to his TDS ability, he still had no advantage over him.

Throwing all caution to the wind, he decided to switch up his fighting style with a single thought:

'I need to play dirty; I'm no swordsman.'

So as the swordsman lunged forward again, Emir reacted differently.

He dodged to the side and kicked out, aiming for the swordsman's knee.

His foot connected with a satisfying thud, and the swordsman stumbled back, giving him an opening.

Emir lunged forward, striking him with a fierce overhead blow.

His opponent parried it with ease, but Emir followed up with a quick jab to his side.

The swordsman grunted in pain, and he saw a moment of vulnerability in his eyes.

Emir seized the opportunity and launched a flurry of strikes, targeting his opponent's chest and arms.

Although his adversary managed to block most of them, Emir felt his sword connect with the armor a few times, sending sparks flying.

The swordsman stepped back, appearing to have lost all interest in fighting with swords, and countered with a swift strike to Emir's leg causing him to stumble backwards.

Emir capitalized on the space he created, moving further away and circling his opponent, carefully maintaining a distance.

Then, with a sudden change in stance, he launched another attack.

And as the battle pressed on, he keenly observed the swordsman becoming increasingly aggressive, at times lunging forward without much caution.

Quickly making a decision, Emir planned to use this to his advantage and have another go at trapping his enemy.

With precise movements, Emir deftly deflected the blade aimed at his head, swiftly ducked, and ran towards the nearest wall.

As he stepped on a pressure plate, he swiftly dodged to the side, cleverly leading his opponent into the path of a series of spikes shooting out towards his face.

The swordsman narrowly avoided them but was thrown off balance, finally giving Emir the opening he had been waiting for.

Emir struck at him with a powerful blow, which he managed to parry with his sword.

But as the swordsman did so, Emir still had another opportunity to end their fight once and for all.

Kicking him straight in the chest, the Swordsman staggered back for a moment.

And that was enough time for Emir to throw away his sword at the closet pressure plate.

As the sword hit the ground, the sound that he grew familiar with, rang out, indicating success.

Click!

A set of spikes shot out from the floor beneath his opponent.

The swordsman wasn't quick enough to avoid them this time, and Emir watched as his opponent's armor got impaled by spike after spike, skewering him like a kebab.

'Chance!'

Not even giving the swordsman a moment of respite before death, Emir rushed forward grabbing his opponent's sword, and swung it, lobbing his head off in a clean arc.

It dropped to the ground, without spraying out a single drop of blood.

His headless body remained straight, unmoving, and defeated.

'So it was a cyborg, eh...'

Was the first thought that crossed Emir's mind as he let out a sigh of relief while his eyes kept glancing around the area, waiting for any signal that might show the end of this first test.

Silently, the traps and pressure plates began to mix back into the ground, announcing his success.

And with that, Arcadia appeared once more, some distance away in front of him.

"Good job surviving the first battle, it seems that I miscalculated your capabilities, but no matter, the next one would be sure to end you." She spoke, her voice menacing.

'Is that it? Not even a break? ….More meds it is then.' He inwardly snickered.

"Keep it fair, alright?" He said with a jagged breath.

"Of course, Sir Hunter... You can now use your augmented suit for your next opponent, as it would be impossible for you to win otherwise."

"Now wait for a moment, our cleaning robots will take care of the aftermath, and we will soon begin with your second adversary."

A moment later, three mechanical giants entered the room through a secret door and efficiently cleared away the spikes scattered about, retrieved the two swords, Emir's rucksack, and what was left of the swordsman's body, tidying up the aftermath of the intense battle.

While they did so, Emir took his time to swallow some cheap old-world medicine to alleviate his exhaustion.

As soon as the mechanical giants were done with their task, another figure emerged from the center, rising up from the ground.

The new figure was also a cyborg, but this time armed with what seemed to be an assault rifle of some type.

"How is this fair?! GOD DAMMIT!" Emir screamed out, his eye twitching in frustration.

As if answering his question, the room's ground sank below, leaving him standing on a single platform surrounded by the depths.

Slowly, other platforms began to appear scattered about, dotting the arena.

He let out an exasperated sigh, which almost turned into a chuckle at the end, and bellowed once more:

"DAMN YOU, ARCADIA!"