Chapter 50: The Blind Knight

Reaching the end of the corridor, Kai was met by a large black door.

He stopped before it and drew a slow breath, deciding that this was as good a time as any to use one of his precautions.

’The card you mentioned?’

[Yes, host. You currently have the Knight’s Card available. More can be purchased from the store.]

Kai retrieved the card from his Inventory and examined it.

[Basic Knight Card]

[Rank: E+]

[Host, your endurance will increase slightly, and an invisible armor will help you withstand attacks.]

Well, better than nothing.

The instructions for using it were simple. He only had to press the small card against his forearm.

The moment he did, the card adhered to his skin for a brief second before dissolving into it.

A translucent layer of armor immediately materialized around his torso and arm. It was completely weightless, almost as though it wasn’t there at all. When Kai checked his stats again, he found that his endurance had risen to D-.

That was a welcome addition. Whatever awaited him beyond this door, he had a feeling he would need every advantage he could get.

"Alright. It’s time."

Kai placed both hands against the door and slowly began pushing it open.

"Heavy," he muttered.

The massive door groaned as it scraped against the stone floor, the sound echoing through the corridor. He had barely created a narrow gap when something suddenly shot through the opening.

"Ah!"

Kai reacted on instinct, throwing himself backward.

A clenched fist hung in the space where his face had been a moment earlier.

His heart lurched. He had expected danger, but he hadn’t expected to be attacked before he had even properly entered the room.

Kai stared at the arm for a moment as it slowly withdrew into the darkness beyond the door.

"Crazy... I need to be careful."

He wiped the sweat from his forehead before glancing at the door again. This time, he gripped the handle on the right side and began pulling it open instead.

He kept retreating as the door moved, maintaining as much distance as possible between himself and whatever was waiting on the other side. He wasn’t going to give another surprise attack an easy target.

"I don’t like this darkness at all."

Nothing inside could be seen.

Not the floor or the walls. And definitely not the being lurking within.

Then, something appeared in his vision.

[Stage 2: Act 1]

[Name: The Blind Knight]

[Quest: Defeat the knight while surrounded by darkness. This stage of the ruins does not allow anything that emits light to exist. The host must defeat the warrior in utter darkness to advance.]

"..."

Kai stared at the notification.

This was madness as far as he could see.

No, there was no pun intended.

Clenching his fists, Kai steeled himself and stepped into the room.

The information he had recently absorbed had allowed him to enhance his hearing to a certain extent. It wasn’t enough to give him a clear picture of his surroundings, but at least he could detect movement and tell when something was approaching.

And with the advanced martial arts he had learned, he should have been able to—

Dhak!

"Ghuk!"

A punch slammed squarely into his stomach.

Kai reeled backward, the air driven from his lungs by the impact. Yet he refused to give the knight any time to follow up. Riding the momentum of his retreat, he immediately thrust a front kick toward where he believed his opponent was standing.

It struck nothing but air.

Kai quickly backed away, his body tense as he forced himself to regulate his breathing and suppress the pain spreading through his stomach.

Dhak!

His back struck the wall.

Before he could recover, he heard movement.

"Fuck!"

Kai threw himself to the right.

A heavy bang echoed behind him as something slammed into the wall, followed by the distinct sound of stone cracking under the force. Judging from the height and trajectory, it had most likely been the knight’s knee.

Kai didn’t wait to find out.

He scrambled back to his feet and raised his fists, his muscles tightening as he strained his ears against the suffocating darkness.

He needed to adapt.

Fast.

’What technique would be the best here?’

A sudden shift in the air warned him of another attack.

A punch came straight toward his face.

Kai caught the movement through sound alone. The air seemed to split beneath the force of the incoming strike, and he instinctively tried to retreat.

"Agh!"

He was too slow.

A kick, rather, crashed into his chest, sending him staggering backward. Pain burst through his ribs as his feet scraped against the floor, struggling to keep his balance.

Kai gritted his teeth.

This was difficult.

His opponent had clearly adapted to fighting in complete darkness, while Kai was still trying to understand the battlefield around him. Every movement he made was a reaction, while the knight seemed to move as naturally as if the room were fully illuminated.

For the first time since entering the ruins, Kai understood the true meaning behind the stage’s name.

The darkness wasn’t merely part of the challenge.

It was his enemy’s greatest advantage.

*CLANG*

There was another movement.

Just then, out of desperation, Kai summoned his Inventory to see if there was anything he could use.

The faint blue reflection from the interface illuminated the darkness around him for the briefest moment.

It was enough.

Another punch was already hurtling toward his face.

"Not again."

Kai tilted his head at the last possible moment, letting the fist pass beside his cheek. His hand immediately snapped out and slapped the knight’s arm aside, parrying the attack with enough precision to throw his opponent off balance.

The knight stumbled forward.

Kai seized the opening.

He lunged in, wrapped one hand around the knight’s throat, and drove a heel into the back of his knee.

Doooom!

The knight crashed onto the floor with enough force to make the ground tremble beneath them.

Its armor rattled violently from the impact, but the warrior recovered far quicker than Kai expected. Before he could capitalize on the takedown, the knight twisted its body and wrapped both legs around his neck.

The pressure tightened immediately.

"Tch."

Kai clicked his tongue as the knight’s legs squeezed around his throat, forcing him down onto one knee.

He didn’t panic.

Instead, he regulated his breathing, taking short, controlled breaths to conserve what little air he could while working his way back up.

"You... aren’t..."

His muscles strained as he slowly rose.

"...very... strong..."

By the time he finished speaking, Kai had reached his full height.

The knight was no longer touching the ground.

Its legs slipped free as Kai lifted it completely off the floor, one hand still locked around its throat.

The knight struggled violently, trying to wrench itself free.

Kai tightened his grip.

Then he suddenly burst forward.

He ran at full speed, dragging the knight along with him as the darkness swallowed both figures.

The knight struggled violently in his grasp, its armored fingers clawing at Kai’s wrist as he continued forward.

Kai didn’t slow down.

His footsteps thundered against the stone floor, each stride carrying him closer to the wall. The knight seemed to realize what was coming and thrashed even harder, but Kai’s grip only tightened.

"Got you."

He twisted his body at the last moment and swung the knight with everything he had.

BOOOOM!

The knight’s armored body crashed into the wall.

Stone cracked beneath the impact.

For a moment, everything went silent.

Then the knight’s body slipped from the wall and crashed onto the floor, its armor dented and several pieces of it hanging loose. It twitched once, as though attempting to rise.

Kai stood over it, breathing heavily.

The knight planted one hand against the ground.

It tried to push itself up.

Kai didn’t give it the chance.

He grabbed the back of its armor and lifted it before slamming it into the wall again.

BOOOOM!

A small spiderweb of cracks spread across the stone.

The knight’s body went limp.

Kai held it there for a moment, making certain it wasn’t going to move again, before finally letting go.

The armored warrior collapsed onto the floor with a heavy clang.

Silence returned to the room.

Kai remained still, his chest rising and falling as he caught his breath.

Then the familiar blue glow appeared before his eyes.

[Stage 2: Act 1 has been cleared.]

[The Blind Saint has been defeated.]

[Congratulations, Host.]

Kai stared at the notification through the darkness.

A smile slowly appeared on his face.

"Didn’t last too long."