Finding weaknesses

For three days, I followed the Knight.

Not too close, careful to stay in the shadows but close enough to watch every move.

It moved like a ghost through these ruins, silent but deadly, every step calculated. It didn't rush. It didn't panic. Just hunted.

At first, I thought it was some invincible force of nature. But the more I observed, the more cracks I saw.

The Knight can't see.

No eyes beneath that helm. None of the usual senses.

Instead, it relied on sound.

Every footstep, every breath I took, every leaf I crushed underfoot was a beacon.

It cocked its head, listening, hunting with its ears.

I tried testing it once. Threw a pebble far off to the right. The Knight froze, then turned sharply toward the noise.

It's mostly blind, but hyper-sensitive to sound.

I made sure to move like a shadow, slow, deliberate, and soft.

I also noticed it wasn't immune to light.

Bright flashes or sudden illumination disoriented it, even if just briefly.

That told me two things:

One, I could use darkness as cover.

Two, sudden bursts of light or noise could be used as distractions.

Its armor was near-impenetrable, but it wasn't invincible. When it swung that massive blade, it left openings.

It was slow to recover after attacks.

And, most importantly, it never fought on its own.

There was always some dark presence watching from the ruins. Something worse.

That scared me more than the Knight ever could.

If I was going to survive, I'd need to use every trick I had.

Keep to the shadows. Attack when it faltered.

And never make a sound.

Because out here, silence was my greatest weapon.

The third night, it stopped moving.

That was new.

It had always patrolled, an endless loop of grim steps through shattered halls and vine-wrapped corridors. But tonight, it stood still at the center of a circular plaza, where seven broken statues surrounded a sunken platform.

It just… waited.

Blade planted in the ground. Head bowed.

Listening.

I stayed tucked behind a half-collapsed arch, eyes locked on the Knight, breath barely moving. My hand hovered near the hilt of Phantom Edge. Just in case.

The silence was thick.

Then—clink.

Its head turned, just a twitch. Toward the far wall. A bird, maybe. Or wind. Whatever it was, the Knight drew its blade slowly, reverently, like it wasn't just metal—it was memory.

I watched closely. Its stance shifted. Not defensive. Not relaxed. Attentive.

I took mental notes.

Weakness #1: Blind. Tracks entirely through sound and vibration.

Weakness #2: Vulnerable for two seconds after heavy strikes.

Weakness #3: Disoriented by light bursts or sonic interference.

Weakness #4: Cannot track airborne movement if silent.

Weakness #5: Never crosses the central shrine, possibly bound to its patrol radius.

I sketched a rough map into the professor's notebook using charcoal and broken rock. Marked its routes, its pause points, and where it seemed most reactive.

Every movement it made told me a little more.

This wasn't a monster.

It was a program.

Bound by purpose, maybe by runes. Maybe something deeper. But it wasn't alive—not the way other things here were.

I needed to test a theory.

I picked up a shard of broken crystal from the ground, one of the glowing ones I'd found near the mana spring. Snapped a strip from my old Silent Lotus robe, wrapped the shard, and tied it to the end of a vine.

Then I waited.

When the Knight turned its back, I spun the crystal into the air and whipped it left.

It hit a wall behind the Knight with a tink, and the flash burst just bright enough to light the whole plaza for half a second.

The Knight reeled, stumbled, swung its blade wide into empty air.

Bingo.

It stood still afterward, like it was waiting for new input. Processing. Resetting.

I smiled. "Got you."

Not invincible. Not even close.

Now I just had to figure out why it was guarding this area.

The platform below its feet... it wasn't just any stone. I saw the runes etched into it. Faint. Ancient.

I'd seen similar ones before. In the professor's notes. I flipped through till I found it.

Gate symbols.

The Knight wasn't patrolling for fun.

It was guarding the exit.

Which meant if I wanted to finish this trial…

…I'd have to fight it.

Or find a way around.

But the smart part of me knew—monsters like this aren't left alive by the Tower for long. They're meant to be tests. Bosses. Gatekeepers.

And sooner or later…

It would come for me.