Erik located his first target without skipping a beat: a robot guard standing a few meters away with his back to him. He closed the gap silently, his footsteps so light that the robot's excellent hearing missed the echoes in the wooden passage. His heart pounded like a hammer, each beat mirroring the countdown to his onslaught.
Erik surged forward when he was near enough. One arm slipped over the guard's waist while the other reached up to clamp a clamp over the steel lips to muffle any possible sound. Erik hardly had time to react before ripping the artificial head from the body and straining its neck.
The fragile wire within shattered with a muted crack. The corpse of the robot guard was carefully dropped onto the cold wooden floor.
Erik wasted no time getting to his feet and heading for his next victim. Another robot's metallic eyes were studying the space ahead, ignorant of its comrade's destiny.
He moved forward with the same quiet precision. The security robot turned around, but it was too late. The young man's hand sprang out, taking a vice-like hold on the robot's neck.
The robot's steel frame twitched in surprise, but Erik remained firm, using his other hand to deliver a quick, powerful punch to its abdomen. The hit generated a shockwave through the robot's body, causing its internal systems to short out quickly.
Erik looked around the passageway to make sure no one spotted him. His assault had been rapid and silent, leaving the other guards in the dark.
Every muscle in his body was hot due to the movement, ready to spring into action at any moment. In this game, he was a shadow, a menacing ghost, expertly traversing the dangerous maze. His objective was within his grasp. He just needed to remain quiet and unseen and continue.
Erik hurriedly carried the corpses upstairs. He then rapidly returned to the lower level down the tiny wooden staircase, his senses heightened, and his gaze concentrated on his surroundings, the dispatched guards out of sight.
He proceeded across the corridor, pausing at each door to inspect its contents. The captive was his aim, but he had to be cautious and watchful. The developers of this test had gone to great lengths to create a convincing atmosphere, even down to the minor details.
Erik noticed this again as he observed the rooms on the higher floor of the building. The first room was filled with haunting quiet, with nothing but bare wooden walls. Erik moved quickly, knowing that time was of the utmost importance.
The next door showed a sparsely furnished bedroom with a wooden bed, a rickety table, and a flickering oil light. Its simplicity seemed almost spooky compared to the intricacy of the task at hand.
There were no hostages or guards, and he checked the other rooms. Further down the path, Erik saw a slightly ajar door exposing a study. The area was dominated by a single desk filled with imitation parchments and quills.
It was a location for a character, a prop in this elaborate performance, but no hostage was kept there.
A storage facility followed, with its shelves piled high with weapons. Under the dark light, swords and spears of all sizes and forms glittered menacingly. A battlefield's worth of gear was kept inside the room.
Erik paused when he heard a whirring sound from one of the rooms, his pulse beating in his chest. Slowly, he peeked through the crack in the door and saw a swarm of robots.
Their mechanical figures remained still, stuck amid a work. They were, however, not his primary interest. Erik walked on, his thoughts racing through the alternatives after ensuring he wasn't discovered.
His movements were silent as he moved along the hallway, door by door, room after room. Each room housed a separate scenario, a piece of this fictitious universe: empty chambers, occupied rooms, storage areas, and dwelling quarters.
A multitude of settings, but no sign of the hostage. Erik stayed attentive throughout, his eyes bright and his actions quick.
He was a predator in an artificial jungle, on the search for a treasure concealed deep inside its bounds. His search was systematic, leaving no space untouched and no avenue unexplored.
Bypassing the last of the inspected rooms, Erik finally allowed himself a moment of reflection. <This was just a waste of time. I know where the hostage is. The fact I could not go there directly is annoying,> the young man thought.
<The entire task was meant to test my thoroughness and my patience.> His eyes flickered to the stairwell leading downward, a well of shadow looming in the dim corridor.
He strolled away from the now-silent rooms; each bore witness to his exhaustive search yet held only the echo of his irritation.
<Even if I knew the result and knew it was all for naught, I had to do it for the sake of this assessment and not to be found out by the spectators outside.> He mused, his thoughts whirling around like leaves caught in a gust of wind.
<They want to see me challenged; they want to see me struggle. That's the entire purpose of this practical test.>
Erik's face stiffened with purpose, and his eyes glowed unbreakable determination. He gave the forlorn upstairs hallway one more look, its doors wide like blank eyes, before turning his attention to the stairway.
His steps were light on the cold wooden floor as he descended, each carrying him further into the building's core. The air became cooler, and the atmosphere became thicker. There was a definite tension in the air, and he could feel the expectation rising. <This is it. This is the floor where the hostage is held.>
His attention was fixed on the way ahead, his senses alerting him to the danger. Despite the ominous atmosphere he plowed into, every muscle tensed in anticipation.
The lowest level of the structure was cloaked in foreboding stillness, the silence further heightening the severity of his task, although guards remained there. This time, considerably more than before, It would be difficult to rescue the captive without being detected.
<I just need to get rid of the guards here and rescue the hostage. Then, this test is finally going to end.>
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