The Three Blessed Kings

Chapter 19: Knot giving up

I opened my eyes,
But yet all I saw,
Was that familiar void.

My head spun for a bit,
But I soon regrouped,
And decided my plan.

The nap was crucial;
I was so exhausted,
And it relaxed me well.

I had kept the time,
And was only out,
For a few minutes at most.

Although I was groggy,
I worked on getting out,
And passing this test.

I observed my situation:
Tied upside down,
And my eyes blindfolded.

Staying conscience payed off,
As that deep breath I took,
Would untie these knots.

By inhaling a lot,
Before getting tied up,
My "weight" was increased.

So when I blew it all out,
The tight rope around me,
Loosened nicely.

My hands were now free,
To release the largest knot,
Which was near my shoulders.

After some slight rope burn,
I had released myself,
But still was hung up.

I took off my blindfold,
And although the room was dim,
The light still hurt.

I squinted my cold eyes,
Until they adjusted,
And the picture cleared.

Through the contained sunlight,
I saw a wood room,
With no furniture.

I was tied in the middle,
Like a sad chandelier.
Quite pathetic.

The dust tickled my nose,
And the faintest noise,
Would erupt an echo.

So I flexed my core,
And sat up in a way,
Where my hands reached my feet.

A few minutes of fidgeting,
And it was done;
I was free at last.

I lowered myself slowly,
As to not make a sound,
While I landed.

This is the first time I've stood up,
In several hours.
It felt off.

Since I had time to spare,
I did my deep stretches,
And filled up my lungs.

My bones creaked and cracked.
Like a marionette,
I was strung back to life.

I was looser than ever,
Though my throat covered in dust,
I felt great.

Now it was time to strike.
My objective being:
Defeating all guards.

Less of a "survival",
And more of a simulation;
I preferred this.

Now to get downstairs.
The door was locked from the outside,
Which would be tough.

But upon rattling the door,
I uncovered,
How loose the chain was.

I could kick it open,
But it would alert the guards,
And I'd be trapped.

A quick turn and I saw,
How beat up the hinges were,
On the wood door.

Without any tools,
I was able to unscrew them,
Straight off the wall.

This building was really old,
And that was my advantage,
In this test.

With the hinges now off,
I picked up the door,
And set it down gently.

The door imprinted on my hands;
Both the dust,
And the splinters I got.

But on the other side,
Bolted on the door,
Was the knife I had chose.

I recalled the rule,
Where you could choose three weapons,
For the survival.

I only wanted my knife,
Which I had previously nicknamed,
"Stone".

This left me with three empty slots,
But regardless,
My decision stayed.

With Stone in my right hand,
And the door taken down,
I went out the room.

Peering down the hall,
I made my footsteps light,
Passing door after door.

Soon I was hiding,
At the top of the stairs,
Listening for clues.

From what I could tell,
There were five men down below,
Each of them were armed.

This fight would be close combat;
The house was too cramped,
For any archers.

But the question was:
Among the five,
Did they have a magic user?

If so, I'd have to rethink.
I still wasn't sure,
What magic could do.

Both offense and defense,
They'd outclass me,
So I remained there to think.

Suddenly I knew,
It was so obvious;
But it'd win me this fight.

I went back to my room,
And grabbed all the rope there;
Every last inch.

Binding it tight to Stone,
I could whip him around,
At great speeds.

My hands on the rope,
He stood on the other end,
Baring his teeth out.

After practicing,
I went back to the stairs.
The time to fight was now.

I couldn't see anyone,
In the front room,
As I crept down the flight.

Skipping the sixth step,
I made it to the first floor,
But it was quiet.

I took a deep breath in,
But right when I would exhale,
I was tapped.

My airflow completely stopped,
As a cold hand rested,
On my shoulder.

I couldn't look over;
My neck was frozen,
But my brow burned with sweat.

"What do we have here?
Taker number thirty-two...?
...Let's see what you got."

Once he had said this,
A shock of mana surged,
Trickled off his fingers.

Note to self:
During my survival test,
They had one magic user.