Editing The Art of the Blade

{{IB-Level
 |image      = TheArtOfTheBlade.png
 |id         = 82606722
 |creator    = mbed (host)
;Contributors
kr1t, sink, SpKale, [[Subwoofer]], talia, Toomis, and Zoroa
 |verifier   = evie
 |created    = [[Update 2.1]]
 |difficulty = {{ExtremeDemon}}
 |stars      = 10
 |length     = 1m 21s (Long)
 |objects    = 87,778
 |copytype   = Non-copyable
 |downloads  = 174K
 |likes      = 5.4K
 |rating     = Featured
 |artist     = [https://zirconmusic.newgrounds.com/ Zircon]
 |music      = [https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/220359 Bushido Blade]
 |musicid    = 220359
}}
'''The Art of the Blade''' is a [[Update 2.2|2.2]] Extreme Demon mega-collaboration level hosted by mbed, verified by evie and published on 10 August 2022.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSJl4A9eUW4</ref> The level was made for MatMart's 'GD Civilization' event, in which it was the last level standing and the overall winner. It is known for its 62% randomised memory maze, which requires the player to memorise the colours of three specific objects scattered throughout the level.

==Description==
*'''0-8% (sink + talia):''' The Art of the Blade begins with a few precise cube jumps against a background depicting a lake with Mount Fuji. At 6%, the player transitions into a mini-cube and must perform two double full-spike jumps. Blue pads at the end transition the player into the next section.
*'''8-24% (mbed + talia):''' The player becomes a robot and must jump across Shinto gates and invisible platforms. This section requires fast clicking, particularly on specific orbs and during a brief UFO transition at 20%. Just before the end of the section, the player must observe and memorise the colour of the pulse from a Shinto gate.
*'''24-41% (kr1t + talia + Toomis):''' The player becomes a ship, requiring straight-flying and precise control. At 33%, the player must navigate around spinning blades. At 39%, the player switches back to a cube and must hit several blue orbs.
*'''41-62% ([[Subwoofer]] + talia):''' The player becomes a ball and must hit various orbs and land on platforms while avoiding moving shurikens. During this section, the player must look out for a barely visible pixel at the top of the screen, which flashes one of four colours to be memorised. At 52%, magatamas serve as blue orbs; the player must memorise which magatama to hit and which to skip. The section ends with several invisible orbs that must be clicked.
*'''62-73% ([[Subwoofer]] + talia):''' The player enters a randomised memory maze section. The start of the section shows a board with 70 arrows; the player must observe and memorise the colour of the arrow located on the bottom row, third from the left, which pulses in one of four colours. The player then reaches the memory maze itself. The three previously memorised colours correspond to a path; there are 64 path combinations in total. The maze consists of 16 columns, each containing three black circles corresponding to these colours; the player must fly through the correct circles. At the end of the section, black bars close in from the top and bottom as the background turns black.
*'''73-82% (talia + Zoroa):''' The player becomes a wave and must navigate a dark section with D-blocks on certain platforms. The platforms are highly obscured, requiring the player to rely on memory.
*'''82-94% (SpKale + talia + Toomis):''' The player becomes a ball-copter and must control it through a series of tight corridors. Midway, the player also temporarily becomes a spider-copter.
*'''94-100% (SpKale):''' The level's name appears. If the player chose an incorrect path in the memory maze, a wall of spikes will stop them at 98%. If the correct path is taken, the player reaches the end of the level safely.

==Gameplay==
{{VC|w0HV80I0PNE}}

==Trivia==
*The Art of the Blade was rated on 20 August 2022 and placed at #51 on the [[Demonlist (Pointercrate)|Demonlist]] on 18 September 2022, above [[Arctic Lights]] and below Terminux.
**This addition pushed [[Gamma]] into the Extended List and Black Flag into the Legacy List.
*The method most players use to beat The Art of the Blade involves video recording their session playing the level and pausing before the maze. Then they would look back at the recording to identify all three clues for the maze and enter them into a solver that would output the correct path.
**[[Whizkid05]] became the first player to beat The Art of the Blade without pausing.<ref name="Pauseless">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx_7DRkEXRA</ref>
*All pillars in the maze are individually affected by their respective colours, meaning if one of the objects changes colours, it will not affect the other two.<ref name="Pauseless" />
*The Art of the Blade was the final level [[Zoink]] beat to complete the entire Main List on 23 April 2023.

==References==
<references />
[[Category:Demon List levels]]