The guard passed me a dull token and waved me down the hall after he took my silver coin. The hallway was the same as my last visit, which heightened my sense of nostalgia. The transport podiums were in the same place, so I stood on the central one and waited for a few seconds. Before the wait could become awkward, white light appeared and whisked me into the dungeon.

Whilst it might be a nice opportunity to vent my frustration on the wolves, their number and the difficulty of that path was unknown. After a moment of hesitation, I set off down the path under the human sign. At least I had an idea how the difficult my opponents would be.

My mana had recovered to full, so there was no reason to dawdle. The first room opened to me, and before too long a pillar of light appeared at the far side. A single man walked out and lifted his staff towards me. Supporter versus Supporter, one against one.

“Accelerate.”

The speed buff allowed me to close the gap before my enemy could react. I raised my staff above my head and smashed it on him with both hands. He managed to block the hit at the last second before he tumbled to the floor. He looked pitiful, but I wasn’t feeling merciful.

A quick thrust to the head took care of the summoned enemy. His staff dropped to the floor before both it and he turned to smoke. Whilst it had been a quick and easy victory, I didn’t let it go to my head. The patterns and weaknesses of these opponents were well known to me after my last trip here.

The true test would start from the next encounter.

After I had walked into the next room, the door slammed shut behind me. Two pillars of light shone as a pair of staff users stepped out. Before I could make a move, they charged towards me.

“Strengthen.”

“Accelerate.”

I didn’t respond in kind. My Accelerate buff was still active and should last until the end of the boss if it didn’t take too long. My Strengthen buff would help me defeat them for certain. I didn’t want an easy fight, though. This run was to test my ability and skill.

One of them reached me a step before the other. He thrust his staff at my chest like a spear as he sprinted towards me.

A quick tap knocked his weapon to the side before my counter came in to play. My staff paused in mid-strike and swept back to catch him on the side of the head. The leader toppled to the floor, but the slower Supporter dodged to the side to avoid his colleague.

Good try, but still too slow.

I kicked the injured man towards his fellow Supporter. The second enemy wasn’t ready for such a move, so he tripped over him and landed face first before me. Two quick downward thrusts to the back of their heads ended the fight, which left me two of two on flawless victories.

My streak might be ended by the next opponent.

The armoured knight walked out a few seconds after I crossed into the last room. Its feet clunked on the floor as it stepped towards me. The large broadsword in its hand glinted in the light, a subtle hint to the highly sharp edges it held.

“Strengthen.”

Now wasn’t the time to hold back. I walked towards it with careful strides and dragged my staff along the floor. The tip bumped and skittered along the dusty boards until I lifted it into the air once more. I pointed it at the knight’s face as it raised its sword towards me.

I hope it’s as stupid as it seems. I guess this plan will still have some effect even if it works it out.

The ground beneath my feet creaked as I dashed towards the knight. As expected, it swung its sword diagonally across my chest. If the blow hit, it was obvious I would be cut into two perfect pieces.

“Buffed strike!”

My wild blow knocked its sword into the floor at my feet. The blade buried itself to a third of its length in the wooden boards, which gave me the chance to lift my staff and thrust it directly into its face. The knight flinched as my staff connected solidly with its helmet.

But direct damage wasn’t my aim.

My fingers scrambled at the knight's chin as it fought to pull its sword from the ground. The buckle came undone with relative ease, but when I tried to pull the helmet up it barely budged. After a few tries, it became clear my strength was still too weak.

I jumped back to avoid the knight's counter as it pulled its sword into the air. The knight cast about for several seconds in complete confusion. This had been my backup plan in the case where my first attempt failed.

Its visor had been covered in a thin layer of dust, which had stuck to its surface like concrete. I had collected the dirt prior to the fight on the tip of my staff and launched in onto the knight’s face during the first exchange. My Transmutation skill helped me pick it up, then I softened it once more before it hardened again when it came into contact with knight's faceplate.

The cover was thick enough to block its vision, which was a massive advantage. The problem was that it would be quite fragile. A single hit would break it like a piece of pottery, after which my gains would be nullified. If I wanted to take advantage of its blindness, it had to be done quickly.

I dodged past the opposite side from its sword and moved to its back. The knight swung its weapon through the air before it again and again as it shook its head. An intelligent enemy would try to claw the block away, but he wasn’t smart enough for that.

But it would notice if someone tried to pull its helmet off from behind.

That didn’t leave me many targets. The only way to get its helmet off before the timer ran out would be to immobilise the knight. Luckily, I had a plan for that.

I raised my staff and slammed it down on the back of its knee. It wasn’t a blow aimed to damage him but to force my weapon into the joint and down the back of its leg. The knight tried to turn, but it spun me around with it. After my legs reached the floor once again, I braced myself against the knight's back, placed both my hands on my staff, and pushed with all my strength.

“Buffed strike!”

My staff acted as a lever which, with the assistance of my strength, body weight and the abilities power, slowly peeled the metalwork from the back of the knight's leg. It howled in frustration as its armour dropped away to reveal a vulnerable leg from the knee down.

Before I could take advantage of the weak spot I had created, it thrust its elbow back into my chest and knocked me away.

The surprise attack knocked me breathless for several seconds. After I managed to push myself to my feet, the knight had once again turned to face me. The thin cover on its helmet had failed, so it could see me without an issue as it raised its sword defensively.

It was as though it knew about the timer, and it wanted to win the fight by outlasting me.

But my trick had already played its role. I didn’t need to block its vision after I had created an open target. I raised my staff and pointed it towards the knight's head.

The knight, obviously fearful of a second blinding assault, raised its sword in front of its face. To heighten its fears, my staff remained fixed on its face as I charged towards it. The knight raised its sword and swung it down at my head.

I leant to the side and dropped towards the floor. The odd move allowed me to avoid the knight’s vicious strike as my staff moved towards its real target.

The knight's leg snapped back as my staff hit it squarely in the centre. After it lost its balance, the knight dropped to one knee with a thud. It was still alive and angry, but now it was like a beetle that had been turned on its back.

I pulled myself short and used my staff as a break to stop my slide past the knight. It would regain its feet soon, and after that, my chances of victory would drop significantly. Before it could make a move, I leapt behind it and stamped on its unprotected leg. Both my feet slammed into its calf, which knocked it to the floor again.

That worked, but it’s not enough to take it out. Time to test out my knowledge of physics.

I carefully inserted my staff in the ridge between the knight's helmet and its chest plate. It tried to clamp down as it raised its head, but it was too slow. The lower my time was in this dungeon, the better the rewards. I could pound on its helmet for an eternity and maybe fail, or I could remove the obstruction and end the fight with a single blow.

I placed both hands on the staff, closed my eyes and jumped into the air. As my full weight came down on the end of my weapon, I yelled out my ability.

“Buffed strike!”

The knight's helmet flew into the air with a crack. Its face was hidden from view by a hazy blur, but that did little to mask the fury it radiated out it tried to reach back and grab me. I used the knight's back as a prop to pull myself to my feet before I lifted my staff again.

“I win.” I smirked and smacked my staff into the back of its skull with all my strength.