On the way to the next chamber, he had to fight three more suits of armor that ambushed him from behind. They weren't too difficult as he found a trick to dealing with them. If he stuck his sword down their open necks, he could get at the fasteners that held the things together much easier. It was almost the same method he used with the guardians. 

Each time he was close to finishing the armor, he activated his skill to train it. Despite that, he still hadn't got it to the second level.

The second guardian was slightly different from the first one. This one had both a shield and a spear. It made the fight take much longer, but the guardian wasn't any smarter, so it was just a matter of time. He wasn't able to cling to its torso because the shield kept knocking him off, which meant he only was able to get at its insides from behind. At one point, he found it best to just put one of his swords away, finding the precision of one was more useful in this case than having two blades.

When the second guardian fell, he didn't get any notification. The progress just jumped to 2/5. Checking over his body, his ribs hurt a bit, but he didn't have any problems moving. So he kept going. 

The third guardian was a bit faster, and the fourth used a mace. Both presented their own issues, but he was able to destroy them the same way. I got to stop going through dungeons without living enemies. Taking apart machines or golems isn't nearly as satisfying as fighting a real enemy. My blades just don't work great against them. Maybe I should start carrying a blunt-force weapon? Brett considered the option as he walked away from the fourth guardian, recovering from the temporary weakness his skill saddled him with.

Even after using it more often, his skill still hadn't leveled. Maybe I'm using it wrong? Brett considered. Do I need to take damage for it to get experience, or do I need to use the skill when it is needed?

After battering his way through the three more sneak attacks by armor suits wielding a variety of weapons, he came across the final guardian. This one didn't have a weapon. It was slightly smaller than the previous four. Instead, it had metal hands and feet. As Brett watched it unfurl, it moved much faster than any of the other ones. 

This might be troublesome. He thought as he closed in. The thing swiped at him with one hand, which he ducked under, but then he had to throw himself to the side to avoid a kick. It can kick! Fuck!

Brett scrambled out of the way of a descending fist that slammed right where he had been a second ago, that clash of metal on stone filling the air. He rolled a couple times before coming up on his feet. Running back a few steps, he tried to put distance between the mech and himself. It didn't let him as it could advance just as fast as he could move backward. 

Swinging one blade at the mech, Brett watched as it blocked instead of just taking the strike like all the others. He stepped forward for a follow-up, hitting the wood and digging a few inches in before prying a large chunk loose. Then he was dancing back, barely keeping out of range of more blows. On the defensive, it was all he could do to move out of the way and chip at the wood of its arms. 

A few times, Brett glanced at the doors, trying to see if he could make a break for it. He was pretty sure he could make it to the exit before it caught him, but he didn't know if he would be able to follow him into the hallway. 

This thing was far too agile for him to get in close and go for its innards. If he wanted to beat it, he would have to chop through its harder arm, which was about 4 inches thick, and do it more than once. Could he activate Juggernaut's Drive to help? Probably not, not yet. Too risky.

Brett fell into the rhythm of the fight, every dodge and duck flowing into the next. Whenever he had an opening, he would strike out at the notch he was digging into each arm. It was slow progress. After minutes of fighting, he was starting to suck air, and he could feel his swings slowing down. A blackness was starting to creep into the edges of his vision. The arm was still two inches thick.

With a roar, Brett started up his skill, and a rush of strength and vitality flooded through his limbs. In a flurry of blows, he chopped at the arm. One, two, three strikes dug deep. All his strength flowed up from his legs and through his hips as he overcommitted to the fourth blow, rotating his whole body through the strike. 

The gamble paid off as the sword cleaved through the arm, the wood splinting as the metal fist fell to the floor. He paid the price, though. The other arm came through, and he just got his other sword up in time to catch the blow. He was not nearly strong enough to block it fully, but he was able to prevent his shoulder from collapsing as the force flung him across the room.

Rolling with the momentum, he sprung to his feet. Checking on his skill, he had about 45 seconds to finish the one-armed opponent.