Brett didn't think that he had enough time to chop through the second arm before Juggernaut’s Drive ran out. At least, not while also finishing it off. But did he really need to? Once it doesn't have arms, I can probably cancel the skill.

Less than a second after coming to that conclusion, Brett slammed one blade into the remaining arm, and the mech yanked its arm back. With the sudden jerk, it was all Brett could do to hold on to the blade, even with his enhanced strength. 

This mech seemed to be slightly more intelligent than the others, and it kept its remaining arm out of his reach. Realizing then he needed to switch up his strategy, he took a step back to examine the contraption.

With his opponent keeping its arm away from Brett's chopping blade, there was an opening. It was hesitant to strike at him while he was in a position to put his full weight and power behind a retaliation. Brett was certain that it would just be his luck if, as soon as he committed elsewhere, the arm would strike. That didn't leave him any options. Not any good ones, anyways. 

Throwing caution to the wind, Brett charged forward again and swung with his left blade into the thing's leg. The sword bit deep, but not deep enough. Sure enough, the arm started to arc toward him. With one blade stuck, it would be hard for him to twist, but this time the arm was moving too. Even with a less-than-full power blow, his free sword slammed right into the gap he had made with his previous strike. It bit in, and with the same twisting motion he used on the first arm, he pried a bit more wood off. 

There wasn't very much of the arm left, but it was still mostly intact. Checking his skill, he saw that he had just under 30 seconds left. This should be enough time. 

Leaving the left sword in the leg, he pivoted to cut at the arm again. The mech kicked him in the side. The metal boot collided with his left shoulder, and he felt his collarbone crumple as he was thrown away from this target. There was surprisingly no pain. Even as he landed on his back and slid, nothing hurt. When he tried to get up, the arm wasn't obeying him, and it was a bit of a struggle. 

The only thing that saved him was the mech being slow. Looking at his shoulder, he could see it glowing through the gaps in the armor. I guess this is as far as the protection goes.

As slow as his opponent was, he still couldn't afford to sit still like an idiot. Moving to the side, he dodged a follow-up kick. Unfortunately, he had chosen the wrong side as there was no arm from him to strike at. That threw him for a second, but then he realized the opportunity. With a well-aimed trust, the blade pierced between a couple of boards into the inner workings of the construct. 

Frantically he moved around while pushing it in and out of the gap, just hoping he was cutting something vital. The damaged arm was having trouble reaching him, and the legs wouldn't kick sideways. As the machine tried to turn and face him, he moved with it. For now, he was safe.

Or so it seemed. The mech realized the futility of trying to reach him and changed its plan. Instead of trying to hit him, it fell towards him, hoping to crush him. The twisting motion ripped the sword from his hand, leaving it stuck in the torso. Jumping aside, Brett barely got out of the way of the falling body.

The thing fell into a heap with a thundering crash, and splinters of wood flew in all directions. Brett just managed to close his eyes in time, and he felt splinters bounce off his face. Quickly checking the skill, only ten seconds left. Brett looked around, extremely conscious of his empty hands. One of his blades was stuck in the side of the mech, and the other was in its leg.

Wait, no it wasn't. The fall had knocked it free. It had slid across the floor a dozen feet on the other side of the mech. The pile of wood started to move, but it was clear that it was having trouble getting up. Brett ran and, with a leap, cleared the pile and dove for his blade. He scooped it up as he slid on the floor. Popping back to his feet, he spun around to find the mech almost to its feet. Its one hand was planted on the floor, levering the rest of its body up. 

Seeing his chance, Brett ran forward, swinging with all his might. The sword smashed into the supporting arm. The wooden contraption snapped, sending the mech back to the floor. Brett stepped back out of the way to look for the next opportunity. 

Without warning, pain exploded in the left half of his body, driving him to his knees in agony. The glow emitting from his arm and side flared, then faded. Brett fought to stay conscious, knowing he would never wake up if he passed out now. With his good arm, he braced himself against the floor while he bit his cheek. With agonizing slowness, the pain abated, and he was able to look up. This is what the skill running out feels like. FUCK! Does breaking a bone hurt this bad, or does it dump all the pain for everything at once?

The armless mech was struggling but still making progress to its feet. Brett moved his foot forward to stand as well, but the movement of his torso sent another wave of nauseating pain through him, and he almost passed out. I'm screwed. Must've broken some ribs too. It was probably from the leap; Brett made a note to remember he could still get hurt with the drive running through him.

Remembering Ravenous’s parting gift, he scrambled to grab it, but it was in the wrong pocket. He reached across his body to fish it out, ignoring the shooting pain. It seemed to be subdued a bit now. Finally getting the healing potion out, he removed the cork with his teeth and downed the liquid. The feeling of bones shifting back into place was rather unpleasant, but the potion dulled the worst of the pain. Picking up his blade, he forced his way back to his feet. 

The armless mech still hadn't managed to stand yet; Brett walked up to it, and with relative ease, he chopped into its damned leg. Without the enhanced strength, the blade only dug so deep. Still, he had time. With half a dozen more swings, and with only one leg, the mechanical construct wasn't any threat. With practiced ease, he slid his sword in, cutting until it stopped moving. 

Retrieving his second sword, he slid them both back into his sheaths before checking his notifications.

Congratulations, you have reached level five! One free stat point is available to allocate.

Base Endurance Increased. 13 -> 15

Skill Level Up.  Juggernaut’s Drive 1 -> 2

"Holy shit! Fucking finally!" Brett cheered. Sure, he had only gotten the skill yesterday, but it felt like he had been waiting for the skill to level up for ages. His own level up was always nice, and two base endurance was something too. 

Ravenous had said that base endurance could only be leveled up to 20 through training. So at fifteen, it was getting pretty close. Checking the stats really quick, he pulled up his window.