This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/LiseEclaire on 2026-04-18 00:46:00+00:00.
The third class challenge Will went through, after some consideration, was the knight. The crafter was a valid option, but the skills provided were too similar to Will’s reach ability. Also, he was a lot more familiar with the knight and intended to use it as a stepping stone to claim the paladin class.
Standing in the white, mirrored corridor, the boy took a deep breath. It was almost absurd how much his objectives had changed again. Until recently, everyone kept telling him to max out a class as soon as possible, only to be ignored. Looking back, Will still held firm that he had taken the correct approach—skills of various classes complemented each other, providing a clear advantage in battle. He had to admit that normal combinatorics weren’t going to cut it anymore. His current opponents had access to at least as many skills as him, and theirs were a lot more powerful.
“Any advice?” Will looked at a nearby mirror.
[You have set your path]
This was the most ambiguous response Will had seen. Depending on the level of sarcasm, the guide could be complementing him or in complete disapproval of his actions. Whatever the case, only time would tell.
As before, the first few encounters were simple. All opponents up to the fifth floor were expected. Thanks to the basement wolves, Will had busted the level of his knight up to five. He knew all the skills his opponents possessed and was able to counter them without breaking a sweat. It was later that the real fights began.
Remaining few in number, the opponents on floor six had acquired the ability to use a shield in combat. At first glance, the skill didn’t sound particularly powerful. Soon enough, Will saw how wrong he had been. A split second of overconfidence had almost cost him the entire challenge. Having multiple shields swing around as weapons wasn’t something Will had experienced before. Against such a combination of mass and sturdiness, none of his current skills or weapons could come out on top. It was only due to his rogue nature that he managed to leap away fast enough to avoid the edge of a shield by inches. After that, things went back to normal. Using a combination of weapons, Will took down the mannequins one at a time. With each win, the fight became easier and easier until he could even afford a few seconds of rest before finishing the last one off.
The next few floors presented no difference. The opponents’ new skills were more suitable for challenge use. Having the enemies boost their speed through the unburdened agility skill did present a slight hindrance, though nothing as bad as he expected. It was outright scary how quickly one adapted to eternity once they got used to it. No wonder everyone fought so hard to reach the reward phase. More skills and weapons brought victories, which provided even more skills and weapons.
Proceed to floor 9?
Completing this floor will complete the entire challenge. All rewards obtained until they will be granted to you at the start of the next loop.
Another peak. It was tough, but not nearly as much as reaching his first one. Like everything else in eternity, once Will had gone through the motions, his body and mind had gotten used to the restrictions surrounding him. Furthermore, heavy classes seemed to have fewer mannequins facing him. The issue was the knight’s final skill: heart strike—an attack that pierced through pretty much anything. Using it required precise targeting and timing, but once it hit, a fight was virtually over.
A total of nine knights awaited him on the final part of the challenge. Unlike all before, they didn’t start the attack, standing calmly in position, waiting for Will to make the first move.
Breathing heavily from his last fight, Will fought against the adrenaline that urged him to dash forward. Part of him screamed to take on the entire group on his own. The wise, more cautious voice made him take a moment to read the situation. Charging recklessly would only result in several of the mannequins attacking at once. There was a good chance that some, maybe even all, of them would be killed in the process, but that didn’t matter since only one needed to land a lethal strike for Will to have failed.
Maybe I should have gone for paladin, he thought. If the opponent were anything like these, Will would have easily made use of his movement through light and shadows to take them out before they could react. Now he had to think tactically instead.
With nothing to lose, he summoned a bow and shot several arrows at the opponent in the center of the formation. A multitude of shields rose up, blocking the attack. Cracks emerged on several, but none buckled under the pressure.
Will kept on shooting, buying more arrows from the merchant as he did. This wasn’t the fight he had imagined, but if it gave him an advantage, he was ready to keep on doing this until he was out of coins.
More cracks emerged on the mannequins’ shields. Bit by bit, the massive pieces of steel were weakened. Chips flew off, falling to the floor along with the arrows. Then, finally, a single shield shattered. It wasn’t anything spectacular, just the shield splitting in two under the weight of flying bash attacks.
CHARGE
Suddenly, all the knights changed their behavior. No longer willing to wait, they went forward, aiming to crash into Will like a giant tidal wave.
The final strike, Will thought. It was the epitome of the class. Everything was going to be decided in a matter of seconds. He couldn’t help but think that such an action was expected of him. The final challenge wanted to witness him charging forward against all odds, relying only on strength and skill. Even now, part of him was intent on charging forward to meet them half-way. Using his reach ability felt almost shameful in comparison. However, Will wasn’t a knight… not a real one, anyway. This was just the class he was after. The truth was that he was a rogue pursuing many classes, and as it was well known, the rogue always broke the rules.
Lowering his bow slightly, the boy kept on shooting, this time aiming for the floor.
The first few mannequins didn’t expect that, tripping in the shafts that stuck out. The rest instinctively leaped away. That was precisely what Will was aiming for, charging forward.
Three precise strikes and his opponents were reduced by a third. Keeping his momentum, the boy summoned his bow again, aiming at the neck of the nearest knight. His aim wasn’t particularly precise without the archer skills, but he still managed to hit a mannequin’s head after a few tries.
KNIGHT’s BASH
Damage increased by 500%
Skull shattered
Fatal Wound Inflicted
Suspecting what the others would do, Will leaped back. Almost on cue, two mannequins lunged forward, charging to pierce him with a lethal strike. Their failure opened them up for a horizontal slice, sending their heads flying as well.
Three left, Will told himself. The tables had turned once more.
There were many chances for him to finish off the remaining opponents with one decisive attack. Giving in to over-caution, Will chose to keep his distance, using his bow to force them to charge at him instead.
It felt more like slow torture than an honorable knight fight. Yet, a win was a win, regardless of how achieved.
You have made progress
Restarting eternity
One more trial down, one more class permanently acquired. The first thing Will did at the start of the new loop was to instantly exchange his knight tokens to level up to the limit, then his merchant token to acquire the much-valued permanent level. Ironically, the solo challenges had left him with more unique tokens than he needed. Normally, he’d be interested in selling them for something else. As things stood, Will thought it a much better idea to save them up until he needed them.
Will sprinted into the school, heading straight for the basement. The wolves were killed in the blink of an eye, and the level ups obtained just as fast. Then, he went to claim the crafter class. Sadly, that turned out to be a mistake.
Restarting eternity
“Damn it!” Will shouted, causing everyone in the vicinity to turn his way.
Outbursts weren’t particularly rare at school, though they rarely happened this early in the morning. Usually, the jocks were to blame after another mess-up during training or after a match.
That way Will was feeling, he had no intention of stopping there. Before he could add anything else,he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Big ooof, bro?”
As the question was asked, reality around Will froze.
Will didn’t reply. There was no point in admitting he had messed up, losing a class maximization as a result. Of all the classes, he didn’t expect the crafter to be the most difficult to face. If he hadn’t been so overconfident, maybe it wouldn’t have been. Sadly, Will’s ego boost didn’t go at all well with the crafter’s upgrade ability. Up to now, his greatest advantage had been the ability to quickly summon weapons. The crafter mannequins were able to do the same, even if through different means.
Upon completing the seventh floor, the boy realized he couldn’t proceed any further.
“It’s nothing,” he lied. Crafter level seven was still alright. He could always use wolves or tokens to max it out. “Did you talk to the clairvoyant?”
“Sort of. You really got her pissed, bro. It was my job to deal with June. Now that you’ve involved, she has to start a wh...
Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/1soiwrg/time_looped_chapter_251/
