Realizing the red powder had no effect on their target, the red figure decided to knock him out physically. Though they would rather not damage the product, if it happened they knew the boss would understand.
Unsheathing two short curved daggers from the back of their cloak, the figure pounced toward Sol. Like a jaguar going in for the kill, they burst at an incredible speed that easily doubled Sol's maximum speed. Just before their daggers entered Sol's shoulder, he used [Counter] to knock back their attack. The blow was easily repelled thanks to his much higher strength, but the counter window it created was nonexistent as the assailant immediately recovered.
The red figure abused their much higher speed to launch more attacks on Sol, and he was unable to [Counter] all of them, taking some minor damage. Luckily, the daggers were barely able to penetrate his skin from the combination of his multiple defensive skills.
After enduring 20 stabs from his opponent, Sol's health still sat at a comfortable 884/1000. There were times Sol took a hit on purpose to guarantee landing one of his attacks, but the assailant easily predicted when he was doing so on purpose and didn't fall for it, easily dodging or using the sand skill to nullify it. Multiple slashes and strikes later, Sol had yet to land one single blow on the red figure, and it was really starting to annoy him.
'Now I know how the Earth Giant Boss from the dungeon felt. I'm going to get poked to death at this rate.'
His health dipped a bit further to below 400, and while he did have [Increased Health Regeneration], the effect wasn't too pronounced to really impact his recovery rate.
Sol took a step back, and the opponent did the same. The red figure's thoughts eluded Sol, so he instead focused on how best to counter his opponent. Currently, Sol's life wasn't at risk from their attacks as they were too weak to really do anything besides light cuts. He could use magic to supplement his attacks, but considering their speed, he doubted any projectile would land. Sol was also unwilling to use any magic but water as he didn't know who was watching, and if these assailants believed he was a greater threat, they would send more skilled assassins after him.
It seemed the red figure was now noticing the little effect their daggers were doing and produced a small murky green vial. They popped it open and poured it on one of their daggers. Obviously, Sol wouldn't let them do as they pleased and approached to stop them before they could continue preparing. The assailant seeing his charge didn't pour the liquid on the other dagger and instead prepared to meet his attack.
Sol's used [Wide Swing], a skill suitable for all weapons to prevent them from sidestepping his attack. The red figure activated the sand skill again, neutralizing his attack, and slashed at his swinging wrist with the coated dagger.
A sharp burning feeling coursed through his arm. It wasn't poison but acid.
"AHH!"
Sol recoiled from the pain and backed away from the enemy.
'This is bad… I just can't land a good hit, if I could just land one clean hit then I can finish it.'
His mind raced as he thought of all his available skills and spells. He was even tempted to use a new spell [Fire Wave] to sweep the area and burn the enemy. But before he could do so he remembered another spell.
'I may not need any other magic. If their body turns into real sand then maybe…'
With a plan in mind, Sol ran at the enemy while casting a spell.
"Enchant my weapon with the strength of a typhoon, [Water Blade]!"
As water gathered on the blade, Sol used [Ground Shrink] to appear next to the red figure. The assailant, having already seen this move before, jumped sideways, perfectly sidestepping his approach. Sol was ready for this as the moment he arrived at his destination, he used [Blurry Steps], a skill he had kept hidden until now, to stay close to the assailant.
With his speed three times faster than before, Sol was able to close the gap quickly and land a [Crippling Blow] on the assailant. The same sand neutralized the damage from the blow, but the water from the blade had a very interesting effect on it. The sand got wet, and the left leg of the red figure was blasted off. Even as the skill that turned the assailant's body to sand deactivated, the leg did not reform.
Balancing themselves on one foot, the red figure could only hop to move, making it much easier for Sol to land attacks. This did not mean the opponent would make it easy for Sol, as even with one leg they could dexterously bob and weave his relatively slow attacks and with no intention to retreat the assailant landed two more attacks with their acidic dagger.
The burning feeling did not spread through his body but instead lingered. While the adrenaline was helping with the pain, it was impossible to ignore it completely. Sol's left wrist, right shoulder, and waist burned as the acid kept eating away at him. Hoping this counted as a status effect, Sol used the Immunizing Belts skill [Status Cleanse], and the painful feeling went away as the consuming acid stopped working, but the damage it had already done couldn't be erased.
Luckily for Sol, the clarity from no longer feeling the burn allowed him to carefully plan his next attack to finish the fight. Wielding his sword with one hand, Sol used [Snap Punch] to force them to activate that sand skill. Then with his sword, he followed up with a [Crippling Blow] on their remaining leg, breaking their ankle. Having no way to stand, the red figure fell onto the ground, and with somehow their face still shadowed by the cloak, turned up to look at him. Sol pointed his sword at their neck to prevent them from trying anything funny. While Sol could finish the assailant here and now, what he wanted wasn't death but answers.
"Surrender. Just tell me who sent you-"
"Oh my… Sandy lost? Hahaha, I can't believe it! I can't wait to tell the others."