If you've tried speedrunning Kickstarter you'll see that no matter what you do, the timer never goes below 3.24 .

This is clearer on the speedrun challenge where you can see that the timer will actually wait until 3.24 to end, even if you've killed both guys at, say, 3.19.

In fact I'm reasonably sure I found a faster route for katana mode there too, and I wanted to see if you guys can duplicate the result. Throw the katana right at the start to kill the red guy coming down at the distance in front of you, and kill the second guy by jumping on his head. You'll see the game will wait a bit before finishing the level at 3.24 .

Is this only happening here?

Is there any rules regarding permanent upgrades? I was very confused as to why I couldn't fly as far or see the thingy with the resistance on the bottom left, and now I realize they're permanent upgrades.

Can you use any/all of those in an attempt?