Hidden at third attempt (meaning 5 seconds time loss to start the run with) – normally I would reset after the second attempt, but for some reason I kept going and ended up with improving WR by 9 seconds.

Which stands to show that the impression that any new WR is near-unbeatable is just that – an impression, and wrong at that – there is still room for improvement, and sub-24 is definitely in the realm of possibilities.

In this run alone, I could have saved 5 seconds at the start by hiding right away, there was at least a reload (4 seconds), temple could have been 3-4 seconds faster at the very least, new strats found by Lance at Uklangor cave could save 2-3 seconds if implemented better, and 5-10 seconds could be shaved off the last caves if nerves didn’t play up causing hands to shake. That’s about 20 seconds.

That said, the RNG gods really kissed this run – I didn’t pick up a single item before the fire ring, so I didn’t have to lose time transferring items, no encounters at all on the way to the fire dungeon and back to the castle, and zero encounters on the way to the last cave and in the jungle.

I did, though get beaten up in the temple, and I feel that if I had more HP entering the last cave, I would have played more relaxed and saved some time. But all in all a solid run if I may say so to myself.