Chapter 10: Last Stage (1)

「Seriously, it’s just unfair patterns from start to finish;;」

「The final stage is supposed to be hard though.」

「How does it make sense for three obstacles to come at once?」

「What even is that drone thing? Looks like you’re f*cked if it hits you.」

Even the chat, which normally joked around about Raidel, had grown rather solemn this time.

The final stage.

Obstacles were said to be randomized, but this final stage was an exception.

Yes, it was still random,

but only the highest-difficulty obstacles would appear in the final stage.

No easy ones.

This was a design choice by the developers, meant to prevent players from clearing the last level easily through luck alone, since all other stages were entirely random.

Still,

“Isn’t this a bit much……?”

Raidel frowned.

Huge rotating buzz saws.

They protruded unpredictably from the walls and floors.

And that wasn’t all.

The floor was lined with booster pads that forcibly increased movement speed.

As a bonus, hovering in the air above the stage,

were tracking drones blinking with red lights.

Rotating saws + speed boosters + tracking drones.

All three obstacles appeared at once.

「……This is insane.」

「Isn’t this just too much?」

「Did the devs just make this to tell us not to play?」

The chat’s reaction was more than justified.

They’d seen plenty of difficult sections so far,

but this wasn’t just hard—it looked physically impossible.

The rotating saws.

The most noticeable were the massive buzz saws.

They jutted out from the floor, and even the walls.

Their movement was completely irregular.

Usually, obstacles had set patterns,

but these ones moved randomly, with no way to predict timing.

To make it worse, their speeds varied wildly.

Some buzzed out slowly, just barely poking out.

Others moved slowly at first, then suddenly lunged forward.

And some burst out in multiples, all at once.

「……Can you even dodge that with just reflexes?」

「You can’t memorize the pattern either.」

Ordinary traps had patterns.

Even if your reflexes weren’t great, you could clear them by memorization.

But not these saws.

You had to rely purely on reaction time—

and they were so fast, that even that didn’t seem possible.

Compared to this, the spiked ball stage or the arrow traps felt merciful.

And then, the speed boosters.

Looking down, you could see speed boosters laid out in regular intervals.

Normally, they helped you move quickly through traps.

But in this situation, they were a curse.

‘If I suddenly speed up, I won’t be able to control my movements.’

To dodge the saws, you had to maneuver carefully.

But the moment you stepped on a booster, you’d be forced to sprint at max speed.

Precision control? Out the window.

You’d have to spot the saws flying by in a blur and avoid them instantly.

And if you didn’t use the boosters…

The tracking drones.

A red light flickered overhead.

Bzzzzzzzz!

Black drones hovered ominously in the air.

At their front, blue sparks crackled menacingly.

「……Those don’t electrocute you, do they?」

「If you get hit, it’s a 10-second stun.」

If you didn’t use the boosters and tried to go slowly,

the tracking drones would shock you from behind.

Get electrocuted, and you’d be paralyzed for 10 seconds.

Ten seconds.

A short moment, sure—but one that would paralyze you in the middle of a death trap full of saws.

Lose control from the stun, and a buzz saw would come flying in to slice you up.

You wouldn’t die—this game didn’t have a game over.

But just like when hit by arrows, you’d be sent flying.

‘Why now, of all times?’

And this was the final stage.

Fall here, and you might have to start over from stage 1.

Silverhair  had pulled off a near-miraculous run to stage 10.

But could such a thing really happen twice?

「……How are you supposed to beat this?」

「You’re definitely getting sent back to square one.」

「I’ve never seen all three obstacles appear at once before.」

「Can a human even beat this section;;」

Even the viewers had never seen a stage with all three traps together.

No one could come up with a way to beat it.

The buzz saws were unpredictable and deadly.

The speed boosters made it worse.

Slow down to avoid it? Shocked by a drone.

This wasn’t just a tough level.

It was designed to be impossible.

「Even Silverhair might have trouble with this.」

「Just dodging the saws seems impossible.」

「But if it’s Silverhair…」

「You never know, right?」

Raidel, the viewers, and Delbung No. 3, standing silently to the side—

everyone’s eyes were fixed on one place.

Silverhair’s character stood silently, watching the trap zone.

Silverhair’s character.

A modestly-made model from an indie game studio,

but for some reason, it looked dignified.

Even its bald head seemed to shine more brightly.

Raidel bit her lip slightly.

Was Silverhair really calculating it all?

The saw timing.

Booster placement.

Drone detection range.

Or was he just like Raidel, frozen in a panic?

“Would it be rude to chat right now…?”

Chatting.

It wasn’t a big deal. No one was going to scold him.

But maybe because of Silverhair’s past performance,

even typing in the chat felt like interrupting a master at work.

Like disturbing a genius at their craft.

「Hey! Don’t disturb the master.」

「Just hop on the carry bus, Delbung…」

「Looks like he’s concentrating. Don’t interrupt.」

Even the chat agreed, so Raidel waited quietly.

“….He didn’t go AFK or something, right?”

After waiting in silence for a while,

Silverhair had still not moved for five minutes.

Had he disconnected?

As a streamer, it would look bad to just keep standing around.

[Raidel: Silverhair, shall we get going soon?]

Maybe he saw Raidel’s message—

because Silverhair’s reply popped up instantly.

[Silverhair Silverhair: Ah, sorry]

[Silverhair Silverhair: I was eating ramen;;]

[Silverhair Silverhair: sry]

[Silverhair Silverhair: I was starving]

「ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ」

「Well, you can’t argue with ramen」

「So human LOL」

「Now I want ramen too」

“He says he was having ramen.”

Raidel chuckled at the anticlimactic answer.

[Raidel: Then go ahead and finish eating. I’ll wait.]

[Silverhair Silverhair: Nah, let’s just go]

[Silverhair Silverhair: I’ll clear it before it gets cold]

「LMAO」

「The confidence……」

「I shall clear this before my ramen cools」

「Silver General LOL」

With that bold statement, another message followed.

[Silverhair Silverhair: Alright, I’ll start now]

---

‘Is it because it’s the final stage? This is a mess.’

I pushed my half-eaten cup ramen aside on my desk.

I would’ve preferred to eat it all before playing,

but in a multiplayer game, that’s not exactly polite.

‘Still, this stage doesn’t seem like it’ll take long.’

Maybe because it was the final stage,

the map was fairly long.

Without boosters, just running to the end would take a while.

‘So they added boosters to speed it up.’

Blue arrows scattered throughout the map.

Clearly boosters—you’d rocket forward the moment you stepped on one.

Using those would cut clear time drastically.

‘Those drones must stun you, huh.’

Drones crackled with electricity in the air.

For now, they were just floating aimlessly.

But once I entered the obstacle zone, they’d pursue me.

Electric traps like those? Almost always meant stun.

Get hit, and you’d freeze up, unable to move.

‘No idea how many seconds the stun is.’

There was no detailed info.

But no matter how long, I had to avoid it.

Lose control, and I’d be buzz saw chow.

“Alright, let’s do this.”

Any more hesitation and the noodles would get soggy.

I didn’t have many left—wanted to enjoy them while they were still good.

[Silverhair Silverhair: I’ll start now then]

[Silverhair Silverhair: I’ll handle the controls for you]

[Silverhair Silverhair: Just stand still and hold the forward key.]

I gave the team simple instructions.

All they had to do was hold the ↑ key.

Since the two of them were chained to me,

I couldn’t pull them along by myself.

[Raidel: Anything I should do?]

[Raidel: I feel bad just getting carried]

[Raidel: Sorry;;]

Unlike the obedient Delbung No. 3,

Raidel seemed genuinely sorry about being carried.

‘Just standing still is helping though….’

That’s what I honestly thought.

But saying it outright felt rude.

He didn’t seem like a bad guy.

So how should I put it?

[Silverhair Silverhair: No no]

[Silverhair Silverhair: Raidel, you’re crucial to this clear too]

[Silverhair Silverhair: You’ve got an important role coming up]

[Raidel: Really?]

[Silverhair Silverhair: Yep, you’ll see soon]