Chapter 175: Chapter 175 – Betrayal Shall Be Met With Punishment!
Max was about to lose his balance with just a step. He didn't think his 'foot' would move faster, even when he moved at the same pace as before.
"Woah!"
Thankfully, he could regain his balance almost immediately, so he didn't fall. His training in parkour was really used at times like this.
— Huh? What happened?
— Did he just make a mistake?
— Why did he stumble?
— Could it be, the buff? He's not used to it.
— Breeze got f*cked by the buff? Lolol
— So it's not a buff but a nerf for him!
Because he could see the chat got confused, he decided to explain it a little.
"The buff makes my body move faster than I commanded. It's like moving in a 1.5x fast-forward video, if you understand what I mean." He explained, "Not exactly something I like, especially when moving on a thin ledge like this."
While he wanted to focus on the game, he felt like he needed to explain this. No matter what the situation was, he was a guest streamer in the Biozone Monthly Segment, and this game was the one that would be released in the future.
Giving some understanding of the game to the viewers was a part of the job in exchange for the free promotion to more than 500K people he gained. After getting a general understanding of what happened, the viewers expressed their opinions in chat.
Max continued moving on the thin ledge even slower than before. From what he counted, the buff expired in 10 seconds after he touched the orb. Only then did he move normally.
However, Flexy and Evelyn had caught up to him. They seemed to work together to pass the second obstacle. Even now, they still work together to gain balance.
"Wait for us, Breeze! Let me push you off the platform once!" Flexy shouted loudly from behind.
Without looking over, Max responded with a similarly loud voice.
"I refuse! Who is insane enough to stop and get pushed off the platform deliberately? Definitely not me!"
"Goddamn!"
Trailing behind the streamer, Evelyn smiled bitterly. Hope had been drained from her face. She had accepted the fate of acting like a cat for the rest of the podcast.
'I can't win against them… But at least…' She looked at Flexy's back. He was so close to her. 'At least I want to make him struggle.'
Extending her hands, Evelyn grabbed Flexy's back.
"Forgive me." She whispered before pushing him to the side.
"Eh?" Unable to understand what happened, all Flexy could do was stare at Evelyn's face.
He fell into the lava for the second time and reappeared at the start of the third obstacle. He could see the beautiful host's back, which kept moving away from him. A competitive spirit burned inside him as it quickly replaced his anger.
"Fine by me! If that's how you want to play, then let's play!" He ran toward the thin ledge without care.
In no time, he caught up with Evelyn and gently pushed her to the side.
"Aaaah!" The host screamed loudly as she fell into a lava.
Flexy watched her avatar disappear while laughing like a maniac.
"Hahahaha! Take that! Betrayal shall be met with punishment!"
***
While all of that happened, Max had managed to reach the end of the thin ledge. He felt like he could hear Flexy's strange laugh, but he brushed it off, thinking it was probably just his imagination. find more stories on mv|lempyr
"Now then…" He turned to the path he needed to take. There was a tall wall with three wooden doors that seemed like force could break them.
Using his knowledge and common sense, it was easy to guess that only one of them could actually be broken through. It was the kind of obstacle that was designed to slow down the player in the first place.
And then, before the doors, a red orb hovered slowly in the air. It moved in a way that caught people's attention whether they wanted to or not. The question was… Would it be worth it to take the buff?
The speed buff caused him to feel strange. So he hesitated a little.
— Take it and bulldoze through every door!
— Just do it! YOU CAN DO IT!
— Is it choosing from one of the three, or does everything have the same breakpoint?
— I think it's about choosing, only one of the three can be broken
"Red is strength buff. It's probably useful in this obstacle. There should not be a problem taking it."
After deciding, he decided to take the buff. This time, a layer of red light covered his body. There was no change in the feeling, just like earlier. When he moved, there was no discomfort either.
'It's as if nothing had changed.' He thought as he walked to the first door. 'Well, let's try it.'
Because he didn't know how much power was needed to break through the door, he decided to just punch it. The door broke apart into splinters when his fist touched it.
"Huh?" He was pretty surprised. "Did I find the right door on the first try?"
— He's a superhuman
— Lol, he destroyed the door and paused because he didn't think he got the right one.
— He's funny
— I think he should move now. Flexy is getting closer!
The chat was right. Max needed to move now.
He immediately ran at full speed toward the next wall. This time, there were four doors instead of three. He just randomly picked the second one and tackled it.
"Take this!" He shouted to add energy and excitement.
Surprisingly, he destroyed the second door easily too. It broke apart, and he passed through without any problem.
Moving on, the last obstacle was five doors. There was a finish line just right behind that. However, he slowed down more than before because of what lay in front of the wall.
"Are you kidding me?" He said in disbelief. How could he not? What lay in front of him was just absurdness. "What the heck should I do in this case?!"
Spread in his path was yellow orbs. They filled the space, whether it was the ground or the air. If he jumped, he would definitely hit one and trigger a punishment. If it needed to be explained in a simple sentence, it was as if he had just entered a landmine zone with nowhere to pass.
"Developer! This is too much!"
Without any other choice, as there was an important bet in the line, Max increased his speed. He only hoped that the lightning punishment wouldn't befall anyone immediately. However, such a thought was naive of him.
Just when he touched the first yellow orb, a thunderous sound rang from behind.
BAM!
A yellow lightning struck Flexy, who had just finished the third obstacle. An electric current ran through his charred body, slowing his movement.
And when Max touched another yellow orb, another lightning struck with a loud crackle. This time, he was the target. It came suddenly from the sky without any prior notice. But, for some reason, it struck where he stood before and magically escaped it.
At that moment, he realized. The lightning targeted a player's location and only struck in that designated spot. It wasn't a sure-hit punishment.
Grinning, Max increased his speed further as he laughed loudly.
"Hahahahaha! Get rekt, Flexy!"
A thunderous chorus accompanied his evil laugh. The red layer around him dimmed considerably. It was around 20 seconds since he got the strength buff. It seemed like this buff was longer than the speed one.
Still, that was enough. Max just had to get lucky again and choose the correct door. If he was wrong, then he would be damned.
"It's the middle!" He chose while moving at a high speed and triggering the yellow orbs repeatedly. By now, Flexy and Evelyn must've turned into a char already.
And then… he reached the last door and tackled it.