So the only person that refuses to cave will be a total fool by everyone's definition because they will have to bear the whole burden by themselves, just like he is doing.
This burden is so great that it is difficult for him to take a single step without falling over. He falls over, he won't be able to stand back up. He will have to stay in the ground for the rest of the game.
It is clear to him that he won't be able to achieve anything significant with the repercussions of his defiance pressing down on him all the time. It made him marvel at those who defied the Baron and succeeded at it.
He had read a lot about these special people, but it is after experiencing it himself that he truly appreciates what they managed to pull off. He had also read about the many fools that defied the Baron and failed. The stress on his back trying to break his spine has made him feel sympathy for them.
However, it turned out that the limit of his understanding of the failures will stop at sympathy because he is not a fool like them. It turned out that the burden he is feeling is considered an external force, and it can recharge his Juggernaut's Armament ability.
So the pressure on his spine began to relax as his body straightened. The pressure is still there. It hasn't disappeared at all. But his body has become stronger enough to withstand it.
The only thing that will suffer now is the ground beneath his feet if he steps on it. This is because he has become much heavier than he has the right to be.
He moved his body with ease as he said, "It is a pity that I am hiding most of my ability, or I would be able to bulldoze these fools with Juggernaut's Armament alone."
He popped the bones in his neck and said, "It is not all bad though. I have other cards to play."
His reliance for defying the Baron is not only on Juggernaut's Armament. He has the choice of turning most of his body into bone. This won't solve the problem, but it will keep him from literally caving in.
Then he could charge up his Juggernaut's Armament using external force and strengthen himself. So even if Juggernaut's Armament hadn't solved the problem directly and on its own, he still wouldn't have been helpless.
Now that Juggernaut's Armament has taken the load off of him, he can focus on using his shape-shifting ability to do other things.
First, he pulled off his clothes since the competitors would be able to identify him easily with his clothes. Then he turned himself into another competitor that he has had his eye on for a long time.
This will be the first time that he is changing his physique into that of someone else in front of everyone. His fans and many people have theorized that he was capable of doing it, so they were expecting it somewhat. But they were still blown away when he did it.
Many of his fans screamed at the top of their lungs. They did so to combat the tides of boos that were coming from everyone else. His fans were happy while the others were sad, all because of who he had turned into.
The moderator had been focusing on him right from the start to see how he would fare under the Burden of Respect. He was not disappointed by what he saw.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like Augustus is not all mouth. He truly has some bite to his bark."
He whistled in appreciation. "He is packing a lot of power in that frail form of his, though. Is the shape-shifting ability so great?"
His answer came when he saw Kelvin take off his clothes and turn into the Baron. Gone was the young man that looked identical to another competitor. An old man that looked like another competitor appeared in front of them. It happened so fast that it left them reeling.
The moderator shouted with excitement. "Did you see that? Did you fucking see that? You have to see it."
His shout got everyone's attention. They watched him replay what happened on the screen for two times for emphasis.
They had seen it happen, but they still couldn't believe it because it was faster than they expected.
The moderator couldn't sit still anymore. He was thinking about Kelvin's plan. Everything that he came up with made him bounce with anticipation.
"What do you guys suppose he is up to? I think the competitors are in trouble."
Then he exclaimed. "Wow. Look at him go. Is he even affected by the Burden of Respect at? It looks like the Baron has finally lost his edge."
Kelvin couldn't hear any of these. He was running about baked looking for targets. He was looking for both beasts and humans. But he found a human first.
He shouted to the human as he warned, "Run away. There's a powerful beast back there. It uses fire attack."
The competitor took his warning seriously and ran away. Even though there was some distance between them when they first saw each other, the Baron still caught up to him.
It wasn't a strange thing. The Baron was the strongest, so it is not surprising that he could overtake someone with barely an F-rank. It would also explain how the Baron survived unscathed from an attack that burned his clothes.
This is not the first time this competitor is playing the advancement game. This is their second, so they have accumulated fans and experience. They were knowledgeable and knew a lot about the Baron.
One of the things he knew was that the Baron doesn't kill. The Baron also doesn't do anything to pass the game. The old man only comes to make others fail. So the competitor didn't think there was anything to worry about when the Baron caught up to him.