When only one pillar is remaining, the power of the sound is increased by 200%. Only those who can destroy the pillars from a far distance can destroy this obstacle completely.
The number of players reduced from 4 to 3 after the fifteenth obstacle. As the game went on, that number fell to 2.
In less than 10 minutes of the game, the number of players fell from 76 to 2. There was still 50 minutes left to go. It showed just how difficult this obstacle course was.
The obstacle course didn't get more difficult as time passed. The obstacles changed, but they all tested the same thing, which was survivability and resourcefulness.
Survivability is the ability to survive regardless of the danger and threats to one's life. It is rare because one would need to have no weakness for them to be able to survive various adverse conditions.
Resourcefulness is also a rare quality. Most supers only have abilities that can only cater to a fixed set of scenarios or problems. It is rare that their ability can handle many times of unrelated problems.
Augustus and Mecha Man don't have both of these qualities. But they have one each.
In this game, Augustus is the epitome of survivability. He is what survivability should be advertised as. If someone is to ask what survivability looks like, the answer should be Augustus.
What he can't kill, Augustus can survive. The opposite is true for Mecha Man. What Mecha Man can't survive, he can come up with various ways to kill efficiently and quickly.
The possession of these two qualities by these two men is why these two were the last players in the game.
Mecha Man's performance was not up to par with Augustus as he was left far behind Augustus. In fact, he couldn't even finish the game because he was too slow.
Mecha Man was resourceful, but his resourcefulness needed time to be deployed. He needed time to summon different weapons. Once he is not given time, he will become as good as useless.
So he could only survive up to the 21st obstacle and had to surrender early. Only Augustus remained in the game.
But instead of this failure being used to shame Mecha Man's or downplay his performance, it actually made his performance more dazzling.
Augustus's performance was beyond common sense. Most of the audience didn't understand how he was so good. But Mecha Man's performance was more down-to-earth.
They could see how Mecha Man succeeded. They could also relate to the difficulties he faced and sympathize with his struggles.
He was unlike Augustus, who didn't seem to feel pain. Augustus was just barreling through the obstacles faster and faster with nothing to stop him.
As time went on, the obstacles became more elaborate and more absurd. Even Augustus was finding it difficult to pass. It took longer and longer for him to pass them.
One obstacle involved him crossing the space between two cliffs by shooting stones at a faraway target so that stone steps would rise from below the cliffs.
Then he had to jump onto the stone steps to cross the canyon. This is difficult because the stone steps were small. One tiny misstep and he would fall down and die.
What's more, while standing on the small stone steps, he still had to throw stones at the faraway target so that more stone steps would arise for him to jump onto.
He had to do that again and again until he cross the canyon. There were no enemies to fight him. The obstacle was just a deadly environmental puzzle.
It was a test of balance and accuracy. It wasn't a test that his Solid Material Shifting ability could help with.
His ability wasn't completely useless, though. He was able to create spikes in the soles of his feet that he pierced into the stone steps so that he wouldn't fall while throwing the stones.
The throwing was all on him. His accuracy wasn't bad. But it wasn't great either.
Things were especially bad since he couldn't move his feet or spread them while throwing the stones. Things got worse because he ran out of stones to throw.
He had to return all the way he came from, carry stones on the edge of the cliff, and then jump across the stone steps again.
He didn't need to cross the stone steps while throwing the stones. He could throw the stones from the other edge of the cliff. But he is unlikely to hit the target because it is too far away.
If he wants to narrow the distance between himself and the target, he will have to use the stone steps to get closer to it. And if he runs out of stones to throw, he will have to return to get more stones.
It was a troublesome obstacle. He had to make sure the stones in his hands didn't fall while he was jumping, and he had to make sure he hit the targets accurately.
If he does this, he will gain the full mark. But if he flies over the canyon or uses a shortcut to bypass the danger of the obstacle, he will only gain a third of the game points for the obstacle.
Eventually he managed to cross the obstacle and the two more difficult versions after it. He got full marks for his work.
It wasn't as if he had much of a choice in the matter. Crossing the obstacle completely is the only thing he could do with his Solid Material Shifting ability.
After that, he had to climb a cliff while large boulders rolled down from the top onto him.
The boulders wouldn't kill him because he is sturdy. But they will knock him down from the cliff and force him to start again.
That was his problem with the obstacle. Others would have to worry about not being crushed by the boulders, but he was only concerned about not starting all over.
The goal of the obstacle is to either pass it for a third of the game points or destroy the boulders and pass it for full marks. Unfortunately, he had to be content with just passing it.
He couldn't climb a vertical cliff while also destroying boulders falling on top of him. Even creating more arms to destroy the boulders didn't solve the problem.
Two arms dealt with climbing while the other two dealt with destroying the boulders. But he was still knocked down and had to start again many times.
So he gave up on destroying the boulders and began to avoid them completely in order not to be knocked to the ground. This worked very well thanks to his four arms. He was able to climb across the wall quickly to avoid the boulders and scale it.
Throughout absurd obstacles like this, he was always complaining and cursing. Meanwhile, the black crow was laughing and having a good time at his expense.
Still he continued. As long as an obstacle is not capable of killing him outright, he can find his way across it.
But then he had to pause when he encountered an obstacle that was just a mud swamp. He paused because he sensed danger.
Danger is something he has been sensing a lot recently. But this time, the danger was coming from many sources. So he had to pause to identify them and figure out the best way to pass.
The first thing he did was to put his hand into the swamp to test it. What he noticed immediately was that the mud in the swamp possessed the quality of quicksand.
The whole swamp itself is dangerous because once he steps into it, he will sink into it and drown. That's why the whole swamp is producing the black glow of lethal danger in his vision.
To make matters worse, the swamp is occupied by ferocious crocodiles. These crocodiles are a threat to him too.
The crocodiles are slow, but they have a powerful body and a deadly bite that can crush his metallic body. They can also swim easily in the swamp.
So if he steps into the swamp, he will sink and will be besieged by the crocodiles. It will be double trouble for him.
Actually, the crocodiles are not a problem for him. He could kill them easily if he were on land. The problem is that he won't be able to fight back in the mud.
After making his assessment, he began to review his options.
"I can use Diamond Physique, Life Siphon, Mind Overseer, or Juggernaut's Force. But none of them are good enough."
He has many options to pass this swamp, but they are either not covert enough or they won't help him pass the obstacle.
For example, shape-shifting into his diamond physique will make it impossible for the crocodiles to kill him. But that will link him to some identities that he doesn't want to expose, and it also won't help him pass the obstacle.