[Sixth checkpoint completed.]
[Total distance walked: 95 meters.]
[Perception +0.035]
[More checkpoint callbacks added.]
[Checkpoint callbacks remaining: 4.]
Zaen no longer had the strength to celebrate anymore and flopped on the sand. He was beyond tired, and even with just five meters remaining, he didn't want to move.
His entire body was scratched by countless razor-like scars, with blood continuously coming out of them.
Unlike the checkpoint before the mines, the other checkpoints merely saved his progress. They did not undo the damage caused by the obstacles.
To make things worse, the injuries didn't even scab. They remained fresh like he had just gotten them. The blood loss made him weak and unable to concentrate, which made it difficult for him to continue on.
But the scratches were only from the barbed wire section. Which he got through by brute forcing his way using the stick.
After the fifteen meters, the next checkpoint was forty meters away. That's the section where Zaen lost most of his callbacks.
Why?
Because the entire section was filled with sinkholes. One wrong step and he was dragged inside. His lungs were forcefully filled with sand, making him suffocate to death.
As usual, the checkpoints brought him back and emptied his lungs, but it did nothing to make him forget the experience of drowning in sand. He crossed the place by sheer luck, with only two callbacks remaining.
After that, for the next fifteen meters, he had to depend on his hearing because the threat there wasn't from the ground, but the air. It was a lightning field, much like a Tesla coil.
Zaen had to use the subtle noise it made to know when to move and when not to. Any misjudgement was met with thousands of simultaneous lightning strikes frying him up.
Despite clearing the section, his pale skin had turned burned-black almost in its entirety.
Then came one of the easiest obstacle courses. A simple pressure plate puzzle. It was easy because the stick could trigger the traps, and he didn't lose a single callback through it.
Now, it was time for the final stretch.
[Difficulty has been increased.]
[All obstacles spawned.]
[Final checkpoint will become available in: 5 meters.]
"All… of them?"
Five meters.
He could easily jump that distance… if he was in the condition to do it. He could also forget about running as his legs wouldn't allow him to do that.
However, not all was lost.
The moment he looked up, his vision had changed slightly.
"What are… those?"
Small black dots appeared before him. On a hunch, Zaen lifted the stick and gently tossed some sand on the nearest dot, only for an explosion to occur. The dots he saw were land mines!
He quickly opened the status page and noticed his perception had increased quite a bit.
[Perception: 0.84 (↑)]
When did I gain so much…?
Those little increments upon completing each section didn't seem big, but together, they had all culminated in improving his vision quite a bit.
It wasn't just his vision, his other senses had gotten better as well.
The barbed wires were attracting the current from the coils on them. The cackling sound made it easier for him to avoid touching the wires.
Similarly, the sinkholes and pressure plates synergized together. Since sinkholes would automatically trigger the plates, Zaen only had to deal with the pressure plates that weren't triggered.
"It wouldn't be easy, but I can do it with the stick—"
As soon as he said that, more words appeared.
[Player has two minutes to memorize the trap placement.]
[After two minutes, all equipment will be sealed in the inventory.]
At this point, Zaen wasn't even surprised. He could figure out one way to solve the problem, only for another problem to arise.
"Four callbacks, five meters… I can do this."
Crossing the course in one attempt was impossible. Zaen knew that thanks to dying countless times. Instead, it was better to focus on one thing, figure it out, then move to the next.
The easiest problem to deal with was the mine placement. Next were the barbed wire and lightning. As long as he steered clear of it, it would be fine.
This left only the pressure plates.
"I have no way of knowing where they are other than through those sinkholes."
[Time's up.]
[Good luck, player.]
Zaen held on to the stick, hoping he could somehow keep it. However, just as the words mentioned, the stick disappeared, but then reappeared further away at the 100-meter mark.
"…what a sadist."
Dangling the stick before him was just like dangling a carrot before a rabbit. But it only fueled Zaen to do his best.
"Alright… here I go."
***
Sometime later, in the real world.
The night had fallen, but it didn't lessen Aeron's worries. He was afraid that Zaen would disappear again and went to check on him.
"Brother, are you there?" he asked, knocking on the door.
However, there was no reply.
"…brother?"
Aeron didn't wait and opened the door. The room was completely dark, with Zaen nowhere in sight. Alarmed, Aeron reached for the light switch only for a gust of wind to blow past before someone grabbed him from behind.
"EEK!"
Aeron jumped away, startled and ready to throw his mini-fists.
"Woah, easy there, Tyson," Zaen laughed, holding his hands up. "I'm not here to fight."
"What? Where were you?"
"Hiding."
"You're the worst!"
Aeron made a crying face and turned to leave, but then he realized something. He could barely see in the dark. Zaen was blind, yet he found him like it was the most normal thing.
"Brother, can you… see?"
"…I wonder," Zaen replied, staring outside the window.