"Tsk." Joker grimaced and clicked his tongue, "Why didn't that big marshmallow puff up in the water!"
"Come on. Your jealousy is written all over your face." Scarecrow crossed his arms, looking at the surveillance screen in front of him, and couldn't help but sigh, "Batman definitely lives up to his name, he's as fast as if he's seen the answers. As for Superman... the game wouldn't start without him."
"See, I told you we should've electrified the water." Stark crossed his arms, the screen's light reflecting across his silver battle armor in a dazzling array, but his words were chilling.
"We got the size wrong." Mephisto said with a bit of a headache, "Greed, you didn't mention there'd be female players. This distance is too much for an adult male, but women still have a chance to get through."
"No, no, no," Greed said, "This isn't about gender, it's Miss Quinzel's flexibility. If it was someone with a stiffer body, they wouldn't manage either. Also, to hang your entire body's strength on your collarbone requires immense willpower. It's no problem even for a level clear."
"Exactly," Stark nodded, clearly agreeing with Greed, "It looks easy when he does it, but this posture actually requires a lot of strength to pull off, it's tough as hell. Try it yourself and you'll see. But one thing you're right about, we need to adjust the size, maybe make the path behind smaller?"
"No need," Greed said, "Women are smaller, and although they have an advantage in passing narrow obstacles, they lack muscle strength, so it's pretty balanced. No need for forced adjustments."
"Oh, hold on a minute." Jonathan shouted, "What's going on?! Greed! Look at the mess that other you made!"
On the screen, Arrogant was pulling out the iron stake. Seeing this, Greed gasped, quickly pulling out the control panel, and hastily strengthening the power restrictions.
"It's no good, there's no program written for this situation, I'll just have to temporarily lower the power program."
"You've guarded against everything but yourself?" Stark snorted, "Obviously, you left yourself a back door."
"Really, I'm not someone who just swings a fist, am I?"
"Great." Mephisto shook his head, "If you let him continue like this, he'll tear the whole level apart."
"He won't," Greed said while operating, "I'll manually control his power levels, okay? Once this level is over, I'll add restrictions."
"So what's the principle behind this?" Stark rubbed his chin and asked.
"It's complex," Greed said, "You could think of it as pain that stimulates my spirit, releasing muscle limiters. This isn't technically a superpower, as it's a natural human mechanism, and since mental illness isn't within the limits, the restrictor can't limit it."
"So you're having an attack?" Mephisto asked.
"Exactly. The restrictor can limit all superpowers but can't stop a mental breakdown. Otherwise, wouldn't it just be a guaranteed fallback mechanism for high-difficulty levels?"
"Better not," Scarecrow said, "Seeing players go crazy is part of our reward. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't do this job."
"So, others go mad and weaken, but you go mad and get stronger. But since madness isn't restricted, your strength increase isn't either." Mephisto summarized.
"Correct," Greed nodded, "But no worries, I'm watching him. Although manual control has delays, which might give him above-average strength for a time, this level can't be cleared with just super strength. Have some faith in your design."
"Those two mutants were better," Stark said, "They perfectly grasped the essence of our level design, following each step as planned."
"Wait," Scarecrow spoke up again, "What's happening now? Greed!!"
They all turned to the surveillance screen. Lucifer appeared in the water, wings wide, and everyone couldn't hold back.
Stark covered his forehead, "I know he's an angel, but aren't wings considered part of superpowers?"
"Uh, this is Battleworld's first time hosting a natural angel," Greed was a bit embarrassed, "We did a data compatibility check before he entered, but... this is his own..."
"Can he actually fly with those?" Mephisto doubted, "I've never heard of angels flying with wings. What's your take, Iron Man?"
"No way," Stark said firmly, "Where would a human body get the strong enough back muscles to move such large wings? Even if they could flap a few times, it wouldn't lift such a heavy body, or else birds wouldn't have bothered evolving into what they are."
"It's kind of amusing," Joker chuckled, "Reminds me of a swan on a park lake, one that's about to die."
The group burst into laughter. Lucifer's wings indeed looked comical, serving no purpose other than flailing around like a goose stuck in water.
"Wait a minute, what's he planning to do now?" Mephisto gasped, looking at Anatoli, "Is he really going to... hiss..."
Anatoli snapped his collarbone to remove the ring, causing those in front of the screen to wince. Mephisto's mouth almost split to his jaw, and it was the devil among them who had the strongest reaction.
"What a ruthless person," he marveled, "It's a shame he doesn't come often, or I'd definitely ask him if he wants a job in Hell."
"Even if he doesn't come often, you can still ask," Greed said, "If you're afraid you can't reach him, I can introduce you; he loves Hell."
"Really?" Mephisto said with some surprise.
"Yes, he used to spend a long time in Hell and made quite a few decent friends, even sharing drinks with Satan. He'll like you." Greed laughed.
"Hmph." Joker snorted coldly, looking somewhat dissatisfied at the surveillance screen, "The first challenge didn't eliminate anyone, the difficulty still isn't enough."
"You just want us to praise Batman for being too strong, don't you?" Scarecrow had already seen through him.
"But you can't deny, he was the fastest to get through this stage." Joker gestured dramatically.
"Yeah, along with his dear Superman."
Joker's facial expression suddenly darkened again.
"Alright, alright." Greed quickly changed the subject, "Let's look at the second challenge, let's see which unlucky kid will fall for it..."
Stark raised his head high. When Batman found the mechanism on the key and wasn't shocked by the trap in the keyhole, he waved his hand saying, "This is Batman; if he falls for it, then there are no smart people in the world. This doesn't count."
Then Bruce and Arrogant also didn't fall for it. Stark snorted lightly, "That guy is also Batman, so this doesn't count either."
Next were Charles and Erik. Stark gritted his teeth and sighed, "These two just look young, but they're actually over fifty, pretending to be young. They don't count either."
When seeing Thor not falling for it, Stark was genuinely frustrated, "It must be the key's design problem! The mechanism on that key was too easy to spot; it definitely wasn't a flaw in my thinking!"
"It's okay," Greed said, "That trap wasn't fatal anyway, at most just laying around for a while. Its main function was to use electricity to tell them this isn't just a Middle Ages dungeon, otherwise, it wouldn't be fair for deductions."
Stark pouted unconvinced, "If you listen to me, setting an electrified mechanism in the water would definitely perform better. You guys just don't give me room to show off."
"Alright," Greed comforted, "You still have your designed mechanism later, no need to rush this moment."
Only then did Stark mutter quietly and stop speaking. And Scarecrow reminded, "Here it comes, here it comes, my designed challenge."
All groups headed toward the long corridor. And when Batman hadn't walked far and decided to turn back, Scarecrow slapped his forehead, "How did he find out?! Did he really peek at the answers???"
"Otherwise, why isn't anyone Batman's nemesis?" Joker said sarcastically, "You made that corridor like a marathon; if Batman still doesn't notice something unusual, this year will be the twentieth year I visit his grave."
"I also think the corridor shouldn't be that long." Mephisto clearly agreed, "Any slightly smart person would find it suspicious. Even if not that smart, after walking so long, they'd be uneasy and become alert."
"No matter what you say, I'm not going to design those deadly traps without any hints." Scarecrow shook his head, "If it was just a three-meter long corridor, when the water gushes over, no one could react in time. It would turn from a puzzle into a massacre, utterly lacking artistry, I won't do that."
"Don't explain it like that," Greed said, "When they come here, just say it's your conscience."
"No," Joker waved his hand, "When they come here, you all withdraw, I'll face Batman alone. This time, he ought to punch me, right?"
"Isn't this passing method a bit..." Mephisto furrowed his brows deeply, watching Harley and Pamela squeeze through the door's side together, "So far I only see their advantage, should we really adjust the door's size?"
"Don't worry, later there's a challenge testing strength," Greed said.
"Wait," Stark suddenly said, "You guys said that mechanism on the door for those with wings is... oh, it is."
Everyone was speechless about Lucifer's wings triggering the trap. Mephisto wiped his face and said, "I am a devil, I don't have wings, you can't expect me to cover everything."
"You should be the one among us most aware of wings triggering mechanisms," Stark looked at him irritably, "After all, none of us here have horns."
Mephisto sighed and said, "How should I put it, although it only shot the wings, it was effective after all. You guys have done a lot so far, and none truly harmed anyone."
The group was speechless too. These folks are indeed strong; if it were other players, they'd surely be down by now. In the end, besides those broke collarbones themselves, it's just Lucifer, who got shot in the wings, facing a defeat.
"Looks like someone will skip the level again," Scarecrow said, "Batman's group and Lucifer's group didn't even bother to go to the front chamber. Some carefully designed word puzzle went unused."
They all looked at Greed, who shrugged and said, "But at least it stopped Loki's group. It's scary being uncultured."
"They're Vikings; not knowing English is normal, right? Rather, who would've thought the font word means Holy Water Pool or something?" Stark spread his hands and said, "Anyway, if it were me, I couldn't solve it, I'd leave and give a bad review."
"Now you know where those swearing comments in the reviews come from." Greed laughed.