The moment I announced I’d be playing Payton.
• “You’re playing Payton? Kyaaaaah!”
• “We’re doomed.”
• “Lee Jiah’s gaming skills are infamously troll-level.”
• “Sssshhhhit, Mutbyeol nuna, why aren’t you stopping this lunatic!!!”
• “Please just kill me already…”
• “This is going to be a total disaster, ugh.”
My followers went into a complete frenzy.
I hadn’t even started the game yet, and already they were tearing into my intelligence—yeah, that didn’t feel great.
Mr. Payton and the Strange Village is a classic puzzle game that came out before Anomalous Phenomena ever appeared in our world.
It’s one of the few puzzle games that became a massive hit on second-gen handheld consoles, so almost everyone has played it at least once as a kid.
To put it simply—It’s a game for elementary schoolers.
I could’ve picked one of the notoriously hard puzzle games out there, but I had my reasons for picking this baby-tier game.
First, Mr. Payton has recently been trending on the platform I stream on.
Second, if I played some ultra-hard puzzle game and solved everything easily, people might accuse me of pre-studying the answers.
So I chose Mr. Payton.
It’s not insanely hard, but it’s not mind-numbingly easy either—just the right level of difficulty, from what I’ve heard.
At this level, I can make full use of my Wiki Ability without raising too many eyebrows.
Using the Wiki Ability for a puzzle game is basically like copying straight from the answer sheet.
But whatever.
They call it a “supernatural ability” for convenience, but in truth, my Wiki Ability is just a trait of my species, not some power.
I’m just using what I was born with to solve problems—what’s the big deal?
Just like humans use their brains to think,a “fervent follower of the Shining Star” uses her Wiki to get the answers.
So it’s not cheating—it’s actually fair.
Totally fair.
There was one thing that puzzled me, though.
I feel weird saying this myself, but…Back during Ayase’s “Descent into Madness” show, I proved my exceptional intelligence to tens of thousands of viewers.
Okay, I actually just used my Wiki Ability to get the answers, not my brain, but I still think the Wiki counts as part of my smarts.
Surely, the viewers who watch my streams know by now that I’m not a total airhead.
• “Is this a full playthrough?”
• “If she tries to finish it in one go, she’ll die.”
• “240-hour stream incoming.”
• “Isn’t this game for literal kids? Why is everyone freaking out?”
• “You think Mr. Payton is some joke?”
• “You think the game that made dozens of streamers rage-quit is some kiddie trash? LOL.”
• “Kid-tier game trait: stupidly hard.”
• “Kid players trait: stupidly smart.”
• “BIG KID GAME.”
So why, exactly, is everyone already panicking?
How much more do I have to prove myself?
That’s it.
I give up.
Originally, I planned to only use the Wiki Ability when I got stuck.
But thanks to the viewers constantly provoking me, I’ve changed my mind.
‘I…’
Boldly declared:“I’m doing a full clear.”
• “?”
• “Eh?”
• “????????”
• “Whattttttttttt?”
• “Are you insane?”
• “KYAAAAAAAAA”
• “She’s going big!!!!”
• “Alright, let’s gooo, 240-hour stream incoming!!!”
• “One week, no-sleep stream: ON.”
After my last 24-hour stream, I had sworn to never utter the words “full clear” so casually again.
But at least when it comes to puzzle games, I figured it’d be okay to use the term.
I’ll go all in with the Wiki Ability and whip my cult followers back into line.
[Username ㅇㅇ has donated 1,000 won.]
Is there a time limit?
“There’s no real need for a time limit. I’ll clear it completely in three hours.”
• “?”
• “??”
• “???”
• “?????”
“But if I had to set a time limit… I guess six hours sounds reasonable?”
• “Are you serious?”
• “Six hours? LMAO”
• “So you’re just admitting defeat in advance, huh?”
• “Info) Even Ayase, who’s a gaming genius, only managed to beat it in 8 hours.”
• “Oh right, didn’t Ayase play this game recently too?”
• “?”
• “Caught you, you little—!!”
• “Ugh, cheating again?”
• “She totally looked up the answers beforehand…”
“…Just to clarify before we start, I didn’t watch Ayase’s stream.”
No, to be precise, it’s not that I didn’t watch it—I couldn’t.
While Ayase was playing Payton, I was busy having a tentacle party with the portrait of some madwoman dripping with insanity.
So honestly, I don’t really know what this game is all about, or why everyone’s freaking out over it.
All I know is that it’s supposedly a kiddie puzzle game.
That’s it.
[Username Pbangjianim has donated 3,000 won.]
What’ll you do if you fail the full clear?
“I told you, I’m not going to fail. Why is it so hard for people to believe me?”
• “Well… you’re not a person, cult leader. That’s why we don’t believe you.”
• “She’s not human…”
• “If she’s not human, then what is she?”
• “A devoted follower of the Shining Star.”
• “Cerberus.”
• “A three-headed monster.”
• “A dairy cow.”
[User ‘Stop Unfair Criticism Fabrication Lies’ has been kicked by a moderator.]
• “What the…”
• “Whoa.”
• “This crazy bastard, lol.”
• “He couldn’t hold it in and just launched it, lol.”
• “A martyr has fallen, noooo…”
“…”
Living a non-human life is seriously tough.
So tough.
• “No matter how confident you are, there has to be a punishment.”
• “For real, lol. It’s not a full-clear run if there’s no punishment.”
• “Give us a penalty!”
• “Alright, let’s gooo, second half-cam stream!!!”
• “Please do a study stream with your boobs out, nuna… heuuu…”
• “What do you mean, half-cam? She already did that once.”
• “Amateurs, tsk tsk. True fans know you’re only supposed to see a half-cam stream once a year for max effect.”
• “Why is this chat like this, lol? Anyone would think she already failed the challenge.”
• “She did fail, no?”
• “It’s basically confirmed.”
• “I’m from the future. She fails the run and ends up kneeling in apology.”
• “Hey, spoilers!”
• “Mods! Ban the spoiler leaker!!”
The viewers kept going on about punishments.
I reluctantly nodded.
“Agh, fine! Fiiine! If I fail the full clear, I’ll accept a punishment. Happy now?”
I didn’t like how the stream was going according to the viewers’ whims,but this was a matter of pride now.
I couldn’t even be bothered to think about what kind of punishment it’d be.
If I use my Wiki Ability, there’s no way I’ll fail a full clear anyway.
But still, if I do fail…“I’ll spin a roulette.”
***
As with most puzzle games,the beginning was filled with puzzles so easy they made me yawn,so I didn’t even need to use the Wiki Ability.
• “She’s doing better than I thought.”
• “Guess she’s not a total airhead.”
• “As expected of the three-headed VTuber, whoa.”
• “One body, three brains! Running full mental power!”
• “How many puzzles does this game have?”
• “50 problems.”
• “Holy crap, that means she’s almost halfway done already?”
• “She might actually pull off the full clear.”
• “She hasn’t hit that puzzle yet…”
• “When that puzzle shows up, the streamer’s gonna be stuck for at least an hour.”
Once again, the cultists were getting all worked up.
Whether it was that puzzle or whatever, if I used my Wiki Ability, I could solve it in five seconds flat.
Then came the 24th puzzle.
[24th Puzzle]
There are four cubes made of matchsticks.
In the following diagram, move just one matchstick to create three cubes.
“…”
I hesitated a little.
• “You’re stuck, aren’t you?”
• “If you’re already stuck, there’s no hope later.”
• “Facts: Payton really starts from the 25th puzzle…”
It was more of a nonsense question that required creativity.
Seems like now’s the perfect time to use my ability.
[Payton Sensei and the Strange Village – 24th Puzzle: Making Cubes]
1. Overview
The 24th puzzle from the game Payton Sensei and the Strange Village.
2. Details
Someone with a rich imagination might be able to solve it in 10 seconds, but for others, it might take over 30 minutes.
3. Solution (How to Solve)
If you rotate the third matchstick from the top 32 degrees clockwise, three cubes will be formed.
I followed the Wiki’s solution and moved the third matchstick from the top.
Just like that, I successfully turned the four cubes into three.
• “Yooo that was sick!”
• “The official archivist of the Omnia Archive is in top form today.”
• “That knowledge stash though, damn.”
• “She’s solving these faster than expected?”
• “Wait… is she secretly a puzzle game god?”
• “Told you, she’s crazy good at this kind of stuff lol.”
Thank god.
The Wiki’s solution was more detailed than I expected.
If it keeps giving me breakdowns like that, I won’t have to worry about making it to the 50th puzzle.
With that, I kept progressing through the game—and finally came face-to-face with the infamous 25th puzzle.
The identity of the 25th puzzle was…“A maze?”
It was a 3D maze.
• “It’s here.”
• “That bastard showed up.”
• “Mini-boss incoming.”
• “That guy is the weakest among our Four Heavenly Kings.”
• “Streamer’s weakness: 3D.”
• “Cult Leader’s special trait: just plain bad at games.”
• “Lee Jiah’s trait: immediately sucks when anything is 3D.”
At first glance, it looked like a simple, ordinary maze.
But judging by the chat’s panic, there had to be some kind of trick to it.
Right from the start, I activated my Wiki Ability.
[Payton Sensei and the Strange Village – 25th Puzzle: Maze]
1. Overview
This is the 25th puzzle featured in the game Payton Sensei and the Strange Village.
2. Details
Despite being a kiddie game, this maze had a notoriously brutal difficulty that crushed the spirits of many elementary schoolers.
Most notably, in what seems like an intentional design to block the classic trick “just keep going left at each fork and you’ll eventually reach the end,” the maze is filled with cruel traps that send you all the way back to the starting point.
This puzzle is known as the weakest of the “Four Heavenly Kings of Payton Sensei.”
3. Solution (How to Solve)
Although there are a total of 57,352 possible paths from the starting point to the goal, this document only records the shortest route.
[Shortest Route]
Start -> Left -> Right -> Left x3 -> Right x5 -> Left -> Right -> Left -> Right x7 -> Left x4
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
… -> Right x5 -> Left.
“Ah.”
Suddenly, dizziness hit me.
The Wiki’s solution was overwhelming to say the least.
They dare call that a walkthrough?
There’s no way I can follow that.
Even if I could, doing it live would only raise viewers’ suspicions.
• “Thought it was a brain game, huh?”
• “Yeah, it’s not.”
• “Spoiler: Puzzle 35 is…”
• “Hey hey hey don’t say it!”
• “Spoiler bans in effect! Spoiler bans in effect!”
• “Why are you spoiling when she won’t even make it to puzzle 35 anyway?”
Now I finally understood why the viewers freaked out even before I started playing Payton.
They just threw in puzzles like this to artificially stretch out playtime.
Got it.
Still, no matter how brutally difficult, it’s just a maze in the end.
If you just brute-force it, you’ll eventually reach the goal.
This is supposedly the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings.
I’ll beat it within 30 minutes.
…
…
…
And so,After attempting the 25th puzzle.
An hour had passed.
“…Can I cancel my ‘play till I clear’ declaration?”
• Do you think you can?
• As if.
• We’ll consider forgiving you if you do a naked dogeza of defeat.
“…”
Ah.
Is there a hotkey for taking my clothes off?
I’m seriously feeling the urge to do a naked dogeza of utter defeat.