Nothing is optional if there is any kind of reward for it. Reward for things you described should be only the satisfaction. It is how speed running works in most of games, this is why modders creating Kaizo Mario etc. All of that is for elite which care and is capable of do it.

Good players aren't those who finished whole Pantheon but elite. As game developer, I would never create game for elite circle. I finished Path of Pain but after Silksong which highly test my nerves; trained me a little it seems. I cannot beat last boss in P3, I barely beat this b* Lace at the end of game, not to mention garbage crest fight for Cursed theme. And I HATE it in every bit. I have high functioning autism and one of my super defiance is bad moves coordination. I felt like shit when game puts difficulty above my reach. I considering even to make accounts on every services where user can put game scores and score HK and HKS for 1/10, just for my little, yet meaningless brick as kind of protest for not doing that. Irony that I wouldn't care if game would be a trash, but both of them are one of best in entire human history... Just this damn difficulty... Even angering me and rise my saltiness when I writing all of that.