So far, the game had progressed through one-third of its course.
There had initially been thirty-six people on the players' side, but after one-third of the course, only twenty-one players still had the strength to proceed to the second stage.
Of the remaining fifteen, some were too badly injured to continue, while others had been too severely depleted earlier and had been unable to recover.
The player whose bones had all been crushed was actually in relatively good condition, because his injuries were merely physical and would heal quickly with treatment.
However, two players had suffered irreparable psychological trauma. Their Sanity Values had plummeted to rock bottom, leaving them with splitting headaches and even bouts of madness. They had to be tightly bound with ropes, and their chances of recovery were slim.
On the other side, seventy-nine people still had the strength to proceed to the second stage. Their incredibly vigorous vitality and recovery abilities meant that they were all basically still in peak condition.
As for why they were short two people...
"Amitabha."
Mountainside Li pressed his palms together and softly uttered a Buddhist invocation.
"You can kill those Eerie Things?"
Nura drew his gaze back from Flower, who was still staring intently at him, and frowned slightly as he questioned Mountainside Li.
"What exactly are those things?"
He could not help being anxious. As one of the players' strongest representatives, he had been almost completely locked down by the one named Flower. She clung to him like sticky gum, refusing to let go.
He could neither kill her nor shake her off. It was utterly disgusting.
"Alas... they are Ghouls."
Mountainside Li glanced toward Tiger and sighed softly.
"As the saying goes, 'the ghoul serves the tiger.' Those people are existences much like Ghouls."
"Ghouls?"
"Ghouls. When a