The Goat acting as host and the monsters in the stands seemed completely unaware of the anomaly—or rather, they simply did not care about the friction between the Players.
To the lofty gods, humanity's joys, sorrows, grudges, and feuds were nothing more than farcical entertainment to pass the time.
—Friction was good. Only conflict could stir up trouble, and only trouble was interesting!
The Goat eagerly opened cage after cage and stone door after stone door, inviting the so-called "heroes among humans" onto the circular platform.
The newcomers stood to his left, while the old Players stood to his right.
As the first newcomer to take the stage, Qi Si stood closest to the Goat, discreetly surveying the entire venue.
Ring upon ring of towering stands nearly blocked out the light. At some point, they had become packed with animals, squeezed shoulder to shoulder like trucks headed for a slaughterhouse.
Beneath the stands were rooms where the participants of the beast-fighting game could rest, and below that seemed to be something else...
Qi Si spotted a low iron door, behind which a half-hidden staircase led underground.
Four male players and one female player stepped onto the stage in succession. Their gazes fell, one after another, upon Qi Si and Chang Xu, then swept over the cross and king piece above their heads.
After the Dark Judge Identity Card passed judgment, this Instance's victory conditions had already departed from their original framework.
There were two main quests: [Audience with the Evil God] and [Kill the Sinner Qi Si]. Completing either one would clear the Instance.
The former required surviving a perilous, life-or-death beast-fighting game before one person could earn the right to meet the Evil God and leave alive.
The latter only required killing Qi Si. Everyone else could live, without