The Monster is Coming

Chapter 347 The Ultimate Trial, Blind Leap Challenge

Today, the forum's buzz was completely dominated by the news that the "Grinding Masters Group" was about to graduate.

The most influential player on the forum is: Night is Coming.

The most popular live streams were those of the members of the "Grinding Emperors" group.

At this moment, the hashtag "Graduation of the Liver King Group" shot up to the top of the forum's popularity charts like wildfire.

Whether they are veteran players, new players who have recently gained player status, or even reserve players who have been watching the live stream as guests, many of them have witnessed the growth of the hardcore players in the training camp.

During this time, you'll burst into laughter because of the various funny things that happen in the training camp, feel sad because a trainee dies in the trial, and clench your fists and hold your breath with the hardcore team and your comrades when they are in dire straits... It's like a TV series that I've been following for two years.

But now, the story of the "Liver King Group" during the training camp phase is about to come to an end.

This has left many players who have been following the series feeling very reluctant to see it end.

In the forum's discussion area, someone dug up a group photo from two years ago when the hardcore gamers first joined the camp.

Back then, their faces were still lazy, their smiles were still immature, the training camp flag behind them fluttered in the wind, not far away were Ghost Eye and the other four-eyed clansmen with disdain, and further away was the first training camp's head instructor, Kuang Sha, standing in mid-air with his arms crossed.

Looking at the latest group photo now, there are many more faces, and each person's eyes have a sharper, more mature look.

But when they looked at each other, the warmth they shared was no different from two years ago.

The story has continued to this point, and players and viewers watching the live stream all know that it will inevitably come to an end.

Just as the morning mist in the training camp will eventually dissipate, the boss in the adventurer's dungeon will eventually be defeated.

The hunger tactic, the all-nighter tactic, the camp graduation trial... those nights spent staying up with the hardcore group will eventually become starlight in our memories.

There are so many stories worth remembering.

The hunger tactic in the first phase, in particular, is still being revisited by players as a popular TV show.

The live stream rooms of the "Liver King" group members are also where the word "Keep it up" appears most frequently.

This journey was not a smooth and triumphant one.

The audience accompanied the hard-working team through the joys and sorrows of the training camp, watching them grow stronger little by little.

The term "hardcore gamer group" has long been a part of the daily lives of many gamers.

Many players who die and are locked out immediately head to the "Grinding Masters" livestream to watch the drama unfold and see what interesting things are happening there.

Even if nothing happens.

Just watching these brothers together and listening to their banter and jokes is very interesting.

During this time, someone posted a thread on the forum with a simple title: I feel like crying, is the story of the training camp really coming to an end?

The replies below were scrolling by incredibly fast.

Many players expressed their feelings in the post.

The most liked replies were all full of warmth.

"No, they're going to write the next chapter. The story of the training camp has come to an end, but their adventure continues. Our companionship hasn't ended either; it's just a change of scenery. I think they've more like they've jumped out of the beginner village, and we should send them our blessings."

"There is no true end. The perseverance we learned in the training camp, the trust we chose in desperate situations, and the courage we picked up after failure have all flowed into the hearts of every witness along with the years in the live broadcast room. Just like the devilish instructor said, 'The steel that has been tempered will remember the heat of the furnace.' In the training camp, every difficult challenge and every struggle on the verge of despair was like the furnace tempering the steel. And this two-year companionship has also added a warm memory to our hearts."

"I feel reluctant to part ways, but I wish you all the best. The forum feels like a grand farewell to those who have laughed, cried, and complained with me, as they head to a wider battlefield. I also wish to see myself, who once accompanied me in the live stream, embark on a new story. Keep going, Hardcore Team! Stories always come to an end, but the things in the stories will take root and grow in the hearts of everyone who has heard them, like seeds. I wish you a triumphant return."

"When I opened the forum today, my emotions suddenly surged. It was like watching the stars I had been chasing for so long about to go to a more distant place. I was proud of their brilliance, but I couldn't help but miss those nights when I could see them just by looking up. Those days when I laughed because of them, cried because of them, and believed that perseverance would lead to success because of them have long become my badges of honor."

……

At this moment, the hardcore players in the training camp had no idea what was going on.

Their impending graduation became a hot topic on the forum, reaching unprecedented levels of popularity.

Looking back, I can't help but feel emotional.

Initially, with their unsophisticated game IDs like "bricklaying" and "eating dirt," they had only one thought when they first entered the game: to earn high profits through it.

Aside from hunting, they usually just squat outside the newbie village eating canned food, and then argue endlessly in the teammate chat about who should finish off whom.

Back then, who could have imagined that these greenhorns who had only opened one Star Vein Slot would later become the most popular hardcore gaming group in the live stream for years?

And their definition of games changed in the process.

That summer, they accepted the God of Wealth's invitation and embarked on a journey to the Reverse Tide Training Camp.

The journey was not initially viewed favorably by outsiders.

After all, the start was too disastrous.

Every day they were either beaten up or looked down upon with contempt, their words constantly insulting their weakness and suggesting they were unworthy of entering the training camp.

Those with connections should be weeded out as soon as possible, so as not to waste the resources in the training camp.

At the time, there weren't many viewers in the live stream, and most of them thought that the viewers would most likely give up on this hidden mission.

Even they themselves felt that they probably wouldn't be able to hold on for long.

The reason for persisting can be summed up in four words: hidden missions (generous rewards).

Living in the modern world, they have never experienced hardship since childhood, and all kinds of physical labor are done by robots.

They played the game with a purely recreational mindset, yet they felt as if they were living a life worse than death within the game.

Later, they were even deprived of their right to eat, and were beaten black and blue and thrown out of the cafeteria, which made them completely furious.

Although he's a player who works hard to earn money, he still has his own principles.

Li Zheng chose to confront them head-on, and together with his group of good brothers who had followed him for many years, he threw a punch at the powerful Gui Tong and others.

Since we're going to fight, let's first put ourselves in a desperate situation.

Thus, they embarked on a brand new path for players, which is now known as: the "student-style player".

The relationship between him and Gui Tong and others, from enemies to best friends, is a process that even hardcore players find unbelievable.

At first, the only sparks of hatred between them and the other trainees were the clashes of fists.

In the quagmire of the training camp, all they could see was each other's most wretched state, and they longed to pin each other to the ground and beat each other up.

At that time, they considered themselves the chosen ones favored by the player system, and also players who just wanted to slack off, coast through life, and collect rewards.

On the other side are the training camp students led by Ghost Eye, warriors who came with glory, pride, and the desire to become stronger... Two completely different philosophies of survival, destined to be irreconcilable.

Fate, however, forged them together in the cruelest way.

When the blizzard engulfed the entire squad, when the poisonous miasma corroded the last half-pot of spiritual liquid, when the roars of ferocious beasts were close at hand and their life force was exhausted... the once clear boundaries, the warmth passed between backs forced to press together, and the scene of licking each other's wounds in the face of adversity... were all erased.

During the first trial in the snowy mountains, they warmed each other with their body heat. The second trial in the lava purgatory taught them to trust each other's blades... They were no longer just simple rivals. Although they were sharp-tongued with each other, they regarded each other as brothers in their hearts.

Looking back, they were surprised to realize that the punches that had landed on their faces and the taunts that had been uttered years ago had somehow been forged into a bond stronger than any contract.

What is written in the training camp is not a beautiful fairy tale, but a camaraderie forged through countless life-and-death entrustments.

These new generation of warriors, who once looked down on each other, can now laugh and expose their most vulnerable side to each other, and their past confrontations have long since become a laughing matter.

This journey of growth has been witnessed by countless players, who have accompanied them every day.

Together, we witnessed their transformation.

At this moment, the players of the "Grind King" group were browsing forum information in the training camp, moved by the posts of countless players.

But they didn't forget about the preparations to come.

The final trial is about to begin, and they need to check their supplies according to the instructors' requirements.

There are no restrictions on this trial; you can bring all weapons, equipment, and items.

Just like the God of Wealth, who once wore the armor left by his father to participate in the ultimate trial.

Half a day later, the instructors will hold a send-off ceremony for them.

Before that, they had to provide some guarantees for the survival of their training camp brothers who were about to part ways.

Li Zheng prepared 20 bottles of special recovery potions for each of Gui Tong and the others.

This is a considerable expenditure of sacrificial energy, with each bottle of special recovery potion costing as much as 1000 sacrificial energy.

But in the eyes of players like Li Zheng, who are hardcore gamers, their brothers' survival is more important than anything else.

When they delivered the potion to Gui Tong and the others, they accepted it without hesitation, but they still made jokes as they did so.

Especially Ghost Eye, after stuffing the potion into the tactical pouch at his waist, raised his hand and punched Li Zheng in the chest with considerable force:

"When I come back alive, I'll repay you for these medicines, twofold."

Longgen, standing nearby, shook the bottle of special potion in his hand, the bottles clinking together with a crisp sound.
"You're really stingy, only 20 bottles? Who's going to eat that? Give me another 20 bottles!"

While complaining, he pressed the medicine into the inner compartment of the breastplate.

Hearing his brothers' teasing, Li Zheng smiled and a smile appeared on his face.
"Come back alive, all of you. Consider the medicine I gave you as what you owe me. I'll wait for you to come back and pay me back."

"Pah! The word 'owe' doesn't exist in my dictionary. Once you enter my space, everything is mine. I won't give you any potions, but you can take my life..." Before the Bronze Clan student could finish speaking, he was attacked from behind and grabbed by the neck by the person eating dirt.

"Then I'll take your life. Die."

The scene descended into their usual playful banter, but soon fell silent again.

Everyone understood how risky this journey was.

Perhaps some brothers will never return. This is the source of the sorrow in the hearts of Li Zheng and the others.

They can have an infinite margin for error; the worst that can happen is a one-hour resurrection cooldown.

But these brothers who spend every day together only have one life.

"How about we arrange a place? If anyone doesn't come back, the survivors can go to the place where they died and set out a bottle of wine for them?" a member of the Ghost Wind Clan suggested in a low voice.

"You're such a jinx."

"Palm mouth."

No sooner had he spoken than the Ghost Wind Clan student was surrounded and beaten to the ground by a group of burly men.

"By the way, brothers, let's stand together and take a group photo," the family-sharing godfather suddenly suggested.

What does "group photo" mean?

"I'm too lazy to explain to you, just do as I say."

"You player race people always have so many fuss. Hurry up and finish this, I still need to prepare the items."

The wind picked up again, whipping up the sand and gravel from the training ground, which clattered against the armor.

Following the family's request to share their adoptive father, the group of brothers tacitly moved closer to the center, shoulder to shoulder.

They all knew that the journey was fraught with danger, but as long as they thought of their brothers who had promised to meet again after the trial, they would step forward even if it meant facing mountains of knives and seas of fire.

Deep in the hearts of hardcore gamers.

Some concerns are more important than pure interests; though it is a virtual world, they are more real than reality.

The perspective of family sharing and the guidance of the godfather is broadened.

In the live stream, the trainees were huddled together, shoulder to shoulder. The sharp edges of their armor gleamed coldly in the sunlight, but each person's slight tilt of their head revealed a rare softness.

Some trainees were pulling on the helmet straps of the people next to them, some trainees looked puzzled and followed suit with a peace sign, and some trainees deliberately hid their faces from the camera, but were pulled back by the collar by the family sharing behind them.

Li Zheng stood in the middle, grinning from ear to ear, Gui Tong turned his face away with a look of disgust, and Long Gen tiptoed closer to the camera... The wind lifted the corners of their clothes, swirling the wild grass at the edge of the training field across the lens, like adding a fuzzy edge to the photo.

Click!

There was no real shutter sound.

But every player in the live stream who saw this photo seemed to hear the soft sound of time freezing in time.

The photo has no perfect composition, no exquisite background, only a group of warriors about to embark on an unknown journey, using the most clumsy poses to etch each other's images into the finale of this long adventure.

……

The next day, at Rift Throat Valley.

The fifth training camp against the tide, graduation farewell party.

A fierce wind howled as hundreds of thousands of trainees, clad in armor, stood in formation atop the precipice, a dark, imposing jungle of steel.

Beneath their feet lay an endless abyss, where mist churned and the faint roars of unknown ferocious beasts could be heard, as if they were waiting for the flesh and blood of those who fell.

At the front of the formation, the instructor, nicknamed "Magic Shield," stood with his hands behind his back, suspended in mid-air.

He was as tall and imposing as an iron tower, with three claw marks across his face. His gaze swept over the students present, and his voice was deep and rumbling like thunder, which silenced the entire Rift Throat Valley.

"Today, you will step out of the training camp and plunge into the unknown."

"Before we part, I want to tell you that a warrior's strongest weapon is not his body, not his armor, and not his martial arts." He suddenly clenched his five fingers, and the energy in his palm transformed into a sky full of black mist, enveloping the entire valley.

"A warrior's strongest weapon is his unwavering courage."

Within the black mist, the voice of the magic shield, like a whisper from the underworld, echoed in the ears of every student:

"You all know very well that in this world, there are no certainties, only variables."

"Your enemies are never fixed opponents; you may face an even stronger challenge at any moment... And what you can rely on is never experience or intelligence, but the courage to face the unknown."

The magic shield's eyes blazed like torches, staring directly at everyone:

"Today, you will fall into the abyss. No one knows where you will end up. It may be a swamp of putrid poison, a lava inferno, or some unrecorded wasteland. Only those who survive and bring back the spoils will be true warriors."

“If I die…” He grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth:

"That proves that you are nothing special."

"You might think that you're just unlucky to be in a desperate situation, but the ultimate test for a warrior is the courage to face the unknown."

After he finished speaking, the evil wind in the valley suddenly surged violently, turning into countless fragmented images that flashed before the students' eyes.

Someone, facing a desperate situation and battling through a torrential downpour, managed to smash the head of an invisible beast and escape death.

Someone slipped and fell into a crevasse, where they stumbled upon armor left behind by a powerful clan that had been sealed away for thousands of years.

Some people even exhausted their energy in dire straits, only to be swept to safety by a sudden gust of wind, escaping with a close call.

Countless scenes flashed by in an instant, leaving only the students' rapid breathing.

"Every inch of soil in the monster world breathes, every gust of wind carries a hidden variable." The magic shield's voice suddenly rose, causing boulders to tumble down from the cliff edge.

"The blocking, prediction, and blood circulation techniques you learn in the training camp may not be applicable on the battlefield. The enemy will not play by the rules of the tactical manual, and even the ground beneath your feet may turn into a giant mouth that devours you in the next second."

"The luck you talk about is never a fair thing. When you're struggling in a swamp, choking on poisonous water, luck might be a piece of rotten wood that helps you escape. When you're being hunted by a ferocious beast in a thunderstorm, luck might be the lightning that strikes you... What I want to tell you is that when facing the unknown, you shouldn't pray for good luck to come, but rather, when misfortune strikes, you should dare to bare your fangs in the face of it."

The magic shield's gaze swept across the tense young faces:
"When you wake up in completely unfamiliar territory, when your arms are broken, your blood and energy are exhausted, and all you can hear are the roars of powerful enemies, what keeps you alive is not any of the moves taught in the training camp, but the courage to take the first step in the darkness."

"The truth of this world is that there are no eternal rules, only eternal unknowns."

The final roar of the magic shield, mixed with primordial evil energy, soared into the sky:

"Remember, the Blind Leap Trial is the beginning of your true becoming of warriors. Only when you can find your way in the unknown and carve out a path to survival in absolute despair do you deserve to be called warriors. And a true warrior must have the ferocity to cut through even misfortune. So-called luck can also be the sparks that your courage ignites in the darkness."

After speaking, the magic shield raised its hand and pointed, and instantly the shuttle pods lined up in the distance opened one after another. Its tone also changed accordingly:
"In the next blind jump phase, your landing locations will mainly fall into three categories."

"The first one is the Black Tide Node, which is generally the area occupied by the newly arrived evil spirit warriors. You are sent to this area, and what you need to do is collect enough evil crystals, complete the trial challenge, and then use the runes on your bodies to summon the examiner to complete the trial."

"Secondly, the areas inhabited by ferocious beasts are generally inhabited by powerful monsters. You have enough prey to obtain the necessary credentials to complete the assessment."

"Thirdly, prehistoric ruins. These areas are very complex. There may be pet beasts left behind by powerful prehistoric races, as well as a large number of monsters and various traps. You will also need to hunt enough prey there to complete the assessment."

At this point, Magic Shield's tone softened:

"Finally, I wish you success in beheading the evil spirit at the Black Tide node and tearing apart the entrails of the giant beast deep in the wilderness, so that I may witness with my own eyes that your bones and blood are harder than the stubborn rocks of millions of years, and your sharpness is more fierce than the evil wind of the Rift Throat Cliff."

It clenched its fist, its knuckles cracking, and its suspended form suddenly erupted with blinding energy patterns, echoing the engine beams of the distant shuttle:

"Don't think about leaving yourself a way out. The bloody path you've carved out is the way out. Don't worry about reinforcements. Your courage is the reinforcement of your own strength."

The howling wind swept past the ears of every student, and the once tense young faces were now ablaze with intense heat.

"When you return from the mist with your spoils, I will personally carve your glorious names on the stone tablet in Riftthroat Valley."

With a sudden wave of his hand, the doors of the neatly arranged shuttle pods in the distance emitted a heavy metallic roar, and the eerie blue beams of light emanating from inside the pods pierced through the mist like sharp swords.

"Go and fight! Survive! With your courage, leave something memorable for this land you once lived on, so that your people and future generations can be proud of you."

As Instructor Magic Shield's final lesson ended, all the students roared against the fierce wind.

The roars of hundreds of thousands of trainees coalesced into a powerful force in the fierce wind, like a battle song soaring into the sky, tearing through the clouds.

Hundreds of thousands of battle blades honed in the training camp were unsheathed simultaneously, and the dense aura of blood surging into the sky illuminated the Rift Throat Valley.

In the blood-soaked light, every young face reflected the same resolute determination.

There was no tragic grandeur of facing death, only the arrogant pride of living in the face of death.

Suddenly, a desolate bone flute sound rang out from the cliff edge; it was the short bone flute that the deputy instructor, "Viper's Pride," had taken from his waist.

The flute has a dark yellow luster and is covered with crisscrossing battle scars. It has accompanied countless soldiers through their graduation ceremonies.

Its suspended figure leaned slightly forward, the flute music first sounding like tearing silk, then suddenly turning into a deep and majestic melody.

That is the "Blind Leap Ballad" that has been passed down for thousands of years in Riftthroat Valley, and it is only played when people say goodbye.

The flute's melody rose and fell, like the inspiring voices of countless predecessors carried on the wind.

The trainees spontaneously followed the tune, their footsteps echoing the rhythm of their armor clashing, becoming the most intense drumbeat.

As the last notes of the flute dissipated in the fierce wind, Viper put away the bone flute and gently tapped the flute with his knuckles.

A clear, bell-like voice pierced through all the noise, a haughty hum echoing in the ears of all the students:

Armor cracked, blood still warm.

Treading the black tide, slaying the behemoth.

Born a war god, marching into battle; died a thunderbolt, chasing away the remnants of the enemy.

The warrior's spirit is not imprisoned in the grave.

Either roar on the charge, or leave your mark in the praises of those who follow...

……

At the same time, hundreds of thousands of shuttle engines roared to life, carrying the passion of the new generation of warriors, tearing through the sky and flying toward the unknown.

　I still have a low-grade fever and a persistent cough, but I'm no longer delirious. I'll resume updates today.

　　Thank you to the generous donor from that year, that time! I was pleasantly surprised to see it while writing. Thank you so much for your support!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)