The Monster is Coming

Chapter 374 Regional Situation, Whereabouts of an Old Friend
The Primordial Altar.

Qi Sheng followed the entire process of the Destiny Clan building the Destiny Casino.

Once the Destiny Casino is officially operational, he will still take 3% of the profits, the same percentage as other players.

It is foreseeable that this will be an important channel for generating sacrificial power in the future.

The moment Qi Sheng finished observing and turned his gaze back to the player forum, a massive amount of information flooded into his mind like a tidal wave.

The guide also provides data on player development in various regions at this time.

At present, the development of player factions is like wildfire, with their territory constantly expanding and resource integration efficiency greatly improved.

In some regions, player groups have even formed a structure capable of countering local forces.

First is the Teizuka Mountain Range region.

The crescent moon's bonus has greatly strengthened the Earthly Bully, giving him enough power to expand rapidly outwards. The scale and strength of the Painful Tide he created are also increasing rapidly during its development.

The size of the bully alliance has also expanded from the initial five-player gaming session in internet cafes to eight bullies.

The three new bullies were all elite upstarts personally observed and selected by the Earth Spirit Evil Spirit. One of them was recruited by the Earth Spirit Evil Spirit shortly after entering the monster world and brought into the alliance for training.

On the player's side, besides the united battle group led by the God King.

Two more joint combat groups have successfully established a foothold in the Imperial Tomb Mountains region.

These are the Star Alliance, led by the Star Guild created by player "Starry Sky," and the Rust Alliance, led by player "Bread is Crab."

Each alliance is formed by dozens of established and powerful guilds working together.

Before entering the Emperor's Tomb Mountain Range, these guilds were already well-known on the forums.

It has been a battle that has been recorded in the annals of glory, involving multiple containment zone nodes.

Many of the veteran players had never even experienced Ale's Training Camp. Like the Divine Hall Guild led by the God King, they all started from the early Emperor's Tomb Mountain Range.

In order to successfully return to the Imperial Tomb Mountains, the two joint groups had begun intensive preparations as early as six months ago.

The Star Alliance's "Starry Sky" had already gained considerable popularity in the early stages as a forum strategy enthusiast. They also spearheaded several cross-guild strategic seminars, providing detailed analyses of the terrain and landforms of the Emperor's Tomb Mountains, the characteristics of the bully tactics, and potential resource points outside the Emperor's Tomb Mountains.

During this period, many well-known veteran players were invited to share their experiences via live stream on the forum in order to attract potential players to join.

Thanks to the traffic generated by the forum's popularity, the process of forming a joint battle group within Starry Sky went very smoothly.

But the most famous member of this regiment is not its leader, "Starry Sky".

Instead, it was Ye Lan who took charge of the overall command.

The tide rotation tactic he proposed on the forum back then sparked heated discussions among players, and the starting point of this tactic was to restrain the bully.

By lowering the upper limit and reducing weaknesses, they can counter the absolute advantage of the Earthly Bully.

After years of preparation, the tactics have matured and are finally ready to be put to use.

The leader of another War Rust Alliance, "Bread is Crab," is a veteran player of the game and has a considerable following among players. He is skilled in overall coordination and had already planned the distribution of benefits among the various guilds during the formation of the alliance. He also established a fair and reasonable resource sharing and risk-sharing mechanism, which allowed established and powerful guilds to join with peace of mind.

The guilds that participated in the alliance were all well-known guilds on the forum.

For example: Eagle Eye Guild, Forgemen's Alliance, Fountain of Life, Rock Guild, etc.

After a series of preparations, the two alliances integrated the strength of dozens of established and powerful guilds and forcefully entered the Emperor's Tomb Mountain Range.

This has created two emerging forces that are strong enough to establish themselves in the "highest hall" in the eyes of players.

Their arrival also alleviated the pressure on the Divine Alliance against the Earth Spirit Bully and the Battle Zerg.

While the number of active players in the Imperial Tomb Mountain region may not rank in the top three, the average daily sacrificial power produced by a single player surpasses all other scenarios.

Secondly, there's the Misty Coast region.

This is the region with the most complex player builds.

The Imperial Tomb Mountains only have players who focus on war, but the Misty Coast has over a hundred different playstyles.

Besides the mainstream activities such as competition, fishing, exploration, hunting, gathering, cooking, war (against the Mist Clan), and engineering (represented by arms dealers), etc.

There are also many players with niche playstyles active in this area.

For example, the recently popular "stealing the knife" strategy.

This is a playstyle centered around "picking up kills".

This playstyle existed from the early days of the game, but it completely faded from the player community after the "kill ownership" was changed to a damage ratio.

This school of thought rose to prominence again after a war broke out at the border between the Azure Star Sea and the Ascending Sea, north of the Misty Coast.

They can't steal knives from players, but they can freely steal knives from external forces.

This playstyle is generally chosen by assassin-type players who use the Twilight Shadow trait to roam the battlefield, seeking out injured or isolated Mist Clan, Ascended Clan, and Book Warriors to kill them in the easiest way.

Its main features are zero risk and high returns, and a thrilling and exciting experience throughout.

Once on the battlefield, players who rely on stealing attacks need to be constantly vigilant.

Then, you can reap the satisfaction of "the bitter battles fought by those who came before me are now my harvest" on the battlefield.

This is a completely different experience from a head-on, hard-fought battle.

Unlike war-style players who charge into battle while taking damage, or hunting-style players who painstakingly track targets, they only need to keep an eye on low-health targets on the battlefield, and then find the right moment to finish them off to gain evolution points and sacrificial power.

Watching others fight tooth and nail to secure a weakened target, only to have it easily snatched away by a simple move from oneself.

In addition to tangible benefits, it also provides the speculative feeling of "getting something for nothing".

The thrill of quickly disappearing after each successful last hit has given the "knife-stealing" style, which had long faded from players' view, a unique and exciting experience in the new battlefield.

Secondly, there's archaeology, achievements, trap crafting... and even many players on the forum who take orders to customize armed vehicles and weapon designs for other players are mostly active in the Misty Coast area.

Since its launch, Misty Coast has consistently ranked first in the region's popularity charts.

It is also the region with the highest overall sacrificial power output.

In particular, the recent war between the three forces has led many small groups to participate in the naval war, increasing their output of sacrificial power.

Third on the list is the Adventurer's World, formerly known as the Dungeon World.

Players active in this area are also known as: dungeon crawlers.

This area has many players and overlaps with the Misty Coast region.

After all, players are not limited to one region; even after leaving a dungeon, players in the adventure world will still have a main area to play in.

The misty coastal areas, with their beautiful environment and high concentration of fresh air, became the top choice.

Dungeon raiding is currently the most popular gameplay mode among players, second only to hunting and war modes.

After more than half a year of development, several gameplay styles have emerged among dungeon-crawling players, which can be divided into: speedrun style, exploration style, score-competitive style, and slacking style, etc.

The "score-focused" approach refers to players who don't aim for speedruns but rather maximize their dungeon score.

They would go through every step of the dungeon, kill all the potential monsters, and break all the bottles and jars along the way, all in pursuit of the final score upon clearing the dungeon.

In this way, they can obtain a large reward from the Blue Lantern Clan.

The "skipping class" strategy refers to using special techniques to bypass many steps in the dungeon map and achieve a low-spec clear.

In terms of output, the percentage of output from dungeon-farming players in the player faction is still gradually increasing.

Becoming a dungeon crawler is also the preferred career path for many players who graduate from Ale's training camp.

But the key feature for players is absolute freedom.

Becoming a dungeon-focused player doesn't mean you'll be obsessed with dungeon gameplay in the future.

Even among the two newest allied factions that have joined the Imperial Tomb Mountains, there are quite a few players who are also dungeon crawlers.

Their output is also the most important source of war equipment for the Gold Coin Merchant Guild's foreign trade at this stage.

The Forest Realm region, which ranks fourth, has recently seen a significant increase in the number of players.

This region is a kingdom of plant-type monsters and the closest area to the battlefield between the Reverse Tide Legion and the Soul Returners.

Many of the players active here are those who use the pet-focused playstyle, aiming to wait for the right opportunity to capture a versatile soul beast as a pet.

Secondly, there are also many powerful guilds active in this area.

The goal is to join the Reverse Tide Legion in its war against the Soul Returners and become a core force on the battlefield.

However, at this stage, we are far from our target and can only fight against lone Soul Return Clan warriors on the outskirts.

The giant mushroom "Precognition" is also considered by players to be the strongest single combat force at this stage.

After all, players know that powerful figures like the God of Reversal and the Emperor of Soul Return are very strong, but they have never actually encountered them.

In the foreseeable future, the importance of the Senluolin region will continue to rise, and it will inevitably rise to the top three in the region popularity rankings.

Once players have the strength to intervene in the war between the Reverse Tide Legion and the Soul Return Clan, this region may even rise to the top of the popularity charts for a period of time.

All players believed that they would have a place on the main battlefield of the Pale Continent.

Even the God King once stated on the forum that he would like to lead a united battle group to participate in the war if given the opportunity in the future. The Forest Realm has always been seen as a region with potential for development by forum players, but at present, the faction's strength is insufficient to make a strong entry into the battlefield and become a third-party force.

Following the Forest Realm, the Land of Chasing the Sun is seen by players as a springboard to settle in the Earthly Echo Continent.

The two most powerful forces on this continent are the Mechanical Legion and the Virtual Rune Legion.

There aren't any particularly powerful guilds operating in this area, but there are quite a few guilds with potential.

This is also a key area that the Lunar Eclipse Clan will focus on developing after establishing the Gold Coin Merchant Guild.

The war guild founded by Alan is increasingly shifting its focus to the Land of the Sun.

Both the Mechanical Legion and the Virtual Rune Legion have rules that perfectly match the needs of the StarNet.

In particular, the "Divine Gold" rule mastered by the Mechanical Legion is a future goal that Alan must achieve.

At present, the members of the Lunar Eclipse Clan are constantly trying to win over potential guilds in the Land of the Sun, and they also want to emulate the God King by forming a united war group in this region.

Until they possess the war power to rival the mechanical legions and the virtual rune legions.

The Phantom Wasteland behind is the troop research base of the Ale Legion, and also the second starting village in the eyes of players.

Although the region's overall combat strength is not high.

However, in terms of regional popularity and the number of active players, it is far higher than the Imperial Tomb Mountain Range.

Every day, players graduate from here and head to other regions, making it the most important cradle and springboard for growth at this stage.

It can also be called the incubator and teleportation hub for player factions.

Many players determined their future growth path in Ale's training camp.

In the endless battles, you figure out which class and playstyle you are best suited for, and many brilliant ideas are conceived here before being implemented after graduation.

The Lord of Elysium, hiding behind the scenes, is also the most popular villain character on player forums.

Ale's relentless spirit of innovation brings joy to players while also providing them with tangible benefits.

Besides Ale's training camp, there is also the "Paradise Player Flow," a less popular playstyle.

That is, entering the Death Space, challenging the illusionary dungeon built by Ah Le, until graduating and returning to the Monster World.

This stage is also known as the demonic stage.

You can receive intelligence missions from Ah Le to level up quickly.

The best among them will receive a rule-derived mark from Ah Le, becoming a wandering demon who earns profits through the "mobile entertainment city" model.

From beginner training camps to high-end ecstasy gameplay, A-Le offers players multiple development options.

They can be considered strategic partners of the player camp.

The next three, Eternal Silence Ice Lake, Roaring Shore, and Sandbreaker Halberd, are all scenes for beginners.

At this stage, there are no outstanding gameplay features, nor have any promising guild organizations been formed.

The level of exploration and development of the scenario is also far less than that of the previous scenarios.

As for the once-popular Frozen Snowfield and the Underground World, they have long become a thing of the past for players, but also an unforgettable memory.

The underground world was taken over by the Blue Lantern Clan and became the Adventurer's World we know today.

The blind box opening gameplay has been transformed into a dungeon gameplay that allows players to choose freely.

The same applies to the Frozen Snowfield region. Ale's training camp has long been relocated to the "new campus" in the Phantom Wasteland and rebuilt. The "Kongyuan Peak Node," where players once ganged up to steal minerals, has also been successfully contained.

This area has lost all its popularity, with only occasional exploration-oriented players still active there.

The Frozen Snowfield region, as perceived by players, can now be seen as an external extension of the Imperial Tomb Mountains.

After all, these two regions had already been completely connected by the local bullies.

After reviewing the data on overall revenue, number of active players, and gameplay popularity in different regions, Qi Sheng accessed the Soul Repository.

Currently, the number of spirits that have been contained has reached 198.

Each profession can be developed into multiple gameplay styles.

The most popular magic-based builds include the Tower of Magic build, the Perception Missile build, the Elemental Explosion build, the Elemental Domain build, and the Magic God Tyrant build, among others.

Even pet-based builds that primarily control life spirits can be categorized as magic-based builds, rather than summoning builds.

After all, the two are fundamentally different. The core of summoning is the word "summoning," while the essence of manipulation is a semi-magical style guided by the strength of mental power.

There are several playstyles of damage-absorbing builds. There is the tank build with Gargoyle and Rock Shield as the core, and there is the burst damage build with "accumulated" Life Spirit as the core, which focuses on absorbing damage and then unleashing a powerful burst.

Within each class, there are significant differences in strength and battlefield role between different playstyles.

Qi Sheng compiled a ranking of job strength based on indicators such as job discussion popularity, number of people choosing the job, sacrificial power output, and performance in war.

The French system still holds the top position for now.

After reviewing all the data and information provided in the guide, Qi Sheng began to formulate the next direction for the development of his faction.

Among them, the still-to-be-refined "momentum" will be the focus of the next round of updates.

This feature allows players to skip the learning process and directly learn the "emotional combat power" fighting style.

However, there are still many problems that need to be addressed at this stage, but most of the reasons are related to insufficient sacrificial energy reserves, which prevents large-scale investment in research and development.

Including the issue of healing the four gods' injuries, the current sacrificial power output of the player faction is also insufficient.

Just as Qi Sheng was pondering the next major direction of the update, a piece of feedback guided him to turn his attention to the area along the Rumbling Coast.

……

The southern coast of the Rumbling Continent.

From above, the coastline resembles a faded ribbon gnawed by gray fog, lying along the southernmost edge of the Rumbling Continent.

The toxic smog that lingers year-round weighs heavily on the coastline and the horizon, filtering the azure sky into a murky leaden gray, and even the sunlight can only turn into a few weak spots of light floating in the fog.

At high tide, as the sea recedes, the reef path stretches from the underwater ruins to the shore.

These jagged underwater paths, built of black reefs, will be mercilessly swallowed by the sea at the next high tide.

Further out on the sea, the gray fog was torn apart by the occasional giant waves, revealing the dark blue backs of sea monsters.

This is a new map that was created after this round of qualification distribution.

The heat along the Rumbling Coast is far less intense than that of the Sandbreaker, because the environment there is extremely harsh.

New players here will be poisoned every minute, constantly losing health.

In the early stages, most players were unwilling to buy recovery potions from the store, resulting in a death countdown every time they went out. In the end, they would return to the Emperor's Palace to restore their health and start over.

At this moment, Ji Chen, dressed in a moon-white robe, stood amidst the misty tides of the coastline, his figure levitated by telekinesis.

Below is a half-finished spatial array.

With both brain overclocking and the spiritual eye's properties activated simultaneously, the energy flow trajectory of the array was clearly displayed in Ji Chen's mind.

Learning to build spatial arrays himself was a real headache for him.

The amount of knowledge required was so vast that he devoted his time to it every day in addition to hunting.

Six months have passed, and I still only have a superficial understanding of spatial science.

He had considered seeking help from the Gold Coin Merchant Guild's professional space team, but the place he needed to teleport to was the "Black Domain" mentioned in the guide, where the spatial strength was stable and ordinary space teleportation arrays could hardly tear through it.

This requires mastering more advanced spatial science knowledge and building special types of spatial teleportation arrays.

The Gold Coin Merchants' Space Team has not yet ventured into this field.

There was no other way but for him to learn it himself.

Just recently, he began to try to build it, but a series of difficult problems still arose during the process.

Although he was anxious, he knew that he could only solve the problem himself.

All of this effort stemmed from an answer he received after inquiring with StarNet.

As an ancient relic from Earth, he had lived in another world for over 200 years, and always had an older brother who was both a teacher and a friend in his heart.

Its name is Dragonborn.

After gaining player status and learning about the background of the monster world, he recalled the words the Dragonborn had once said.

He expressed his desire to climb the highest mountain with his people and witness the most magnificent scenery in that world of infinite possibilities.

This led him to ask the guide, wondering if it was possible that the Dragonborn was currently in a monster world.

Although the guide looked impatient, he still gave him a clear answer, uttering a single word:

【exist. 】

　I was a bit busy today, so here's 5300 words~
　　Thank you AoiSu哟猫 for the 10,000 Qidian coins!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)