The Monster is Coming

Chapter 429 Poems on Scenery: A New Chapter Begins
Misty Coast.

As the most popular scene map, this place has always been the first choice for players when they go on vacation.

The surrounding monsters have been completely wiped out, and even novice players can roam freely on the coast without any problems.

at dusk.

The sunset painted the sea a rosy orange hue, while the fine white sand stretching along the coastline resembled a silver ribbon nestled against the ocean.

The daytime splendor sank below the horizon along with the golden wheel, replaced by the calls of seabirds skimming low and the sound of waves crashing on the beach, weaving together into a soothing melody in the twilight.

The number of players gradually increased during this period.

At this moment, the explorer stands outside the "resort area," at the junction of the beach and the sea, letting the cool waves gently caress his ankles.

Before him was the development backend of the "Poetry Plugin," which was being perfected.

The left side of the interface displays a real-time thumbnail of the Misty Coast, while the right side contains text content.

As he lightly tapped his finger in the air, lines of text describing the current scenery were entered, linked together with previously collected historical materials such as the Serpent Ancestor Temple, Tear of the Tide, and the Battle of Black Wind.

[Location: Misty Coast - Sunset Viewpoint]

[Environmental conditions: Evening, clear skies, gentle breeze, sunset glow, seabirds returning to their nests.]

[Related Events: No individual player event records available (this entry is displayed individually for each player)]

[Background Information: The Misty Coast gets its name from the colorful, veil-like mist that appears on the sea surface during certain seasons... (folded)]

[Explorer's Note: This is a perfect place to listen to the tides, relax, and experience the rhythm of nature beyond the hustle and bustle of battle.]

He carefully adjusted the trigger time and display timing of the text.

Ensure that when players stroll here, the narrative window that pops up in the plugin does not obstruct their view, but blends into the environment just right to enhance immersion.

Creating "poems about local customs" has always been a dream of his.

The Monster World offers such a high degree of freedom that players have to consult forums and libraries to find out what they want to know.

During a journey, one inevitably misses the background stories scattered across the land.

He wanted to break down this invisible barrier.

It allows ordinary players to understand the background story without having to invest time and effort in researching, and to experience the joy that only exploration-oriented players can have.

His poems about nature were the vehicle for his dreams.

The core of this plugin is to automatically provide players with the story and history of the location they are in.

May the contents of this world, like a gentle rain, permeate the hearts of every traveler willing to slow down.

When players stand on ancient battlefield ruins, the inscriptions will tell of past battles; when players pass by a tranquil lake, the window of the landscape poem will reveal the story of the life it once nurtured...

Besides history, it can also be a legend co-written by players.

For example, those locations that are recorded in the annals of glory can be seen by new players, allowing them to glimpse the amazing moments of veteran players.

And, background information related to this battle.

When he was designing the Fengwu Poetry plugin, he had envisioned a scenario.

A new player who has installed "Fengwu Shi" will have the window of "Fengwu Shi" appear and disappear in a semi-transparent form when walking along the shore of Lake Senluo in the Senluo Forest region.

Tell him:
"Look, this was once the final battleground of the Green Source Clan. The last war god of the Green Source Clan sang the final forbidden curse and lament right here, right where you are now. The elemental radiance filled the sky like falling stars, marking the end of the Green Source Clan's era."

Next to it, there will also be links to relevant background information from the forum.

Or perhaps, one could come to the coastal region of the Misty Coast, where the story of the Black Wind Clan's unstoppable invasion unfolds.

Facing the Black Wind Clan, players repeatedly resurrected and fought again, ultimately winning this epic battle.

This also marked the beginning of the subsequent Ancient Gods Arena chapter.

In the semi-transparent pop-up window of the poem, in addition to the text description, there are also wonderful silhouettes of that battle.

Such a journey, besides traveling and hunting, also has a unique kind of excitement.

It can even give new players something to look forward to about the unknown.

I feel like every step I take is on the string of time, which may trigger a long-forgotten epic or encounter a legendary moment.

Imagine what kind of story the scenery and poetry will tell him around the next corner.

Is it a hymn to heroes, the fall of a legend, or an interesting little-known anecdote?

This will transform the exploration itself into a delightful reading experience, anticipating the next encounter.

To create this plugin, he collaborated with some of the most well-known research enthusiasts on the forum.

These meticulous collectors are scholars who can read chronicles from broken walls and ruins.

Because he knew that he could not possibly fathom the vastness of this world by his own efforts alone.

We need the help of these insightful colleagues.

But this invitation is not an employment offer, but a collaboration offer.

He constructed the framework of "poems about local customs" and meticulously researched and filled it with the most authentic content.

We strive to ensure that every entry is substantial and every description can withstand scrutiny.

This process is essentially about systematically organizing and recreating fragmented information.

The story of a place is scattered throughout the library.

However, in the poem about nature, these elements can be carefully polished and connected to form a clear, vivid and detailed narrative trajectory.

During the collaboration, he also had higher requirements for the content based on the characteristics of the plugin.

I believe that the descriptive language of landscape poetry must also possess literary beauty.

The goal is to capture the essence of the scene in just a few words, while also leaving clues for players who wish to explore further to reach a wider world of knowledge (detailed link).

For example, when players arrive at the dilapidated village on the Misty Coast, they stand before the once-worshipped statue of Wrath.

The Poetry Gathering introduces the ancient village guardians' "ascetic practices," and you'll also read poetic descriptions from meticulous players:

He would grind the rest of his life into hatred, using the years as his pen to copy painful scriptures day and night, until he wrote the last stroke on the last page: the evil spirit fell, and the sound of the tide for thousands of miles fell silent.

Below is a link to a detailed research post.

Click to see the story of the ascetic and the brother of suffering, including the ascetic's final act of burning himself to behead an evil spirit from afar.

However, the explorer always felt that the Fengwu Poetry plugin was missing a core element: music that could touch the soul.

Many games have music, and many veteran gamers may give up the game.

But whenever I hear music from old games, memories of those days automatically come flooding back.

Music can be seen as another language besides words, capable of evoking empathy without translation.

For example, when the player is standing in the Forest of the Wilds region.

A melodious tune, interspersed with the whispers of living beings, can instantly create a mysterious and profound atmosphere.

Or perhaps, under the blazing sun, on the Gobi Desert in the region of the Broken Halberd.

A desolate and distant flute melody, carrying the texture of wind and sand, can immediately convey a sense of vastness and loneliness.

Music can sketch out the scene and context for players before the text appears.

A fast-paced and tense string melody can amplify the sense of tragedy when reading texts about battlefield ruins, pre-setting the emotions the text is meant to convey and transforming the narrative into part of the experience.

For example, when describing stories of asceticism.

As one copies scriptures of hatred day and night, a faint rustling sound is heard as the pen tip rubs against the soul; this is the process of accumulating power.

When the story progresses to the point where the tribe in the ascetic tale is wiped out, leaving only the individual alone, there should be a deep, rumbling sound like the surging tide, expressing loneliness and repressed hatred.

When the player reads the ascetic's words, "On the last page, he made the final stroke," all background sound effects abruptly cease, leaving only the heart-wrenching sound of metal shattering, ending with a mournful melody.

His vision of a landscape poem should be a dual narrative of words and music.

The immersive experience and emotional impact it provides are something that pure text simply cannot match.

This is also the origin of his name for the plugin, "Fengwu Shi".

In his heart, true "poetry" is...

More than just refined language.

It can be the resounding lyre of the bard in Homer's epics, or the rustling sound of the wind blowing through thousands of plants in the Book of Songs.

Poetry should be a combination of words and rhythm, a melody composed of visible images and audible rhythms.

Therefore, the name of the plugin, "Fengwu Shi" (风物诗), embodied his dream from the very beginning.

Besides being a landscape album, it can also be a dynamic epic that can be visited, read, and listened to.

Words are responsible for outlining the skeleton and texture of history, while music is responsible for infusing this skeleton with warmth, blood, and heartbeat.

After the idea was conceived, he created this plugin with the mindset of crafting a work of art.

From the initial project proposal to the continuous addition of content and optimization of the architecture, he devoted a great deal of effort to it.

This includes paying "salaries" to many enthusiastic and meticulous players; others may not want this money, but he cannot refuse to give it to them.

The services offered by discerning gamers on the forum are already charged.

Using passion to bind risk is the behavior he despises most.

Out of their love for background information, the research enthusiasts are willing to pour their heart and soul into the poems about local customs and scenery without expecting anything in return; this is a matter of goodwill.

But he cannot accept this as a matter of course.

Respecting their time and wisdom, in the eyes of explorers, is to respect the "poetry of nature" itself. Only cooperation based on respect and mutual benefit can ensure that this flame burns continuously and steadily.

The act of paying a sacrifice is also a form of recognition.

In the future, this will allow him to make more stringent demands, so that collaborators can devote themselves to creation without any worries.

Now, the genre of landscape poetry has reached a turning point.

Music is embedded in each scene, composing fitting melodies for different stories.

Initially, his idea was to find professionals in the player community who had worked in music-related fields in the real world.

Leveraging his existing fame and the substantial influence he had built up through live streaming, he hired them to use their professional skills to help him improve this part of the content by paying them a fee.

However, after actually getting to know him and communicating with him, he discovered many problems that he had not anticipated.

His prepared budget was quite generous, enough to impress anyone.

The problem is that creating music for such a large and demanding plugin requires a tremendous amount of effort.

Creators also need to deeply understand the core story of each scene, the changes in emotional layers, and accurately synchronize them with the written narrative.

Creators must dedicate the vast majority of their game time to creating "scenery poems".

However, for the vast majority of players with musical skills, the core appeal of Monster World remains the immediate positive feedback experience brought by "hunting".

For example, the attribute boosts from monster deaths, the opening of new star vein slots, and the enjoyment of growth from embedding new life souls.

Or the thrill and excitement of teaming up with other players to tackle challenging dungeons and participate in battles.

In contrast, spending long hours hunched over a virtual sheet music.

Striving for a plugin, while the process is full of creative achievements, is not fun at all.

This is not the same as the fact that the party itself is passionate about research.

The sacrifices he can offer are unlikely to "buy" a player who is willing to sacrifice the core enjoyment of the game and devote themselves to a grand behind-the-scenes project for an extended period.

During this period, there were occasional musician players who tried one or two scenes out of interest, but when they mentioned that they needed to build a complete set of content, the other party would be deterred by the huge workload.

"It sounds great, but... it feels like taking on a full-time job in a game," a musician with whom he had a brief collaboration once frankly admitted.

This made the explorers gradually realize that the way to solve problems may not be limited to players.

We can also rely on external resources.

In particular, the performance by the Tide Clan songstress during the opening of the Destiny Casino last time inspired him.

He went to Dream Island to participate in the opening ceremony.

During this time, the Tide Diva opened her lips, and a melodious, pure tune, as clear and pure as the deep sea, began to play.

It pierced his eardrum instantly.

The song has no specific lyrics, yet it seems to tell the story of the ebb and flow of a race's long history, the pull of the world, the secrets of the deep sea, and the initial stirrings of life.

At that moment, the splendor of the casino buildings paled in comparison.

The noise of players and alien tourists was kept outside an invisible barrier.

In his perception, only the singing vibrated in every inch of air, weaving an ethereal story that made him fall into its depths.

When the song ended, he was completely stunned.

That was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard in his life, a "heavenly sound" that could make one forget all worldly troubles.

At that moment, he suddenly thought of the answer to the problem.

Ultimately, players are limited by their "player" identity.

No matter how excellent their creations are, they often find it difficult to completely escape the shadow of real-world musical styles.

But many of the original soundtracks for Monster World are different.

Their sounds, and even the sounds of nature itself, can be the most authentic form of poetry in the world.

This thought once made his heart race.

This means that he may no longer need to convince players and musicians to explore and record the sounds of the game world itself.

In addition to the voices of the Tide Singers, the authentic sound of ocean waves on the Misty Coast, the breathing of ancient trees in the Forest Realm, and even ancient songs passed down by many races can be used as unique sound sources in the Poems of Nature.

However, this plan needs a platform to provide support.

Therefore, he contacted Alan of the Gold Coin Merchants Association.

After listening to his plan, Alan immediately expressed her support and even provided a price list.

The cost of hiring outsiders is so low it's practically free.

A bottle of basic healing potion costs 10 points of sacrificial power in the shop, but in the eyes of the alien race, it is a divine medicine that can save the lives of their people.

Low-cost items in the marketplace are the best form of compensation for employment.

These items, which can be supplied in unlimited quantities as long as one has sacrificial power, are considered hard currency by various races in the sea.

Through Alan, he has now connected with several races that possess racial talents.

The Gold Coin Merchant Guild also handles the hiring negotiations.

Besides the songstresses of the Tide Clan, there are also the Wind Whisperers who can mimic the sound of the wind with their throats.

The Jinshi tribe, who can create war-inspiring music by striking their shells.

The vine spirits, who can resonate with nature and sing hymns of life, and so on.

Next, he will go to Dream Island in person.

Communicate with these singers from different ethnic groups, record their representative songs, and use them as background music in "Poetic Landscapes".

Having completed the scene and sound collection for dusk, sunset, and ocean waves, the explorer turns around and heads towards the teleportation point.

This is to provide convenience for members of our own gold coin trading guild, and also to provide a convenient transfer service for other players.

The Gold Coin Merchants Association had set up a teleportation array on the coast a long time ago.

He can use this teleportation array to quickly reach Dream Island, where the Gold Coin Merchant Guild is located.

……

10 minute later.

The explorer appeared on Dream Island.

The sun has already sunk into the sea, leaving only a pale blue hue on the horizon.

Countless stardust and pollen, radiating a soft glow, swayed in the night breeze, transforming the entire island into a flowing galaxy.

Following the coordinates provided by the Gold Coin Merchants Guild, he arrived at the depths of Dream Island, in an open-air area surrounded by colorful flowers.

More than ten members of the alien race were already waiting here.

Before he could take a closer look, a Lunar Eclipse player dressed in the uniform of the Gold Coin Merchant Guild greeted him with a smile.

His nameplate, which read "Gold Coin External Liaison Officer: Stealing Sacrificial Power," was clearly visible on his chest.

Seeing this, the explorer decisively stepped forward and shook hands with the one who had seized the sacrificial power:

"Thank you for your hard work and for your trouble."

"You're too kind. Contributing to the development of player factions is the mission of our Gold Coin Merchant Guild. Let's skip the formalities and give you a brief introduction to the members of each race who have been invited."

At this moment, the sacrificial force turned to the side and pointed at the first member:
"This is Xige from the Tide Clan. Her singing can stir the tides and bring spiritual comfort."

Upon hearing this, the songstress with a human body and a fish tail nodded slightly to the explorer and revealed a captivating smile.

"This is the 'Chant' of the Wind Whisperer race, who can manipulate wind elements to weave various primal sounds."

Upon hearing this, the lithe, fairy-like figure stepped forward, its thin wings fluttering and emitting a series of clear, chiming sounds like wind chimes.

After the demonstration, it retreated back into the line.

Qiangjili pointed to the third member, a figure with dark, shiny armor and giant pincers on his arms:
"This is Elder Stonehammer of the Golden Stone Clan. He is skilled at striking out inspiring melodies with his carapace. This kind of music is often used in warfare and can be used by you when writing epic battles."

Upon hearing this, Elder Stone Hammer stepped forward and gently tapped his chest with his giant pincers, producing a deep and resonant sound.

The sacrificial power then pointed to the fourth invited alien, a figure whose body resembled an ancient tree, entwined with vines and glowing moss.

"This is Qingxiu, the guardian of the Vine Spirit Clan..."

As the explorer's gaze swept over these future partners during the introduction of the sacrificial power, his last trace of concern vanished.

He knew that he had finally found the key to truly bring "poetry of nature" to life.

At this moment, the live stream was filled with cheering comments, as they witnessed the efforts the explorers had made.

He understood that his dream plan was finally about to take off.

I'm happy for him.

At this moment, the explorers were also incredibly excited.

The content he is creating is no longer just a simple plugin in his mind.

It's also a completely new way of perceiving.

He transformed this vast world from a silent stage into a poet skilled in storytelling.

Every player who passes by will become a destined person in its verses.

When words, scenery, and music blend together, and the past and present resonate, this virtual journey truly possesses the power to touch the soul.

(End of this chapter)