The Monster is Coming

Chapter 447 Hotly Discussed in Reality, Popularity Soars

real world.

[Earth Union News Agency, Breaking News: Monster World's Milestone Event "Summit of the Stars" Ignites a Cross-Species Competition Frenzy!]

Today, Monster World officially announced the launch of its first server-wide guild championship, "Summit of the Stars." This tournament has attracted players of all races and top guilds, and is considered the largest and most competitive player event since Monster World's launch… Sociologists point out that this event is not only an entertainment event, but also a unique window for the new generation of civilizations to showcase their strength and culture in a non-conflict environment.

[Tianyu Clan - Cloud Network - Guangyu Information.]

"Our pride, the 'Wings of the Sky' guild, has officially accepted the call to the Summit of Stars. They will carry the glory of the Skyfeather Clan, spread their wings and embark on a long expedition, conquering the Summit of Stars with the grace of the sky. May the wind and starlight guide them on their journey to the peak."

[Rock Spirits - Underground Communication Network, Voice of the Rock.]

Cornerstone Expedition: The Colossus Guild, bearing unwavering will, heads towards the Covenant with the Stars.

Our Colossus Guild, which stands at the pinnacle of many virtual games, has set off with the Broken Sands Halberd. They will show all races what it means to have a will that is unbreakable through trials and tribulations and that is indomitable through countless hammer blows.

Our foundation is as solid as a rock.

Like a raging torrent, that is our sharp edge.

[The Eye of Wealth on the Pan-Business Alliance Channel]:
On the holographic projection screen in the studio, two sets of data charts are being displayed side by side.

On the left is the price index of the Monster World trading post 24 hours ago, displayed on the gold coin plugin.

On the right is real-time scrolling data, representing the price curves of various commodities, which are soaring upwards at almost a 90-degree angle, with the overall transaction index surging by 587%.

The host, with a grave expression, turned to the two special guests:

"Let's get to the point. This virtual economic earthquake triggered by the 'Summit of Stars' event—first, let's ask Professor Wang, a human economist, how you view the current price fluctuations in the trading market?"

Professor Wang adjusted his smart glasses and pointed to a set of price curves projected on the screen:
"The game currency of Monster World, Sacrifice Power, has been anchored to top-tier resources in the real world, such as technology and medicine. It can even replace Moon Coins in transactions with the Lunar Eclipse Clan. Therefore, the significant fluctuations in the price of Sacrifice Power in the game will also have a certain impact on reality."

"Please see the picture. This is the 'Ghost Bat Wolf,' a hot-selling item among pet players in the trading market. Within 24 hours, the price has soared from 15500 sacrificial power per pet to the latest transaction price of 30200 sacrificial power. This reflects the concentrated explosion of demand for combat power improvement among players driven by competitions."

The screen then switched to a graph showing the supply and demand changes for cultivation materials. Yunling, the market analysis master of the Greenwood Clan, chimed in:
"Professor Wang is right. The sudden surge in consumer spending has led to a short-term surge in the prices of goods in the trading market. Many guilds would rather pay a premium than let key resources fall into the hands of potential rivals."

After speaking, Yun Ling pointed to the red line that almost broke through the top of the chart:

"According to the statistics from the gold coin plugin, the items that have increased in price this time are mainly materials for enhancing rune resonance weapons, control-style pets, and space-type ores. Secondly, the consumption boom has also led to a round of price increases for many items unrelated to this event. Although many players who had stockpiled items in the early stages took this opportunity to sell off various items, it still could not meet the consumption needs of players."

The host then displayed a chart of transaction data.

"Both experts' analyses point to the same thing: this is not a natural market behavior. According to information provided by the Lunar Eclipse Clan, we found that various clans have large amounts of cash in their bank accounts used to purchase sacrificial power, causing the price of sacrificial power to rise. Does this mean that this competition has been turned into a financial battlefield by some clans?"

Professor Wang nodded solemnly.

"Undoubtedly, there are real forces involved behind the price increases of many commodities. The economic system of Monster World is a tacit strategy of all races. The resellers and hoarders in the eyes of many players are likely financial capital from various races in the real world. Their purpose is very clear: to resell goods in the game and make a profit through capital means."

"In fact, the reselling model was even more rampant before, but with the launch of the bidding mode and the gold coin plugin, the reselling model has been curbed. The items that can still be resold are basically those whose future price increases can be predicted. For example, the price of the Empty Stone can be seen to increase every once in a while, which is the mainstream reselling item."

Yunling picked up the conversation:

"With the multiple bindings between sacrificial power and reality, coupled with the opening of consignment channels for exchanging sacrificial power for real currency, sacrificial power has gradually become a cross-species currency similar to 'Earth currency.' Whichever race controls more sacrificial power will have more say in trade with the Lunar Eclipse Clan and enjoy more services that cannot be purchased with ordinary currency."

"Therefore, this 'Summit of Stars' tournament is not only an arena for players, but also a battleground for capital from all sides, all of whom want to make a profit through the tournament's popularity..."

The host concluded by saying:
"The 'Summit of Stars' competition caused the prices of all kinds of resources used to enhance strength in the trading industry to skyrocket, and some scarce commodities became available but unsold."

"Two economic analysts pointed out that a large number of players concentrated their accumulated sacrificial power in preparation for the battle, converting it into combat power. This behavior created a rare consumption peak in the game, and many hoarders have already made excess profits from it. Experts predict that this economic boom will continue until the end of the event, driving the development of the virtual industry chain..."

……

After Qi Sheng released the event announcement, major media platforms in the real world were swept up by the same bombshell news.

The number of teams that signed up to participate in the game quickly exceeded 300,000.

During this period, a wave of guild mergers swept across the country.

Faced with the brutal "single-elimination" format and unprecedentedly generous rewards, many smaller or mid-sized guilds realized that going it alone would likely be difficult to achieve anything.

Therefore, they chose to merge with other guilds to improve their overall strength.

For example, the two guilds known for their strong frontal attacks, Po Jun and Zhan Ge, announced their merger, and the new guild was named War Symphony.

The "Iron Wall" guild, which has long focused on defense and positional warfare, merged with the "Shadow Dance" guild, which is known for its agile assassinations, and renamed it: Shadow Wall.

Three powerful guilds that have been deeply involved in the "Eternal Ice Lake" region quickly completed the integration of personnel and warehouse resources before the competition and formed the Guild: Aiming for First Place.

This wave of mergers is not a blind expansion.

When several unfamiliar guilds suddenly merge, various problems are bound to arise, such as chaotic command or unfamiliarity among members.

Teamwork and coordination require years of practice and refinement.

With the upcoming Stars Arena tournament approaching, a temporary merger would be pointless.

These guilds that chose to merge generally had prior contact, or even were already fighting together as a united front.

Taking advantage of this tournament, these guilds simply merged.

This approach allows guilds to expand their size, address their weaknesses, and strive to improve their competitiveness in the competition in the shortest possible time.

The topics of discussion on player forums are all related to this Stars Challenge tournament.

The most eye-catching post among players was a prediction thread for the tournament jointly published by several well-known, meticulous players.

Based on their analysis of the past performance, member configuration, and tactical styles of various guilds, they compiled a detailed list of favorites to win the championship.

There is only one favorite to win the championship in the T0 category: Shin'en.

The Divine Hall Guild holds a significant lead in the eyes of players.

The village's three years of accumulated war experience, coupled with the terrifying execution capabilities honed by each member in the war, and the unfathomable tactical pool that the God King constantly researched and created under the coercion of the tyrant.

Let the Divine Hall Guild become a king in the eyes of players, needing no further explanation.

Other guilds have a chance, but if they want to reach the top, the Temple is always the most difficult mountain to climb.

The meticulous player who posted the thread believes that although guilds such as Fanzuituan and Shenyi also come from the Emperor's Tomb Mountain Range, the overall commander of the war was always the God King.

In terms of war command capabilities, God King is far ahead of other village guilds.

Tier 1 Guilds:
According to the analysis of meticulous players, this level has the potential to compete for the championship.

The first one is the "Fan Zui Tuan" (rice drunken group).

Also hailing from the village entrance battlefield, the guild leader, as a sub-commander of the village entrance joint battle group, is equally outstanding in ability.

Secondly, there is a top-notch small group within the guild that operates outside: the Veterans Group.

As a legendary player who single-handedly captured five Primal Monsters in the early days, Li Tie has always been considered a strong contender for the title of strongest player by many.

The second through sixth seeded battle groups following the Drunken Group are all affiliated battle groups with the God King.

The seventh-ranked team is the Starry Sky Guild Battle Group.

This guild started in the Misty Coast region and later made a strong entry into the village entrance battlefield through mergers and reorganizations.

Commander-in-Chief Ye Lan is a well-known commander in other games.

After arriving in the monster world, they invented many new tactics.

Among them was the "tidal rotation tactic" that sparked heated discussions back then, which weakened the bully's advantage in all-type combat modes by reducing one's own upper limit.

The meticulous player who posted the message believes that Starry Night Guild's aggressive variation strategy is extremely threatening in the BO1 format.

This tactic won't give other guilds any time to adapt.

Secondly, there's the Rust Guild, the Immortal Guild, and so on.

All 10 guilds ranked in Tier 1 came from the village entrance battlefield.

However, forum players don't think there's anything wrong with this ranking. Since the launch of the Village Entrance Battlefield, it has always been the highest war arena in the eyes of all players.

These ten guilds, which were able to establish themselves firmly at the village entrance, truly deserve the title of the strongest.

Next are T2 guilds, which refer to potential dark horse guilds.

The Gold Coin Guild Warband ranks first.

This guild has a special background, backed by the largest commercial organization in the game: the Gold Coin Merchant Guild.

With the financial support of the Chamber of Commerce, the Gold Coin Guild's membership has even surpassed that of some Tier 1 guilds.

To support the Gold Coin Merchant Guild's participation in this competition, rumors circulated on the forum that the guild had contributed 3000 million sacrificial resources to support core members in upgrading their Soul Essence, strengthening Rune Resonance Weapons, and other ways to enhance their combat power.

For discerning players, the biggest characteristic of gold coins is their "money power," followed by command, crew, and other configurations.

However, the disadvantages of the Gold Coin Guild are also obvious.

They usually operate in multiple regiments in the Land of the Sun, fighting in different regions.

Only recently, with the invasion of the mechanical legion, have several large-scale battles been launched, and the members' war coordination is significantly lower than that of T1-level guilds.

Nevertheless, no player would underestimate this team.

In the BO1 format, which is full of unpredictability, no one can predict whether this team, armed to the teeth with money, will pull off an upset.

Behind the Gold Coin Merchant Guild are 128 guild warbands.

Many of these guilds have strong support from real-world communities, who even regard participating guilds as role models of honor.

For example, the Tide Legion, jointly formed by the Gillfish Clan and the Abyssfish Clan.

As among the first players to qualify, both races rapidly developed the fishing port city by reselling game resources for real-world currency.

They also quickly realized the future potential of the game Monster World.

To this end, a special organization was established to train newcomers, and a war guild was jointly formed.

The Tide Legion holds a lofty position in the eyes of both races.

This is similar to those ancient nations on Earth that worshipped football, viewing the World Cup as a grand celebration that transcended politics and superseded everything else.

In the eyes of the Gillfish Clan and the Abyssfish Clan, the Summit of Stars was also a holy war concerning the honor of their entire clan.

When "Wild Shark," the leader of the Tide Legion, registered for the competition in Emperor's Tomb Village, all the plaza screens in Fishing Port City switched to live broadcast.

Before the tournament began, schools were closed, seafood processing plants were shut down... just like the frenzied scene in ancient times when an entire country would be brought to a standstill for a football match.

The Gillfish Clan and the Abyssfish Clan were originally the lowest-ranking clans in the Earth Alliance.

It was the monster world that allowed their race to develop anew, and their quality of life gradually improved.

The education systems of both ethnic groups have already undergone reforms in the past three years.

While traditional fisheries knowledge and marine technology have not been abandoned, the core curriculum has been fully shifted towards Monster World.

In the newly established "Player Academy," the young generation of the Gillfish and Abyssfish tribes begin to learn about the monster world from the very beginning of their literacy development.

They have a wide variety of courses.

The basic courses for grades 1-5 include: "Detailed Explanation of the Star Vein System", "Analysis of Fate Soul Combination", and "Geographical Environment and Resource Distribution of Various Continents".

Further up are: "Exploration Survival Guide", "Understanding Energy Resistance", "121 Tactical Models for Fighting Earth Bullies", "Battle Formation System Application", "Inter-racial Cooperation", and so on.

The statues erected in the academy square are all of legendary players from their own race in the game.

The textbooks break down the various knowledge systems of the monster world in detail, and even elementary school students' exams include simulated combat tests.

When the first class of students enrolled, the clan elders declared at the opening ceremony: "Children, the monster world is the new ocean for our clan. Every sacrifice there is more precious than a catch, and every victory is more glorious than a bountiful harvest."

The teacher who once taught children how to distinguish between ocean currents and schools of fish now asks questions in class that are all related to the world of monsters.

One of the exam questions even sparked heated discussions.

The question is: If you were to develop in the Senluo Forest region, which Soul should you prioritize equipping?

A: Black Armored Serpent, B. Gargoyle, C. Critical Strike, D. Extract.

Behind the dedication of their entire clans to nurturing them lies the fact that both clans have staked their future on the monster world.

The goal is to cultivate top-tier player teams and secure a share of the future profits.

The underlying logic is exactly the same as that in the early days of Earth, some countries in the early stages of development devoted their resources to cultivating talents in specific fields.

For individuals, this knowledge is almost useless in the real world, seemingly a huge waste.

However, for the Gillfish Clan and the Abyssfish Clan as a whole, it is a strategic investment.

Like a country undergoing industrialization, it concentrates its efforts on major projects, investing limited resources in the areas that offer the most visible returns and can rapidly change the fate of its people.

The core objective is not to cultivate "well-rounded" individuals.

Instead, the goal is to cultivate professional miners and pioneer knights who can extract the greatest benefits for the entire race in the emerging "resource-rich mine" of Monster World.

A successful player in the monster world, such as Explorer, Li Tie, or the Hardcore Players Group, is a top-tier player.

The tangible benefits they can bring to their community (wealth gained through game resources, cross-ethnic networks, and increased influence in online forums) far exceed those of 100,000 skilled traditional fishermen.

Behind this nationwide fervor lies the desire of both ethnic groups for rise.

This trend has also made ordinary people of both ethnicities pay extra attention to news about the monster world.

The unexpected competition instantly became the focus of attention, and all members were involved in the discussion.

Most importantly, their "Tidal Warband" was selected as a T2-level dark horse in this competition by the forum's authoritative and meticulous players.

For the two races that have long been on the fringes of the Earth Alliance and have had almost no presence in international affairs, the Tide Legion is undoubtedly a ray of dawn that cuts through the long night.

It was also during these years that their names were formally mentioned for the first time on the stage of the Earth Alliance.

When the news reached the fishing port city, it caused a sensation no less than a grand festival.

On the streets and in front of the screens, people were excitedly discussing and predicting the performance of the Tide Legion in this match.

However, the lists compiled and analyzed by forum users who are meticulous about research are ultimately just rankings on paper.

The vast majority of players agree on only one point: the real competition takes place in the ring.

Regardless of their ranking, they will soon face the most brutal test in the grueling BO1 single-elimination tournament at the pinnacle of talent.

……

Finally, amidst great anticipation and heated discussions across the server, the number of registered teams for the Summit of Stars event surpassed 120 million.

Among them are top teams aiming for the championship, as well as countless small groups simply looking to join in the fun and experience the atmosphere of the event.

They all entered the competition as guilds, etching their names into the list of participants for this epic event.

As the countdown ended and the registration channel closed, a challenger notification rang in the minds of all players.

[Challenger Notice (All Channels): Registration for the Summit of Stars tournament has ended. The first round of random matchmaking is now underway!]

boom!
The Star Arena above Emperor's Tomb Village erupted with unprecedented brilliance, and an invisible wave burst forth from the Primordial Altar underground, instantly sweeping over all the players.

In the next instant, more than a million teleportation beams shot into the sky in various regions.

Whether it was the main force of the temple standing ready for battle, or the small group laughing and joking on the beach of the Misty Coast after eating grilled fish, they were all enveloped by the teleportation beam and disappeared from the spot.

Many players who did not participate in the competition also discovered at this time that a "spectator function" had been added to the function panel.

Once you open it, countless independent battle maps, like stars in the sky, instantly unfold before your eyes.

In the real world, in the live broadcast rooms of major media outlets, the commentators' voices suddenly rose in volume:
"It has begun! All battle groups have entered the independent battlefield. The first round is a BO1 single-elimination tournament. There is no warm-up. Every match is a life-or-death battle. Let's wait and see how a legend is born!"

A million battlefields lit up simultaneously at this moment.

The battle for glory has officially begun.

(End of this chapter)