It seemed his sister had indeed been dispatched to the northern border.
A faint sense of worry settled in Alto's chest. The beastmen of this world were a peculiar race, unlike the portrayals in modern media of Earth; they were terrifyingly fertile and impossibly aggressive. For millennia, they'd lived on the northern grasslands and deserts, surviving through nomadic raiding.
Over the past ten thousand years, elves and beastmen had fought countless wars. And no side was able to completely win against the other. The beastmen were outnumbered, but multiplied like rabbits and didn't fear death at all, the perfect race of warriors, so to speak.
When beastmen weren't hungry, all they did was fight or breed. Limited resources plus endless reproduction meant inevitable food shortages, and when food ran out, they simply took it by force. If they went a day without fighting, they got restless, so they started raiding elves, then humans, then half-beastmen, inflicting pain on every race they encountered.
Alto's original body had been an orphan left behind during the massive beastman invasion over a decade ago. Now, more than ten years later, were they about to invade again? Aisha had been sent north; he had no idea if she'd face danger. But worrying accomplished nothing. All he could do was gather information.
He rubbed his temples and forced these thoughts aside.
Days continued to pass.
"Nothing more to say, Stardew Valley is absolutely insane!"
"A masterpiece. Well-deserved masterpiece."
"I thought the creator of Plants vs. Zombies had run out of ideas, but Stardew Valley is even better!"
"Not fun at all. Logged in at eight in the morning, logged off at seven..."
"Bro, do you even hear yourself?"
"After playing Stardew Valley, I developed the healthy habit of going to bed at two in the morning!"
"God, if only real life were like Stardew Valley. You work hard and get rewarded. Give gifts and gain friendship."
"Right?! Watching that wasteland transform into a thriving farm really makes you happy!"
Whether on the way to work, at gatherings with friends, in taverns and restaurants, or even in the Dreamscape's main world, conversations about the farming game echoed everywhere. Stardew Valley was quietly becoming a cultural phenomenon.
"Stardew Valley leaves no regrets..."
"One dog, one fishing rod, and the whole day is just gone."
"My boyfriend dumped me at the start of the month. Said he didn't like girls with tattoos, but I'm a Wood Elf! A friend recommended me Stardew Valley, and I swear it healed my heart. I love this game so much!"
"I can't stop. I seriously cannot stop. Meant to play a bit after work to relax, and suddenly the sun's coming up."
"Work during the day, grind mines and farm at night in Stardew Valley. This feeling is painfully satisfying."
"This damn catfish is impossible to catch; it moves like an eel!"
"Just bought Stardew Valley. What gift does Abigail like most?"
"Bought so many strawberry seeds but couldn't bear to plant them. Finally did, and spring was almost over, they all turned into worthless crops. Ugh!"
"Co-op mode is phenomenal. Farming, mining, drinking with friends, helping each other progress was way more fun than doing it solo."
"Stardew Valley feels like a love letter to life itself. No stress, no rush, just the rhythm of changing seasons, warm sunlight, and familiar smiling faces. Every little moment feels like it's healing something I didn't know was broken."
One month had passed since Stardew Valley's release, and its reputation had spread like wildfire. Some had initially tried comparing it to Kane's work, but those voices quickly fell silent. The difference in quality was undeniable.
Without the paid troll armies that plagued his previous life, Stardew Valley's reviews remained overwhelmingly positive. Major sales outlets were packed daily, with urgent orders flooding in faster than they could be filled. The Moonstone workshops, cooperating with Saint Oros Trading Company, were running at full capacity and still couldn't meet demand.
"How are sales on Saint Oros's end?" Alto asked.
Helena stood beside him, document in hand. "Inventory at all sales points is nearly depleted. Saint Oros has contacted Moonstone engraving workshops across the city to hasten production, but they still can't keep up. Worse, scalpers have entered the market, buying Stardew Valley Moonstones in bulk and reselling them at inflated prices."
"Scalpers?" Alto's expression darkened. Those insects really did exist everywhere.
"Moonstones selling for seventy-eight Baileys are being resold for nearly double, around 150. Here's this month's sales report."
Alto scanned the document. Plants vs. Zombies had plateaued at over six million total sales, unlikely to see another major surge soon. Stardew Valley, however, had taken off completely with 5.1 million copies sold in its first month alone. Most came from veteran Plants vs. Zombies players, but many were new players drawn in by its healing gameplay across different age groups. And the trend was still on the rise.
Currently, Stardew Valley's sales are being bottlenecked by Moonstone engraving capacity. Many eager players simply couldn't get their hands on a copy. Across all of Lunaria, there were only so many engraving workshops, and Saint Oros had already booked nearly all of them. Despite working overtime and speeding up production, demand vastly exceeded the supply.
This created the perfect opportunity for scalpers, who bought massive quantities at retail price and resold them to desperate players. The situation would inevitably hurt Stardew Valley's reputation, and worse, scalpers were hoarding large quantities without activating them, essentially choking off circulation. Genuine players who wanted to experience the game were forced to pay inflated prices to resellers.
"Tell Joseph's team that starting now, all purchases require identification," Alto decided. "Anyone buying Stardew Valley must present a valid ID, and we're limiting purchases to two copies per person."
Lunaria had an ID system similar to that of its previous world. Purchase limits weren't a perfect solution; they couldn't completely eliminate scalpers, but they'd at least curb the problem significantly.
Hey guys, here is the additional chapter I promised as thanks for your support^^