Lying flat and taking it easy? That fantasy was absolutely impossible now.
Unlocking Ginger Island wasn't the conclusion of Stardew Valley at all. It was only the real beginning of the true endgame grind.
Deep within the treacherous Skull Cavern in the remote desert, Rowan was systematically holding bombs and enthusiastically blasting through layer after layer of the mine.
"Hahaha, I really am a genius!" Rowan laughed loudly with genuine delight, his hands never stopping their efficient rhythm. He'd done a fortune-telling reading today on television, and his daily luck stat was excellent, completely maxed out.
A perfect day for aggressive mining.
"Bombs are so incredibly much faster than breaking rocks individually. I'll hit floor 100 in no time at this rate."
A few days earlier, he'd been the very first player to accidentally trigger the mysterious Mr. Qi's cryptic questline through pure experimentation.
Coincidentally, every single time he traveled to the desert for mining expeditions, he passed through that dark tunnel connecting the bus stop.
At the time, he'd wondered why there was such a strange, out-of-place device mounted on the wall.
After repeated careful experiments with various items, he finally discovered that battery packs produced by lightning rods during thunderstorms could somehow activate the mysterious contraption.
That serendipitous discovery was how he'd triggered Mr. Qi's elaborate hidden questline.
After completing the full intricate process, he'd already finished Qi's progressive challenges up to the demanding floor 25 milestone.
Later, he obtained a cryptic secret note stating that someone important was patiently waiting for him on floor 100 of the Skull Cavern specifically.
At first, he'd been completely stuck and frustrated beyond measure.
Mining normally, using standard pickaxe methods, was just too painfully slow for deep cavern diving.
Breaking individual rocks one by one while constantly dealing with aggressive flying serpents and dangerous mummies made reaching floor 100 seem impossibly difficult.
Most attempts, by the time he painstakingly reached floors sixty or seventy through sheer determination, night had already fallen, and he'd pass out from exhaustion.
The next day, he'd wake up back home and had to start the entire grueling process all over again from floor one.
Sometimes he'd get completely swarmed by coordinated monster attacks and die outright, forcing another full, painful reset.
It nearly broke his spirit and motivation completely.
Even going in together cooperatively with Potter for mutual support, it was still extremely challenging and time-consuming.
After a long, dedicated period of research, experimentation, and forum consultation, he discovered that bombs could instantly clear absolutely massive areas of clustered rocks in single, devastating explosions.
As long as he could quickly clear dense stone formations efficiently, the hidden ladders buried beneath them would appear dramatically faster, saving enormous amounts of precious time.
In the end, he made a bold decision and went all in.
To finish this quest, no matter the cost, he converted literally every single material resource he'd painstakingly accumulated into bombs through crafting.
Even that substantial stockpile still wasn't nearly enough for his ambitious plans.
At the dwarf merchant living deep in the regular mines, he'd previously managed to collect all four rare Dwarvish Scrolls through persistent exploration.
Donating them to the museum had taught him the ancient dwarf language, allowing communication.
That breakthrough was when he discovered with excitement that the dwarf actually sold bombs directly for cropper coins.
Without any hesitation whatsoever, he went absolutely all in, spending his entire fortune.
Armed with nearly a hundred explosive bombs, he confidently entered the Skull Cavern with renewed determination.
The spectacular results were absolutely astonishing beyond his wildest expectations.
Not only did strategic bombing not lose him money as he'd feared, but he actually made a substantial profit through the endeavor.
The deeper the dangerous cavern descended, the more valuable high-tier materials appeared in abundance, including massive amounts of precious iridium ore worth thousands.
Covering the bomb costs was a non-issue with such valuable loot.
His practiced movements grew increasingly smooth, efficient, and confident.
Throw a bomb with perfect timing, sprint away to a safe distance.
BOOM!
A massive area of densely packed rock was violently blasted apart in spectacular fashion.
A ladder hole appeared in the freshly cleared ground, and Rowan jumped in immediately without hesitation.
He landed directly on floor 100 after his record-breaking descent.
The mysterious, enigmatic Mr. Qi was already patiently waiting there as promised.
Around him, strange iridescent snakes poked their heads menacingly out of decorative jars, making Rowan's scalp tingle with unease.
"Good... very good... You did it..." Mr. Qi's distorted voice echoed strangely.
"Come closer, don't be afraid of what you see..."
Then Mr. Qi ceremonially handed him an ornate bottle filled with a shimmering liquid.
"This is Iridium Snake Milk, extracted from the serpents you see around us. Drink it, and you'll become permanently stronger."
Rowan downed the entire strange concoction in one brave gulp despite his reservations. It tasted absolutely awful, bitter, and metallic.
[Your maximum health has permanently increased by 25 points!]
It actually increased his health permanently! This was incredible.
Rowan was absolutely overjoyed with this substantial permanent upgrade.
While Rowan was obsessively grinding the deadly mines, Potter was methodically clearing and exploring Ginger Island's numerous secrets.
They had completed all Community Center bundles long ago, but finding the infuriatingly well-hidden Golden Walnuts scattered across the island was genuinely troublesome, so overall progression remained frustratingly slow.
Potter was literally lying flat on the sandy ground, crawling forward inch by painstaking inch, examining every single bit of terrain with obsessive thoroughness.
That scheming designer was way too cruel and devious. The Golden Walnuts were hidden more cleverly and maliciously, the more he found.
Some were concealed high in palm trees, others buried in dense bushes.
Others were even more outrageous, buried directly underground in completely random locations. He'd only found one purely by accident while casually walking through an area.
Now he carefully searched every single inch of explorable land with methodical precision.
On the northern cliffs of the tropical island, there was a mysterious talking parrot.
Through patient conversation, he learned that if you were willing to spend absurd amounts of money, you could theoretically buy all the Golden Walnuts at once from the parrot.
But collecting them all would cost over a million in total.
Even selling literally everything he owned wouldn't get him anywhere close to that kind of money.
On the pristine white beach, Potter crawled forward bit by painful bit.
Suddenly, a small golden tip glinted in the distance, catching sunlight.
His eyes lit up with excitement. He swung his trusty hoe, digging up a Golden Walnut from the sand.
Finally, he had ten in total!
Now the western passage of Ginger Island could be opened.
He hurried back to the southern beach, handed the ten precious walnuts to the waiting parrot, and the passage opened magically.
To the west of Ginger Island was an entirely new farmable area, currently completely abandoned and heavily overgrown with wild weeds.
He continued deeper into the unexplored region, crossing a weathered wooden bridge into a large coconut grove.
Following the scenic coastline to the northernmost point of the island, a mysterious purple door blocked the entrance of a cave.
Mr. Qi's Walnut Room.
It required one hundred Golden Walnuts to open.
He immediately relayed this important information to Rowan through their communication device.
For the next several days, the two of them explored the island absolutely nonstop.
Clearing the dangerous volcano dungeon while simultaneously hunting for walnuts.
While players were enthusiastically exploring the newest endgame content, Alto wasn't idle either.
He decided to throw more fuel into the fire.
Soon, everyone following Alto's official account received a new notification.
[Stardew Valley Perfect Completion Summit Challenge - Official Competition Event]
What was this?
Many players were curious and immediately opened it.
The general details were as follows:
To thank players for their continued support of Stardew Valley, starting today, all registered participants would be divided into solo and multiplayer categories.
The first players to achieve perfect completion and reach the summit would receive rewards based on ranking.
First place: 1,000,000 Baileys Second place: 500,000 Baileys Third place: 300,000 Baileys Top 10: 100,000 Baileys Top 100: 10,000 Baileys participation reward
The moment the announcement dropped, the entire player base absolutely exploded with excitement.
This was huge. Absolutely, insanely huge.
Even players who had been casually taking it easy instantly became energized and motivated.
The rewards were just too tempting to ignore.
Although player progression varied dramatically, it didn't dampen enthusiasm whatsoever.
With continued exploration, forum guides became increasingly abundant and comprehensive.
As the old saying goes, those who come later benefit from those who came before.
Compared to the first wave of pioneering players fumbling blindly without any guidance, later players had it dramatically easier with the abundance of information.
A large number of players had already successfully unlocked Ginger Island.
As progress advanced collectively, the Walnut Room was opened by some ambitious players.
Mr. Qi's elaborate quests and exclusive shop were unlocked as well, selling incredibly powerful items that required rare Qi Gems as currency.
Inside the Walnut Room, players could check their perfect completion progress.
This world had no esports industry, nor online competitive games like those that dominated Alto's previous life.
Earning substantial real money through dream games was completely unheard of.
More importantly, the rewards were absurdly generous beyond anything players had ever seen.
Alto's money-throwing behavior was unprecedented in gaming history.
The players were ecstatic and pushed their grinding efforts even harder.
As for Alto, once he released the announcement, he stopped paying attention to it altogether.
He shifted all his focus back to developing the new game.