The Shelter Game: Me, Starting with a Tenfold Drop Rate

In the outskirts of the real-world City of Warding, Irving was moving alongside James and others. He had just received a distress message from Aron. At that moment, he was frowning, contemplating what course of action he should take next.

Irving's expression did not go unnoticed by the others. James felt a bit puzzled, but he refrained from asking directly. He understood that Irving preferred not to be disturbed when he was deep in thought.

After a while, Irving's expression finally eased somewhat. With a smile, he said to James and the others, "It seems we need to pause our current operation. We have eliminated the vast majority of the remaining Night Blades' forces, but the others have hidden themselves very deeply. If we want to locate all of them, it will take a considerable amount of time. We must return to the headquarters of Angel Guild to discuss our next action plan for entering the Shelter Game world."

After saying this, Irving led James back to the Angel Guild headquarters. Along the way, James did not ask any questions. He knew very well that if there was something he needed to know, Irving would tell him.

When they reached the entrance of the Angel Guild headquarters, Irving finally spoke to James slowly. "Aron and Benjamin are in serious trouble in the Shelter Game world. They are facing an unbeatable enemy and should now be under the enemy's control."

Upon hearing this news, James managed to maintain a calm expression. "So, you plan to directly enter the Shelter Game world to rescue them? I'm willing to join you. After all, Aron and Benjamin are my friends too."

James genuinely wanted to act alongside Irving. However, Irving shook his head at that moment. "It's not that simple. Aron and Benjamin will not be easily eliminated. I believe the true target of those who captured them is not them, but me. Therefore, we have plenty of time to prepare. Moreover, we still don't know who exactly captured Aron and Benjamin. We cannot act recklessly without sufficient information."

Irving succinctly laid out the situation. James, naturally, had great faith in Irving's judgment. He nodded and said, "Alright then, I will follow your lead."

After a brief communication, Irving and James entered the Angel Guild headquarters. Inside, there were many people present. After all, the members of the Angel Guild had not encountered any significant issues recently.

Whether it was the threat posed by Sophia or the hidden members of the Night Blades, it was up to Irving and his team to handle these issues. As a result, the members of Angel Guild could continue to strengthen their own abilities at the headquarters.

Anna and Nick had learned in advance that Irving had returned, so they were specifically waiting for him and James.

"Aron and Benjamin are in trouble. They have encountered an enemy attack in the Shelter Game world and should be completely under the enemy's control. Our top priority is to rescue them," Irving stated directly in the conference room, sharing the information he had obtained.

Both Anna and Nick were shocked by this news. Anna was more anxious than Nick. She turned to Irving and said, "In that case, let's act quickly. Aron and Benjamin are both very strong; the enemy capable of defeating them must be even stronger. If we don't hurry to rescue them, they might be killed by this powerful enemy."

Anna's concern was understandable, given her close relationship with Aron.

Irving nodded, smiling as he said, "There's no need to rush. If we act without sufficient intelligence, we will surely fall into the enemy's trap. The enemy would love for us to be in a state of panic. What we need to do now is remain calm and gather enough information."

Irving's words made a lot of sense. Gradually, the somewhat anxious Anna and Nick calmed down.

After thinking for a moment, Nick asked Irving, "So how should we gather intelligence? Didn't Aron and Benjamin provide you with more information?"

Irving shook his head. "They did provide more information, but it all points to Elder Astra. Elder Astra has allied himself with some kind of monster in the Shelter Game world. We are very familiar with Elder Astra, but we know nothing about the monster he is working with. We need to gather sufficient information about that monster."

As Irving spoke, he carefully observed James and Nick's expressions. In Irving's plan, if he wanted to gather enough intelligence, he needed to take others into the Shelter Game world with him. Since he did not want to act alone, he had to decide quickly who he would take along with him, including Nick and James.

"So that's the case. If this matter is related to Elder Astra, shouldn't we first look for possible clues in the real world?" James said in a somewhat serious tone at that moment.

All eyes turned to James, and he felt the need to explain why he made that statement. "Elder Astra is an elder of the Night Blades. Moreover, he has taken action several times in the real world before. This means that Elder Astra is likely the elder most closely connected with the Night Blades members in the real world. We might be able to gather important intelligence related to Elder Astra from the Night Blades members in the real world. Additionally, operating in the real world is much safer than acting in the Shelter Game world."

James spoke at length, and what he said did have some merit. Irving began to contemplate whether he should follow James's plan.

While Irving was deep in thought, he suddenly sensed an inexplicable force surrounding him. He reacted immediately, drawing his staff.

In the astonished gazes of everyone present, Irving slammed his staff down onto the conference table. At the moment the staff made contact with the surface, a powerful protective barrier enveloped everyone, including Irving.

Before anyone could react, Elder Astra's figure suddenly appeared outside the barrier. His presence naturally attracted everyone's attention.

"It seems you are not very surprised by my appearance," Elder Astra said slowly, a smile on his face.

Irving looked coldly at the projection of Elder Astra. "What is your purpose for being here? Do you wish to continue collaborating with me?" His tone was not as icy as before; he spoke in a straightforward, businesslike manner.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Elder Astra's projection smiled slightly. "You don't need to pretend anymore. Aron must have contacted you. He surely informed you that I set a trap for him, and he walked right into it without any caution."

Elder Astra's words put everyone in the conference room on high alert.

"I am here simply to offer you an opportunity. Your two companions are about to be killed by the Abyssal Demon. If you want to save them, quickly enter the Shelter Game world. In the Shelter Game world, you will soon be able to locate the Abyssal Demon. At that point, we can have a fair showdown there."

After delivering this message, Elder Astra's projection vanished. Irving retrieved his staff, and the barrier immediately dissipated.

Irving's expression was extremely grim at that moment. He understood that the information provided by Elder Astra was meant to lure him into a trap. Yet he had no choice but to step into that trap because he had to save his companions.

"I think we can't trust anything he said," Anna said anxiously to Irving. "He must have deliberately given us this information. While I don't know how strong the Abyssal Demon is, if we act on Elder Astra's words, we will definitely fall into a trap."

Although Anna was very concerned about Aron, she was also deeply worried about Irving. In Anna's view, Irving's importance was even greater than that of Aron. Therefore, she was unwilling to let Irving voluntarily walk into a trap.

Nick and James remained silent. They both knew that Anna was right, but they also understood that no matter what, Irving would go to rescue his companions.

Irving didn't respond to Anna's words. After frowning and thinking for a moment, he spoke slowly. "Elder Astra has indeed set a trap for us, but it's a trap we must walk into. This mission is not only about saving my companions; it is also about gathering intelligence related to the Abyssal Demon. The Abyssal Demon has likely only recently appeared in the Shelter Game world. Its emergence must be connected to the changes in the Shelter Game world. To prepare for any potential crises, we need to collect enough information. So this time, besides Anna, both of you will accompany me into the Shelter Game world."

Irving had made his decision. He felt that taking only one person with him would not allow him to execute his plan effectively, so he decided to bring James and Nick along.

James and Nick did not hesitate at all and immediately agreed.

"No problem. I'll prepare as quickly as I can. Of course, I'll need the Angel Guild to provide me with some suitable weapons," James said straightforwardly.

Nick also responded without any hesitation, "I'm ready and can act at any time."