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

"This should be the core area of the secret realm, where the treasure is hidden." James muttered as he looked at the scene before him.

They were standing at the edge of the lava, where the path was very narrow.

Below was the surging lava, and one misstep would mean falling in, with consequences too obvious to state…

"Irving, look! There seems to be something carved on the rock wall." Vicky pointed out.

Everyone turned to look at the rock wall, which was covered with numerous carvings. They seemed to be trying to record something, and there were also some mysterious ancient writings beside them.

"This..." Irving\'s expression faltered slightly. He didn\'t recognize the ancient text, but it felt familiar to him.

He immediately thought of the parchment scroll they had found in Duncan\'s hall after capturing The Brotherhood of Night Blades.

["Lost Legacy Scroll"]

[Description: This scroll was left behind by an ancient race on Blue Star. Following the instructions on the scroll to the indicated ruins, passing the trials will grant a chance to inherit the legacy of the ancient race…]

This was the detailed information about that parchment scroll.

At that time, Irving couldn\'t quite understand why Duncan would hide a tattered parchment scroll in the compartment of a bookshelf. However, as he now looked at the ancient and mysterious writings on the rock wall, it was as if he suddenly understood something.

Although neither the mysterious writings on the rock wall nor the contents of the parchment scroll could be deciphered by anyone due to their extreme age, the carvings on the rock wall exhibited a certain commonality.

The next moment.

Irving began to carefully examine the carvings on the rock wall, his expression growing increasingly complex.

"Irving, what exactly are these murals depicting?" Vicky asked, somewhat puzzled.

"These murals record major events experienced by the race that once lived here." Irving said in a deep voice. "There were a total of four murals here, seemingly documenting how that ancient race grew stronger through constant battles, developed into a powerful civilization, even becoming the dominant force at one point, until their eventual downfall..."

The first mural depicts an intense battle.

At the center of the scene, a group of warriors in primitive armor, holding stone tools and wooden shields, are fighting against a strange-looking enemy. The warriors\' eyes are filled with determination and courage.

At the edges of the scene, the defeated enemies lie on the ground, while the warriors raise their weapons and cheer for victory.

"This mural describes the war between this race and a foreign one, and their hard-fought victory." Irving said, pointing to the second and third murals.

The content of these two murals was similar.

The previous mural depicts members of the race sitting around a campfire, celebrating their harvest and victory. They are cooking food together, and in the distance, the fields are golden with rice, and herds of cattle and sheep can be seen.

The latter mural\'s center shows a majestic castle, with numerous uniquely-shaped races kneeling beneath it, presenting tributes to the castle as a sign of submission. The background includes depictions of the ocean, mountains, and forests. Groups of the race\'s warriors ride mighty exotic beasts, patrolling their territory.

"These two murals likely depict the race\'s expansion, their dominance over neighboring races, and their rise to power." Irving explained.

Vicky, Sophia, James, and the surviving players from the Green Ivy Group followed closely behind Irving, listening intently to his explanation.

Soon, they arrived at the last mural.

Irving\'s expression gradually darkened, a complex and indescribable look flashing in his deep eyes.

"Irving, this mural looks a bit strange..." Vicky remarked.

Not only she, but even James and the surviving players felt an inexplicable sense of oppression.

"This depicts the extinction of that race." Irving said heavily.

"Extinction?!" Vicky was startled.

Hearing this, everyone fell silent again. They turned their attention back to the last mural. The lines in this mural were bolder: a massive crack appeared in the sky as if it would swallow everything, lightning flashed, volcanoes erupted, and tsunamis swept through.

Countless creatures fled in terror, but many buildings and lives were still consumed by the catastrophic disaster. At the center of the scene, a masked, strong-willed leader stood tall, looking up at the sky with a gaze filled with helplessness and unwillingness...

Irving fell into silence, recalling the apocalyptic scenes he experienced in his previous life. For some reason, they seemed similar to the scenes depicted in the mural.

"Irving, do you think the content of this mural could be fictional?" Vicky continued, "The Other World we\'re in now is generated by the will of Blue Star. Those exotic beasts don\'t exist in real life, and this ruin might be fictional too..."

Not only she but also James and the other players had similar thoughts.

But Irving shook his head.

He had personally experienced an apocalypse. After the Dark Overlord\'s arrival, influenced by special geomagnetic energy, all creatures mutated, becoming even fiercer than the exotic beasts encountered in the Other World.

The human population drastically decreased, and those who once ruled Blue Star were forced to live humbly in underground tunnels, facing constant threats.

With extreme scarcity of resources, large-scale killings even occurred among humans.

If Irving had survived a little longer in his past life, he would have witnessed humanity\'s extinction...

"These are not fictional." Irving said gravely. "The history we can trace now is just a small part of Blue Star\'s entire historical process."

"Do you mean that there were once races on Blue Star with a status equal to humans, but they went extinct for some reason?" Vicky\'s heart surged with emotions.

Irving merely nodded, saying no more.

He couldn\'t reveal the scenes he had encountered in his past life. Not only would no one believe him, but revealing them would also expose his identity.

As the group was studying the content of the final mural, a commotion erupted nearby.

Irving\'s gaze was drawn to the disturbance. Two factions were facing off, and he immediately recognized two familiar faces among them: Anna and Aron.

"Angel Guild? They made it in too." James remarked with some surprise.

The Angel Guild, backed by official support, was a formidable force, recruiting only the most gifted players.

While the ferocious Red Flame Fierce Snakes outside had claimed many lives, they posed no fatal threat to the well-guarded Angel Guild.

"Who dares to confront Angel Guild? What kind of people are they?" James\'s eyes shifted to the group of black-clad figures standing opposite the Angel Guild, his expression growing increasingly complex.

The black-clad group numbered just over thirty, but behind them stood a horde of players, more than a hundred strong.

The two factions filled the narrow path like two long dragons, with loose rocks frequently falling from their feet into the lava below, where a single misstep could mean disaster.

Irving\'s gaze fell on the black-clad group, his eyes narrowing with cold intensity.

"Irving." Sophia, who had been silent until now, spoke up, her eyes blazing with anger. "Those are the bastards who attacked us. I can\'t believe they\'ve made it in here too."

Sophia\'s family had previously been under the control of a faction affiliated with the Night Blades, leading to their downfall.

She had hoped to use this opportunity to lead her family into the secret realm. But they were ambushed by the Night Blades, resulting in heavy casualties for her family.

She bit her lip hard, barely restraining the urge to rush forward and fight them to the death.

"Night Blades..." James\'s face took on a peculiar expression upon learning the identity of the black-clad group. He spoke slowly, "As far as I know, Night Blades is a massive organization operating outside our borders. They have branches all over the world. In several major cities near the capital, many families have been bought off by them."

"If I\'m not mistaken, those people following them are all from the guilds of these bought-off families."

After the secret realm opened, nearly half of the guild players who passed through the outer forest were eliminated by the Poisonous Fang Paralyzed Spiders.

Only about a third of the players made it to the base of the volcano. Aside from those who chose to forgo the treasure hunt, most of the remaining players encountered the Fiery and Passionate Snakes, with more than half perishing.

After two rounds of eliminations, only three teams were left in the heart of the volcano: the Angel Guild, the Night Blades, and Irving\'s group…

At that moment, a system notification sounded.

[Congratulations on reaching the core of the secret realm!]

[This volcanic heartland was once the birthplace of a mighty ancient tribe on Blue Star millions of years ago. Their legacy is hidden here…]