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

With that, Elder Lawrence transformed into a shadowy figure and vanished from sight.

Irving and his companions, of course, did not hear what Elder Lawrence had said. They were currently moving at full speed along the main road.

In less than a quarter of an hour, they passed through the sparse woods and emerged onto the grassland. At this moment, Irving turned back to look toward the direction they had originally come from. He suddenly realized that Elder Lawrence had already disappeared.

Filled with caution, Irving alerted the others, "Elder Lawrence is likely pursuing us. We need to be prepared to fight him at any moment."

Upon hearing Irving\'s words, the others became alert. Although they had already exhausted a significant amount of energy during the recent battle, they knew that to ensure their safety and to successfully reach the Abyss of Death, they had to be ready to face Elder Lawrence once more.

However, after running for about half an hour, the group had not spotted any sign of Elder Lawrence. Aron stopped, furrowing his brow as he observed their surroundings.

He suddenly realized that they had strayed from the planned route they had established before setting out. "We\'re not on the path we mapped out! It seems like we\'ve ended up in a very dangerous and unfamiliar area!"

Aron pulled out the map. While studying it, he compared it to the environment around them, trying to determine their current location.

As Aron was inspecting their surroundings, Irving was also paying close attention. Unlike Aron, who wanted to know their exact position, Irving was solely focused on ensuring that there were no enemies nearby.

"I haven\'t detected any monsters or exotic beasts around us. Elder Lawrence\'s aura has also faded for quite some time. It seems we may have evaded his pursuit," Benjamin whispered next to Irving.

Irving nodded in agreement. "I haven\'t sensed Elder Lawrence or any monsters either. Perhaps we really did manage to shake off his chase with our earlier sprint."

"In that case, let\'s head over to Aron. Maybe we can help them figure out exactly where we are," Wendy quickly suggested.

Wendy felt that she needed to provide some assistance to the others during their journey. If she contributed nothing, there was a good chance that Irving would not take her along on his next expedition.

Irving nodded and then led Benjamin and Wendy over to where Aron was. At that moment, Aron and Anna were anxiously engaged in a heated discussion about their intended course of action. Nick stood by their sides, keeping a vigilant watch for any potential enemies that might appear.

"What\'s the situation? Haven\'t you found a way to continue?" Irving asked Aron directly.

Aron looked up, speaking with a tone of deep concern. "Not only have we not found a way to proceed, but we don\'t even know where we are. This area isn\'t marked on the map at all."

As Aron spoke, Irving moved closer to Aron and Anna. The entire map lay before him, and it was indeed as Aron had said; there was no indication of the area where Irving, Aron, and the others were located.

"It seems that we\'ve made an unexpected discovery during this expedition. If we can return safely, we can record the information about our current location on this map. This way, others will be safer when undertaking similar missions in the future."

Although the situation they faced was quite dire, Irving still managed to find a reason to feel optimistic.

Anna asked Irving with a hint of frustration, "Are you suggesting we should celebrate this?"

"No need for celebration," Irving replied calmly. "Since we can\'t determine what kind of area we\'re in, we should just retrace our steps."

Irving\'s suggestion left Aron and Anna feeling somewhat annoyed. They believed that Irving\'s proposal held no real value.

"If you\'re not willing to help us, you could at least keep quiet. There\'s no need for sarcasm," Aron said in a lowered voice. He genuinely felt that Irving was mocking the Angel Guild.

"How could I be mocking you? I honestly believe we should go back the way we came. Elder Lawrence surely won\'t be waiting for us at the same place. He must think we\'ve headed straight to the Abyss of Death, which means he will set traps ahead of us to block our path. If we retrace our steps now, we can catch him off guard. Plus, we can continue along our planned route from where we originally were."

Irving\'s words began to sway Aron and Anna. At that moment, Benjamin chimed in, "Continuing to argue over this map is pointless. You won\'t be able to figure out where we are in the short term."

With Irving and Benjamin\'s persuasion, Aron and Anna ultimately agreed to Irving\'s plan.

"You\'re right. Let\'s go back the way we came," Aron said.

The group retraced their steps, but what happened next plunged them into a state of panic. They suddenly realized that even by going back the way they came, they could not return to their previous location. They were trapped in this vast grassland.

As time passed, they gradually sensed that something very dangerous lurked beneath the ground.

"Have you noticed that it seems like something is moving underneath the surface?" Wendy asked Irving in a hushed voice.

Irving nodded. "You don\'t need to worry about that. I think we just need to keep moving forward."

After saying this, Irving continued onward. Although Irving, Aron, and Anna remained calm, Benjamin, Wendy, and Nick struggled to maintain their composure.

Nick approached Aron from behind and asked, "Captain, I feel like we haven\'t retraced our steps at all. It seems like we\'ve entered another unknown area. Are we really going to keep moving forward? I can\'t shake the feeling that there are monsters lurking beneath the ground. Shouldn\'t we prepare for a fight? Or maybe we should find a safe place to rest for a while?"

Nick\'s proposed plan was indeed something that Irving and Aron had considered. However, neither Irving nor Aron was willing to simply stop the group.

They all felt that if they stopped, the unknown entities lurking beneath the ground would likely launch an immediate attack on them.

"I don\'t think we\'re going the wrong way! If we keep moving forward, we\'ll definitely return to where we were before!" Aron hadn\'t even finished speaking when Irving smiled and answered for him.

Nick glanced between Irving and Aron before reluctantly falling back into his original position.

The group continued to advance across the grassland for another half hour. During this time, everyone could feel that the moving entities beneath the ground were getting closer.

Although no one had fallen into a state of panic, the expressions on their faces were serious and tense.

"Look! We\'ve actually returned to the original place!" Irving suddenly broke the silence, pointing ahead with his hand.

The group followed Irving\'s gesture and indeed saw a massive stone wall. This wall was part of the monster they had previously defeated.

Seeing the stone wall, the expressions of everyone relaxed a bit.

"Shouldn\'t we be cautious? What if Elder Lawrence is still waiting there?" Benjamin reminded the group.

"You\'re right, and I must add this: Elder Lawrence will obviously have set traps for us at the original location," Irving coldly stated.

Irving\'s tone shocked everyone. He only spoke with such coldness when faced with a provocation from an enemy that needed to be eliminated.

As soon as Irving finished speaking, monstrous creatures suddenly materialized before them. Among these monsters were extraordinarily large spider-like creatures and somewhat smaller but incredibly agile dire wolves. The coordinated attack of these two types of monsters posed a significant threat to the group.

"Stop standing around! Get ready for battle!" Aron shouted urgently at the others.

At Aron\'s reminder, the group snapped into a combat mindset.

Facing the charging dire wolves, Nick and Benjamin teamed up to take down the closest one to them.

During the battle, although Wendy couldn\'t provide much assistance, she nonetheless used her bow and arrows to successfully hinder the advance of other creatures.

Anna stood beside Nick, taking care of any dire wolves that Nick and Benjamin had not managed to eliminate.

Meanwhile, Aron and Irving directed their attacks towards the giant spider. The moment the monsters appeared, they had recognized that the giant spider was the strongest among them. Therefore, as the two most powerful members of the team, it was their responsibility to confront the most formidable foe.

Without hesitation, the two launched their assault on the giant spider. The giant spider, in turn, locked onto Irving and Aron as its targets.

Thus, a fierce battle erupted between Irving\'s group and the horde of monsters.