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

Although Irving's movements were already fast enough, he still couldn't manage to kill Elder Lawrence before the latter regained consciousness. Just as Irving raised his Staff of Calamity, Elder Lawrence's eyes flew open.

Though Elder Lawrence's awareness was still quite hazy, his instinct for battle kicked in, allowing him to dodge Irving's attack. He leaped directly to the other side of the river.

Thus, Irving and Elder Lawrence confronted each other across the flowing water.

"You truly are a treacherous person! You actually planned to take advantage of my unconsciousness to kill me?!" Elder Lawrence spat furiously at Irving as he regained his senses.

Irving let out a cold laugh. "If you had regained consciousness before me, you would have done the same."

Despite both men harboring intentions to eliminate one another, they each held back slightly, aware of certain reservations. Both Irving and Elder Lawrence realized that their strength had not returned as swiftly as they had hoped. Even though their minds were clear, the power at their disposal now was significantly weaker than before.

Irving could barely muster the energy to cast spells with the Staff of Calamity.

During their standoff, Elder Lawrence attempted to summon a projection of a monster, but he was unsuccessful. After a prolonged silence, both men began to glean the other's condition.

Elder Lawrence took the initiative to speak to Irving.

"It seems your strength can't recover quickly either. Mine isn't returning rapidly, either. So let's not be enemies. We'll part ways and act independently," Elder Lawrence stated before making his way downstream along the river.

After a moment of hesitation, Irving ultimately accepted Elder Lawrence's suggestion, heading upstream along the river.

However, they had barely separated when a powerful roar from a nearby monster echoed through the air. In that instant, both Irving and Elder Lawrence recognized the formidable strength of the creature that had let out the cry. They realized that if they ventured out alone, they would have no chance of defeating it.

Moreover, due to the nature of the cave system, both Irving and Elder Lawrence found it impossible to determine the exact location of the powerful monster.

Eventually, Lawrence returned to his original position, and Irving gradually made his way back as well.

"Although we are enemies, in this situation, we must cooperate. Only through collaboration can we ensure our survival," Elder Lawrence said with a hint of disdain.

Irving nodded, but the look in his eyes still conveyed his desire to eliminate Lawrence.

"Let's proceed along either side of the river. When we encounter the monster, we can support each other. But if you act foolishly, I won't offer you any assistance," Elder Lawrence warned coldly.

In Elder Lawrence's view, his knowledge of the underground area of the Desolate Canyon was far greater. Thus, even when faced with danger, he believed he could react faster than Irving. Although Irving agreed with Elder Lawrence's strategy, he felt that he was the one at a greater advantage. After all, he still had the power of the Taikoo Flame Pearl at his disposal.

While the power of the Taikoo Flame Pearl was somewhat sealed, Irving could still tap into part of its strength in urgent situations.

The two men advanced along the river, each wary of the other and calculating their next moves.

After about fifteen minutes of travel, they suddenly noticed that the river ahead was widening.

"It seems we have arrived in a significantly broader area. In this spacious region, we should be able to find more clues," Elder Lawrence explained.

Irving nodded but remained silent.

As they continued along the now widened river for several hundred meters, they were astonished to find themselves in a jungle entirely composed of crystal. Within these crystals, various monsters were sealed.

Elder Lawrence tapped on one of the crystals and couldn't help but exclaim, "The quality of these crystals is exceptionally high. I am genuinely curious about what kind of being would think to use such high-quality crystals to seal monsters."

Just as Elder Lawrence finished speaking, he suddenly froze in place.

Because not far from him, a Winged Dragon, radiating a faint blue-green glow, was resting with its eyes closed. It was clear that all these crystals belonged to the Winged Dragon. The moment they spotted the creature, both Elder Lawrence and Irving held their breath. They both understood that encountering a Winged Dragon in such a confined area was extremely dangerous.

"We need to move slowly and definitely avoid disturbing that Winged Dragon," Elder Lawrence whispered to Irving. Irving nodded in agreement, recognizing the validity of the warning.

The two men proceeded cautiously, tiptoeing past the Winged Dragon. However, as Lawrence walked by, he accidentally kicked one of the nearby crystals. The crystal, already fragile, toppled over with a clear, sharp sound as it hit the ground.

The Winged Dragon, resting with its eyes closed, immediately opened its amber eyes at the sound. Spotting Lawrence and Irving, the creature was filled with rage.

The Winged Dragon flapped its wings, creating a fierce gust of wind around its body. With their diminished strength, Lawrence and Irving found themselves unable to resist the force of the wind generated by the Winged Dragon.

In an instant, they were both thrown off their feet, and the Winged Dragon had no intention of letting them escape. It surged toward Elder Lawrence and Irving with relentless speed.

In this moment of crisis, both Irving and Elder Lawrence naturally hoped that the other would take the rear. After all, the one who stayed behind would be at risk of being eaten by the Winged Dragon, while the one in front could seize the opportunity to escape its pursuit.

"You still have the nerve to keep running? The Winged Dragon awoke because of you! You should just stop right now!" Irving shouted at Elder Lawrence.

Elder Lawrence, of course, did not agree with Irving's accusation. "You bear some responsibility as well, so it should be you who holds the rear. Besides, you are much younger than I am; young people should take care of their elders."

Elder Lawrence expressed his thoughts without regard for Irving's objections. However, no matter what they said, the Winged Dragon would not change its course of action.

As it pursued the two men, the Winged Dragon continuously unleashed flames from its mouth. Irving and Elder Lawrence had no choice but to run while dodging the fire that spewed forth.

As they fled, both of their stamina quickly began to wane. Eventually, neither Irving nor Elder Lawrence had the strength to continue running. The Winged Dragon finally caught up to them.

With fury, the Winged Dragon glared at Irving and Elder Lawrence, opening its massive jaws wide, preparing to swallow them both whole. But just at that moment, a gigantic spear was hurled down from the distant stone wall.

The spear struck the Winged Dragon's left wing with deadly accuracy, prompting the enraged creature to turn its gaze toward the direction from which the spear had come. Soon after, another spear hit its right wing.

More and more spears rained down from the stone wall. Irving and Elder Lawrence stood in astonishment, watching the barrage of spears, momentarily at a loss for words.

Ultimately, after being relentlessly struck by the spears, the Winged Dragon let out a pained howl and collapsed to the ground.

With the Winged Dragon dead, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the darkness. Both Irving and Elder Lawrence realized that they were surrounded by many people, or at least humanoid creatures.

After a moment, a group of individuals dressed in primitive tribal garb appeared before Irving and Elder Lawrence. The man at the forefront asked serious questions about the two men, seemingly assessing whether they posed any threat.

Elder Lawrence began speaking in a language that Irving could not understand. Upon hearing Lawrence's words, the tribal leader shot a fierce glare at Irving.

"What exactly did you say to him?! Why is he looking at me like that?!" Irving exclaimed.

Elder Lawrence smiled and replied, "You'll find out what I told him very soon! No matter how many schemes you come up with, I will be the one to succeed in the end. I have many allies here."

With confidence, Elder Lawrence stood tall and began walking slowly towards the tribal leader.

However, just as he had taken half a step forward, two other members of the primitive tribe blocked his path. Elder Lawrence wore a look of surprise as he once again spoke to the tribal members in a language that Irving could not understand.

This time, however, Lawrence's words did not yield any results. The tribal members swiftly bound Lawrence, while two others approached Irving and restrained him as well.

"It seems you are not very familiar with them either. You might end up facing the same fate as I do. Although I have no idea what you said to those tribal people, I suspect you want them to kill me. If you share my fate, then you too will be killed by them," Irving sneered at Elder Lawrence as they were led away by the tribal members.

While Irving mocked Lawrence, his primary concern was his own fate and that of his companion. Elder Lawrence remained silent, expressionless.

He realized that he had indeed made a blunder. The words he had just spoken were in the language of the primitive tribe. He had hoped they would kill Irving and offer him as a sacrifice to the ancient god that the tribe worshipped.

What Lawrence had not anticipated was that the tribe also intended to sacrifice him to the very god they revered.

Yet no matter how much Elder Lawrence regretted his actions, it was already too late. They could only be taken deeper into the primitive tribe's territory and consider their escape options from there.

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