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

Irving gleaned a substantial amount of useful information from Elder Seville's mutterings.

First and foremost, the most valuable piece of information was that Elder Seville did not obtain the details about the Smith family's hidden treasure from Joseph. Instead, he got the information from an ancient tome. Secondly, Elder Seville initially did not believe the contents recorded in the ancient tome.

He only started believing it recently, possibly due to information provided by Joseph or perhaps a tip from someone within the Night Blades.

If the information came from Joseph, then Elder Seville likely didn't have much insight into the unknown space mentioned by the Smith family's ancestor. After all, Joseph himself didn't know much about his family's treasure. However, if someone within the Night Blades tipped him off, then Elder Seville would have complete control over this operation.

He might even possess more clues related to the Smith family's treasure—clues that even Donald might not be aware of.

While Irving was contemplating these matters, Elder Seville had already reached the entrance. He held his torch high, examining the entrance with excitement. Meanwhile, not far from him, Vicky took a few steps back to create some distance between herself and Elder Seville.

Vicky harbored deep resentment toward Elder Seville. On one hand, it was because Elder Seville posed a significant threat to the Smith family. On the other hand, it was because Vicky viewed Elder Seville as a man without any moral boundaries.

After observing the entrance for a while, Elder Seville turned his gaze toward Vicky. "The entrance seems to be fine. There's no need to worry, go on in."

With Elder Seville's urging, Vicky slowly walked into the narrow passage, barely wide enough for one person. As she stepped into the passage, a flood of memories that didn't belong to her started pouring into her mind. The sheer volume of the memories was overwhelming, causing Vicky to collapse.

Seeing this, Irving quickly ran forward, catching Vicky just before she hit the ground. "What's wrong?" Irving asked, then turned to Elder Seville with anger in his voice, "Did you manipulate the venomous insects to give her a severe headache?"

Faced with Irving's accusation, Elder Seville's expression showed a hint of confusion. However, instead of approaching Vicky and Irving, he took two steps back, retreating from the entrance into the hollow. "I didn't manipulate the insects! She must have encountered some danger.

I advise you to come out quickly; if you stay in there, you'll face danger too."As Elder Seville spoke, it seemed as though he had recalled some crucial information. However, he had no intention of sharing this critical information with Irving. Similarly, Irving had no plans to exit the passage; he felt that separating from Elder Seville might actually be beneficial.

Just as Irving entertained this thought, a flood of foreign memories surged into his mind, accompanied by a sharp headache. These memories seemed to belong to the Smith family's ancestors. The visions were filled with blurred figures, twisted creatures, and indescribable entities.

While enduring the intense headache, Irving suddenly saw the Taikoo Flame Pearl, a blazing orb, appear in his vision. With the help of the Taikoo Flame Pearl, Irving gradually regained his clarity. He realized that he couldn't linger at the entrance any longer. If he stayed too long, the overwhelming foreign memories could completely consume him.

Even if he managed to resist the flood of memories through sheer willpower, he risked being transformed into someone else or, worse, becoming a vessel for the resurrection of the Smith family's ancestor.

Understanding the gravity of the situation, Irving quickly picked up Vicky and sprinted deeper into the passage. If their objective was to find the hidden treasure of the Smith family, retreating to the hollow would be futile, as he would remain under Elder Seville's control. His only hope lay in advancing further into the passage.

Elder Seville was visibly shocked by Irving's actions. He shouted, "Are you insane?! The entrance itself is already extremely dangerous. If you go deeper into the passage, you'll encounter even greater dangers. This place is riddled with peril!"

Elder Seville began to regret his decisions. Had he known the dangers that awaited them in the passage, he would have had the Night Blades members accompany them. At the very least, they could have scouted ahead. His words, however, fell on deaf ears as Irving, carrying Vicky, continued to dash deeper into the passage. Within minutes, Elder Seville lost sight of them.

"Damn it! You won't escape my control this way!" Elder Seville muttered, though his concern was evident.

Despite his worries, Elder Seville realized he had no other options. If he didn't follow Irving into the passage, he would miss his chance to obtain the Smith family's treasure. Resolutely, Elder Seville gritted his teeth and decided to pursue Irving into the passage. check-out-MvLeMpYr

As soon as Elder Seville stepped into the passage, he felt the memories of the Smith family's ancestor invading his mind. He manipulated the venomous insects to enter his brain, struggling to fend off the onslaught of memories.

"Why didn't you tell me entering the passage would be dangerous?! If you had warned me, I could have prepared in advance," Elder Seville grumbled, as he fought to maintain control over his mind.Elder Seville seemed to be grumbling about the person who provided him with the clues regarding the Smith family's treasure.

Regardless, he had now entered the passage and was determined to pursue Irving and Vicky.

Not far ahead, Irving, carrying Vicky, finally reached the end of the passage. The end of the passage opened up into another hollow space. As soon as they exited the passage, both of them were forcefully flung in opposite directions. Irving was hurled toward the left wall of the hollow and got stuck there due to a powerful suction force.

Vicky, who had not yet regained consciousness from the flood of memories, was thrown to the right wall and similarly got stuck.

Irving continuously channeled the power of the Taikoo Flame Pearl, trying to break free from the wall's suction. He even used the spell-enhancing effects of the Staff of Calamity to cast Gravity Swamp, hoping that the additional gravitational pull would counteract the wall's suction. However, his efforts were in vain.

While Irving was contemplating how to escape this predicament, Elder Seville finally emerged from the passage. As soon as he exited, an unknown force pulled him toward the left wall of the hollow, and he crashed not far from Irving.

"What's happening?! Why am I stuck here?!" Elder Seville exclaimed, a hint of panic in his voice. He had been bombarded with a massive influx of memories while traversing the passage. Not only did he see what seemed to be the Smith family ancestor's memories, but he also saw the memories of the Night Blades members he had previously sacrificed. These memories filled him with dread.

Once Elder Seville calmed down, he noticed that not only was he stuck to the wall, but Irving and Vicky were as well. This indicated that they had reached the second trial before entering the unknown space.

Like Irving, Elder Seville struggled to use his strength and skills to break free from the wall's suction. However, his efforts were as futile as Irving's.

"There's no use wasting your energy; it's impossible to break free from the wall's suction," Irving said coldly to Elder Seville. He only warned him because he was concerned that Elder Seville's actions might further worsen the situation for himself and Vicky.

Elder Seville, however, paid no heed to Irving's warning. He didn't believe that Irving's strength surpassed his own. Elder Seville thought that just because Irving failed didn't mean he would too.

After a while, Elder Seville suddenly stopped struggling. He furrowed his brows, squinting his eyes for a moment, and then turned his gaze toward Vicky.

Seeing this, Irving immediately warned, "You can't even free yourself from this situation, and now you want to manipulate venomous insects to torment others? If you continue this, there will be no way for us to cooperate."

Elder Seville smiled faintly in response to Irving's warning. "I have no intention of tormenting Vicky, nor do I plan to torment you. I've simply found a way to escape this predicament, and it requires Vicky's cooperation."

Irving didn't believe a word Elder Seville said.At this moment, Vicky had also regained consciousness and was curious to hear what Elder Seville's method for escaping the predicament was.

"You both experienced the flood of memories from the Smith family ancestor when you passed through the passage, right? Did you not gain any clues from those memories?" Elder Seville's words served as a wake-up call for Irving and Vicky.

Irving and Vicky began to simultaneously search through their minds for the Smith family ancestor's memories. Sure enough, they found the method to escape their predicament, and it was surprisingly simple—utilizing the bloodline of the Smith family descendants.

"Are you saying I have to kill myself for you two to escape?" Vicky asked, incredulously, directing her question at both Irving and Elder Seville.

Before Elder Seville could respond, Irving shook his head and said, "No, that's not it! You don't need to kill yourself. You just need to spill some of your blood at the bottom of the hollow."

Irving's memories from the Smith family ancestor were quite clear. He recalled that the ancestor had escaped the hollow's constraints by spilling his blood at the bottom of the hollow.

Vicky, though still slightly skeptical, decided to trust Irving's words. "Alright, if that's what it takes," she said, taking a deep breath.

With some difficulty, Vicky managed to prick her finger and let a few drops of blood fall to the hollow's bottom. As soon as her blood touched the ground, the powerful suction force holding them against the walls began to weaken.

Irving could feel the grip loosening and quickly instructed, "More blood, Vicky. We need more to fully break free."

Vicky nodded and, with determination, let more of her blood spill onto the hollow's floor. The effect was immediate and profound. The suction force dissipated entirely, and they all fell to the ground.

Elder Seville landed with a grunt but quickly regained his composure. "It actually worked," he muttered, a mix of relief and frustration in his voice.

Irving helped Vicky to her feet and then turned to face Elder Seville. "We need to move quickly. This place is full of unknown dangers, and we can't afford any more delays."

Elder Seville, though still wary of Irving, nodded in agreement. The three of them knew that their cooperation, however tenuous, was essential for surviving the trials ahead and ultimately finding the Smith family's hidden treasure.