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

The argument between Irving and Aron put everyone in a foul mood.

Although Benjamin had initially tried to stop their quarrel, in the end, he chose to give up. After all, both Irving and Aron had leadership personalities. Eventually, they were bound to clash for control of the team.

Vicky had not been part of the previous mission, so she didn't feel qualified to say much. She had merely provided everyone with a place to discuss.

"So you mean to say the mission's failure was entirely my fault?" Aron asked hoarsely, glaring at Irving.

Irving answered without hesitation, "That's exactly what I think! And up until now, you haven't realized how much damage your mistakes have caused our team! You keep saying you want to revive the Angel Guild, but how can you do that if you keep making wrong decisions during our missions?"

Irving's words left Nick and Anna speechless. They both knew very well that reviving the Angel Guild was Aron's obsession.

Aron scoffed at Irving's accusations. "You don't understand anything! What gives you the right to criticize me? You're just an ordinary shelter player! I am responsible for the entire Angel Guild! I have to consider far more than you ever will!

You have no right to say I made wrong decisions during the mission because your intelligence can't even grasp the depth of my judgments."

After saying this, Aron stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

With Aron's departure, Nick and Anna felt immense pressure. As members of the Angel Guild, it seemed they had to leave with Aron. But if they did, it would mean a complete break from Irving.

"Do you think this is my fault? Do you think what I said made no sense?"

Irving looked deeply disappointed after Aron left.

Irving had initially thought that Aron was a very rational person. In Irving's view, Aron should have been someone capable of calmly analyzing and reflecting on the mission's failure. However, the current situation made Irving realize that he had misjudged Aron significantly.

"It seems I should never have trusted him from the start! Although he's currently the highest-ranking member of the Angel Guild, he can't keep his cool. He's not an excellent leader," Irving said, clearly intending for the others to hear.

Even though Aron had left, Irving was not planning to terminate the cooperation with the Angel Guild. He spoke to Nick and Anna in a gentle tone.

"Although I think Aron is a terrible person, I am still willing to continue working with the Angel Guild. You two performed quite well during the mission."

Nick and Anna nodded awkwardly after hearing Irving's words. Anna then spoke directly to Irving, "I don't think there's much point in our post-mortem analysis. Given the situation, let's return to the Angel Guild for now. If there's another opportunity to collaborate in the future, we'd be very willing to work with you. This mission may have failed, but I don't think we need to blame each other."

With that, Anna left, followed closely by Nick.

After all the Angel Guild members had left, Vicky sighed. "I think you need to work on your temper. What you said to Aron was a bit harsh," Vicky said gently to Irving.

"Do you think so too? I don't think what I said was harsh at all. If I really wanted to criticize Aron, I would have said even worse things," Irving replied, not feeling that he had said anything wrong.

Wendy also supported Irving, "I support Irving! I think Aron had his own agenda during the mission. When Irving was in danger, he didn't immediately decide to help. Benjamin knows this too; he can confirm that I'm not lying."

Wendy was referring to the incident during their first meeting in Shadow City, where everyone except Irving had gathered. At that time, Irving and Elder Lawrence were being chased by the King of Lightning. While everyone thought they should help Irving, Aron had been somewhat hesitant.

At that time, Aron seemed to want to lead the others out of Shadow City.

Irving was shocked upon hearing Wendy's words. He hadn't expected Aron to have done such a thing. He looked over at Benjamin, seeking confirmation.

Benjamin nodded reluctantly. "Wendy is right. When you were being chased by the King of Lightning, Aron was the only one who opposed us helping you," he said with a hint of resignation.

Irving's expression changed dramatically. "It seems I was right to target Aron. He's been trying to sabotage me all along. If you hadn't told me this, I would have remained in the dark."

Irving's impression of Aron worsened significantly. He decided he would no longer cooperate with Aron. And if Irving wasn't willing to work with Aron, the chances of collaborating with other members of the Angel Guild would also be very slim.

"It looks like it's impossible for us to work with the Angel Guild in our future actions," Benjamin said, a bit helplessly.

"What benefit do we get from working with them anyway? Their strength is nowhere near what it used to be! They can't even ensure their own safety!" Irving argued, seeing no significant loss in ending the cooperation with the Angel Guild. Most of the Angel Guild's combat power had been destroyed in the previous Night Blades attack. The remaining members were hardly worth mentioning.

Although Irving hadn't completely severed ties with the Angel Guild, he already considered them a semi-hostile force.

"So, what should we do next? A very powerful monster has appeared in the Desolate Canyon. Should we warn other shelter game players to avoid the Desolate Canyon?" Benjamin suggested, skillfully changing the subject. He believed that aiding other shelter game players could also benefit them.

Irving nodded. "Leave that to you! You can use this opportunity to give the Ocean Group more exposure."

After saying this, Irving planned to head home with Wendy. "I have other matters to attend to. There shouldn't be any more trouble here, so I'll take my leave."

As Irving was about to walk out of Vicky's office, she called out to him. "I don't know what to say right now. I just hope you can stay calm," Vicky said gently.

Vicky had already noticed that the team Irving had built was now completely fractured. Under such circumstances, Irving must be under immense pressure. Therefore, Vicky hoped that Irving would not lose his composure in a state of panic.

Irving smiled and said, "You don't need to worry! I can stay calm no matter the situation."

With that, Irving and Wendy left. Vicky and Benjamin watched them until they were completely out of sight. Once they were gone, Vicky turned to Benjamin.

"It seems the situation we're about to face is going to get worse. You need to strengthen our Ocean Group guild as soon as possible," Vicky said.

Benjamin nodded. "I've already formulated a plan. We can soon significantly boost the strength of the Ocean Group guild."

Of course, Vicky and Benjamin had no intention of sharing their plans with anyone else. And Irving wasn't interested in their plans either. He believed he needed to quickly organize his thoughts.

The failed mission in the Desolate Canyon made Irving realize that the alliance he had built was practically useless. The members of the Angel Guild didn't really trust him, and his other allies weren't particularly strong. Additionally, with the Dark Overlord about to descend into the real world, the overall situation looked grim for Irving.

On the way back to his residence, Wendy asked him in a slightly anxious tone, "Are you okay? I don't think you need to worry too much. With your abilities, you can succeed in the shelter game even without anyone else's help."

Wendy felt that Irving was under too much pressure and felt compelled to reassure him.

Irving shook his head. "I'm fine! The failure of this mission isn't entirely a bad thing for me. I've learned three valuable lessons from it.

The first lesson is to never collaborate with conceited people. Aron is one such person. Even if the mission failed because of him, he would never admit it. Collaborating with someone like him will only lead to faster failures.

The second lesson is not to bring too many people along during missions. The more people involved, the higher the chances of failure. It's better to bring fewer but more trustworthy individuals.

The third lesson is to never hesitate once the mission has started. If I had stuck to my judgment, we might have already succeeded in the Desolate Canyon. We wouldn't have ended up facing a monster there that's nearly impossible to defeat."

Irving's reflection on the mission's failure showed that he was already planning his next steps carefully.

Irving had always been remarkably calm. Even after his argument with Aron, he was able to coolly analyze the key points for his future actions.

Irving's words left Wendy utterly astonished. Her eyes widened as she looked at him, unable to utter a single word.