Driven by the firm resolve that he absolutely could not die, Drake was extremely cautious during this jungle expedition.
The Underground Jungle was made up of a dense network of connected caverns, full of dirt, pools of water, thorny bushes, and beehives everywhere.
Unlike the relatively safe spawn area, the monsters here were both more varied and more dangerous.
Bzzzz…
Hearing the buzzing that carried through the damp, oppressive air,
Drake frowned irritably and raised his head, nerves taut.
In the underground space lit by the glow of his Flaming Arrows, several enormous dark-yellow hornets were swaying toward him through the air.
These hornets were astonishingly large, almost bigger than a prum girl.
Their method of attack was also extremely troublesome—they directly fired poisonous stingers at prey from a distance!
Without exaggeration, in Drake's eyes, these hornets were basically no different from armed helicopters.
"First harpies, now hornets. Can't I get an enemy that's at least a little easier to deal with?"
Letting out a sigh, Drake quickly slipped into a natural cavern alcove, narrowly avoiding a volley of poisonous stingers.
Once they lost sight of their target, the hornets drifted closer in confusion, entering Drake's attack range.
"…My turn!"
Drake suddenly leaned out from behind cover, the massive-looking Superheated Ion Blaster braced on his shoulder.
In an instant, all 20 points of his mana were drained, transformed into a devastating phase laser orb that shot forward.
The moisture in the air was instantly vaporized, and the swelling orb of light exploded, tearing through the monsters' bodies at the same time.
A moment later, the smell of scorched protein drifted over.
After confirming there were no enemies nearby, Drake put away the weapon and searched the area for the loot left behind by the hornets.
These hornets were troublesome, but after killing them they dropped one of the key materials needed to craft jungle gear—Stingers.
Making a full set of Jungle Armor required 10 Stingers.
Making the Blade of Grass required 12 Stingers, for a total of 22 altogether.
Fortunately, the hornets had pretty decent drop rates. Roughly every two hornets would yield one Stinger.
Besides the most basic material drops, Drake also remembered that these hornets had a 1% chance to drop the accessory Bezoar, which granted immunity to poison.
That item was one of the components for the mid-to-late-game survival essential, the Ankh Charm.
If one dropped now, he wouldn't need to come back and farm for it later.
"Hm? There's light down below?"
Drake raised an eyebrow. He had spotted a faint green glow in the distance.
It wasn't the weak shimmer of Jungle Spores.
Rather, it was a flickering light, dancing almost like a flame.
That instantly energized Drake, and his eyes lit up!
In the Underground Jungle, there was only one reason for something like this—
"There's a Jungle Shrine nearby!"
A Jungle Shrine was a small special structure found in the Underground Jungle.
It was built from Rich Mahogany and glowing green bricks, and inside it always contained a green torch.
Every Jungle Shrine had an Ivy Chest.
Inside would be one rare Underground Jungle item along with various normal underground and cavern items.
In simple terms, if you found a Jungle Shrine, there was guaranteed to be a chest worth looting!
A whole list of jungle-themed accessories instantly flashed through Drake's mind.
But excited as he was, he didn't lose his caution.
In fact, the moment he discovered the Jungle Shrine, he also noticed several unusual signs nearby.
For example…the rustling, lurking Man Eaters peeking out from the corners!
"I'd better get rid of those sneaky vines first, so they don't ambush me while I'm opening the chest."
Drake pulled out the Ion Blaster and narrowed his eyes as he aimed.
"Good timing—I still need a few Vines anyway. They've practically delivered themselves to me."
These vines were monsters called Man Eaters.
Their roots were anchored far away, and they hunted using the claw-like mouths at the end of their stems.
Although the limitations of their roots meant they could only move within a certain area,
their ability to travel through dirt made them excellent ambushers.
The Man Eaters near the shrine had clearly been using the chest and the light as bait, waiting for Drake to walk into their trap.
Too bad for them—this time, they were the prey!
A chain of energy beams pierced through the darkness like blades, slicing through the Man Eaters' stems.
This time, Drake was using the Ion Blaster's laser mode.
Against spread-out enemies, it was easier to focus fire and pick them off one by one.
"In the game, you could only damage a Man Eater by hitting its head."
"But now, cutting through the stem counts as killing it too…"
Looking at the limp corpse of the Man Eater, Drake fell into thought.
"It looks like I can't apply all of my old experience directly to this real Terraria world."
He had actually already started to feel that before.
The clearest example was bows—
in the game, arrows went exactly where you aimed.
But after making an Iron Bow, Drake found that he had absolutely no idea how to shoot properly, and his accuracy was all over the place!
In the end, he could only treat the bow like a launcher for Flaming Arrows and use it purely as a lighting tool.
"Looks like I really do need to practice archery."
As he carefully made his way toward the Jungle Shrine, Drake quietly made up his mind.
Bows were an important weapon category in Terraria, with many powerful and highly practical options.
If he gave up on them just because his archery was bad, that would be far too much of a loss.
These Man Eaters dropped several Vines, and after counting them, Drake found he had five in total.
That was just enough for the material requirements of a Blade of Grass and a full set of Jungle Armor.
"Once I gather a bit more Jungle Spores, this expedition will count as a complete success."
"But before that… there's still a chest to open."
The Jungle Shrine was very small—even smaller than the room Drake rented in Orario.
After stepping inside, Drake didn't immediately walk up to the chest in front of him.
Instead, he carefully inspected the floor and walls.
Only after confirming there were no traps like pressure plates or poison darts did he finally move forward with peace of mind.
There was no helping it—the memory of his last death was simply too unforgettable.
It had almost given Drake trap-related PTSD.
"Let's see what treasures are inside!"
Filled with excitement and anticipation, Drake reached out and opened the Ivy Chest.
Aside from a few special types, treasure chests in Terraria were generally not locked.
If you found one, it was basically a windfall.
But the moment Drake saw what was inside the chest, he froze.
"It actually dropped this…"
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