Archer's Adventure Manual

Loran left the manor, found a small tavern in the town, chose a lively table, and quietly mingled in.

While everyone was chatting, he inadvertently dropped the twig he was spinning onto the table.

The people at the table were instantly drawn to it for a moment.

Taking advantage of this moment, Loran casually asked, "Have you guys seen Pete lately?"

Seeing that Loran had created a new topic, the adventurers who had been drinking and chatting also became interested.

"Pete, that corpse picker, he's ugly as hell and does disgusting things all the time. It's annoying to even look at him. Who cares about him?"

"But you know what, I haven't seen that guy for the past few days. Where did he go?"

"Yeah, he usually loves to show off his loot, but he hasn't shown up lately. I think he might have died out there."

"That's quite possible. I saw Pete a few days ago. He said he was going to find that missing ranger from the Excellence Blade team. Haha, that guy, he's like a dog seeing shit."

Brian, who was squatting at Loran's feet, suddenly raised his head. What, is it involved too?

Loran interjected, "What's the story behind that vanished ranger?"

"Well, who knows? Those rangers must be pretty strong. Maybe it's internal conflict. Otherwise, I don't believe such a strong team couldn't even protect one teammate back. Even if they couldn't, they could at least leave him with a whole body."

"Those guys from the Blade of Excellence said they encountered a really tough monster. Heh, how tough could there be a monster around our little town? That's probably just an excuse."

Listening to the adventurers in the tavern talking amongst themselves, Loran had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

He could now confirm the identity of the shriveled corpse he had looted; it was none other than "Pete," a name known to many in the town.

Pete died because he went to find the Ranger from the Granado Espada squad who might have died.

Whether the wandering knight is dead or not remains unknown.

Wait a minute, Loran looked at Brian. To be honest, he had been overlooking one point: in a sense, Brian might also know something.

After all, Brian was nearby and seriously injured; perhaps it had seen something...

Loran remembered the "Language Proficiency" talent from the Adventure Handbook.

Hmm... but adventure points are tight right now. He'll wait until he gains some points from hunting and learns a few combat skills before teaching Brian to speak.

He had gained some information about the shovel's owner, but not much; he still had no clue about the possible monster.

With a thought, Loran saw the phantom of the Adventure Handbook appear before him. He wanted to try spending Adventure Points to ask questions and see if he could get some answers from the handbook.

The first page of the manual is already filled with writing, but the manual has a magical function that allows you to flip up and down from one page, endlessly.

In other words, as long as the manual is willing, he can write on the first page forever, and he will never finish writing!

Loran scrolled down and found the latest update to the manual.

"Survival Guide: You have attracted the attention of something."

Wait a minute... when did this instruction appear?!

Loran felt a chill in his heart. Whose attention had he attracted?

"Manual, what exactly have I attracted the attention of?"

"Would you like to spend 100 Adventure Point to actively obtain Survival Guide?"

100 Adventure Points?

Loran's eyes widened. He only spent 1 adventure point to get the dog rescue guide, how come there's inflation!

However, if adventure points don't inflate, then higher points mean that the information provided is harder to obtain, or in other words...

This thing that's watching Loran... is very strong?!

Loran thought for a moment about who he had just encountered...

The people at the manor tavern, Noah Ban, the crowds in the Adventurers' Guild Square, the flow of people on the streets, the adventurers in the noisy tavern...

The thing watching him was hidden among these guys, or perhaps lurking in some secret corner of the town...

The reason for staring at Loran was very simple: Loran was a dead man, but he was now standing there alive and kicking, which naturally attracted the attention of something.

Conversely, who would have known that Loran was already dead? The murderer!

After all, Lin Wen, who was quite familiar with Loran, didn't know what Loran had experienced outside the town, so she would only feel curious rather than attract secret attention.

In other words, the murderer who killed Loran is hiding in the places he just passed through; it could be a person or a monster lurking in the shadows.

Of course, these are all speculations made by Loran in a short period of time, but in any case, his current situation may be somewhat unfavorable.

If something is staring at you, it must be something with malicious intent. It can't be something that's come to deliver money to your door, can it?

Loran slung his backpack over his shoulder and left the tavern. He still had one clue to follow: the skull.

Who would be knowledgeable about this? The first thing that came to mind for Loran was professions like archaeologists; he could try looking in the antique shops in town.

After making some inquiries, Loran successfully found a very old-fashioned antique shop.

From the windows, you can see various antique items displayed inside: a giant sword, porcelain vases, earthenware pots, and so on...

"Oh ho ho, welcome to my guest. Are you looking to buy something?" A rather short old man greeted Loran, the customer.

It's not that Loran is impolite, but this little old man isn't even as tall as Brian. Is this guy a dwarf?

"Hey," the old man seemed to have read Loran's mind, stroking his white beard and laughing, "Young man, I know what you're thinking. I have half dwarf blood."

"Oh, I see."

"People think I perfectly inherited the bad traits of humans and dwarves, being ugly and short... They have a point, but I'm also good at finding my strengths, which is that I live a long life and have a very sharp mind."

"This makes me a veteran in this industry. You can call me Thompson. I'm serious about my profession. Tell me your needs."

Thompson said with great confidence.

It has to be said that these words made the image of this short and ugly old man more vivid in Loran's mind, filling him with many images and inspiring a sense of trust in him.

In that case, let's let this old man take a look at the skull!

Loran opened his backpack, looked up at the old man, and said calmly, "Mr. Thompson, I'd like you to take a look at a skull. I want to know its origin."

Thompson became interested. "Okay, no problem, let me help you taste it!"

Loran carefully removed the skull and placed it on the wooden table in the antique shop.

Thompson leaned closer, took a closer look, and his brow furrowed...

"So, what's the story behind this skull?" Loran asked expectantly.

Thompson said gravely, "This skull...it's very significant!"

Loran was stunned. Why did he feel like this guy had said nothing at all?