Archer's Adventure Manual

"Woof woof~ Woof woof woof~"

Brian clung to the windowsill, gazing longingly at the passersby on the street.

Its front paws scratched incessantly at the wall, and urgent, pitiful whimpers escaped its throat, trying to attract the attention of passersby, as if to say: "Hey, look here! There's a poor little dog forgotten in the shop!"

But the people on the street either hurried along or glanced at the street and looked away; no one stopped in their tracks.

Brian felt increasingly uneasy. He remembered his old master, who had left home on an ordinary afternoon and never returned.

Will the new owner, Loran, also...?

No! It can't lose its owner again! It must find him immediately!

Brian turned around and rammed into the shop door with all his might.

With a muffled thud, the wooden door remained motionless, but the impact made its head buzz.

It circled the door twice, unwilling to give up, its claws digging shallow marks on the ground. Suddenly, it noticed that the dusty wooden door in the corner was slightly ajar.

Brian's eyes lit up. He carefully shrank back, his furry belly rubbing against the scratched doorframe, and squeezed his way in.

A smell of mustiness and old wood wafted over, stirring up the thick dust that swirled into my nostrils.

"Achoo! Achoo!" Brian sneezed several times in a row and shook his head.

It looked inside, where the space appeared even more cluttered than the outer room.

The faded scrolls were piled on the creaking wooden frame, their edges yellowed and curled; strangely shaped pottery jars and skeletal specimens were scattered everywhere, dazzling the eye.

It crouched low, inching forward, sniffing the air, trying to find a way out. But after circling around, it couldn't find any other exit besides the crack it had come in through.

A wave of disappointment washed over Brian, his ears drooping and his tail hanging listlessly.

It walked aimlessly forward and accidentally bumped into the corner of a low table.

With a loud crash, several old books piled on the table came crashing down and landed squarely on it.

"Ouch~" it whimpered in pain, scratching wildly with its paws, and finally managed to push its way out of the pile of books.

Covered in dusty scraps of paper, with a wisp of spider silk clinging to its nose, it shook its head and sneezed incessantly, feeling dizzy.

Just then, streaks of light flashed by, making it squint.

Brian stopped what he was doing and turned to look with a mixture of curiosity and wariness.

It was an old book that had been smashed open, its surface glowing with a faint golden light in the dimly lit inner room.

"Woof?" Brian tilted his head and curiously approached the book. On the glowing pages, there were crookedly written words and strange symbols that he understood.

Driven by curiosity, Brian gently touched the old book with his paw.

The next moment, the symbols above flashed even more intensely, and Brian couldn't help but feel a little scared when he saw this, so he took a small step back.

But the old book showed no sign of stopping, until the light became so intense that it covered the entire room. Brian roared, but even his voice was drowned out by the beams of light.

......

"So, this young man needs a substance that can be poisoned?" Mrs. Juno crossed her legs and smiled at Lorraine.

"Yes, Mrs. Juno, I need my arrows poisoned, preferably with a lethal substance," Lorraine said politely.

Thompson quickly added, "Juno, I'll cover the expenses. I came at this young man's request; we're close friends despite our age difference!"

Juno rolled her eyes at Thompson. "That's really... bad choice of friends."

"Old ghost, I'm warning you, you better not lead this young man astray. I'm only doing this for the young man's sake, it has nothing to do with you. Wait a moment."

After saying this, Mrs. Juno turned and gracefully walked into the grocery store to begin searching for the items that met her requirements.

"Come on, bring me the arrows that need to be poisoned," Mrs. Juno beckoned.

Lorraine walked over with the arrow, and Mrs. Juno opened a small box. The box seemed to be empty, completely transparent.

Mrs. Juno struck a match and brought it close to the box. After a short while, some kind of powder slowly appeared inside the box.

"Bone-Dried Flower Pollen?" the well-informed Thompson exclaimed in surprise. "Old woman, you actually have such a good thing?"

Juno rolled her eyes at Thompson and smiled, "Yeah, I just don't know what you're going to offer in exchange."

Thompson swallowed hard and chuckled awkwardly, "Young man, how about we go find some other poisons? Actually, there aren't many of these. Let's go."

As he spoke, he tried to pull Loran away.

But Juno stopped her, scoffing, "You promised to pay, what, are you going to back out now?"

Thompson looked aggrieved. "No, this...this thing is too expensive. I...you're just making things difficult for me!"

"No, you can pay me back on credit, and I'll pay you back when you have the money," Juno said, sounding quite generous.

"Really?" Thompson asked, somewhat incredulously.

Juno's expression was calm. "Really, you can pay me back later."

"Okay, okay, it's settled then." Thompson rubbed his hands together. This process is more like it!

Juno gestured to Loran, "Come here, child, bring me the arrow, I'll help you operate it."

Some of the powder that has been revealed by the flame is poured out of the box, a drop of water is added, and then resin is added and stirred. This will allow the powder to adhere well to the arrow.

"Arrows coated with the pollen of the withered bone flower will gradually cause the enemy to have difficulty breathing after hitting them, eventually leading to death by suffocation. It is a very rare and effective toxin. It is ineffective against certain creatures, but it is very effective against humans."

Juno explained as she collected the pollen.

"Pollen that can cause suffocation? Does that mean many archers might have such poisoned arrows?" Loran asked worriedly.

Juno shook her head slightly. "Bone pollen is very expensive and rare. Few people in town can afford it, and those who can afford it don't bother hunting... Don't most adventurers just dip their arrows in feces?"

Loran's lips twitched. Indeed, arrows stained with feces were just as effective at dealing magical damage, and those hit by them were likely to contract diseases.

In this era of scarce medical resources, contracting even a slightly serious disease can be fatal.

"Alright, it's done. But be careful, repeated use will dilute the effect. It's best to save one for important targets, otherwise the power will be insufficient and it could be fatal," Juno reminded.

Thompson chuckled. "Juno, thank you then. Thank you for giving your old friend face."

"Old man, get lost." Juno glared at Thompson resentfully.

And so Thompson and Lorraine left Juno’s general store and walked down the street back to the antique shop.

"Mr. Thompson, are you really not going to pay back the money you owe Mrs. Juno?" Lorraine asked curiously. He knew Thompson's temperament well; it was common for him to not pay back debts.

Thompson sighed. "I've owed a lot of money to many people, but I don't want to owe Mrs. Juno anything anymore..."

"By the way, Mr. Thompson, my dog ​​may have been left at your antique shop; he doesn't seem to have come out with me."

"What?! My precious antique!"