Archer's Adventure Manual

Loran was also surprised that such a thing could be done, and could only admire the barbecue owner.

"Please enjoy your meal," Tekel said before attending to the other guests.

Lorraine continued to savor the remaining pork chop. Indeed, while each subsequent bite was still delicious, none quite matched the first—it was like the feeling of cherished, unattainable beauty...

While sighing, Loran looked back and called out, "Brian, come and eat!"

Brian, who was mingling with the adventurers, heard Loran's call and obediently left his seat, running over all the way.

"Woof! Let's go and kill those disgusting goblin dwarves! Let's give them a good whack on the asses with sticks!" Brian muttered excitedly as he walked over.

Loran, who was about to cut meat for Brian, paused for a moment. He looked at Brian in shock, hardly believing his ears. Wait, what kind of long and complicated sentence did this guy just say?

"Wait a minute, Brian, what did you just say? Where did you learn all this stuff?" Loran said, somewhat annoyed.

Even though he already knew the answer, he was still somewhat unwilling to accept the fact...

"Oh, it's those really cool adventurer bastards, that's what they all say, let's take down this world together!" Brian raised his little head.

Oh no! Brian from the People's Education Press version has only just learned human language. Before he could properly guide him, he's been corrupted by these culturally limited adventurers in the tavern.

This is troublesome," Loran sighed as he cut a large piece of meat for Brian.

"Hey Brian, here's your barbecue. By the way, you better watch your words in the future, you know? Calling someone an idiot and kicking their ass isn't a good thing!"

"Woof! Got it! Use the stick!"

Loran: "..."

After eating and drinking their fill, Loran led the lively Brian out of the tavern.

Brian swayed around, occasionally letting out a few shouts.

"Pah! This wretched goblin isn't even worthy of carrying my shoes!"

"We need plenty of ale to have the strength to take down these scum!"

"You blind, stinking thing! Come any closer and I'll bite your leg off!"

Listening to Brian's incessant chatter, Loran felt somewhat powerless.

He understood how helpless parents must feel when their children, whom they've raised for over a decade, keep using the same old clichés all the time.

"Alright, alright, Brian, don't speak unless absolutely necessary. Use the language you're best at, remember? Woof woof woof?" Loran bent down and earnestly instructed Brian.

Brian seemed to be deep in thought, then barked, "Woof woof woof!"

"That's right, woof woof woof!"

"Woof woof woof!"

"Yes, that's right, good dog!" Loran patted Brian's head, preparing to teach this big guy a lesson.

He didn't notice that several passersby were looking at Loran with strange expressions.

"Who's some kind soul barking like a dog in the street?" one of them muttered, not loudly, but still reaching Loran's ears.

Loran's face turned green. He was here teaching dog language using the textbook, and someone was treating him like a lunatic! Looks like he'll have to be more careful about his image next time...

Lorraine patted Brian's head. "Brian, next we'll go find Mr. Thompson. You can tell him what happened that day after I give you permission."

Now that Brian has learned to speak, Lorraine no longer wants to hide the matter and wants the old man Thompson to know the whole story as soon as possible, so as not to make him anxious.

Furthermore, he could use this to extract some benefits from Thompson, such as guidance from a ranger mentor, just like before, without any loss.

After this battle, Loran realized his own shortcomings, including not only physical strength but also combat experience.

He needs to remain calm enough in complex environments to keep his mind from being affected, and these are areas where Loran needs to improve.

Furthermore, he also needed to see what other secrets the skull held...

A headless monster, and I just happened to find a skull. Is there any connection between these two things?

And then there's the suddenly returning ranger, Elfin. The corpse-collecting Pete died while searching for him. What caused Pete's death? What did Elfin go through?

Loran always felt that all of this was related to her, but the connection wasn't very strong.

In short, he was satisfied as long as he could unravel some of the mysteries from that old geezer.

The antique shop still stood there. Loran swaggered in and found Thompson trying to sell an antique to someone.

They described it in such flowery language, as if you would regret it for the rest of your life if you didn't buy this treasure.

Lorraine was used to this and waited patiently to the side. He glanced at the antique shop's shelves and saw that the skull he had given to Thompson was prominently displayed.

The label above reads: 20 gold coins.

Loran couldn't sit still any longer. This thing was actually worth 20 gold coins! No wonder Thompson was so enthusiastic; it turned out this skull was so valuable! Oh no, it seems he'd been tricked by this old man too.

No, I have to ask him for some compensation later!

Seeing that Thompson had practically worn his lips out trying to persuade the customer, but still couldn't get him to stay, he sighed in embarrassment, "These days, business is tough..."

"Hey, old man, you're always swindling and cheating people out of their money, and you still have the nerve to say that?" Loran complained.

Thompson was immediately displeased and retorted, "What do you mean by cheating and deceiving? This is a matter of mutual consent, exchanging money for goods, which is perfectly reasonable."

"By the way, you're back from that adventure? How effective was that poisoned arrow? Who did it kill? Need me to cover for you? I know a thing or two about funeral services. How about I pay you a little to get you out of this?"

Thompson said very calmly.

Lorraine's expression froze, and she looked at Thompson with a strange expression. This old man is just an antique dealer, isn't he? How can he be involved in so many businesses?

"Come on, I didn't kill anyone or anything. Have you heard about what happened in Luoxi Village?" Loran said calmly.

"Luoxi Village? Is that the place that posted the announcement about... three mutated wild boars appearing? No way, you went there, kid?"

"That's right, I'm one of the people who took on the hunting mission in Luoxi Village," Loran said calmly.

Thompson exclaimed in surprise, "It's a miracle you survived!"

"Can't you say something nicer? ...Fine, never mind that. I'm here to tell you some good news: Brian can talk now."

Thompson appeared in front of Brian in a flash, looking at him as if he were a precious treasure.

"My little darling, tell me quickly, what did you see that day?!"