Archer's Adventure Manual

Brian gave a sinister smile and stared at Loran coldly, saying, "Looks like you're not as weak as I thought."

Loran didn't waste any more words with this guy, picked up the bow and arrows beside him, and fired quickly!

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

Several arrows were fired in quick succession, hitting Brian precisely.

The arrow was embedded in Brian's body, seemingly causing considerable damage, and his form gradually became blurred.

In its final moments, it suddenly grinned and said, "Lorraine, we...we're on the same path. We'll both die!"

Brian's figure then vanished into thin air and drifted away with the wind.

"Combat Guide: You have personally created a magical collapse | Unlocks the talent 'First Manifestation of Magic'"

Talent - Emerging Magic lv.1 (unlocked at 40 Adventure Points): Increases your skill in using magical knowledge by 5%.

"The collapse of magic?" Loran looked at the hint displayed in the adventure handbook, which meant that... the fake Brian that had just been created was actually a magical construct.

"No, Brian!" Lorraine immediately climbed out of bed, searched the room, and finally found Brian unconscious in the cramped bathroom.

Loran touched Brian's body; its plump belly was still rising and falling, indicating that it was asleep and not in any serious physical condition.

Loran breathed a sigh of relief. But then again, this dog, which could withstand being crushed by Mount Tai, was unlikely to have any problems.

Loran was still very unsettled. Who was behind that magically conjured Brian?

But it's clear that this person didn't truly want to kill him; if they did, they would have done it in their sleep...

Instead of actively waking him up with a magical illusion and then attacking him, this behavior is undoubtedly a provocation.

"Is this guy... just here to tease me?" The word involuntarily popped into Loran's mind.

This behavior seems somewhat familiar?

Yes, Loran thought of that hideous headless monster... It only made him aware of its existence, and then it never appeared again.

So, is this illusion of Brian his creation?

Somewhat unlike...

Loran observed what was described in the adventure manual—a 'gaze' that aroused hostility from something.

He was all too familiar with that gaze; it was something that had appeared many times in the adventure handbook...

Who else but Erfen?

Furthermore, since Elfin himself lives in this town and can use magic, all of this makes sense.

"Elfin, what exactly is your purpose?" Loran was filled with confusion.

The next morning, after Loran got up, he woke Brian up.

Brian shook his head like a dog that hadn't done anything, then suddenly yelled, "Oh no, Master! I think I smell something strange!"

But Brian was stunned when he felt the rays of morning light streaming through the window.

"It's...it's dawn?" Brian blinked.

Lorraine crossed her arms and glanced at Brian indifferently. "Yeah, you stupid dog, tell me what you saw last night."

Brian shook his head and began to ponder, his dog eyes gleaming with "wisdom."

"I remember now! Last night, I thought I smelled a scent, and I tried to pinpoint the source of that scent, but... and then I couldn't remember anything."

Brian's ears drooped.

"You smelled a scent, and then you don't remember anything?" Loran was taken aback. Hearing this description, it seemed that Brian had been knocked unconscious by some kind of gas.

That explains everything. Elfin used some means to put Brian into a coma, then used magic to create an exact replica of Brian, and then came to find himself...

Loran let out a breath. Although he was surrounded by confusion, none of it presented a problem that he needed to solve. For now, he just needed to focus on his adventure and deal with whatever came his way.

Lin Wen and the others also got up and began preparing for today's adventure.

"The kobold cave will be very dark. We must bring enough firewood and animal fat to fuel our fire; these are essential for our progress."

Lin Wen reminded him that these were some of the reasons for their confidence in fighting inside the cave.

After everything was ready, the dog-dagger squad officially set off.

The group spent some time traversing the woods and arrived near their destination. As usual, Lin Wen quickly went to gather intelligence.

Lin Wen moved swiftly and arrived near her destination. She saw the entrance to a cave, which was smaller than the one she had seen at the goblin camp.

The cave entrance is hidden between two huge rocks, and the outside is piled with dead branches and animal bones, making it look like an ordinary wild animal den.

But upon closer inspection, one can see that these arrangements are very deliberate, making it easy to discern that they are a disguise.

Furthermore, there were two kobolds standing guard at the entrance of the cave.

However, the information available was very limited, which was unavoidable. Lin Wen could only observe the situation outside, but knew nothing about the situation inside the cave.

After a brief reconnaissance, Loran and his group decided to take action.

Loran quietly approached a patch of grass near the cave, then used rapid fire to unexpectedly shoot two kobolds at the entrance.

Two arrows killed the two kobolds instantly, and because the arrows made very little noise, the kobolds in the cave were completely unaware of Loran and the other outsiders.

Noah used his sword to part the withered branches, revealing a low entrance. This entrance would require humans to crouch to enter, but it was more than enough for the relatively short kobolds.

The group crouched down and crawled into the cave. Of course, given Noah's height, even crouching was difficult, so Noah could only crawl forward a short distance.

After overcoming the obstacle at the cave entrance, the group arrived at a stone chamber, where three paths branched off.

The left side is narrow and somewhat damp; the middle is slightly wider, with dry grass on the ground and a faint sound of wind; a section of the road on the right has collapsed, and a putrid smell wafts from it.

Lin Wen stroked his chin and said calmly, "Kobolds are relatively small, so to find the right path, you have to see things from their perspective."

Noah nodded and said, "That's right. The slightly wider opening in the middle looks very comfortable on the surface, but it is very likely a trap route set up by the kobolds specifically for adventurers."

"Hmm! Dog-headed people prefer damp environments. I think the path on the left is probably the one they use most often!" Finita shared her knowledge.