Archer's Adventure Manual

Chapter 152 Brian's Curse

In Alina's spacious house, there were all sorts of...weapons?

Spiked clubs, swords, maces, and even fire tongs!

If Loran hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have found it hard to believe that these were things that should appear in a girl's house. Also, isn't this guy a priest? Why would he need these things?!

"Um... your room looks quite unique, huh?" Loran swallowed hard, looking at the room full of weapons that resembled torture instruments. These things looked really outrageous.

"They are quite special. These things are very effective in treating diseases, but I wonder how effective they are against curses," Alina said lightly.

Fortunately, after entering the room, Alina did not fiddle with her swords, spears, and clubs, but instead went into a messy room filled with books.

"Wait here for a moment. I need to look for a possible cure based on your description." Alina began searching through the numerous books.

Loran placed Brian in a corner and waited silently.

Despite having some doubts about the priestess's abilities, he decided to give it a try, since she was indeed a priestess, and who knows, she might actually be able to remove his curse?

"Wrong! It seems there's a similar curse, a curse about flesh and blood. Anyone cursed will develop strange fleshy growths on their body from time to time... It's difficult to eradicate, and it will continue to grow if left unchecked."

"It is said that this is a curse cast by the ancient evil god Waltor. The method of the curse is unknown, but it certainly caused trouble for the people of a region at the time, and there are many treatment options available."

"For example, cutting out the sarcoma until it stops growing, but this process is quite lengthy, possibly lasting several months, and is quite difficult to cure."

Alina looked at Loran, "So, what form will your curse take? Will it have tumors?"

If you have any, I'll cut them off for you!

As she spoke, Alina was already getting ready to get started.

Loran was taken aback and quickly said, "Well, my curse doesn't manifest as a fleshy tumor. The effect is that if I'm stimulated, it will automatically activate, at which point my physical functions will be greatly enhanced, and my combat power will become extremely strong."

Alina was taken aback. "This... doesn't sound like a curse at all. In fact... it sounds quite nice?"

"Well, that's how it sounds, but nobody can say for sure what the side effects will be, right?" Loran shrugged.

"Okay, let's try some more conventional methods first. Curses usually exist in some form, but no matter what form they take, they all carry some impure elements, and the nemesis of impurity is holy light!"

Alina pointed to a small bed in the room. "Come on, lie down on it."

"Ah? Oh, okay." Loran obediently lay down on the bed.

Then Alina took a stone, "and held it with both hands, close to her chest."

Loran was somewhat confused: "What are you going to do? Aren't you going to use Holy Light?"

"Of course, we'll use Holy Light," Alina said as she walked in from the outer room, a hammer in her hand.

Loran's eyes widened. "You...what do you want to do?"

"Breaking a boulder on his chest!"

Loran tried to move, but found himself seemingly bound by an invisible force. He then realized that the bed he was lying on was radiating magical light.

There was some kind of binding magic on this bed, which bound him tightly to the bed.

"Bang!"

Before he could react, the hammer came crashing down. Loran braced himself with his hands, and a surge of holy light flowed through his body.

One hammer blow! Two hammer blows! Three hammer blows!

And so, the stone on Loran's chest continued to gleam with a holy light.

Unable to move, Loran finally understood why this priest had so many negative rumors about him... and they were all true.

His chest did indeed suffer damage from the blows of the hammer, but miraculously, after that powerful impact, he also felt a warm current of holy light that erased the pain.

It hurts, I apply it, it hurts again, I apply it again—it's like riding a rollercoaster...

Loran said that this feeling... it hurt a bit, but why was there also a secret little pleasure in it?

In an inconspicuous corner, Brian, still half asleep, slightly opened his eyes, yawned, and looked around.

"Bang!"

The loud knocking sound instantly caught Brian's attention. He blinked his dog eyes, looked at the situation in front of him, and was immediately dumbfounded.

Loran was convulsing, and a female demon was repeatedly hitting him with a hammer. What a horrific scene!

As its owner, Brian naturally couldn't just stand by and watch Loran die.

A surge of inexplicable anger welled up inside Brian, his eyes turned bloodshot, and a pair of wings made of flesh and blood quietly appeared on Brian's back.

"Woof!" Brian charged at Alina, who was treating Loran, with incredible speed.

Alina was startled. Her reaction was extremely quick, and she soon spotted Brian rushing towards her. Although she was a priest, she was no pushover when it came to physical strength!

She immediately swung her hammer and smashed it directly at Brian's head.

Brian fainted on the spot, his eyes filled with stars. Alina blinked and looked at the strange big dog with a pair of wings lying on the ground.

"Oh my god... sir, I remember this is your pet."

Loran was startled to find that the magical restraints had been lifted. He quickly got up to check and saw Brian lying on the ground with a pair of small wings.

"This? Brian? Why are there wings on its back... Could it be that Brian is also cursed?" Loran's heart skipped a beat.

He could hardly believe it, but the scene before him told him that it was very likely true.

"Um... Miss Alina, is there any hope for my dog?" Loran asked somewhat nervously.

"Hmm, at least your dog is doing better than you; it's showing symptoms. As for you, I haven't noticed anything unusual about you yet. By the way, how did you know you were cursed?" Alina asked curiously.

Loran replied casually, "My senses are quite sharp, so I must be cursed. Besides, look at my dog; my senses are pretty sharp."

"Ugh... Woof!" Just then, another unexpected event occurred. Brian, who had been lying on the ground dizzy, suddenly woke up and bit Alina again.

Alina frowned and swung the hammer again, while Brian met the hammer head-on!

"Bang bang bang!"

After several impacts, Brian staggered back a few steps, but miraculously, he seemed unaffected.

"Brian, stop! This is Miss Alina, not our enemy," Loran quickly urged.

Unfortunately, Brian didn't seem to listen to Lorraine's words and instead continued to attack Alina.

"Sir, may I be rough with your pet?"

"Uh, do whatever you want."

"This little guy is interesting. Well then, I won't hold back. By the way, you don't need to lift a finger, I'll handle it!" Alina licked her lips and rushed forward to engage Brian in combat.

The battle was fierce, with the man and the dog very close together. Even Loran, who used precision shooting, was not entirely confident.

Fortunately, Alina was very strong in combat. After fighting for a while, Brian became slightly exhausted. Brian raised his head and let out a long howl, and his body became slightly larger.

Alina was somewhat taken aback by this scene. "Its size can increase?"

"Roar!" Alina continued to raise the shield in the room, using blocking and striking techniques to keep pulling Brian, leaving Loran dumbfounded.

"Holy Goddess of Light!" Alina raised the hammer in her right hand, and a dazzling light exploded out as she swung the hammer out instantly.

"Boom!" Brian's entire dog was slammed against the wall. Strangely, even with such great force, it didn't leave a mark on the wall of Alina's house. It's unclear what material this guy's house was made of.

"Phew, finally solved. I didn't expect your pet to be so powerful. Most importantly, it's tough and resilient. I really enjoyed fighting it." Alina said with a satisfied expression.

Loran's lips twitched. He found it hard to believe these words came from a priest, but he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he asked with some concern, "Um, could you try to remove the curse from my pet dog?"

"Hmm, I'll give it a try."

And so, Brian, who had fallen into a coma, was carried to the bed. As Loran was moving him, he was shocked to see the bloody, mangled wings that had grown out of Brian's back.

He didn't find any signs of Brian being cursed during the battle; the only possible place where he could have been manipulated was when the goblin attacked him.

But the goblin himself doesn't have the ability to curse other creatures... If he really did, then why were Noah and the others unharmed?

Or perhaps Noah and his companions were also affected by the curse, but were unaware of it?

Loran was somewhat horrified. What kind of evil god was this...? Could it be that the eye had an opportunity because he used the Reaper's Scythe to enter that strange space?

Loran's mind was racing, but the most important thing right now was to cure Brian.

"Come on, help me out, I'm about to start." Alina smiled confidently. "When I was fighting him, I could clearly feel some kind of violent power surging within him, and that power seemed to be quite repulsive to the Holy Light."

"The more it resists, the more I will force it upon it!"

And so, Loran watched as Alina wielded various weapons, releasing different forms of holy light to heal Brian.

By repeatedly stabbing with a stick, and hitting the right spots one after another, dazzling holy light connects and bursts forth together.

Raising the sacred wooden staff, holy light transformed into fine specks of light, precisely striking several acupoints on Brian's body.

She flipped her wrist, and holy light traced smooth arcs along the tip of the staff, sweeping over Brian's muscles repeatedly, giving him a very "relaxing" massage.

After that, she took out the silver holy symbol and pressed it against Brian's forehead.

An invisible force suddenly launched a fierce counterattack!

Alina's palm suddenly erupted with holy light, flashing with golden light, forcefully suppressing that power.

After an unknown amount of time, Alina finally finished the process, and the small wings behind Brian gradually retracted back into his body.

Loran stared blankly at the scene. "Brian, is he healed?"

"No, it was only temporarily suppressed. At least for now, if it falls into that state again, it shouldn't be as ruthless as before."

"As you said, this curse is very unique. It can grant creatures unique powers, but it also has certain side effects, just like your pet. While gaining power, it also became somewhat irrational."

Alina explained.

"Thank you, Priestess. Um, about my curse..."

Alina glanced at Loran, a slight smirk playing on her lips. "Sorry, I'm a little tired and can't continue treating you. But you can come tomorrow. Oh, and about the fees..."

"Generally speaking, those who come to me for treatment are people who don't have much money. What about you? Do you have money?"

Loran patted his pockets and managed to pull out a few dozen silver coins. "Um... how much is the treatment?"

"Fine, you don't look like a rich guy. But I won't treat you for nothing. You do me a favor, and I'll treat you."

"Help? What kind of help?"

"Go and catch a few goblins for me. I think you're an adventurer, so this shouldn't be too difficult, right?" Alina smiled slightly.

"What are you going to do with goblins?"

"Hmm, good question. Of course, it's to practice my healing techniques. You know, if I don't control my strength well, the patient's life might be in danger, so practice is necessary. Goblins are the best practice material."

Loran was dumbfounded. He recalled Alina's unique healing methods. It turned out that the controlled strength she used was the result of her daily practice.

Loran couldn't help but ask with some curiosity, "So... have you ever made a mistake?"

"Not yet, no customers have given me any bad reviews," Alina said confidently.

Loran swallowed hard, and finally nodded. "Okay, I'll catch a few more for you, but you have to be careful with your strength."

"Hehe, go ahead, I'm going to rest for a while now." Alina stretched and walked upstairs, ignoring Loran.

Looking at Brian with his eyes closed, Loran felt a mix of emotions. He had thought Brian had a special constitution, with thick skin and no fear of anything.

But he didn't expect that it would be cursed. Brian's irrational appearance made him a little worried. After all, Brian was a partner who had accompanied him all the way. No matter what, he had to do his best to cure Brian!

After carrying Brian away and leaving him at the inn in the care of Lin Wen and the others, Loran set off to find the goblins.