I'm not a goblin Frankenstein's monster.

As the two exited the guardhouse gate, the sun had already set halfway down, turning the sky a dark orange hue.

At Xia Lin's insistence, Eileen accepted half of the gold coins she obtained in the sewers, but insisted on not taking the remaining equipment rewards, saying that Xia Lin could handle them himself later.

Xia Lin couldn't refuse, so she nodded in agreement.

She was clearly terrified by what she had experienced in the sewers; the adventurous gleam that had been in her eyes earlier had faded, and she only said that she would find a caravan along the way and return in a few days.

Xia Lin felt a little guilty. She had almost lost her life, but only took the money from the purse and kept all the equipment for herself.

Looking at the sky, it was dinnertime, so he invited her to have dinner with him.

Considering the mage's relatively high spending habits, Xia Lin took her to the Moonlight Tavern, which was a bit more expensive in town.

Xia Lin also had her own plans. She had used up the bottle of "Blue Nightmare" when dealing with the rat monsters in the sewers, so she was going to restock.

The tavern was warmly lit, with two freshly ordered drinks and several plates of exquisite elven specialties on the wooden table.

Eileen took a bite, her eyes brightening slightly; it did indeed taste good.

When the steaming "Blue Nightmare" was served, she took a small sip, savored it for a moment, and then spoke:

"This wine seems to alleviate mental exhaustion, it's a good thing... However, if we add some Dew Blueberry to neutralize it, the effect should be milder and longer-lasting."

Sosia, the elf owner standing behind the counter, was wiping wine glasses when she heard this. Her pointed ears twitched slightly, and she turned around with a hint of interest in her eyes.

She walked over and began to talk to Eileen in a low voice. The two of them spoke back and forth in terms that Xia Lin didn't quite understand.

Xia Lin didn't disturb them. She bought another bottle of Blue Nightmare from the waiter. When she caught a glimpse of Eileen's profile as she talked, she hesitated for a moment, but still asked for an extra bottle.

There are ten gold coins in total.

Eileen turned around after finishing her conversation.

"Thank you so much for saving my life earlier." Eileen's voice softened as she ran her fingers along the rim of the wooden cup. "I really don't know how to thank you enough. If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know."

Xia Lin shook his head: "It's nothing. I only managed to get through this crisis thanks to your magic."

"It is precisely because he does not contend that no one in the world can contend with him..."

"Three times he declined, three times he refused..."

Various schemes from her past life flashed through her memory. Xia Lin's brain worked at lightning speed, carefully choosing her words to steer the conversation toward the magical items she was interested in.

He paused for a moment, as if suddenly remembering something: "By the way, do you know anything about pet scrolls? I'm a little curious..."

Ezio's pet, "Niffler," is very helpful for reconnaissance missions, and "coincidentally," the female mage had a pet scroll on her person.

Eileen thought for a moment, then took out an old scroll with worn edges but still intact runes from her bag and gently placed it on the table.

"Here, take this. It's a bit old, but it should still work."

It was so easy to get it?

Xia Lin was taken aback, but quickly pushed it back: "This is too valuable, I can't accept it."

"Just keep it," Eileen said firmly, smiling. "I was originally planning to sell it to get some start-up capital for my adventures. Now that I'm going back, there's no use for this scroll anymore, so I'll give it to you as a thank-you gift."

Xia Lin's ears burned a little, but she still accepted it in the end.

He glanced down at the bottle of "Plan B" in his hand, thought for a moment, and then handed it to Eileen.

"Then... take this with you, you might need it when you get back."

Eileen accepted the bottle of wine as a return gift, and her smile became more genuine.

"Thanks."

Sosia, behind the counter, smiled slightly and continued wiping her cup.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In a guest room on the second floor of the Moonlight Tavern, the glow of the lights cast the shadows of the two people onto the wall.

Xia Lin unfurled the old, worn-out scroll of summoning magical creatures and, at Eileen's prompting, sat cross-legged on the bed.

"Concentrate and sense the flow of magic within the scroll," Eileen said softly.

"On your first summon, you'll most likely be greeted by common magical pets like owls, cats, dogs, mice, or crows. They can provide basic reconnaissance assistance, and occasionally, those with special magical bloodlines will awaken special abilities, but that's rare."

She paused, then added, "This scroll has been here for too long; my teacher brought it out from an ancient ruin. I'm not sure if the remaining magic is enough to complete the summoning."

Xia Lin closed her eyes and, as instructed, sank her mind into the depths of her consciousness, which was filled with a faint light.

"Yes, that's it."

"Take your time, don't rush, everyone's like this the first time."

"Quickly, give it your all, we're almost there!"

Outside the guest room, a tavern waiter who happened to be passing by was "accidentally hurt" by the lewd words spoken inside. He tripped and almost dropped the wine glasses on his tray.

"Young man, you're being reckless and playing around like that..." The waiter, his face flushed, quickly ran away.

Inside the guest room, Xia Lin's consciousness floated in darkness, with many vague life fluctuations coming from the other end, mostly the aura of small animals, and some strange sounds.

"Nobita, I want to eat dorayaki..."

"SpongeBob, let's go jellyfish hunting..."

"Get out there, I will kill you, woof woof woof!"

Ok? ? ?

Just then, a clear thought, tinged with doubt, suddenly brushed past his senses.

Xia Lin subconsciously looked in that direction—the next moment, a blinding white light engulfed the darkness, and the summoning ritual ended.

He opened his eyes, and there was nothing in front of him.

The faint light on the reel had been completely extinguished.

"Sorry, it seems we failed..." Xia Lin turned to look at Eileen, but the words caught in her throat.

The female monk was staring blankly behind him.

Xia Lin turned her head and met the gaze of a jet-black bird's beak.

A black crow, noticeably larger than a normal crow, perched quietly on his shoulder. Its plumage was so dark it seemed to absorb light, gleaming with a shadowy sheen under the lamplight.

"This is... a Shadow Raven?" Eileen came to her senses, her tone uncertain. "But the size and color of yours seem to be different from the records. I can't quite put my finger on the difference, but... it's not the same."

"It's good that we can summon it," Xia Lin breathed a sigh of relief and laughed. "I was really worried that dozens of gold coins would be wasted."

A minute later, under the ambiguous gazes of Sosia and the waiter, the two walked down the stairs one after the other.

Xia Lin told Eileen the location of the adventurer's inn where he was staying, and that she could come to him if she needed help. Eileen nodded and remembered, and said goodbye to him at the entrance of the inn.

The setting sun bathed the streets in a warm golden light as Xia Lin watched the female mage's receding figure.

The female mage I met on this brief encounter brought quite a surprise; not only did she bring out that bag of equipment, but she also saved me the money for a pet summoning scroll.

Although I lost a bottle of wine, it's not a complete loss no matter how you look at it.

"Isn't it amazing?"

Xia Lin nodded, "Hmm...hmm?"

An unfamiliar voice suddenly rang in his mind.

He snapped back to his senses and looked around.

The street was sparsely populated, and no one spoke to him.

Could it be that he injured his head in the previous battle? Or...?

He slowly turned his head and looked at the shadow crow on his shoulder, which was leisurely preening its feathers.

"...Was that you speaking just now?" Xia Lin asked uncertainly.

"If it's not me, then who is it?" the voice said again.

Xia Lin remained silent for two seconds, making sure she wasn't crazy.

This bird can actually talk.