I'm not a goblin Frankenstein's monster.

Morning, the restaurant on the first floor of the Adventurer's Inn.

At Woody the Crow's insistence, Xia Lin pushed a plate of freshly fried fries over.

In front of him, as always, was a bowl of steaming cream of mushroom soup and a soft toast.

Jasmine leaned over the counter, watching Woody nibble on his fries with a smile. She found Xia Lin, her new friend, quite amusing.

"Thank you, Jasmine," Xia Lin said, looking up. "The fries are just what my friend likes."

"I'm glad you like it." Jasmine's eyes crinkled, and her voice was light and cheerful.

Xia Lin paused for a moment.

……Um?

He noticed that the anticipated "positive feedback" did not materialize.

"Also, cream of mushroom soup is delicious."

[Affection level increased!]

[Interspecies Reproduction - Experience Points +2]

Xia Lin switched back to the normal "line" and successfully received the feedback value.

"It's amazing, I don't understand..." he murmured.

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.

Xia Lin walked down the street with Woody, ignoring the curious glances from passersby.

After walking through several streets and alleys, the familiar smell of ore and metal wafted through the air once again. The clanging of hammers echoed from the dwarven blacksmith's shop.

"What kind of lousy place did you come to?" Woody shifted uneasily on his shoulder. "It smells awful in here."

Inside the shop, the dwarf Sindar was wiping away sweat.

Xia Lin slammed the large bag of wildlife gear onto the worktable.

Xinda paused for a moment, looked at Xia Lin suspiciously, reached out and opened the package, picking out the broadsword, armor, daggers and other equipment inside.

"Where did you get these items?" he asked in a deep voice. "The sword and dagger are alright, and the leather armor can be repaired and used. As for this armor..."

He picked up the hard leather armor that had been torn in several places and had a broken leather strap at the joint, shook his head, and said, "It's too badly damaged. I can only take it apart and sell the parts."

"How much can we sell for in total?" Xia Lin asked. He didn't plan to keep the equipment. Firstly, his veteran's longsword was of higher quality and easier to use, and secondly, he was afraid of being recognized by the original owner's acquaintances.

Xia Lin didn't want to be walking down the street when a stranger rushed out and slashed him.

After carefully inspecting all the items, Xinda dusted off his hands, stood up, and gave Xia Lin and the crow on his shoulder a deep look.

Then he walked to the shop door and carefully closed the latch.

"Come with me," the dwarf said in a low voice, beckoning to Xia Lin.

So mysterious? Although she didn't know the dwarf's purpose, Xia Lin still obediently followed behind him.

Xia Lin followed the dwarf through the narrow corridor behind the workshop to a backyard he had never been to before.

The courtyard was small, with some scrap iron and ore piled up in the corner, and a heavy wooden door embedded in the ground in the center, with an iron lock on it.

Xinda took out her key, unlocked the door, took a torch from the wall, lit it, and was the first to walk down the stone steps.

"Don't be nervous," his voice echoed between the steps, "I occasionally deal in some 'smuggled goods' too. It's not convenient to display them upstairs, so this is the safest place."

Xia Lin inwardly marveled at the professionalism; he hadn't expected the seemingly honest dwarf to have this side to him.

"What's so strange about that?" Woody muttered to himself. "Dwarves are naturally inclined to hoard equipment. I heard that the Lonely Mountain Dwarf King over in the Grey Mountains built a treasure vault, filled with gems, gold coins, and legendary items like the 'Kyrian Necklace' and the 'Arken Gem'..."

"And then?"

"Later, it was taken over by a dragon that appeared out of nowhere, and all the dwarves were driven out of their homeland. What, are you interested?"

"It's nothing," Xia Lin paused, "I just felt like this story sounded familiar."

At the end of the stairs was an underground hall with a charcoal fire burning.

Several suits of armor with cuts and arrow holes were scattered on the wide table, seemingly being repaired.

Four or five wooden crates were neatly stacked against the wall.

Sinda put Xia Lin's package into one of the boxes and closed the lid.

"These need to be repaired and will be processed gradually; there's no rush," he said, turning around. "I'll pay you once they're all done."

Xia Lin nodded, her gaze sweeping over the other boxes: "These are all... counterfeit goods?"

"Hmm." Sinda stroked his beard. "The loss rate for adventurers is too high. They either die at the hands of monsters or get betrayed by other 'colleagues'."

Xia Lin noticed that there was a lot of equipment hanging on the four walls. Unlike the damaged equipment on the long table, the former was in very good condition.

Xinda followed his gaze, a hint of pride on her face: "Those are from my personal collection, not for sale. It's rare for someone to come, so I'm showing them to you."

He walked to the wall and took down a simple-looking longsword.

"This sword has a story behind it. It's said to be the first weapon a professional adventurer used when he first made a name for himself. Although it's a basic item, it has collectible value."

The dwarf grinned, glancing at Xia Lin. "I forgot the weapon's name, but the person who used it seems to have a name similar to yours? Could he be some distant cousin of yours?"

Xia Lin: "..."

He stared intently, and words appeared before his eyes: [Sturdy Decapitation Sword - Slightly increases damage against neck attacks].

"And this one," Sinda said, taking down another one-handed sword with a wide blade. "The name is weird, something like 'The Bride'."

I heard it belonged to a barbarian warrior from the North, who later disappeared, and the sword ended up with me.

Xia Lin looked at the sword blade, and his identification skill automatically activated:

The barbarian's sword

A standard one-handed longsword, the sword of a renowned adventurer.

The sword is forged from fine steel and broke once while slaying a certain monster. During the reforging, some demonic iron was added to increase the weight of the sword. It is not enchanted.

—A weapon cherished by its master, she now sleeps, awaiting its master's return.

"What a pity," Xia Lin said softly.

"And this one..." The dwarf turned to the next item in his collection with great interest.

The dwarf blacksmith talked on and on for nearly an hour, still seemingly wanting to say more.

Xia Lin finally found a moment of respite, saying that she still had to go to the Adventurers' Guild to turn in a quest, and was then "released".

Before leaving, the dwarf Sindar specifically instructed, "Come visit often when you have time; I still have many stories I've collected to tell you."

Xia Lin breathed a sigh of relief as he fled the treasure vault of the collector "Xinweidu".

Woody, perched on his shoulder, asked enthusiastically, "When shall we come again next time?"

"Next time, next time for sure."

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 the Adventurers' Guild lobby, Xia Lin walked to the service counter and handed the quest request form to the young female receptionist, Lia.

When Lia, who had been looking tired, looked up and saw him, her expression brightened instantly, and a gentle smile naturally appeared on her lips.

Xia Lin was slightly taken aback. Was her charm boost really that good?

Lia took the commission letter, looked down at it carefully, and then said politely, "Due to the unexpected appearance of a giant mutated rat monster during the mission, this commission is entitled to an additional reward of three gold coins."

She lightly tapped the paper with her fingertips and smoothly recited the details: "The basic fee is one gold coin, and the fee for each rat tail handed over is five silver coins... The total is twelve gold coins."

The purse was now filled with twenty gold and fifteen silver coins, not including the expensive healing potion worth five gold coins, or the equipment still held by the dwarves and yet to be sold.

Xia Lin silently calculated in his mind, a long-lost sense of security quietly rising within him. Perhaps later he could find a set of high-level armor that he had repaired and "replicated" from Sinda's "treasure trove"...

"Thank you." He put away his purse, in a good mood.

Lia smiled and said, "You're too kind. It's just my duty."