Green Shadow

'Heh, they're easier to trick than I thought…'

Fiollo smirked internally as he saw the two children running to distract the goblins.

He then looked towards his two companions, gesturing for them to come towards him quickly.

Joka and Moru slowly moved through the sea of goblins.

Meanwhile, Regis led Pandora as he skillfully dodged the goblins that tried to attack them with wooden clubs.

"What are they doing?" Regis asked as he continued dodging.

Pandora, who had her eyes towards the three adventurers all this time, replied, "It seems like they are planning something."

"Well, it doesn't matter whatever it is that they are planning. Just make sure to keep your eyes on Fiollo, okay?"

"Mhm." She nodded in response to Regis's orders.

Their plan was simple: to copy the magic spells that Fiollo would cast. 

After all, he was a Mid Rank Mage.

Someone who had formed at least two stars in order to reach this level would surely have powerful magic in his arsenal.

'I'm still curious as to why they're inexperienced, though…'

Regis thought as he held Pandora's hand and skillfully moved through the endless sea of goblins.

He made sure to only dodge and not kill them in order to avoid gathering attention.

This process went on for about half a minute before Pandora whispered, "Brother, Fiollo is casting a magic spell…"

"Good. Make sure to copy it." Regis smirked as he replied.

"What took you so long?!" Fiollo angrily shouted at his two companions who had just arrived beside him.

"W-Well, moving through the horde of goblins was heard…"

"Moru's right. Anyways, what are you planning?" Joka said as he panted slightly.

He and Moru took each of Fiollo's side in order to defend him against the attacks of the goblins.

After a few seconds, Fiollo's lips parted as he chanted.

[Mid Rank Magic: Quicksand Entrapment]

Woooong—!!!

Kurrrkkkk!??!?! Kurrrrkkkk?!?!?!

Growls resounded as the goblins felt their feet become stuck in the ground.

Upon closer look, it could be seen that the once grassy soil beneath their feet had turned into quicksand.

"Brother!" Pandora shouted in surprise as she felt her feet sinking.

Regis glanced at her and saw that they were also affected by the magic spell.

He hurriedly shouted, "Mister! Your magic spell affected us too! Can you come save us?!?"

"Don't worry! We will come get you!!" Fiollo,'s voice sounded.

"Are we really going to help them?" Joka whispered.

Moru also added, "Won't it be safer for us if we just leave them? What if another horde of goblins attacks us?"

"Shhh, they might hear you." Fiollo said as he placed his index finger over his lips.

He then whispered after a pause, "Just trust me, they will be good materials for my experiment. My family might even reward you handsomely…"

Hearing his words, Joka and Moru glanced at each other before smiling. 

They didn't speak any further as they focused on killing the goblins that were immobilized by the magic spell.

Despite not hearing what they were talking about, Regis's eyes sharpened.

"Are we going to be okay, Brother?" Pandora felt worried.

After all, she only knew about his plans in which she would copy whatever magic spell Fiollo casted.

As for what to do when things become dangerous, he didn't brief her.

Still, Regis looked at her and said, "Don't worry, we'll be fine, okay?"

'It doesn't make sense for him to approach us with good intentions in the first place. If they're not planning on making us bait, then…'

However, just as he finished his thoughts, three figures approached them.

"Hey kids, are you okay!?" Fiollo shouted with a worried expression as his two companions paved a way amongst the sea of goblins.

Regis showed a flattering expression, "You're finally here, mister!"

The blue jewel on Fiollo's staff shone dimly before the ground beneath Regis and Pandora turned to normal again.

Fiollo smiled, "I'll never leave you, okay? Now, the spell will only last for about 10 minutes. So we'll kill them all quickly."

"Okay!" Regis said with a determined expression.

He and Pandora followed the adventurers as they dissected the goblins that they killed and carried the loot in a sack.

There's only one valuable resource that could be gained from goblins: their hearts.

It was common sense in the world that no matter what creature one was, their energy would always be stored in their hearts.

Therefore, Regis and Pandora skillfully dissected the goblins and took their hearts.

'But something is strange…' Regis thought as he pulled a heart out of a goblin's chest.

He wasn't really that knowledgeable about monsters, he only had some very basic understanding of them.

Thus, he looked at Fiollo, "Mister, I'm curious about something."

Fiollo's brow twitched but he gave out a kind smile in the end, "What is it?"

"Is it normal for a large number of goblins to ambush someone?"

However, Joka was the one to answer, "Yes, since goblins are innately social monsters towards the same species. It is normal for them to form groups when hunting."

"Woah, you really remembered that from our class?" Moru sounded impressed.

"Of course! Do I look like a bad student?"

'Ehhh? They're students? Maybe it's also one of the reasons why they're inexperienced?' 

Regis felt surprised at the piece of information he heard. After all, the three of them already looked like they were adults.

"Wait."

However, Fiollo's voice sounded, catching their attention.

They saw that he had an extremely serious expression on his face.

"Goblins form groups, but they shouldn't reach the point where it seems as if there's a sea of them…"

Joka and Moru, who were killing the immobilized goblins, suddenly halted.

They looked at each other.

Then, as if realizing something, the three of them suddenly took off to the entrance of the forest.

Shocked by this development, Regis and Pandora also followed behind.

Rustle— Rustle—

"Fuck! Faster!!" Fiollo shouted.

"What's happening, mister!?"

"The only instances where goblins form massive groups is when there's someone leading them!"

"Then why are we running?" Regis asked in confusion.

A vein popped in Fiollo's temple as he was almost overwhelmed with frustration, "According to the number of goblins, their leader might be at the Two Star Realm and above…!"

Swoosh—

A green shadow suddenly shot out from one of the bushes.

"Joka!" 

Fiollo called out as he saw one of his companions being tackled by the green shadow.