Giant Shadow

The Goblin Shaman drew on the ground with a short twig. Before long, he had made a circle and added several points around it.

In the canyon outside the Goblin Nest, torches lit every corner. As the sky darkened and moonlight began to spill down, the entire canyon shone brightly.

With nothing else to do, all four members of Kana's Squad noticed the Goblin Shaman. Behind him stood a young Goblin, and perhaps it was their imagination, but all four thought he looked rather handsome.

Not handsome compared to a human, of course. He just looked less disgusting than the Goblins around him.

The young Goblin followed the old shaman, widening the lines he had lightly drawn into narrow trenches.

But the old shaman's drawing was far from simple. He had left a large blank space inside the circle, and now he began drawing from the inner edge. Once the young Goblin widened those lines too, only a finger's width separated them from the outer ring. The spacing was remarkably precise.

To Dean and Kana, though, those almost perfectly spaced lines blurred together. They could barely make them out.

After all, both of them had only reached the first level of magic. Seeing the general situation at the bottom of the canyon was good enough. Expecting a clearer view would be asking too much.

"Dean, do you know what kind of magic circle that is?" Kana asked uneasily. The circle was already about twenty meters across. Magic on that scale was bound to be terrifying. For them, and for a small place like Blue Town, it would be a disaster.

"Look at that old shaman. He's probably only just started drawing it. How am I supposed to tell what kind of magic circle it is from so little?" Dean rolled his eyes.

He knew Kana was only asking because she was nervous. Anyone would be shaken by a magic circle that large.

"I'd guess this circle can produce intermediate magic. The old shaman doesn't have enough mana himself, so if he wants to cast something beyond elementary magic, he'll have to rely on all kinds of magical tools," Dean mused.

That was basic magical knowledge, and Dean could make that much of a judgment. But he could not tell them anything more specific. His experience was limited, and this was far beyond what he understood.

Even the Infinite Eye would not give him the details of this magic circle. Casting intermediate magic required a fourth-level Mage, which meant Dean would need to reach at least the third level before he could obtain that information.

"I say we get some sleep. It'll take hours to finish drawing the circle, and after that, the old shaman still has a lot of steps to go through before the spell is complete. It won't be ready until tomorrow morning at the earliest." Dean yawned, though it was not particularly late.

Hearing that, the other three settled down. Rather than worry themselves sick, they might as well follow Dean's example and get some sleep. They would know the outcome in the morning.

Seeing Dean lie down, Yanxi stopped worrying too. She took out a small blanket and covered him, then pulled another over herself and lay down contentedly.

"Aw, Yanxi really cares about her big brother Dean. I'll buy you some candy when we get back!" Dean said, stretching comfortably. The girl was so thoughtful.

Lamore wrapped his robe around himself and lay down on a branch. Being half elf, he had a strong affinity with nature.

The tree where he lay draped its leaves over him. His Priest robe was warm enough already, and with the leaves covering him as well, he could not have been more comfortable.

"Well... fine, fine. Let's sleep. We'll deal with tomorrow when it comes!" Kana saw that her three companions had lain down within seconds. There was no point in fussing by herself, so she lay down too.

Perhaps chasing Goblins all day had worn them out, because all four soon drifted off to sleep.

Just as they were about to fall asleep, however—

"How are we getting out of this wretched place tomorrow?" Lamore suddenly asked.

"The same way we came in, of course. Once they've tested this magic circle, those Goblins will have to charge out, won't they?" Dean answered drowsily. He fell asleep before Lamore could say another word.

"That makes sense!" Lamore thought it over, tilted his head, and fell asleep again.

But while the two young men slept, Lamore's question had jolted Yanxi and Kana awake. Once the two girls gave it a little thought, they could not get back to sleep.

Lamore had no idea that Kana, with her fiery temper, cursed him a hundred times as he slept. Gentle, obedient Yanxi could never bring herself to say anything so dreadful.

The night passed quietly and peacefully. The Goblins did not wander about; they all seemed to be guarding the old shaman.

"Hey, Kana, wake up. Kana, there's a good show to watch!" Dean said, nudging her. But Kana was sleeping soundly, and even several nudges failed to wake her.

Instead, she curled into a ball and clutched her little blanket tight.

Yanxi was already awake, carefully washing with what little water remained. Lamore and Dean did not bother with such care; they gave themselves a quick, casual wipe.

Afterward, though, Lamore began fussily combing his long emerald-green hair. It was something he did every day.

"Dean, why are you being so polite? Have you forgotten how our captain tore your... house apart?" Lamore called from the side.

"If I'm not polite, our little princess might wake up and throw me straight into the canyon!" Dean said with a dark look.

Yanxi nodded vigorously. She would not put it past Kana. Add morning grumpiness to her fiery temper, and being thrown into the canyon might well be the result.

Kana finally woke a little later. Lamore wisely said no more about it. He was afraid she might throw him down there too.

"Before I woke up, I thought I felt a chill. Was someone plotting something against me?" Kana asked casually as she ate breakfast.

"No, no, big sister Kana. You're overthinking it. Eat up—this breakfast is pretty good." Yanxi hurriedly smiled and took a bite of her rations. They were so hard that she could only chew them bit by bit with a strained smile.

The shaman had finished drawing the magic circle, and the young Goblin had dug every line into a narrow trench. Then the "soup" Kana had seen the Goblins boiling yesterday was poured into the circle.

Looking down from above the canyon, they could just make out a huge figure roaring inside the magic circle!