A peace of mind

After arriving at the cave that I categorized as my fortress, I immediately went to set what I had in mind. I looked around to confirm if every one of my followers who survived the attacks were around me. I nodded because they were all present.

Then, I let everyone gather around the teleportation circle, around a meter or two away from it. When everyone was in place, I then began to give them my instructions on what they would need to do soon.

"Listen, I'm going to swing my sword once someone appears on top of this teleportation circle." I told them what I was about to do, and continued with the steps to what would be my plan B - the step in which their assistance would be necessary. 

"If I fail to do so, I'll make a loud noise." I told them. "When you hear me, whoever will be in this someone's blind spot, will grab hold of him immediately. One or two people, three might be too much. Just like Brolee and that guy who had heldHazel earlier. That's what you guys are supposed to do."

When I was done speaking, my followers nodded with understanding. There were no questions, no confusion. We were a perfect team so far, I believed.

The only downsides are those three… They could break the formation of this team if they fail to control their cannibalistic trait. Hazel is uncontrollable and I don't know any solution to her problem yet, I'm already down with one soldier. I can't let the numbers go from ten to seven at once, absolutely not! 

Unfortunately, I had mentally prepared myself in case I would need to abandon everyone and function alone, as my enemies were magicians with unknown power and strength. But that is a last resort from my side. I can not allow for this formation to be broken! I can not decrease my and everyone's chances of survival any lower!

While waiting for the unknown figure to appear, I could feel my sweat dripping from my head. I was anxious, and my heart was uncertain.

In the span of a day so much had happened, it was hard to digest. I had killed someone, and now, here I was, bracing myself in case I needed to eliminate another person again.

'An Immortal body, but here I am, struggling and stressing to stay alive. How ironic! Tch!' I complained inside my mind, as I had nothing else to do other than anxiously await the arrival of the unknown figure.

…

Time passed, yet not even once did the teleportation circle trigger. No one was coming through it and I started doubting, and after some time, I became certain of it.

'Either he lost us, or he's playing a game, waiting for us to come through the teleportation circle instead. That's right!' I guessed. 'He must know that it's a dead-end for us here!'

Right after, I felt cornered. My one and only perfect plan, it turned out to be so flawlessly countered. The enemy clearly has the upper hand as long as they are rational, because, with the knowledge that only one can go through the teleportation circle, they could easily overwhelm me if I were to go out, since they can have more manpower with them while I would step out, alone.

'But what if he couldn't trace us? Although I doubt that the little zombie Hazel was able to delay him that much, what if she did? It seems plausible, if by chance the guy really underestimated her that much, letting himself get wounded by her venomous claws… That would have definitely delayed him, that means he wouldn't have been able to follow us…'

The options were limited, which is why I was left with quite a dilemma. There was a high chance that I could go back to the town with no one to come after me right away, but just me standing right there, simply coming to the conclusion that I had been too paranoid. 

But there was also the chance, slim even perhaps, since the enemies of mine so far weren't the smartest, that this time my enemy is actually smart enough to counter ambush me.

'I might just end up getting my head sliced off right after teleporting, or maybe there's a whole rigged explosion ready for me! Ahh!'

For a long time, I kept pondering, as I did not know what to do. Even my followers were aware of how troubled I felt, as it must have been so obvious to notice through my expressions. 

However, my followers remained silent as I contemplated. They respectfully awaited my next command, and didn't suggest anything no matter how much time passed with me pondering diligently. They knew themselves enough to know that they were incapable and too lacking to be of help to me.

But it was at times like these where I needed help. Some kind of enlightenment, something out of the box that I could just not seem to think of.

'What to do… What to do…' I felt like my hair was about to fall out. I was stressing hard, trying to make a choice out of the two only options that I had.

"Sigh… You guys can wander around, do your own thing. The plan was to cool down a little after all, so, go relax, take a nap maybe, eat? Because I will do just that. To sit down, take a break, and let my mind slowly digest everything!"

I did what I suggested to the others. I sat down and leaned against the wall at some random spot. Then, I let out a breath. For a solid second, I let my body's senses thrive, looking for any sense of discomfort and pain in my body.

There wasn't anything serious, just a few sore muscles. My body wasn't under physical stress, and neither was my mind. Although earlier there had been signs, at the moment, I didn't seem to have a migraine or any other sort of pain that might put a limit to my potential.

'That's right… Potential. I need to be at my best if I want to achieve something difficult. But why do I choose to do something difficult…?' I thought to myself as I let the back of my head fall and rest onto the wall.