Among Monsters (Tensura)

Chapter 34: A New Role

James blinked his eyes open. "What the hell happened?" he thought groggily, his mind clouded with confusion. As he tried to gather his bearings, he realized he wasn't in his room at the inn. Instead, he was lying on the grass inside his Sovereign's Sanctuary amphitheater, Aeolus standing nearby.

"Aeolus?" James asked, rubbing his eyes.

The Fenrir looked back at him. "You went unconscious after you told me my name," he responded.

James frowned. 'Even when I pulled all the gathered ambient magicules to use during the naming, I ended up like this?'

Quickly, he pushed himself up and stood. "Stay here, I'll be back soon," he instructed. Using Sovereign's Sanctuary, he teleported to his inn room in Dwargon.

Once back at the inn, James quickly made his way downstairs, eager to grab some breakfast before heading out. After finishing his meal, he retrieved his horse from the stable and set off toward the merchant guild.

As he entered, one of the guild members waved him over. "Yo, you're the last adventurer for the escort quest," a middle-aged man said, his halberd resting on his back.

James raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?"

The man grinned. "The name's Roderic Blayne. Just call me Roderic."

"Alright, Roderic, I'm James Tanaka. Just call me James," he responded.

Roderic gave him a quick nod. "We were just about to leave. You're the last one we were waiting for."

James took a moment to check his surroundings before, with a subtle gesture, using Sovereign's Sanctuary again to bring Aeolus to his side. The sudden appearance of the wolf-like creature made several nearby adventurers jump back in alarm.

"Don't worry, he's with me," James said calmly.

One of the adventurers, his hand instinctively reaching for his weapon, stared in astonishment. "What the hell? Is that a summoned wolf? Are you a summoner?" he asked.

James sighed, realizing he'd need to calm everyone down. "No, he's my companion, his names Aeolus Just relax."

After a few tense moments, the situation began to settle, though some of the other adventurers still looked at Aeolus with suspicion. Then, an older man, carrying a two-handed axe on his back, stepped forward.

"Alright, since we have an unexpected situation, we'll need to reorganize our formation," he said, voice firm and commanding.

He laid out the new plan. "The merchant's carriage will be positioned in the center of the caravan for maximum safety—8th position. The rest of the carriages will be arranged as follows: 7 goods carriages up front, the merchant's carriage in the center, and 7 more goods carriages at the rear."

"The guard distribution is as follows: Front guard will consist of 4 adventurers plus 12 personal guards. Rear guard will have 3 adventurers plus 12 guards. Flank guards will patrol each side, with 2 adventurers per side. And finally, the central guard will be James and 4 additional guards, stationed near the merchant's carriage. Aeolus will act as a mobile defender, ready to move anywhere as needed."

James listened carefully, mentally noting his role.

"For the front guard," the old man continued, "Adventurers 1 and 2 will be scouts, ensuring the road ahead is clear of threats. Adventurers 3 and 4 will focus on defending the front carriages during frontal assaults."

"For the rear guard," he added, "Adventurer 5 will lead the rear defense, providing strong melee combat, while Adventurers 6 and 7 will handle ranged and magic-based threats."

"The flank guards are responsible for preventing side ambushes. Adventurers 8 and 9 will patrol the left flank, while Adventurers 10 and 11 will patrol the right."

As for the central guard, James was assigned a key role. "James will be positioned near the merchant's carriage to monitor the caravan and detect threats," the old man said.

'I'll set up magic circles to protect the caravan—Barrier Circles for defense, Detection Circles for spotting threats, and Diversion Circles to confuse attackers.' James nodded to himself. 'I'll make sure everything's covered,' he thought. "Got it."

Finally, the old man turned to Aeolus. "And Aeolus, as a mobile defender, your role is to move throughout the caravan and respond to high-priority threats. If there are monsters or large groups of enemies, you'll need to engage and neutralize them. Your presence alone will also deter most bandits or weaker monsters."

The older man clapped his hands together, signaling the group to move. "Alright, people and beast, let's get this caravan moving!"

As the caravan began its journey, James took up his position near the merchant's carriage, ready for whatever lay ahead.

End of chap.