82 Chapter 82: Expedition 2

After the trial, Derik and the rest returned to the mansion dedicated to their team by the adventurers association. On their way back, they were observant enough to notice the change in the attitude of the people towards them. Hints of admiration and respect could be seen in the eyes of anyone who gazed upon them, although there are a few who still wore hostile expressions whenever they saw Derik and the team, they were in the minority. Apparently, the second phase of their plan worked out well but at what cost? Daemon looked empty and Cyrus looked miserable. Being tortured and beaten while he was in a weakened state had truly damaged him and no one knew when he is going to recover from this. Even though the team felt sorry for Derik, they didn't worry much about him, knowing about his healing capabilities.

They entered the mansion without uttering a word, going straight to their rooms. At this junction, these kids had learned a valuable lesson. 'They are weak!

With their powers and abilities, they thought they could establish themselves in the capital by acting rashly and being arrogant but now they have been exposed to reality. To think it would take just a few days of rough handling to break them and that was not the bad news. They were almost a hundred percent sure that the king was planning to get rid of them in the incoming expedition. If they knew their actions will lead them to this position, they probably wouldn't have acted the way they did.

By the time Derik returned to his room, he saw the magic weapon laying on his bed lime another tool. It was a metal bow with numerous runes and magical letters engraved on it. Derik quickly locked the door behind him and stared at the item for a while and frowned slightly. He has been thinking of something for a while and the magic weapon reminded him of it.

"Hey… We haven't had a proper conversation after the vampire incident with the Lockwood family… I know you are the Angel of death but I don't know what to call you" Derik spoke after arranging his words skillfully

[Humph! Now you are in danger, you wish to have a normal conversation? Hahaha! How old do you think I'm a kid? Spit it out, what do you want?] The voice resonated in his head.

Hearing the guardian spirits words, Derik smiled bitterly knowing his plan won't work out today, but he wasn't ready to give up the act so be continued

"what do I want? Let's start with your name…' Derik said after thinking about it for a while

[Hahaaha! You still chose to play this silly game with me?... It's alright, I'll play along for a while] the voice echoed in his head

[I guess you can call me death… ] it said

Hearing this, Derik grunted and scratched his head

"That won't work out… I can't call you death, it doesn't make any sense… I'm sure the creator must have given you an actual name, by the way, that night when u died, you called Cyrus' guardian spirit by its name" Derik said[Since you insist, I'm called Demos] The voice said

"Demos? Isn't that a little disturbing… like Demon?" Derik said while shaking his head"Nope, I'll call you Lucy" Derik said with a smile on his face

[Wait! What?... KID, DO YOU WANNA DIE!!!] A roar echoed in his head

Derik only laughed hard for a while and then wiped off the beads of tears on his face

"It's a joke man… chill a little… Don't tell me you still haven't developed a sense of humor after living for eons" Derik said

[….]

Seeing Demos was not willing to reply, he decided to the straight to the point. After thinking for a while, he spoke

"Demos… what is your duty to me as my guardian spirit?" Derik asked with a stern look on his face

[To guide you and help you reach your peak… To protect your life with the best of abilities… See its been eons when we swore the oath but none of us really took it seriously, can't remember most of it… The summary of the whole stuff is quite simple, I am obliged to help you in any way I can and in any way I think is best] Demos said after thinking for a while

Derik was stunned by what he heard, he didn't think there was an actual oath which bound these ancient spirits to their hosts. If his speculations are correct, an oath which binds these beings to their hosts is there to make sure these supernatural beings do not take advantage of their hosts. But from what he has seen so far, the guardian spirits already found a way to bypass some of these oaths.

And now, the real questions rushed into his mind, it doesn't make sense that a guardian spirit won't be able to remember an oath, come on that's just ridiculous. The fact remains that Demos was trying to conceal something from him, something that may actually affect it in some way. Maybe put it under his control?

Derik laughed out loud and shrugged the thoughts off. He already knew that Demos could read his mind so it was not advisable to plot against it. Also, he truly believed such a relationship won't be healthy where both sides will always remain wary of the other, this will definitely create a wall between them and slow down his progress

"You don't have to worry much about it, I won't ask about it" Derik laughed

[Good…] Demos replied. Even though his voice was calm as he tried to mask his anxiety, hints of relief could be heard in them.

With a satisfied smile on his face, Derik ran to the bed and picked up the Bronze level magic bow. The moment he held on to it, the magic runes lit up and the mana in the air around him froze. He took a deep breath and controlled the flow of his mana, pouring it into the magic weapon and soon the atmosphere became chaotic.The purple magic runes on the glowed even more fiercely and a purple thin arrow made of pure energy appeared in Derik's free hand, even though the energy arrow was thin he didn't underestimate the power it carried at all.

His expression turned gloomy as a few thoughts crossed his mind. If the king was willing to hand over something this precious, knowing fully well that this will boost Derik's strength to the point where he can stand against even mid grade bronze level warriors and mages without taking off his limiters. Doesn't that mean that the people the king will send would definitely be able to handle these added advantages he has? Fear gripped him and his heart sunk

[You still have 30 days to prepare… Since these things are about to get messy, I'll help you in the most effective ways possible ] Demos finally spoke a while later

Hearing Demo's words Derik's eyes lit up and a broad smile appeared on his face as he asked

"You're gonna make me strong enough to fight those peak grade bronze realm adventurers and even silver realm warriors?! Hahahahaha!!!! This us just took good" Derik laughed hysterically

[Don't be stupid boy, I ain't a magician and I don't perform miracles either… it is literarily impossible to make you strong enough to stand against people of such a realm without external power ups like magical equipment's and weapons] Demos said

[Anyway… The best I can do is help make sure you can escape but the presence of Cyrus' guardian spirit, Michael will make it way more difficult] It continued

Hearing this, Derik's facial expression darkened and he instantly got on his feet, wearing a gloomy expression on his face while asking

"How is Cyrus a problem?" Derik asked

[I should have told you this before but I decide to let you enjoy your time with your friends for a while I'm just thankful it's not too late yet... Do not trust anyone, your parents included. Be on guard against everyone and you will survive… Should the unexpected happened, you will not be caught off guard… The word relationship is stupid… It's like giving someone a bow and an arrow aimed to your heart and hoping they won't shoot] Demos said

Derik shuddered as he listened to Demos words

"Don't do that" He screamed, you're not human so it's only natural you won't understand. "Bonds and ties is an important aspect of life"

[I'm not human I agree to that and my vision is not clouded by silly emotions, that's why I can see clearer. Many great men have been killed in a similar situation which you are about to enter. Seventy-six percent died because they hoped their friends will aid them when the time comes only to be stabbed at the back by the people they call friends and families, the remaining twenty-four percent lost their lives simply because they weren't strong enough to protect themselves. I'm not telling you to cut off your relationship with them forever, all I ask is you see them as potential foes until the expedition is over… if you can't handle the pain, I will aid you by taking away your emotions just like I did before] Demos took his time to explain everything.

After considering his words for a while, Derik decided to ask

"What makes you think they will turn against you"

[These people are from noble while you're still a commoner, yes your family may have been awarded the position of a noble family but that doesn't mean the others will actually recognize them. But these people are different if all the members of team guardian should perish, won't it be suspicious? To satiate his anger, the king will most likely try to woo the other members of the team to strike at the one who annoyed him the most… And guess who that is?] "Me…"

[Exactly, chances of this happening are quite high and your chances of escaping death are slim, that's why this .method is very effective… Should the rest of the team leave this place and return home to meet their family then the chances of this happening are dangerously close to a hundred percent… That is why I ask you to be wary of them, they may not choose to betray you at first but they can be placed in a situation where they will realize you don't matter as much as they thought… Until this expedition is over, you will practice in isolation. Everything I teach you shall not be shared with the others, Cyrus especially… Do you understand?] Demos spoke

"Yea… I guess it won't hurt to be careful… I will be wary of them till the expedition is over" Derik sighed

[Good…]

Demos replied...