Beginning of a New Chapter

"Hey, Yuri hurry up, I can see the city from here!" Yuu says excitedly.

"Yuu calm down, we've been traveling nonstop, can we take a breather at least?" Yuri is exhausted as Yuu has been dragging him on minimum rest.

"But we're right there Yuri, it's literally in our grasp!" Yuu says with a bright smile.

The boys have been traveling for two weeks (which is two weeks shorter than normal travelers) and finally have arrived at the kingdom of Isan. The boys approach the gate of Isan and encounter a guard in some very rough-looking armor, almost as if it's makeshift armor.

"Are you two new around here? I've never seen your faces round here before?" The guard says kind of smug.

"Yes, we're travelers from a small village who want to become adventurers!" Yuu says proudly.

"You two adventurers!?" The guard burst out laughing. "You're joking right...?"

"Of course not sir, we're serious about this." Yuu says now with a completely different expression.

"...Well, if this is true, follow me. We have to get you registered into the kingdom's system and then you can go take the adventurers exam." , "Hey hold the post down until I get back!" The guard screams at his companions as he begins to walk through the gate.

The boys follow the guard and get an ID so they can purchase things and be registered as citizens of the kingdom of Isan. They walk around the kingdom for a little while after getting ID and explore while also looking out for the best inns and shops. Then, later on that day they go to the adventurer's guild building and look for a way to take the adventurer exam.

"Wow! What a huge building, It's almost bigger than the town hall, Yuri!" Yuu says amazed

"Yeah, it's an amazing site." Yuri says while slightly in awe.

The boys walk inside and are even shocked by the inside of the building. As they continue to walk in, someone who seems to be the guild receptionist starts to talk to them. The woman talking to them has Dark long purple hair (it looks black) that she has tied in a bun, purple eyes, a model-type physique, and stands at about 5 '6. The woman also has a sad expression on her face.

"Hello, Miss!" Yuu screams "You're really pretty. The name's Yuu by the way." Yuu says flirtingly.

"Cut it out Yuu." Yuri hits Yuu upside the head.

"Ow Yuri!" Yuu shouts while rubbing his head.

"Hello boys, your new faces around here so I assume you're here to register?" The woman asks.

"Yes, we're here to become adventurers! Uh..." Yuu stutters as he doesn't know the name of the woman.

"Please refer to me as Jewels, I am in charge of testing newcomers and giving the proper evaluation afterward." Jewels says as if it's right out of a script.

"I'm Yuri and this is Yuu the one that was hitting on you, nice to meet you Jewels." Yuri says as he bows and Yuu follows his lead.

"So, how does this test work, Jewels?" Yuri asks curiously.

"With the test, you'll be scaled by a magic device that measures one's level, then afterward we'll test your ability with your choice of weapon, finally you'll take a written test and you'll be processed into the system, given an adventurer card and proper rank shown on that card." Jewels start to sound like she's reading a script once again.

"Alright let's get to it!" Yuu says excitedly.

"Follow me just this way then." As Jewels directs them.

The two follow Jewels and go to a room with a large glowing crystal.

"Wow! It's huge and shiny!" Yuu says, amazed.

"Yuu calm down don't act like such a kid." Yuri says while holding back his shock.

"Aw Yuri don't be so stuck up, We've never seen something like this before."

"Yes, the adventurer's guild is the only place on record to have a crystal of this capacity. Now which of you will go first?"

"I will! If that's okay with Yuri?" Yuu looks over at Yuri waiting for approval.

"Yes, that's fine with me."

Yuu goes up and touches the crystal. The crystal begins to radiate as if the mana it just absorbed was the greatest of mana. The crystal lights up and it begins to glow almost to the top.

"HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE!?" Jewels screams and seems more human now with her expression.

"What Jewels...?" Yuu asks, puzzled.

"How old are you again Mr. Yuu...?" Jewels ask in disbelief.

"I'm 16 why..." Yuu is still puzzled.

"Mr. Yuu the higher the crystal glows the higher rank you are. The Glow almost hit the top meaning you're at Master level which is A- low S rank, the highest anyone under 25 has ever been in history." Jewels explains.

"HAHA I KNEW I WAS GREAT!!" Yuu screams as he basks in his glory.

"Yuu stop screaming." Yuri says irritated.

"Aw, Yuri let me bask in my greatness for a little gosh." Yuu says while pouting now.

"So, Jewels is Yuu A or S rank specifically?" Yuri wonders.

"We won't know what Mr. Yuu or you are until you take the combat exam and written exam but he is guaranteed to be one of the two."

"Hmm I'd say I'm S." Yuu lets out a cocky laugh.

"Well, I guess it's my turn now then." Yuri begins to walk towards the crystal.

"Yes indeed Mr. Yuri." Jewels says not to expect much as Yuri doesn't look strong.

Yuri now approaches the crystal and when he touches it, it does the same process as when Yuu touched it but the mana that Yuri put into the crystal seems to be more pure than aggressive. It glows about the same amount as Yuu if not slightly more.

"THERE'S NO WAY!" Jewels lose composure as she yells.

"Welp, it's only to be expected since me and Yuu trained together." Yuri says proudly.

"How long did you two exactly train to reach this level so young... or rather should I ask what you've been through?" Jewels wonder with a sense of worry.

"Oh well, I did physical training of 1,000 pushups a day, 1,000 sword swings, 30 miles a day, 1,000 sit-ups, 1,000 pull-ups, and fought monsters in the forest. I also learned little bits of basic magic from Yuri." Yuu says casually.

"I mainly did meditation, mastered basic passive magic, magic link techniques, some physical training not as extreme as Yuu though, and fought monsters in the forest along with Yuu to try new spells." Yuri also says casually.

Jewels is thunderstruck once again as the two just explained to her that they had the training regimen of a veteran Mage & Knight.

*Cough* "Well... let's carry on to the combat portion. If you just follow me this way you'll find the simulation room made up of a magic aura that can create environments and scenarios based on what the crystal ranks you. You can't get hurt but you can be affected by status effects such as fear, stun, etc. that wear off eventually of course."

"This sounds fun!" Yuu says as he loves fighting and training.

"It sounds like what we've been doing but against monsters, we've never encountered." As Yuri makes it sound casual.

"Okay, so who will be going first this time?"

"I will since Yuu went first last."

"Hmm, I guess that's fair..." Yuu says disappointed.

"Okay, please choose your weapon and we can begin." As Jewels point to a large selection of weapons.

"I'll just use magic." Yuri says with confidence.

Yuri steps into the magic room and Jewels signals for the Master level test to begin. Once the test begins, a male demon with the physical form of a human standing at 6 '10 and has one horn in the middle of his forehead (7'0 w/ horn) appears. The demon's skin is a dark red and he has a deep ominous voice that would strike fear into any low-ranking adventurer or normal human.

"Hmm, I've never seen anything like this quite interesting." Yuri says as he observes the demon. "I'll use defense & physical magic to boost me." "< Mana Barrier Lv. 2, Core Enhancement >" Yuri activates spells with no chant (When someone casts a mana spell they usually have to do a chant, depending on the strength of the spell the longer the chant.)

"Foolish boy, such magic is not strong enough to endure one of my attacks." The demon says condescendingly.

"Hey, Jewels are simulations supposed to talk..." Yuu asks nervously.

"Yes, some can for real battle experience."

"I don't know Jewels, something seems off but I know Yuri's got it." Yuu seems nervous but believes In Yuri so he dismisses it.

"You're one cocky monster you know." Yuri says with a cocky smirk (ironic isn't it).

"Here I come boy!" The demon screams as he rushes Yuri.

"< Fireball >" Yuri uses the spell to stop the demon's advance.

The demon jumps back to dodge it as if it were a natural reflex. "That spell was just a basic fire spell so why did I dodge it..." The demon wonders to himself.

"Quiet demon, you are just a simulation." Yuri says without even hearing what the demon said clearly.

"Is that truly what you believe?" The demon lets out an ominous laugh with his deep voice.

The demon then begins to rush Yuri with consecutive attacks, While Yuri could dodge them he wasn't able to attack. At this point, Yuri was just being pushed back but he wasn't at a disadvantage it seemed. Yuri had a plan and seemed to be stalling.

"Jewels, something really isn't right..." Yuu says while now emitting bloodlust unconsciously.

"Yes, I can tell. I think that is a real demon, Mr. Yuu..." Jewels says nervously.

"WAIT WHAT!?" Yuu screams. "Like one from ancient legend!?"

"Yes, I don't know how but he breached our barrier and got in." Jewels says as she goes to signal the knights over to the guild.

"Will Yuri be okay!?" Yuu asks, concerned.

"Yes he seems to be holding his own but I don't know what level that demon actually is, it... could be holding back." Jewels says slowly.

"If he really needs help is there a way to break in!?" Yuu demands an answer.

"Easily if the demon didn't put up a barrier which I doubt it would forget to."

As Yuri continues to fight the demon and hold his own the demon begins to use some sort of red magic Yuri has never seen before. Yuri still seemed unphased even with the newly seen magic, as if he was just waiting for the right time to do what he had been stalling for.

"Oh no..." Jewels says with her hand over her mouth.

"WHAT JEWELS!?" Yuu asks now tense.

"That's blood magic something usually only non-humans can use, so we don't usually know how to counter it unless it's an ancient warrior or High S+ adventurer." Jewels explains.

"Well Yuri knows plenty of magic, that's nothing." Yuu says confidently and calmly.

"Yes, but if he gets a single cut or wound that reveals blood then the demon will be able to control his entire body and basically end the battle immediately."

"Don't worry Yuri studied magic and something called divine arts all his life so if it's magic Yuri knows it! I know he will, he's the second smartest magician I know!" Yuu says confidently and proudly.

"Who exactly are you two...?" Jewels look over and asks puzzled.

"Oh, blood magic huh?" Yuri says casually. "What an interesting turn of events." Yuri says as if he's getting fired up.

"How do you know of this magic boy...?" The demon asks, wondering about Yuri.

"Don't worry about it, you won't last long anyway." Yuri says with confidence.

The demon begins to rush him "There's no use in running boy I'm quicker and have blood magic which you seem to know of but it won't make much of a difference. I admit you're quite a unique one boy!" The demon says as praise.

"I won't lose this battle demon, I'll let you know that now."

"What an arrogant child!" The demon screams frustrated.

Yuri dodges all of the demon's attacks and pays attention to every movement.

"Ah, I got it! Yuri is planning to use that dark magic spell but needs time to build up mana that's why he keeps avoiding it." Yuu says as he remembers seeing Yuri practice this spell over and over after Isabel and Damon leave.

"Dark magic!?" Jewels ask with a thunderstruck expression for the seventh time in one day.

"Yeah, why are you so surprised?" Yuu chuckles as he watches Yuri's elegant movement against the demon.

"Well we haven't seen a dark magic user for almost 130 years in the books, it's super rare." Jewels explains to Yuu.

"That just means Yuri's special." Yuu laughs with pride.

"Ah, it's ready" Yuri prepares to finally go on the offensive.

"Hey boy, what is this strange aura around you...?" The demon says with concern.

"Don't worry demon you won't need to know since you'll be gone soon, < Shadow consumption >." Yuri releases the spell and it begins to rush at the demon.

"Wait a minute you can use dark magic!?" The demon screams as he prepares to go on the defensive.

"It's too late to run now demon, I win!" Yuri says as the spell is fully released from his grasp.

"WHAT IS THIS!? WHY DON'T I FEEL PAIN!" The demon roars loudly as he seems to be dying but painlessly...

"The ability I'm using decimates my enemy slowly but it's painless." Yuri explains, "Kind of weird for a dark magic user right?" Yuri smiles proudly.

"You win boy I commend you, my name is Morrid you have the right to know as the first person to give me a loss." The demon says now at peace with his defeat as if he's been longing for defeat.

"It was a good fight demon but you will not die, Don't worry it decimates your body but not your soul, You'll become my servant or I rather say ally If you'll accept that." Yuri asks before deciding to present the demon with a contract.

"You beat me and then mock me, boy...? That is quite bold of you." The demon laughs from the surprise. "What are the terms of said contract?"

"The terms are, 1. No killing living beings that are innocent without my permission, 2. No, calling me boy, call me Yuri or master from now on, 3. You lend me a percentage of your power when I ask, 4. You help me when called upon, 5. You live on, and 6. Teach me blood magic." Yuri says the last condition hoping Morrid will teach him as he can't learn any other way.

"Bahahaha! Teach you ancient magic of demons!? That's ridiculous but if possible I will boy- Yuri." Morrid corrects himself.

"Then with the contract agreed upon, we just have to both sign with mana and it'll form itself and make you my ally." A cloud of fog surrounds the two as they go to sign the contract with a magic signature, once done the fog disappears and the two emerge with no sign of the contract or bloodshed.

"Hey, Jewels look at Yuri, he's finally coming out after we couldn't see him for a minute!" Yuu says excitedly.

"Yes, you couldn't see us because I was forming a contract with Morrid." Yuri says kind of proudly.

"YOU DID WHAT WITH WHO!?" Jewels says as once again she is surprised today.

"I formed a contract with the demon I fought, Morrid." Yuri says casually now, kind of confused at Jewel's shock.

"Wow Yuri, that's so cool! I knew you were great but making friends with a demon!" Yuu says proud of his best friend.

"That's quite the accolade, Yuri." Jewels says. "After being with you two for this short amount of time I'm not even surprised anymore." Jewels blatantly lie.

"Hey, Yuri, who are these two?" Morrid asks curiously.

"The boy is Yuu, he's my rival and the woman is Jewels, who we just met today but she's quite important as the guild receptionist." Yuri begins to explain to Morrid.

"Hey Yuri, why'd the demon get so tiny...?" Yuu asks, confused.

Morrid is the same color and still has his (now tiny) horn but he's shrunk to about the size of a Hamster. He floats around Yuri's shoulder when out but when concealed he is just in Yuri's shadow realm where only Yuri can hear him.

"Well I made a contract with Morrid and he's bound to me now so he can't quite use his full power until I'm strong enough to contain it which caused him to shrink." Yuri explains.

"So, you two are going to get stronger...?" Jewels ask in shock because the two are already on the level of veterans.

"Of course we are Jewels, we have to so we can learn from our masters!" Yuu says excitedly.

"I'd love to meet these masters of yours, Sir Yuu & Sir Yuri."

"Stop calling us sir Jewels, it's weird." Yuu says while fake gagging.

"Yes, I agree with Yuu for once just refer to us by name." Yuri nods his head in agreement.

"I'll try to remember that, Yuu & Yuri." Jewels says with a smile.

The knight squads arrive at the scene not too long after the result of the battle between Yuri and Morrid. With everything settled down the Royal Knights and Knights squad show up to talk to the people at the scene, specifically the ones in the room, and to get a reliable report they can have on file after the appearance of a demon inside the kingdom they thought was safe.

"Hey, Jewels, are you all good here?" The head knight asks.

"Yes, Sara I'm fine, I had these two around." Jewels say to the head knight.

"Hey, Jewels! You know you can't just call me by name casually!" The head knight aka Sara says.

"Jewels, who is this energetic short lady." Yuri asks casually.

"Yeah, she's as energetic as me but is wearing a lot of armor almost like my master." Yuu says, eye-boggling the head knight.

"Sorry for my ill manners. I am the head of the knights of Isan, Sara." Sara takes her helmet off and bows elegantly.

When Sara takes her helmet off the boys can see she's a short foreign woman who's tan, She has a scar on her left eye that doesn't open, a brown eye color that looks like honey almost in the sun especially, silky white super long hair, a pretty smile, stands at 4'11-5'0, and she has a rough build for a girl but has strong appeal as a woman.

"Hi, Sara, I'm Yuu. A pleasure to meet you!"

"I'm Yuri, nice to meet you, Sara."

"Back at you two!" Sara says energetically with a smile.

"Come let me give you the report of the incident Sara." Jewels says after Sara's done with introductions.

"Hey wait!" Yuu screams as the two are about to walk away. "I know you need to do your report but what about my combat test!? Yuri got to fight a strong demon but I didn't get to do anything!" Yuu says frustrated.

"Wait a minute, that kid over there fought a demon alone!?" Sara asks in shock.

"Yes, I did as well as beat it, and don't call me kid it's either Yuri or don't address me." Yuri says coldly.

"Yes, I can vouch that he did and the boy with him, Yuu, is just as strong according to the crystal."

"Well, if that's the case then I'll need you for the report too, Yuri. For now though if Yuu is as strong as you, I'm willing to test him myself if he holds against or beats me he should be about S rank." Sara looks at Yuu and Jewels waiting for approval.

"That sounds great to me!" Yuu screams.

"If Yuu has no problem with it then I don't see the issue. Where will you two fight though our room is completely destroyed from the fight between Yuri and the Demon."

"We can fight at the knights' headquarters training grounds." Sara says as she begins to walk and signal for them all to follow.

*Shortly later after getting a report from Jewels, Yuu & Yuri*

"Ok, Yuu, are you ready?"

"Of course I am!" Yuu says fired up.

"Okay, I'll be the judge of the fight, when I say stop then stop, and in case of injury we have Yuri for healing as he said he could use high-level passive spells." Jewels explains. "The fight can now begin!"

"I'm not going to take it easy on you, Sara!" Yuu rushes already with his sword drawn.

"I would hope not considering I won't either!" Sara defends against Yuu's attack.

Yuu continues to deliver a series of blows but not even one hits Sara. Sara realizes that Yuu is just going berserk right now and decides to try and get him to change his approach.

"You're pretty good for someone so young but your swordsmanship is sloppy." Sara says before taking a stance and pushing Yuu back.

Yuu goes on the defensive, "Sloppy huh? Let me fix that then." Yuu also enters a sword stance now, the same one as Sara at that.

"How do you know the < Isan Sword Stance >!? That should be something only the knights of Isan know." Sara asks, completely shocked.

"My master taught me this stance as my first." Yuu explains before now fighting on par with Sara.

'Ugh, this kid is good. He can switch from barbaric fighting to stances.' Sara thinks to herself as they exchange blows.

"Alright, we're getting nowhere this way." Sara says before switching her stance. "I'm going to get a bit serious now." Sara now slightly grazes Yuu's face with her blade so quickly he couldn't even keep up.

Yuu leaps back, "Woah that was cool! I'll have to ask you to teach me that later, Sara." Yuu smiles.

"There's no time to smile during battle, Yuu." Sara says before appearing behind him.

"You're right." Yuu says before the atmosphere changes.

"Oh no..." Yuri says with a worried look as he remembers this feeling from their battle as kids.

"What's the matter, Yuri?"

"The last time the atmosphere got heavy like this Yuu became a different person it's almost scary, to be honest, Jewels." Yuri says casually but looks concerned.

"Don't worry Yuri, Sara isn't someone to let things like that affect her just watch as she fights." Jewels says confident in the head knight.

"Oh, I like this!" Sara says fired up.

Yuu begins to adapt mid-fight and exchange blows until eventually he overpowers Sara. "Sheesh kid you're good." Sara says before switching stances once again. "< Stance of the Flying Lotus >" Sara begins to move as if she's one with the wind and dances elegantly while moving too quickly for Yuu.

"Wow, it's beautiful..." Yuri says as he watches in amazement.

"Yeah, that's Sara for you. She always does everything elegantly despite how rough she looks." Jewels says with a smile from nostalgia.

"I won't lose this fight, Sara." Yuu says before switching stances and completely changing the aura around him as if he's enjoying the fight. "< Stance of the Praying Tiger >" Yuu now is moving with Sara slightly slower but has become considerably stronger than her, even absorbing her attacks now.

Yuu exchanges blows with Sara but the impact from clashing with Yuu's blade is weighing her down as he's much stronger now, Eventually, Yuu grabs Sara by the left wrist and throws her, then rushes her. "I win Sara." Yuu says as he has his blade at her throat.

"Yes, it's my loss. Congrats Yuu." Sara chuckles.

"Congrats on beating Sara, Yuu. To be honest I didn't think anyone could beat her besides a few adventurers and The Head of the Royal Knights." Jewels says.

"Congrats Yuu, I see you've finally got that stance down." Yuri says with a smirk as they both have their own signature moves they created.

"Yeah, Yuu, what was that stance you used? I think you said something like 'Praying Tiger'?" Sara asks curiously while Yuu is helping her up.

"Oh, it's just a stance I created after my master showed me the ones from the kingdom and some he learned in his travels. I still have much to improve on it though." Yuu says humbly.

"I'd love for you to teach me some of your swordsmanship sometime. In exchange, I'll teach you what I know too." Sara offers.

"WOW, REALLY!?" Yuu screams in excitement. "I'd love to teach you and especially to learn that super fast step you did!"

"Well, considering you beat Sara, in the combat portion at least you'd rank S right on the dot, Yuu. The only thing left is the written test, but that'll have to wait until we clean up the guild hall." Jewels tell them as they begin to wrap things up and leave. "You two should settle in for the night and get some rest. The guild should be able to test you and finalize your license in three to five days."

"Alright, thanks Jewels for all your generosity today and for guiding us." Yuri bows.

"Yeah, thanks a lot Jewels!" Yuu looks over then follows Yuri's example and bows also.

The two find an inn and use some of the money they were given from the villagers back home. After a few days of resting, light training, eating new Isan & unknown dishes (to the two boys they're unknown at least), and exploring the kingdom the two go back to the guild which had a speedy recovery due to the kingdom's magicians.

"Hey, Jewels, it's been a while!" Yuu says excitedly.

"Yuu, it's been three days, calm down." Yuri sighs.

"I see you two are as lively as ever." Jewels chuckles "Follow me this way and we'll begin the written exam." Jewels signal for the two to follow.

"Hey, did this place get bigger or am I crazy Yuri?" Yuu whispers.

"No, it definitely did. I noticed it as soon as we followed Jewels." Yuri whispers back.

They eventually arrive in a room that looks like a classroom, "You two get seated and I'll explain the written exam. The exam will be displayed by magic and you just need to answer the questions to the best of your knowledge, you have an hour to take this 30-question exam, Get at least 60% correct and you pass. I'll now leave, Good luck you two." Jewels goes out of the door they entered.

*One hour goes by*

"Ok, you two times is up." Jewels says immediately after entering the room.

The two submit the test, and Jewels go over them and begin to score them right away. "Yuri passes with a... wait a minute something must be wrong." Jewels look at the paper over and over thunderstruck. "Yuri, you're a foreigner right...?" Jewels ask as confirmation.

"Yes, I was born in a small village about a month's journey from the kingdom for adventurers. Why?" Yuri is confused by the sudden question.

"You passed the test with flying colors... One of the only three people in history to do such a thing." Jewels is amazed by the exam score.

"Hey, what did I get!?" Yuu screams eager to know his score now.

"You passed with a 60 exactly." "That isn't too surprising seeing as you don't seem the smartest." Jewels mutter to herself. "Well! Since you two passed, I can now present you with your S-class adventurer cards!" Jewels says excitedly as she hands the two gold-tinted cards. "If you ever lose your card we can find your name in the magic system and re-acquire one for you."

"WOOHOO!" Yuu screams and jumps around excitedly.

Yuri smiles proudly as he finally has achieved his first major goal.

"Wait, do you hear that Yuu?" Yuri asks so seriously all of a sudden.

"Yeah, it sounds like marching and I can sense powerful energy..."

Jewels is confused by what the two sense and hear.

The door suddenly bursts open! "YUU WE ARE HERE TO REQUEST A FORMAL DUEL!"

The three looked at each other confused as they were expecting an actual enemy not a group of royal knights requesting a duel with a 16-year-old foreigner...