Chapter 1: “Growing Up and The Start of a Test.”

An old man was out in the pouring rain with a magic shield surrounding him, protecting him. He looked down at the broken Carriage in front of him, completely destroyed from a demon bear attack; he didn't make it in time.

He sighed. "The least I can do is give them a proper burial." Then he heard crying of a baby, no two baby's. He focused a little to hear where the sound was coming from and went over to a bit of destroyed wood from the carriage.

He flipped it over and saw two baby's, probably not even a year old in a basket. He picked both of them up and held them while warming them up with his magic, while also trying to calm them down. "Shh, it's okay. I'll take care of you." It was the least he could do for the people that he failed to save, if he couldn't save them then he would raise their children.

=========================================

*four years later*

A child, four years old was hiding in a bush, his brother somewhere else. He was getting this chicken in front of him for dinner and nothing was going to stop him. He started using magic and made a powerful enough wind blade to chop the chickens head off, and that's exactly what it did.

He then hopped out of his bush with a happy smile on his face. "Ha, I bet shin didn't get such a clean hit in on his hunt!" It was always a competition between the two of them, trying to be better at magic, sword fighting, cleaning and who could eat their food faster, although the last one always had one of them almost choke on their food.

He went over to the chicken with a spring in his step almost skipping. He then used shins magic to create a separate space to put his hunt in.

A few minutes later he was at their house in the woods. He ran over and opened the door. "Grandad! Is shin here yet?!"

"Unfortunately he just beat you here by a few seconds." The kid looked around the room and saw his brother, shin, with a smug smile on his face.

The kid fell down on his hands and knees. "No way… I was sure I would get here before him." He then looked at Shin with determination. "Shin! I will beat you someday!" The kid lost most of the challenges but he would never give up.

"No. I will always win vahn." Shin still had that smug look on his face and it annoyed vahn.

"Alright kids stop fighting, let's test your magic and see how good you are at it, okay?" Their granddad said. He was merlin wolford a legendary magician. Vahn and shin's second name was also wolford.

"Okay!" They both ran outside the house.

"Alright let's see what you guys got from your hunt first." Both kids nodded and activated the magic where they put their hunt, it was a purple circle with magic letters and the outside of it.

Shin dropped his hunt faster than vahn did. Shin's hunt was chickens and a deer. Merlin was impressed. "I would have got more but you told us not to over hunt."

Vahn was annoyed once again. Shin always had to be better. Vahns hunt was just chicken. "I didn't get anything because you told us not to over hunt. And shin just cause you got a deer doesn't mean your better then me, it will rot before we even get to eat it! So, ha!" Vahn had a smug look on his face thinking his logic was flawless.

"But the magic perseveres anything we put in there so it won't rot." Once again shin had that smile on his face and vahn was annoyed because not only would the food not rot he had proven that he was better again by remembering something that vahn didn't.

"No kids, your brothers don't fight." Merlin tried to calm them down, and it worked. Shin was calm and Vahn was just calming down. "Now let's see how much progress you made with your magic."

Shin went first like always. He started with fire magic he created a simple flame and sent flying by moving his arm, it went over to a pile of logs.

It was vahns turn and he went to the same place shin was standing and put his hands out, water came out of his and put out some of the fire.

Vahn thinks shin doesn't think sometimes, what if the fire made its way to the woods, or the house? It would burn!

=========================================

*six years later*

During this time shin has only ever gotten stronger with vahn still lagging behind him. Vahn has also been developing an inferiority complex thinking that he was always going to be worse than shin.

Shin keeps developing new magic while vahn has to ask shin multiple times to ask if he is getting it right, and it seems to vahn that shin gets a sick pleasure when he has to ask if he is doing it right.

Although it might seem that way to vahn, it's actually not. Shin likes to think he is the big brother so he likes to be asked by vahn if he is doing it right.

Today vahn, shin and merlin were going to hunt a demon.

"So do any of you know what a demon is?" Merlin asked them.

Vahn was going to answer but got cut off by shin. "It's something that loses control of their magic power and becomes demonised. It can happen to anything including humans, didn't you fight off a human demon, granddad?"

"Yeah that's correct, shin with your explanation and that I fought off a demon. When something demonises it loses all sense of reason and attacks anything it sees, but even if something weak demonises it becomes much stronger. So if a robot demonises it could become a big problem depending on where it goes." Merlin explained to them.

"So how are we going to find one?" Vahn asked.

"I'm going to teach you a new magic, search magic. It requires a bit more skill than other magic you are used to so just take your time." Merlin then released a small bit of magic around him and on the ground. "To use search magic you have to spread your magic thinly around you."

Vahn and shin both looked at each other and knew they were going to make it into a competition. They both started with shin getting the hang of it first.

"Whoa I can see grandma all the way back in the house!" Shin was excited about getting used to it, vahn had gotten the hang of it as well by this time seeing grandma in the house as well. But then he sensed something else. "What is that?"

Vahn eventually sensed it as well it's presence was disturbing, it seemed evil.

"Oh so you sensed it, that's a demon." Although Merlin was surprised that they managed to do it on their first try, he was glad that they were good at it.

"We have to get rid of it before it does something!" Shin said as he started running towards it. Vahn started running as well and Merlin went after them.

Eventually they managed to get there and they saw a demon grizzly bear. Vahn was scared, I mean that's natural it's a demon so it takes time to get used to the magic it lets off.

Although it didn't seem like shin was affected by it and immediately lept into action, he activated his jet boots making air come out of them making him hover off the ground to give a speed boost to the bear.

He also took out his vibration sword, he activated it making it turn blue while it was activated it could cut through almost anything.

"Shin stop!" Merlin yelled worried for the boy he was about to do something when he saw that shin was in front of the bear.

Shin had an intense look of concentration on his face, he moved out of the way when the bear tried to hit him and then swung his sword at the bear's neck taking it clean off.

Merlin was in shock that he managed to kill it so easily. Vahn on the hand finally realised that he would probably never pass shin in terms of anything.

"Did I do good grandpa? I didn't do anything wrong did I?" Shin asked, seeing as his grandpa wasn't saying anything.

Vahn was starting to hate that part of shin always looking for approval, asking if he did something wrong. What is wrong? Shin couldn't do wrong, at least not for grandpa and grandma.

"No.. I was just surprised. But shin what was that enchantment you used?" Merlin asked.

In vahns mind that was all the proof he needed, Merlin asked shin to come back. They weren't even supposed to kill the demon, they were supposed to see what a demon looked like and how to sense it and then their grandpa would kill. Merlin and Melinda, his grandma, thought that shin couldn't do anything wrong. Everything he did was perfect. And vahn hated it.

If vahn did he would probably be scolded for doing that.

"Um…" shin didn't know how to answer the question, and it didn't help that his brother was giving him an intense stare. "Just the usual enchantments."

Eventually they went back into the house, although it was late. Both shin and vahn went to their room and slept, although neither of them went to sleep with their grandma shouting.

"WHAT SHIN KILLED A DEMON GRIZZLY BEAR!" Melinda shouted in disbelief.

"Yeah he killed it with his sword. Although vahn froze when he saw it, although it's not unexpected it was his first time seeing a demon after all. I'm more surprised that shin was still able to move, let alone kill it when he saw the demon." Merlin started talking.

But it sickened vahn that he said 'it's not unexpected that he wasn't able to move' that's like the same as saying, 'well shin is better as always and vahn was a step behind' that was basically what his grandpa was saying.

"Vahn is a timid child Merlin, although he's not as strong as shin he is still stronger than normal kids his age. And besides we both know you froze as well when you saw a demon for the first time."

=========================================

"Cheers!" Everyone clinked their cups against each other

It was vahn and shin's fifteenth birthday, the day they became adults because they were old enough, although their grandparents still won't let them drink. A few acquaintances were over for the celebration Micheal Collins, Melinda bowen, Merlin wolford, diseum Von earlshide, Siegfried Marquez, Christina Hayden and Tom Haag.

During this time vahns inferiority complex has gotten worse, he wants to prove he is stronger than shin but with how far ahead shin is in strength it is impossible. Vahn also spends most of his time making magic items or trying to create new magic but failing because he doesn't bother to try because 'if shin can't do and he hasn't created it yet why would I be able to' even though he might be able to he doesn't try.

"So what are you guys going to do from here on out?" Diseum asked the boys.

Vahn waited for shin to answer first. "Him I don't know. I haven't been outside the forest before so maybe go to a nearby town?"

"Then what?"

"Hm, should there be more than that?" Shin asked, confused.

It was at this moment vahn realised that shin didn't actually know anything about the outside world, vahn knew some stuff because he asked Melinda about it but even then that wouldn't make him better than shin if he knows stuff called common sense.

"It's important to know what you want to do in the future." Diseum said.

"You could be a demon Hunter." Christina suggested. That one sounded the most appealing to Vahn but he wanted to go to a magic school or something like that just in case.

"There's a job for that?" Shin asked confused, it was kinda understandable that he was confused, although it was for the wrong reason, shin was so strong that demons weren't a challenge for him he's been killing them since he ten after all.

"Yes there is a demon Hunter society where people get money for their accomplishments for killing demons." Tom said he was a merchant so it would be weird if he didn't know about this stuff.

"Wow you haven't even heard about them?" Siegfried said. "What about you vahn you gotta have heard about them, right?"

"Um.. y-yeah I h-heard about them b-before." Vahn nodded while scratching the back of his neck, he also developed social anxiety so although he know all the people here he still stutters.

"See! Even vahn has heard of them, how haven't you shin?" Siegfried said, confused. Usually it would be the other way around, with vahn not knowing something and shin having to tell him while vahn stutters out the question.

It actually confused everyone at the table how such an energetic kid such as vahn could turn into someone who couldn't talk to people beside his grandparents without stuttering.

"Well I wasn't thinking about jobs much." Shin replied to seigfried.

"Well if you don't want to be a demon Hunter you could sell your magic weapons." He then winked and started talking again. "Or you could use your looks to get a girlfriend to support you."

Christina sighed. "Luckily they aren't sick enough in the head to think in those terms."

And then Christina and Siegfried started fighting… again. It happens at least once when they come over. You couldn't even see the lightning between them as they glared at each other.

"Say what!" Siegfried started first.

"Did I stutter!?" Christina then spoke.

Siegfried and Christina were still arguing with imaginary lighting between them.

"Oh, yeah now that I'm an adult I need to start making money not to mention how to use it." Shin then spoke.

This made vahn look at him weirdly. Vahn knew shin didn't know much about common sense but he didn't know it was this bad.

"Hold on a moment. You mean you've never gone shopping before?" Tod asked, completely shocked that shin and possibly vahn didn't know.

"Nope. Can't say I have." Shin answered without hesitation.

Everyone at the table was shocked except for me and Merlin.

"Your kidding… Merlin!" Melinda said in a threatening tone.

"I may have forgotten to teach him some common practices." Merlin said with an innocent face and a hand on the back of his head, like he didn't do anything wrong.

"WHAT!" Everyone was in shock some of them were even disappointed in Merlin, well most of them were.

"Come to think of it I don't know how to do much of anything besides fight and use magic." Vahn was starting to think shin didn't know anything, it would be a miracle for him to survive by himself.

"Well I'm sure it'll all work out." Merlin said like he didn't do anything wrong.

The next day merlin wanted to show everyone vahns and shins magic to make it seem like he didn't teach us nothing, although he taught shin because he asked vahn wasn't the talking type so he didn't get help when he needed it, although that was kinda vahns fault.

Shin transported us to his magic training grounds, vahn had been there a few times himself although he didn't use it when shin was and shin was using it most of the time so vahn didn't use it much at all.

"Huh? Everyone's coming?" Shin asked, confused.

"I want to see exactly what kind of magic this old blockhead grandpa of yours has taught you guys." Melinda said while glaring at merlin.

Melinda is a former magic equipment specialist. So she just wanted to see how far outside the norm vahn and shin were.

"To already be using this kind of 'gate' magic… ahh… i don't want to think about it." Melinda already looked like she was tired from what she saw and it was just a transportation spell.

"But, Melinda we don't know what kind of trouble they will get into let's just give up and confirm it." Diseum said.

"Anyway, I just have to show off my magic right? … alright I'm starting." Shin then held his hands out. 'The image of combustion. Come forth, fire fragments. Take in oxygen and burn strong again.'

A fire started in his hands and then went out in a pillar of fire. It then touched a hill in the distance and destroyed it in an explosion.

Everyone was shocked, even vahn who now just realised that although shin doesn't have any common sense he is still strong, far stronger than vahn thought him to be.

Melinda didn't stay shocked for long though. "Merlin… y… y… you…" she was pissed but trying not to kill merlin just yet.

Shin then turned around to meet the shocked gazes of everyone. "... huh? What's wrong everyone?"