After four days of grueling travel, fighting annoying demons, and nearly emptying his waterskin, Rey finally arrives at the aforementioned pile of shit. One good thing was the change in scenery. Gone was the red, veiny sky, the dead trees with severed limbs for branches, and in its place was a dark, craggy 'sky' with rivulets of lava that he didn't know why it didn't drip to the ground. He always figured there was a volcano overhead on the surface, but he couldn't be sure.

  The best part of this entrance to the Kingdom of Night was the dungeon staring him in the face.

  He had made sure to follow the same route as he had done in his last playthrough. Well, as much as he remembered. After all, it had been five years since he had last come to this lovely place. The others weren't with him this time, so he wouldn't have to bear witness to their deaths, so this place might not be so bad.

  Unlike the last dungeon, this one skipped the cave-like architecture and went straight for the minimalist 'black hole but make it sexy' look. If Rey hadn't power leveled through a hundred of these, he would be so wary of stepping into one. But he had seen and even been the boss of all kinds of dungeons. He knew what this was, and he couldn't wait to get in.

  He tightened his grip on his scythe. "Well, Trusty, time to make some demons wish they'd stayed in bed, dattebayo."

  Rey stepped into the vortex. Reality bent around him, and one moment, he was standing in the clearing, and in the next, he was in a dark tunnel, and he knew that there was no path but forward.

  He had been in this exact tunnel before with the others. They blasted out of this tunnel like kindergarteners on free-candy day—unhinged, unstoppable, and mildly terrifying. He would miss the others, but with his gravity powers and his scythe, he was sure that he would do fine. But that didn't mean he could be careless.

  He knew that no demons were waiting for him in this tunnel, so he wasn't too bothered about the dark. He strode out of the tunnel and into a bright world that looked like the one he had left behind, yet somehow not quite the same.

  For one, before him lay a city, with flat-topped marble houses, as if he had arrived in an old-timey town, somewhat like ancient Rome, but with a distinct architectural style. The other thing was that instead of portly Romans in cute bedsheets rolled around them, there were demons patrolling the streets, and some were even battling it out. Most had marked off territories and neighborhoods as their own, and they were content with watching their own turf as mafia underbosses. They squatted on their territory like constipated dragons, brooding over every inch of cracked pavement and eyeballing intruders like a hen sitting on nitroglycerin.

  Rey and the others had never quite figured out why they acted like this. Their best guess was that this was because the boss was a powerful demon like Unokir and he had ordered them to do so, but that wasn't the case either. Compared to Unokir, the boss was a cute puppy that was asking to be stomped on, so they had happily obliged. With the four of them, they had charred the thing to dust in one combined attack.

  Rey stood on an incline from where he could see the rest of the city. The city was on a downward slope, and the houses became increasingly distinctive as one proceeded further into the city. To the point that it was so obvious that the boss resided in the big palace or temple, if you will, in the center of the city.

  He couldn't remember how strong the demons were, but if they were Rank 4 or stronger, he would clear out every single mafia underboss before moving against the godfather. After all, why leave all that experience to continue its miserable existence?

  He quickly decided on a path forward, which wasn't difficult, as he had chosen the same path as last time. The good thing about Rey was that he had a superpower that he hadn't revealed to anyone yet—he had an excellent memory. Even if he didn't remember something right away, seeing this demon-infested city brought things back that he had mostly forgotten.

  He whistled a happy tune and made his way into the city. He had half a mind to see how large a circle he could create with his Gravity's Domain skill. What if he could crumble the whole city with it, but he was sure he would need a shit ton of Mana for that, and he wanted to conserve that Mana for the boss.

  I'll experiment later. For now, let's just enjoy this therapeutic demon cleansing.

  The first demon attacked him from the left. He extended his scythe and shot the demon with Repulsion, causing it to smash into the wall. Rey ran up to him and slashed its throat.

  [+1 Magic Power]

  [You killed Demon (Exiled) – E+3]

  Rey sighed contentedly. Ah, Kingdom of Night…if you're shitty in all other things, but you're great at upping the difficulty level.

  This was probably the lowest-level demon in the dungeon. They would only get stronger as he moved for the boss, and he, for one, couldn't wait. But all good things come to those who wait.

  That's it. I'm nuking the mooks before I bother with the boss.

  After all, the dungeon wasn't going anywhere as long as he didn't get rid of the boss. And the boss? Will sit in its cozy temple, thinking his empire was safe—while Rey was outside turning lieutenants into stat points.

  He moved to the next street and found a pair of wolf-like Wargoths battling it out. They snarled and howled at each other, waiting for the next attack, but they paused and stared at Rey when he came into their line of sight.

  "Oh no, please don't stop on my account," he said.

  But of course, they didn't listen. He quickly used Identify on them, and a slow smile spread across his lips. He gave a slow, villainous laugh.

  "Oh, don't be shy. I don't bite, but the scythe does."

  [Wargoth (Exiled) – E+4]

  [Wargoth (Exiled) – E+4]

  They were both Rank 4, which meant he would gain experience by killing them. It also means they would be extremely hard to put down. So, the first thing he did was separate the two of them. He used Attraction on one and made him attracted to the brick wall of the house. All he had to do was make the gravity of the wall attract the grey-haired pooch.

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  As for the other, he swept him off its feet by using Gravity's Kiss. He pressed the silver orb embedded in his scythe's shaft, and the puppy with overgrown rabies came flying towards him as if he were an old friend.

  At the last moment, Rey side-stepped and swung his scythe in an arc and embedded his weapon's blade in its neck. The good thing about these iron blades was that they did considerable damage to the E-tier, so he didn't need anything more powerful…yet.

  But for the prince of these lands was something special.

  [You killed Wargoth (Exiled) – E+4]

  As for the second puppy that was trying to jump off the wall, Rey cut off its head with an overhead swing. It didn't even take much strength or force for him to lop off its head, thanks to his high Dexterity. After all, it was his highest stat by far.

  [+1 Magic Affinity]

  [You killed Wargoth (Exiled) – E+4]

  The next street was a disappointment, as the demon there was only Rank 3. He didn't even need to use any magical skills to take it down. Just a couple of quick dogdes, followed by some fancy footwork and a couple of cuts with his scythe, and they were done for.

  Then he went along on a leisurely pace, clearing street after street, as he went down to the palace. He didn't hold back on using his Mana either, but this use of Mana paid off as he earned some Magic Affinity and Magic Power stats. He grinned at the power leveling he was doing. Lots of demons were Rank 4; in fact, almost all of them were Rank 4 once he reached the inner city. He was like a kid at the fair whose parents had just told him that he could have all the candy he wanted.

  He figured by the end of this tunnel, he might reach Rank 5. It would be tough, but there was a strong chance of it happening. After all, Unokir was Rank 6, so he had already given him a big boost when he killed that fucking gorilla mutt.

  He figured it must have taken him all day to clear the city, as he was beyond tired by the time he reached the square that led to the temple beyond. It was a majestic view. The temple was grand, and there were nearly a hundred steps leading up to the main building. There were thirty-foot-tall marble pillars that adorned the outside of the temple. They clearly had a Greco-Roman motif going. Kassi loved it. She had said, it was like they had ripped the place out of Antiquity and dropped it here.

  The view was spoiled by the pride of seven Vorclaws lounging on the steps, as if they were taking a tan in the absent sun.

  They looked like their regal selves. Lions that could walk and do other lion-like things. The only thing that spoiled their majesty was that they covered themselves with their shit to make themselves poor slippery, as if anyone in their right mind would want to hug those things.

  Rey quickly used Identify from behind a wall that led into the main street, and he couldn't be happier to see them. They were all Rank 4. He bounced around and did a jig.

  Alright, who's got murder duty today? He sang. That's right. It's me.

  Then he stepped out into the town square and ran for the Vorclaws, roaring at the top of his lungs.

  One of the females, the one who was closest to him, looked up lazily, as if she couldn't be bothered to do even that much. She stared at him for a moment too long. By the time her eyes widened to realize who Rey really was, he had buried his scythe in her eye.

  [You killed Vorclaw (Exiled) – E+4]

  The others snapped to attention, but he used Gravity's Domain and dropped ten of them, the ones higher up on the stairs to the ground. The stairs cracked under the increased pressure of gravity, but they held. After all, he hadn't increased the gravity by that much, only a measly twenty-five percent.

  The two that came for him—one was a female, and the other looked like a teenage male, who had some of his mane growing. They roared a guttural roar as they came for him. He side-stepped the first one, and with his dagger, slashed at his side, making it cry out. The teenager came for him, and the demon would've ripped his arms to shreds if he didn't activate Repulsion at the last minute.

  His clawed hands shot back as if they couldn't stand to touch Rey.

  Rude.

  So, Rey buried his scythe in his chest.

  [You killed Vorcalw (Exiled) – E+4]

  He moved for the next one, and it didn't put up too of a fight, nor did Rey expect much of a fight anyway, considering that she had side flayed open. One of its ribs was visible underneath its skin. He buried his scythe in the female's ribs. It squealed loudly as it died.

  He reduced Gravity's Domain only to the big male and let the other three lion demons come for him at once. It was foolish, but if he didn't do this, how would he know that he had actually progressed? Besides, if it came to it, he could easily use one of his Gravity skills and stick them to the ground again.

  He danced around their swipes and jabs. One tried to bite his hand, but Rey shot her away with Repulsion and then buried his dagger in the eye of the smallest female. He had to let the dagger go as he took on the third female, who went crazy as the last one died.

  "Was that your sister?" Rey asked. "I know it hurts when a family member dies. But what can I do? One of your kind killed my grandmother, and another orchestrated it twice. So I must kill any demon that comes across my path." Then his expression turned serious. "You shouldn't have come across mine."

  He pressed Gravity's Kiss, and the demon came flying towards him. He held his scythe high and disemboweled the creature in one strike.

  [You killed Vorcalw (Exiled) – E+4]

  The last one came roaring towards him, but Rey swung his scythe at him, as if he were swinging a baseball bat. Unfortunately, he didn't get a homerun, but he did cut out the shit-covered demon's neck.

  The pride leader was watching the destruction of his pride quite calmly, all things considered. He didn't roar or cry out at the deaths of his wives. He glared at Rey to the point that it even unnerved Rey. It was almost enough that he didn't want to let go of his gravity field, but then, if he started getting scared off these pussy cats, how would he face up to the micro penis demon of chaos?

  He let go of the gravity field, and the lion demon attacked at once. He must've been at the same Rank as the others, but this one was considerably faster than they were.

  Rey was only saved from his claws, thanks to his high Dexterity. He moved at the last moment, but even still, the lion's claws scratched his chest. There was a little blood, but not so much that he would die from the wound, but it made him angry.

  He rolled away to the demon whose eye socket held his dagger. He pulled out the dagger, just in time, as the pride leader came for him again. It tried to claw at him, but Rey brought up his dagger to block the blow and cut off the demon's claws. It really didn't like that.

  "Aww, now you're mad," Rey said. "How do you think I felt when you left this on my chest?"

  The lion moved with such ferocity that he back-handed Rey across the face. The blow hit like a truck, and if not for Repulsion, he would be dead. He activated the skill immediately, even as he spun and fell to the ground. The lion demon shot off as if it had just discovered that veganism was mandatory.

  It gave him the precious few moments that he needed for his world to stop spinning. He really needed to get his head in the game or lose it. The demon was already halfway to him by the time Rey got to his feet. He shook his head one last time and was done with these lions.

  He let the demon dash towards him without moving from the spot. He jumped aside right when the demon lunged for him. He activated Gravity's Domain in the spot he had been standing. The demon dropped to the ground as if it couldn't be separated from it any longer.

  Gravity's Domain was restricted to a three-foot radius, so Rey had no trouble standing right next to the gravity field.

  "So, my dear pussy cat, you see this skill is a double-edged sword," Rey said. "I unfortunately am not immune to its effect, but there is something that I wanted to try."

  He moved a step to the right, so he was standing right in front of the Vorclaw. He extended his scythe slowly at first and then thrust it into the increased gravity field.

  His scythe ripped out of his head and fell like a guillotine as the blade got too heavy for him to hold. The blade pierced the demon's head and snuffed out his miserable life.

  [+1 Dexterity]

  [You killed Vorcalw (Exiled) – E+4]

  Rey waited for a moment longer, but he sighed when he didn't get the notification for a rank-up. Next time.

  He shut off Gravity's Doman and ripped out his scythe and moved up the steps, only to collapse by one of the large marble columns.

  I should take five before I commit war crimes.