Rey stretched and yawned as the huts came into view. They were in worse shape than Narzroth. At least, over there, it seemed like they would stand for a few years, no matter how dirty and decrepit they were. These looked like they would fall if the wind blew too fast, which thankfully, for this place, didn't. After all, there was hardly any wind at all in the bowels of this world.

  "Is this Terga?" Rey asked Caeran, yanking on the rope he had tied her with.

  Caeran was a demon, and he had caught her a couple of days ago as she tried to steal his things while he slept. But the stupid thing didn't know that Rey slept with his Gravity's Domain on. His own personal DIY security system to make sure he wasn't shanked in the butt as he got some much needed shut-eye.

  "Y-Yes, master," she stammered.

  Caeran, for the most part, looked like a human, aside from the small horns that grew from the side of her head. She had a pretty enough face, though the scars that travelled down from her neck were gruesome, and Rey wondered how she had survived them. He thought, maybe that was how she had become a demon after all.

  She told him that her planet was integrated into Hell or went through the apocalypse, almost a millennium ago. Long before Zarius slew his father, took the throne of Hell, and implemented the system. She was unfortunately stuck here when the Kingdom of Night sided with Zalathar, and when he lost, they were ejected from Hell. Many centuries later, it became the training ground for Zalathar's lackeys. So, she knew that Rey was a human, which meant she couldn't be left alive, now that she had done her part in doing what Rey needed her for.

  "Thank you, Caeran," Rey said. "Now, it's time for you to go."

  "You're letting me go?" She asked unbelievingly.

  "Of course." Rey walked up to her and untied the knot of the rope that she herself had been kind enough to be carrying. He placed a hand on her shoulder, making her shiver. He wasn't sure what he had done to make her so scared, but it had worked to his advantage. "I'm letting you go from the misery of being a demon."

  Rey's hand flashed. He whipped out his dagger and sank it into her neck. She gasped and looked at Rey with a questioning look.

  He pulled out his dagger and wiped it clean on her shirt. Rey's speed had only increased since his fight with the Black Hand. She fell to the ground, blood pouring out of her neck. He started patting her down for anything she had yet not given him. When he had caught her, he had made her give up all her belongings, but as it turned out, she had been less than honest back then.

  She still had a small coin pouch tucked away. It had only iron coins, but something was still better than nothing.

  [+1 Dexterity]

  [You killed a Demon (Exiled) – E+5]

  Rey was happy that she was at least Rank 5, or there would've been no experience gained from killing her. He knew he was getting close to the next rank, and he was happy with his pace. There was still a lot of time left, but he also knew that he would have to travel inwards once he passed Rank 7. The outskirts of this Kingdom would not be strong enough. But he would break that bridge when he got to it.

  Now, to be a blacksmith.

  He opened his Talents menu and found the Profession sub-menu. It was tucked away in the back. It was one sub-menu that he had explored the least. He saw so many different things that he could be and do. There were the standard classes: Alchemist, Scavenger, Miner, Hunter, Mercenary, Healer, and so on. Then there were some really odd ones that only Hell would have—Torchbearer, Demonologist, Occult Scribe, Hexweaver, Fleshcarver, and more like these.

  Rey went through all of them and ignored them all, though some really interested him, like Runewright—someone who infuses runes into weapons. That was one he really liked, but seeing he only had one Talent point, he needed to spend it wisely.

  The next one he liked was Enchanter, which was someone who turned weapons into sparkly cheat codes, but he avoided that as well, with great difficulty. Then he finally arrived at the one he was looking for. Well, he found two—Blacksmith & Weaponsmith. He didn't know which one he wanted more.

  He wanted to focus solely on weapons, but the blacksmith could make weapons, armor, and tools, basically the anvil MVP, versus the weaponsmith, only focused on weapons. He was torn between the two. As he went deeper into Hell, he was going to need weapons and armor. He could focus on both as a blacksmith. In the end, he decided to take that one, but before he did, he wanted to chat with Grixi and see what he had to say about it.

  So, he put his scythe on his shoulder and sauntered into the town of Terga as if he owned it. With the amount of gold he was carrying, he could very well buy the place. This town had no walls or guards. If they were there, he didn't see any. Rey always regretted not killing the guards outside Narzroth. They would've fetched him some nice experience.

  Finding Grixi was not hard at all. His shop was basically a turn away from where he had entered the place. It was a run-down shack with a crude sign with his name. That's it, nothing like Grixi's shop of nightmarish weapons and armor. There were definitely some mean-looking weapons lining his walls.

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  Then he found the blacksmith.

  [Demon Blacksmith (Demon) – D+1]

  This more than raised Rey's eyebrows. He was the only demon, aside from that shit-snorting triclops Rey had seen in the Kingdom of Night, who was at the D-Tier. He was an old man with rough, shorn hair that looked like a rat's nest from where Rey was standing. He had a jagged, sharp metal piece protruding from his forehead, like a horn. How he was alive with that thing in his head was anyone's guess.

  "Grixi?" Rey called.

  "Do you see anyone else around here? Of course, I'm Grixi. What do you want?" He snapped.

  Is it a requirement to be grumpy as fuck to be a blacksmith?

  "I'm Rey."

  "Good for you. Do you want something, or have you just come to waste my time? If you didn't notice, I'm drowning up to my horn with work."

  He didn't look the least bit busy. The guy was just lounging around, staring off down the street as if he had all the time in the world. Rey figured that, given the size of this town, he didn't get many customers.

  "You were referred to me by Neriath from Narzroth," Rey said. "He told me you were looking for apprentices."

  He rubbed his scraggly beard. "Neriath…yes, I know that fart of a demon. He still kicking about?"

  Rey opened his mouth to answer, but Grixi shot up straight.

  "Did you say you were here to apprentice under me?"

  "Sure did. Here you go, your brand new apprentice." Rey grinned.

  "No, the fuck you aint." He slammed two fingers in Rey's face. "Two reasons, I don't take apprentices. One, they are too much work, always mucking thing up. Two, I definitely don't take any humans as apprentices."

  Rey looked up and down the street. There was no one close by that would've heard the old demon, save for some demon children that were playing in the street. Yes, intelligent demons could also have children.

  Rey slammed the butt of his scythe down gently. "Can you please keep your voice down? I don't want that fact advertised."

  "Put your weapon away, boy," Grixi said. "You don't scare me."

  "Then name your price. I will pay to learn if that is what it takes. But I'm not leaving here without learning your trade."

  "Told you, no. Take your butt wiping stick and darken some other smith's window."

  Rey shook his head. "I have a problem. I can't hear no."

  "Then get your ears checked."

  Rey sighed. "How much?"

  Grixi raised an eyebrow. "You think I'm for sale, do you?"

  "Everyone's for sale. You literally provide weapons for money. Hence, your time is for sale. So, name your price."

  "You're annoying as fuck, kid."

  I haven't even shown my true colors yet.

  Rey tapped his fingers on his satchel. "I'm still waiting for a price."

  "The fucking warts on my ass." Grixi threw his hands in the air. "A gold Ingot."

  "The fuck?" Rey snapped. "You're shitting me."

  "That is just for teaching you. I want another gold ingot for keeping my silence about your true nature. After all, I'm not sticking my neck in that furnace without a hefty reward."

  "With that much money, you could buy this whole town," Rey cried.

  Grixi didn't reply, but gave a slow chuckle, and his eyes stared off into the distance, speaking of his true desires underneath. Given the size of his paunch, it was probably to eat every last morsel of food that was in the town.

  Rey shook his head. "One gold ingot and I won't kill you where you sit."

  "Relax, E-tier trash. You couldn't kill the fungus on my nutsack." To prove a point, Grixi scratched his nutsack.

  Rey had more than enough money to pay this greedy fucker off, but he had to make it a hard sell, or he would just ask for money later on. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a gold ingot and five silver coins.

  "That's all the money I have," Rey said. "After this, I'll be left with a bunch of iron coins, which I'm going to keep for myself."

  "Why?"

  "How else am I going to earn that second ingot for you?" snapped Rey. "Keep this gold ingot as payment for your training and the silver coins as a promise that I will pay you your second gold ingot before your training finishes. If I can't, then you go around crying around the entire town about what I really am."

  Grixi considered it for a moment, then produced a hand. "Fine. Give it here."

  Rey dropped the money in his hand.

  The demon blacksmith grinned widely, showing off his filthy and chipped teeth. "From now on, you're my bitch. I—"

  "Relax, old man. I'm only here to learn how to be a blacksmith. After that, get someone else to shit in your bed."

  "Fine. I have a few orders for some pots and pans. Even you can't fuck those up, and if you do, I'll have a few return customers." Grixi cackled. "Come in, before someone smells your sweet odor."

  Rey rolled his eyes, looked to the side to make sure he wasn't followed, and then followed the old blacksmith inside. Grumpiness must come with the job.

  He took Rey to the back of the shop. There was a furnace burning hot, and another that was cold as night. Some castings were lying about, which looked like they had been recently used to make a few pots, but the utensils were all dented and in the wrong place.

  "Here, apprentice, fix all the dents out of this pot," Grixi barked. "I want them fixed by nightfall."

  "But I don't know how?" Rey protested.

  "Then you'd better learn fast. If you can't even do this much, then give up on your dream of becoming a real blacksmith."

  He huffed and turned his bum in Rey's direction and let loose a really rancid fart, then laughed. Rey gagged and covered his mouth and nose because it felt like a dragon had taken a shit right on top of him. And he had a real close accident like that. Instead of a dragon, it was a Thonia, and the less that is said about that stank ass demon, the better.

  After a minute or two, he could finally breathe again. Then he picked up the pot that his dear mentor had left for him and took the old hammer that lay beside it, and got to work.