Becoming a thief.
This was the only thing Simon could think of doing in the eleven years he had lived in the demon realm.
There was nobody to teach him how to be a blacksmith or a bonecrafter. There was nobody to hire him because even those with money were barely surviving. They didn't have the resources to be paying him for working for them.
He couldn't become a hunter, gatherer, or guard because he was too weak.
His mother was suffering. He was suffering. He also knew that the lack of food was going to affect his growth and development.
So, after thinking deeply about it, he chose to steal.
There was nothing else he could do in a declining tribe like theirs.
And a successful thief he became.
Their tribe, the Duskfang Tribe, was a small tribe even amongst the minor tribes. Before the fine and the migration of many residents from the tribe, their total population was between one thousand demons and one thousand two hundred demons.
They mainly had mud houses or buildings that were crudely made out of stones, and nearly every demon knew one another in the tribe.
With the decline of the tribe, their total population decreased to a mere six hundred heads.
To become a successful thief, Simon knew who the demons that were 'rich' in their tribe were, and he targeted those people.
And the first person he targeted was the demon who had worked him like a slave.
Simon held a grudge against the man, and there was no way he was going to allow such a heartless demon to go scot-free.
Another reason why he chose the man as his first target was because he knew a lot about the demon and his house.
He knew where he kept his stash of money, he knew the personality and behavior of the demon, and he also knew the layout of the demon's house in great detail.
He had worked there for months, after all.
Despite knowing a lot about the demon, Simon knew that he had to be careful because the demon was a lot stronger than he was.
There were two rankings of demons, and those two rankings were based on their bloodline and the level of their demonic heart.
There were four bloodline rankings: Lesser Bloodline, Common Bloodline, Noble Bloodline, and Royal Bloodline.
Each of these bloodlines was also divided into minor grade, greater grade, superior grade, and supreme grade.
Each sub-grade determined how close the bloodline was to the next stage. But that did not mean that a supreme common bloodline was greater than a minor noble bloodline.
A common bloodline was always more powerful than a lesser bloodline, and a noble bloodline was always more powerful than a common bloodline.
The second ranking system was based on the rank of a demon's heart, and this was the main ranking that was used in the demon realm and outside of it.
Demons could use magic, and their source of magic was their demonic heart. Refining their heart allowed a demon to get stronger and wield more powerful magic that could cause immense destruction.
There were six levels, and the first level was called a Flickering Heart. Demons who had a Flickering Heart were called Lesser Demons.
The second level was called a Burning Heart. Demons with a Burning Heart were called Fiends or Awakened Demons.
The third level was called an Infernal Heart, and demons with an Infernal Heart were called Archfiends.
The fourth level was called a Forged Heart. Demons with a Forged Heart were called Greater Demons.
The fifth level was called an Abyssal Heart, and demons with an Abyssal Heart were called Demon Lords.
The sixth level, which was also the last level, was called a Cataclysm Heart, and demons with a Cataclysm Heart were called… Demon Kings.
There were also subdivisions for each level, and the subdivisions were similar to those of the bloodline rankings.
Minor grade. Prime grade. Superior grade. Supreme grade.
So, a Greater Demon could be classified into a Minor Greater Demon, a Prime Greater Demon, a Superior Greater Demon, and a Supreme Greater Demon.
These subdivisions were steps a demon would have to take before they could advance to the next demonic heart level.
A demon's bloodline and their demonic heart seemed separate because of their rankings, but the progression of a demon's heart was completely dependent on the grade of their bloodline.
The lower the grade of a demon's bloodline, the lower the potential of their demonic heart. It was one of the reasons why a demon's bloodline was usually the most important thing in the demon realm.
Simon had no idea what the level of his bloodline was or what magical affinity his demonic heart would awaken, but he had a feeling that it was nothing special, unless his patron god gave him a surprise.
His mother was a one-horned demon, a demon with a lesser bloodline at the minor grade, and though he had not seen his father at all, or even heard about him whenever he asked his mother, he had seen his reflection in a mirror before.
With his knowledge about demons, he guessed that his father was a beastkin demon of the cat lineage… most likely not a lion or tiger lineage, but a lesser cat lineage.
And he knew that beastkin demons usually had low potential.
However, all of these were just speculations on his part. He could only wait till he became sixteen to know his fate.
Moving on, there was a reason why stealing from the demon who used him as a slave was dangerous, and that was because the demon was a Fiend. He had a Burning Heart at the minor grade, and that made him far stronger than Simon, who did not even have a Flickering Heart.
If the demon caught him, he would definitely kill him, and his mother would not be able to fight for him because she was just a Superior Lesser Demon.
But at the end of the day, he successfully stole from the demon, and that was the day his heart as a Hero was subtly, slowly, but surely being influenced by his environment.