The Demon Monarch System

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There was no immediate change in the matters concerning Fuhrer, however, Apollo saw things from a very different perspective. As the holder of the system, he was privy to things that the affected people wouldn't be. Thus, he was immediately presented with numerous messages. First and foremost, he was alerted that he had fulfilled two criteria simultaneously. At the same time, he was even more appalled by the implications that came along just by forming a pact with Fuhrer.

In short, they were pleasant!

〈System Alert! Due to the fact that you have made a pact with a being of utmost loyalty, the creator of the system is shocked by both you and Fuhrer's actions. As a result, through the interchanging of small internal fragments, your level has been increased significantly.〉

〈Congratulations! You have reached Level 110. A small benchmark has been achieved. All current abilities will achieve a small boon. Subsequently, due to the unchanging loyalty of Fuhrer, even more, requirements have been fulfilled.〉

〈System Alert! The first objective - Achieve the 4th Level of the Demon Monarch System. (1/1) has been completed.〉

〈System Alert! The last objective - Subdue your first Demonic Spirit. (1/1)〉

At first, Apollo this matter would take the longest. Unlike the rest of his quest, when he clicked on the last objective, it gave him further information so that he wouldn't be required to move in the dark. As a result, he became privy to the fact that subdue meant that his subject needed to possess absolute loyalty towards him.

In other words, even if he contracted with a Demon, if he failed to overpower their will and make them succumb to him, this objective would still be deemed incomplete. After all, the Monarch was one who needs to be irrevocable, there was no chance of betraying the one who was tried and true. 

Fortunately, Apollo came in contact with the piece Fuhrer. All of his worries seemed to vanish. Not only did Fuhrer allow him to complete this task seamlessly, but other more worthwhile benefits also appeared. In light of the fact that Fuhrer's origin was in truth a Daemos, absorbing a fragment of Fuhrer lead to other matters.

〈System Alert! Racial Evolution meter has increased to 50%. A foreign aura is subtly melding your damaged vitality. When the aura is exhausted, a substantial amount of Vitality should be returned. Furthermore, all stats have increased by 20% due to the fact you have reached a small threshold.〉

When Apollo looked through the logs and realized that most of the experience came from the pact completion, he became pensive. 'Outside of killing and completing tasks, it seems subduing subordinates also grants experience. And, in comparison, it is much greater. Even though Fuhrer is a piece, the base experience this act presented eclipses anything I've ever seen.

One had to remember, back when Apollo was attempting to move up to Level 100, it took over 1 million experience to so. One could only imagine what it would take for every level that followed. Since the system had switched to a percentage, Apollo was unable to formulate an exact guess.

Nevertheless, it didn't matter. He had succeeded in a task that presented a slew of benefits. Not to mention, he was still far from done as he looked through it. 

〈System Alert! Since you have achieved the 4th Level of the Demon Monarch System, your authority over the information that resides inside has increased. The two tabs  Inheritance Tab and Monthly Draw have been added.〉

Before moving further, Apollo paused and took his time to inspect the information thoroughly. First, he went through the Inheritance Tab. When he did so, he was shocked to find that there were two tabs at the top. One was marked Azridan's Successor, the other Descendant. But, the Descendant category was dull and no matter how much he pried into it, he was unable to get it to open.

After some time, the prompt finally showed before his eyes.

〈System Alert! Your current authority over the system is too low. If you wish to learn more about this inheritance, then you must achieve at least the 7th Level of the Demon Monarch System. Once you have completed that task, you will have already touched upon the sole technique of the First Monarch that gave him his name.〉

It wasn't long after this prompt that Apollo pushed the matters to the back of his mind. In return, he went back to looking over the newly awakened tabs.  To summarize what he found, the  Inheritance Tab of Azridan's Successor acted like more of a shop. It allowed him to "purchase" multiple things at the expense of a newly generated currency of the system.

As for the currency, it was known as Demonic Achievement Points or DAP for short. Additionally, this currency was not only used for the Inheritance Tab but the Monthly Draw as well. Unlike the rest of the tabs, the Lucky Draw manifested before Apollo when he chose it.

To proceed with it, he needed to spin a wheel consisting of numerous blank slots. Since it was a mystery, he wouldn't know what he was to obtain until it came out. However, one thing was for certain, all of the draws came from Azridan's inheritance pool until Apollo could utilize the other tab.

As for what was inside the Inheritance Tab, it included but was not limited to numerous  Hellish Weapons. Each of them possessed a design that caught Apollo's eyes. However, when he saw the price tag that came along with them, he was stumped. The highest weapon inside the tab cost well over 600,000 DAP.

Not to mention, when Apollo hovered over the DAP symbol, it gave him in-depth details on how to receive them. To be frank, it was limited to three actions. Firstly, he could receive a decent number with every small increase in power. Generally, small improvements garnered anywhere from 1 to 10 DAP whereas large improvements began from 100.

Additionally, the number would increase as the difficulty to increase heightened as well. At a glance, Apollo found this fair. At least the system wasn't some fiend that didn't dish out adequate recompense for difficult tasks.

Secondly, he could acquire them from deepening his Demonic Conduct. The more demon-like he became meant the more achievements he could complete. Lastly, there was the option of achieving more within the Lucky Draw. 

On the other hand, besides weapons, there was a collection of techniques of varying levels. One thing that surprised Apollo, however, was the lack of Noble Arts. But then, he thought back to how Azridan had already taught him two. Perhaps these were the only ones in his possession. In addition to that, there was guidance on the utilization of certain abilities and even items out of weapons.

  Unfortunately, everything required points awarded by completing certain tasks and milestones. After skimming through the catalog and finding a few items to work towards, Apollo looked towards Fuhrer as he closed the last of the notifications save for one.

〈System Alert! Since you have both achieved absolute loyalty with an outside Demon and have also achieved the 4th Level of the Demon Monarch System which initiates the complete extent of the Summoning Tab, another option has presented itself.〉

When Apollo read this message, he realized an item in his possession began to vibrate. 'The Household Creation Medallion? Although Azridan explained bits and pieces, I'm not all too sure what the significance of a household is.

〈System Alert! Would you like to form a Basic Household with your current Demonic Follower, Erus Fuhrer? [Y/N]?〉

While the decision was his to make, Apollo felt his knowledge was far too lacking to make an appropriate decision. Thus, he turned to Fuhrer and his ancient wisdom for conference.

"Fuhrer, I need you to help me. Would you advise me to create a Household right now?" Apollo questioned.

"That depends, how familiar are you with Household, and do you know the stipulations behind them and what they implicate?" Fuhrer questioned while looking at Apollo. The fact he could talk about Households already had baffled Fuhrer. Typically, Households were for beings of the Archdemon standard or greater.

"No, I don't," Apollo responded.

In return, Fuhrer shook his head, "Then, let me inform you about everything. Once you form a Household, you would be effectively giving your position away to all other Households. The Higher Council will become privy to your existence and they will even announce it throughout the Nihilistic Rings. Is that something you're prepared for?"

After deliberating for a moment, Apollo shook his head. It wasn't smart to make such a big move right now, "Would my identity as Azridan's successor be exposed as well?"

"Correct! Furthermore, until you have at least 10 Demons by your side, I would never consider forming a Household. While I don't know how much the practices have changed with time, the Demons of ones to go to war with others if there is no order. And, as you can see, the lack of a Monarch has once again caused disorder," Fuhrer answered with a solemn expression.

As Apollo took this in, he formulated his answer.