Zofia didn't dare pick up the gem. She let the System analyze the object in front of her. It was indeed the Demon Seed. Its effect was to grant the possessor the powers of a demon, increase stats, teach a series of new skills, and unlock the use of the Darkness element.
"My Lord?"
The man who had followed the Demon King yesterday ran in. His eyes widened as he looked at the corpse slumped over the table. He froze for a moment, then turned his gaze toward Zofia.
"I didn't do it!"
"The former Demon King has passed. From this moment on, this humble servant swears loyalty to you, the successor. My name is Xerxes. Your Majesty may call me by any other name if you wish."
He knelt on one knee, bowed his head, and placed his right hand over his heart.
"Wait, I'm not the successor. There's a misunderstanding here. An arrow flew in and he... I... that black gem came from inside him."
Xerxes stood up, picked up the gem, and knelt again, offering the object to Zofia with both hands.
"Please accept the Demon Seed. The Demon King's dying wish was for you to take this position. He must have seen suitable potential in you before he passed; otherwise, he would not have passed on the Seed."
"That seed... I don't want it. I don't want to become the Demon King."
"Actually, you don't have a choice... Since the former Demon King decided, the Demon Seed has already chosen you as its master. If left outside for too long, it will drain the life force of any living creature nearby, expanding until only darkness remain."
"Why does such a disgusting thing exist?" Zofia frowned.
"That is all I know. As for why it exists, I am unclear."
Zofia sighed. She had to accept the gem from Xerxes' hand. After all, this was a new world to start a new life in; if it were destroyed, there would be no new life.
"I'll take it, but I won't be the Demon King."
"But..."
"No 'buts'. I've decided to rebuild my life here, and nothing can make me change that mind."
Xerxes had to bow and accept Zofia's command. Even though she didn't acknowledge herself as the Demon King, she was the King, and he had to obey absolutely. He bowed to Zofia and vanished into a puff of smoke.
"Congratulations Master on receiving the Demon Seed. Received title 'Demon King'. Unlocked Darkness element. From this moment, each level up will grant 20 points instead of 5. However, due to the curse of the Demon Seed, leveling up will be more difficult."
"Hmph... System, explain the Demon Seed in more detail."
"Answer. Apart from the stat information mentioned above, there is no other information."
"Why is there no other information? Aren't you a system created by the gods?"
"Answer. This is restricted information. Please level up more and achieve specific titles."
"You just said there's no other information, now you demand more levels? Is this System glitching?"
Zofia curled her lip. She didn't know what else to do but accept the situation. At least the extra stats were an advantage; she didn't see any immediate disadvantages yet.
She suddenly remembered something and sprinted to a nearby fountain to look at her reflection. Zofia breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her appearance remained unchanged.
"By the way, System, what are my new skills?"
"Answer. You have two new passive skills: Mental Oppression Resistance and Poison Resistance."
Zofia nodded. While not flashy, overpowered moves, these two skills were definitely necessary. She hadn't faced strong opponents yet, so she didn't know the extent of their abilities. It was best to keep training.
Zofia decided to go to the Guild to take more quests, and conveniently, Nathan was there too. He was standing at the reward counter, looking ragged and smelling terrible.
"Nathan!"
"Zofia! Don't come close, I smell awful."
"It's fine. What quest did you just do?"
"I just cleaned the public restrooms."
"Is it that dirty?"
"Probably because no one took the quest for a long time, so the smell was horrendous. Are you here to take a quest? It's getting dark."
"Shoot, I was busy practicing and lost track of time. You go back to the inn and wash up first. I'll glance at the quest board and come back later."
Nathan nodded, said goodbye to Zofia, and went ahead. Just as he stepped out the door, he bumped into two burly men walking in. Nathan bowed apologetically repeatedly, but they wouldn't let him pass, blocking the entrance.
Zofia sensed trouble and immediately ran over.
"Hey kid, are you blind? You smell this bad and you touch our clean clothes? Pay up!"
"I... I don't have money..."
"Look at this, this is rare white wolf fur."
"Let... let me wash it for you."
Seeing Nathan bowing before those bullies made Zofia furious.
A fireball flew from a distance, hitting one of the guys right in the face and leaving a smudge of ash.
Others sitting nearby saw a fight brewing and turned their eyes toward them.
"Bullying the weak, don't you feel ashamed? And you call yourselves adventurers?" Zofia stepped in between the large man and Nathan.
"Zofia... let it go, I bumped into him..."
"No! Give bullies an inch and they'll take a mile. I won't let them get what they want."
"Who the hell are you to interfere, little girl? Do you know who I am? I'm Huk, a famous Amber-rank adventurer in this region."
"I don't give a damn who you are, but your behavior is unacceptable."
Zofia didn't need to say more. She immediately launched several more fireballs in rapid succession, forcing him to block and retreat outside.
"You bitch!"
He drew the greatsword from his back and charged, intending to bring it down with full force, but Zofia anticipated the move and dodged easily.
His strike shattered the pavement bricks, sending debris flying and dust rising.
She chanted a spell to soften the ground beneath his feet, but before the magic could activate, he noticed and rushed to attack Zofia again.
This was the first time Zofia had faced such a tough opponent. He knew she was a mage, so he never gave her a moment to chant, constantly attacking to force her to dodge. She also knew a warrior's stamina was far greater than a mage's. However, there was one thing he had underestimated about Zofia.
She never fought fair.
As she ducked to avoid a horizontal slash, her hand grabbed a handful of dirt and sand from the shattered road.
She threw it into his face. While he was disoriented, she delivered a powerful kick to his groin, causing Huk to collapse to the ground, curled up in pain. Zofia charged a massive fireball in her hand and pressed it close to his face.
"Yield, or I'll melt your face off!"
"I yield! I yield!"
"Good. If I see you bullying anyone else, you'll answer to me."
As soon as she finished speaking, Zofia kicked him in the crotch one more time while his guard was down, then turned to glare at the other guy. He shook his head timidly and ran away.
"See! I told you your rank was misjudged. There's no way an Amber rank gets taken down by a Bronze."
Zofia forced a smile and quickly dragged Nathan away; she didn't want to pay for damages or be questioned by the guards.
"Beaten by a Bronze brat? Just you wait." Huk glared angrily at their retreating backs.