The One Luna

The former Roach King was observing his people slowly getting acclimated to their new environment. It was a good thing that the environment here was much better than their previous one. Better security, better resources, a better quality of life overall.

"Freddy," he heard a voice call out to him from behind.

Turning back, the former King noticed who it was, "Lord Luna!"

"How are things here so far?"

"Better! Much better! Everyone has been quite helpful so far. Oh, how are my children doing so far?" Freddy asked. He missed his children a lot after they were sent to learn to attend classes from General Leman and Elder Jax.

"They're all exceptional. They seem to be enjoying the company of their new friends," Luna assured him.

"Tch, having fun without their Tatay* eh?" Freddy grumbled as he continued, "Well, it's a good thing I adopted a kid then."

"Adopted?" Luna was obviously caught off-guard. How did this guy end up adopting a kid?

"Yeah, I found this kid who was getting bullied, but he fought back. Beat up all the other kids too. Hahaha! Definitely has the makings of a great fighter. Pretty sure his name was Money or Manny or something," Freddy scratched his head as he tried to remember. "Whatever, the point is he seems to have potential so I willingly made him my protege."

"I see," Luna replied. The former Roach King was definitely quite the character, but he liked people like this. It reminded him of Boni. "Very well then. If you require assistance, feel free to ask."

"Thank you for your kindness, Lord Luna," Freddy bowed slightly.

"Not a problem at all. By the way, come to my place at nine tonight. There are certain matters that I need to discuss. A grand meeting, of sorts."

"Hmm? Alright. I'll be there," Freddy nodded. He could hear the seriousness of Luna's tone and was wondering what could possibly cause that.

--------------------------

Luna's Manor. 8:59 PM.

Everybody who was anybody in the <Sovereign Nation> was present at this meeting. Hans Garcia and Paco Roman led Ines to be a part of the meeting as well.

Luna, Sura, Maxene, Boni, Mabini, Apple, Maria, Clara, Hana, Yu-jin, Sang-hwa, Elise, So-hee, So-hyeon, General Leman, Elder Aran, Alea, Elder Jax, Sisa, Crispin, Basilio, Jose Rizal, Josie Rizal were all present as well as the other minor officials. The only reason why some weren't here was that they still had to oversee the <Nation>'s defenses. Clemencia herself was incredibly diligent and preferred to hunt down the now more evolved ETZs, HVZs, and even the "regular" zombies.

Herself and all the other Angels were given the freedom to do as they wish by Luna. They had no specific title despite being identified as the most elite Air Force of the <Sovereign Nation>.

However, they still chose to hunt nonstop, and together with the <EXP Agimat> and the additional <EXP Passive> the Angels innately possessed gave Luna the additional edge he needed in levels. Of course, the hunting was beneficial to them as well. Not just the combat experience, but their own understanding of Light was being honed as well. Being subjected to the curse of being Manananggals before had given them a much better perspective, which led them to not want to waste the second chance they were given.

Even the remnants of the factions of Emil's <Nation> were included as well. They had long been assimilated and after the display of power Luna showed, they no longer had thoughts of rebellion. Especially the former Korean Faction who initially had their schemes. They were shut down almost immediately when they tried to recruit So-hee. The young Korean girl who had quite the innocent face was actually so fierce. She had pretended to agree to their plan, and after meeting with the ringleaders, she eliminated them immediately. There was no power struggle to speak of thereafter as she took control right away with the assistance of Yu-jin and the rest.

"Everyone, I'm sure some of you already have an idea of what this meeting is about. The power sources we've been investigating, including the ones underneath the area where we found the <EXP Agimat> have been showing weird behavior. This change in behavior has been gradual thus far. We're not quite sure what this will eventually bring, what we do know is that it's not related to the Void Army." Luna explained as he looked towards Ines' direction.

Ines had been very cooperative so far. She had already fallen in love with this world and what it had to offer. She was just a kid, after all. In her mind, as long as she kept helping Luna, her homeworld had a chance. Even if it was just a sliver, she would dedicate her life to it. The fact that the food in this world was delicious definitely made it easier. She even felt as if she was mooching off of the <Sovereign Nation> and decided to help out with conquering dungeons for more <Mindanium>, <Luzonium>, and <Visanium>.

"An unprecedented event?" Elise asked.

"Indeed. At first, I had thought that our defenses and our gear were strong enough. The attack from the Mantis-Shrimps proved that otherwise. Although those mutant beasts were practically made to destroy the toughest defenses, that's still not an excuse. We've been harvesting all the discovered dungeons as they spawn resources on the daily, but I feel as if it's not enough."

"Knowing you, you won't be satisfied until it's already at an overpowered state," Boni grinned as he commented. He knew his brother well. Even in MMORPGs, if there was a way, he would pursue it nonstop. Even more so now that a whole <Nation> was on the line.

"What do you plan on doing, Luna-sama?" Hana asked.

"An invasion," he simply replied.

Discussion among everybody erupted immediately.

"An invasion?"

"To who?"

"Who else? The only Nation to the South, of course!"

"What of the Mutant Beasts?"

"What of them? They have no use for the ores if they're not in a <Nation>, right?"

"Correction," Luna interrupted which caused the conversations to hush immediately. "Mutant Beasts can definitely take advantage of the resources when they join a <Nation> and they use them to upgrade armors and weapons. But..." Luna looked towards Freddy as he tossed him a chunk of <Mindanium>, "Go ahead and eat it, Freddy."

"Eh? Eat this rock? Lord Luna, I don't have dental insurance yet, I don't even know any dentists, I..." Freddy was interrupted before he could continue.

"Eat it," Luna repeated.

"O- okay!" He didn't speak anymore as he immediately swallowed the ore. As the <Mindanium> reached his stomach, it started to turn to mist as it redistributed itself to his muscles. "Oh.. OH! I can feel it! It's not the biggest difference, but I definitely feel stronger!"

!!!!

Everyone besides the upper echelon were shocked. Luna had informed them prior to this meeting already.

"That's right. <Mindanium> strengthens the muscles, <Visanium> strengthens the bones, while <Luzonium> strengthens the organs. The <System> is not completely unfair to the Mutant Beasts who do not belong to a <Nation>, albeit, they would still be at a severe disadvantage to those that are. That's the cost of wanting to be independent, although they were never informed, to begin with, as you can see," Luna explained further.

"The new world is just as unkind to Mutant Beasts as the old one was," Elder Jax said as he continued, "We're the lucky ones, Freddy. That we found a <Nation> who treats us as equals. I'm afraid the others will definitely not be as kind. It was evident during the invasion in the North. There was no mutant beast present that wasn't abused. In the <Sovereign Nation> even the tamed beasts are treated with respect. Meanwhile, although Lady Maxene can use her taming skill on us, Lord Luna had explicitly forbidden her or anybody from doing so."

Before the meeting began, the upper echelon had already convened about top-secret information. The term "The Pull" was coined. After interviewing the mutant beasts saved from Emil's <Nation> and their own, it was discovered that the beasts felt an affinity towards the <Sovereign Nation> and no one else. After delving into it further, the root cause of this was due to Maxene. Once this was discovered, it all made sense. There was an undetectable allure towards the <Nation> she was a part of for mutant beasts. It wasn't overly strong, which is why there was a need for an investigation to begin with, but it was there.

It was like feeling good vibes towards some people as opposed to feeling bad vibes from a person which made you instantly not like them before you even spoke to them. The personalities of the mutant beasts affected this as well. This is why Elder Jax, from the more reasonable Tarsier race, along with their circ.u.mstances at the time, joined almost immediately. This was also why Freddy took some convincing at first, and along with his own circ.u.mstances, agreed to join in the end.

"So why not just feed our mutant beasts until they become overpowered?" A minor official nervously asked.

"Because it would not be sustainable," Jose Rizal replied.

"If nobody else has any questions, then the inevitable subjugation of the South will begin immediately. That includes the Arachnids as well. General Leman here will be the commander in charge of this expedition to be assisted by General Boni, General Apple, and General Mabini."

Gerard Mathieu Leman discussed the plans with everyone involved for the rest of the meeting before everyone was dismissed.

The next day...

The preparations were nearly complete. Thanks to the help of the mutant beasts and the fact that they were already underway before the meeting even started.

Ines was enjoying herself with more Chicken Inasal while dipping her feet in the crystal clear water when Luna sent her a message via the <Nation Comms>. This indicated that she had formally joined the <Sovereign Nation>.

"Ines, I have a mission for you. Come with me."