The One Luna

"Agimat? This thing doesn't exactly look like what a normal Agimat would look like." Luna pondered. Then he remembered that while an Agimat usually come in the form of a necklace-like item, it's also depicted as an enchanted stone that came from the sky, or what people would say is a "pangil ng kidlat" or "the lightning's fang."

Noticing the "fruits" on the tree, these turquoise gems must be it. Running his fingers on the three embedded gems, they actually felt warm to the touch. Suddenly, the wood actually turned into Gold. Surprised, yet fascinated, Luna removed his hands, and it turned back into wood again as new information entered his mind.

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<Agimat of Mutant Beast's Beginner Wood and Wind Mastery>

Contains knowledge of up to Rank 3 in the Wood and Wind elements.

The catalyst for the <Agimat> is made from Piedras Platas,* a tree where the Ibong Adarna* loved to sing it's songs. Embedded in it are gems formed from the Adarna's excrement, which before drying up and turning into a priceless gem, was actually capable of turning anything it lands on into stone.

One can only access the Rank 3 knowledge once it belongs to a <Nation>. Prior to that, only Rank 2 can be accessed. The <Agimat> can only then be used by citizens of that <Nation>.

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"Great. It's literally a legendary piece of shit. Can only access Rank 2 knowledge, huh? Maxene is currently at Rank 3, Elder Jax, if you were at Rank 2, then your wood element couldn't have been rendered completely useless. Why was it?" With the Agimat in his hand, he looked at Elder Jax inquisitively.

"Ah, yes, this is quite embarrassing but, we've only comprehended up to the uppermost limit of Rank 1." Elder Jax scratched his head a bit.

"I see. That explains why you had a degree of control on the Wood element instead of just a set skill."

This made perfect sense. They still haven't reached the threshold of Rank 2, which explains why Maxene's Rank 3 comprehension completely negated theirs. The <Agimat> could give them a map, but they still had to make sense of it to get to the "treasure" which is comprehending the <Anito of Wood>.

At first, Luna thought that the <Anito System> was just a type of add-on one could put on their equipment. Now it makes more sense that it was similar to how the spell books were. It brought with it a minimal understanding of what it represented, whether it be an element of some other object.

For example <Bathala's Primordial Flame> currently they saw that it contained a Rank 4 comprehension of the <Anito of Fire>. That doesn't mean that Luna would automatically have a Rank 4 comprehension, what it meant was that he had a reference towards learning it and that the weapon would be endowed with fire that had the strength of a Rank 4 Flame.

After attempting to stash it in his inventory, he found that it was impossible. Luna knew that when he took the <Agimat> with him outside, it would definitely rile up the mutant beasts. It was like playing "Capture the Flag" mode, all the mutant beasts would know where he is.

"Elder Jax, recall all of the Tarsiers. Have them go inside the spatial gate, Maxene will guide you."

"Yes, Lord Luna."

***

In Ferdinand's base, on top of the walls, soldiers with binoculars were constantly monitoring Tarsier activity surrounding their base.

"What's going on with the Tarsiers?" asked one man.

"What do you mean?"

"They just started leaving all at the same time. Should we report it?"

"Don't mind it. They probably just got tired of observing us. It's about damn time. I was starting to get permanent circular marks around my eyes from using those binoculars."

***

Sura walked into the cave, "Luna, the Tarsiers have been evacuated. We're ready to leave at any time."

"Alright." Then he gave Sura a peculiar look. "You know you could have just messaged me, right?"

"I know. I just try to get as much alone time as I can with you, since you're always busy and all." Sura added as she held Luna's hand, as she showed a fake "innocent" expression she would never have shown in front of anybody.

***

Inside Angry Bakunawa's inner world.

Maxene was currently being her usual energetic and playful self "Alright! Everybody's settled! Welcome to Angry Bakunawa Airlines! Get comfortable and behave, or I'll toss you out! Understand my Tarsier friendos?"

"Yes Lady Maxene!" The Tarsiers all responded immediately. They all looked at her with eyes filled with respect. Apparently the news of her rendering their comprehension of Wood useless had already spread among the Tarsiers. At first it was met with skepticism, that is until Elder Jax himself confirmed it.

"Good! Hmm, I wonder where Mother and Father are right now. Although I can sense that they're both currently really happy, but I can also sense ferocity in the mix." Maxene could sense vague fluctuations from their souls.

It would never be anything specific, mostly it was either sad or extremely sad. Happy or extremely happy. Angry or extremely angry. The only distinct one she felt so far was the extremely happy feeling she felt to the point where it felt mushy.

Right now, it was extremely happy with a bit of anger, the same feeling she got when her parents would be fighting a strong beast. "Well, whatever, they probably found a mutant beast worth killing and are having fun fighting with it. Although I do wish they'd hurry."

An hour later, Luna and Sura exited the cave and tossed the <Agimat> through the spatial gate before it could emit it's aura for too long outside.

Sura who was still blushing a bit, looked at Angry Bakunawa who had an awkward expression on his face. Giving him a fierce look, Sura said. "You heard nothing." to which the poor Dragon could only nod it's head.

"Father! Mother!" As soon as the two got inside, Maxene greeted them. "What happened? Mother your hair's a bit messy. It seems I guessed correctly as to what you two were up to." Max had an evil smile on her face.

Luna and Sura exchanged awkward glances at each other, before they asked. "Oh? What were we doing?"

Pointing towards her parents she confidently declared. "You guys were fighting a mutant beast, weren't you? A strong one at that!"

The couple let out a sigh of relief. Luna gave her a thumbs up. "Oh man, I can't keep anything from you, now can I?"

"I knew it! What beast was it?! Why didn't you guys ask me for help? We could have weakened it and I could have tamed it!" Max expressed at what she thought was poor decision making by her parents.

"Oh it was a big snake, more like a dragon. It was something I've never seen before, but when it was defeated, it grew smaller again, so your father and I felt bad and we just let it go." Sura hurriedly explained.

"Oh.. Okay, I guess. At least we can leave now! Go go go Angry Bakunawa!" Seemingly satisfied with the answer she received, she went to relax on her sofa.

The couple heaved a sigh of relief yet again.

It was still gonna be a little bit before they got back to Mactan island, so Luna looked up further information on the <Agimat>.

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<Agimat System>

An <Agimat> by itself is considered weak. Only when it is placed within a <Nation> that owns it will the effects be spread out to it's citizens. The effect will still be the same unless upgraded with currency.

Wherever an <Agimat> that has been claimed by a <Nation> is placed, a small temple will be erected around it. Invaders can destroy this temple and steal the <Agimat> located inside in order to claim it for themselves.

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"I see. It seems like these things are like specific buffs. The fact that they can be raided by another nation. It seems the Gods really want to pit us all against each other. This one is fairly useless for the other nations, but due to Max's taming skill, it's definitely a huge boon for us." Luna thought to himself as he c.a.r.e.s.sed Sura's head. She was laying down on his l.a.p, as he sat on the sofa.

"Angry Bakunawa, full speed ahead to Mactan Island. I reckon they'll probably be begging to join us at this point." Luna commanded.

***

Mactan Island.

"Cilapu, we can't defend this wall for much longer! We've lost too much men!" Carlos yelled, his voice contained a hint if desperation.

"We need to hold out for as long as we can, until Lord Luna gets back!" Cilapu replied.

"Damn it, we should have been more decisive! If only we joined right away, he would have taken us with him right then and there, for sure!"

"No time for regrets, Carlos! Slowly retreat! Set the area on fire as we retreat! Slow these damn rats down as much as you can, we need to buy more time!"