As soon as they brought in the beast, everybody couldn't help but be amazed. This thing was at least 3 times as large as the biggest crocodile on record prior to the new world.
The croc was cooked in multiple ways and handed out to those who actually wanted to eat it. The ones who didn't have the appetite, later regretted it, as people said that it was the best tasting meat they've ever had, and they could feel it nourishing their body to a noticeable degree.
After finally having the time to sit down and rest, Luna decided it was time to upgrade his weapons. Just as he pulled up his inventory, he noticed his armor had a glowing border around it. After selecting it, it opened up an option for him:
<Upgrade Armor? Y/N>
"Yes."
Of course! He had been so busy that he forgot that this armor actually grew stronger along with him. The current scaly armor was now starting to transform, that part where the shoulder pads were, started forming a dragon head, with its maw in full view. The chest area looked as if it was a breastplate, but every time he breathed, the little unique gaps in the middle looked as if there was dragon fire inside of them. It was all very interesting to see it transform like that. He could somehow start to hear a dragon's spirit within the armor itself. What was even more surprising was that this spirit actually nourished his soul ever so slightly, which made him look forward to seeing how far this armor's growth would go in the future.
Next up, he proceeded to upgrade his Guandao, after the new upgrading and modification stations were installed, he could now upgrade his weapon 3 more times. The good part about upgrading in this new world was that it wasn't RNG-based. One only needed to spend VIS until the upgrade bar was filled up and it would automatically increase.
+4!
+5!
+6! <Upgrading this equipment to +6 has unlocked the Anito* for this weapon>
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<Anito System>
Different items within the world have spirits that lay dormant within them. Upgrading weapons and armor is only one way of awakening these spirits.
The most basic effect of Anitos is to strengthen your weapon further than +6
Weapon and armor all gain a spirit gauge at +6, in order to get any higher, one must equip the weapon or armor while eliminating mobs** to fill up the gauge before you are able to continue strengthening it.
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"Interesting. I wonder what Anito my weapon has and what extra effects it might have?" Luna wondered. He was curious if it would have its own will and actually be able to communicate with its owner. After finding out this information, he relayed it to the rest of his core members to share with their respective regiments.
He'd later share this information with his soldiers as well, but as of right now, there wasn't much point. They wouldn't be able to afford anything beyond +3 at the moment anyway.
+4 alone cost 100,000 VIS. +5 cost 200,000 while +6 cost 300,000.
That's only for one piece of equipment. This was still a good thing, as it would encourage grinding mobs even more.
He called Boni, Elise, Maria, Clara, Mabini, Apple, Hana, Yu-jin, Sang-Hwa, So-Hee, and Seo-Hyeon over.
These were the first 11 people he had on his team and he had a very good impression of all of them thus far.
"I've called you all here so I can help you upgrade your weapons to +6, as for your armor, that'll be up to you." Luna was willing to spend the <Nation>'s currency to strengthen their combat power, but he knew that the higher their population gets, the more access to new structures he would have.
He would need to save up even more currency the bigger his territory increases. This was normal.
Survivors were still pouring in daily, which lead to the next thing he wanted to discuss with his core members.
"First off, good job on occupying the area around the school. I brought you guys here because I want us to occupy a large territory as soon as possible. With the current amount of troops we have, not to mention with more Mages wielding different elements, it should be relatively easier this time around. Our main objective will just be fighting in open areas. Try not to destroy too many structures." Luna had a solemn look on his face before turning to Apple. "Apple, how is the Mage training going?"
Apple opened up a folder and handed Luna a piece of paper detailing the name of each Mage, what element they mainly had, and what skills they learned. "Mabini and I personally made sure to train them. All of the women you saved signed up. They all seemed very eager to get stronger, so we stayed out to grind with them even after their required time was up. I'm confident that by tomorrow, they could possibly reach level 15. Besides that, we also had quite a few sign ups. At the very least we have enough to form a company, a couple hundred more and we'll have enough to form our first Mage Battalion."
Everybody was quite impressed. Not even a week ago they were all wondering how they were going to survive, or if they were even going to live another day. But they all knew, that it was due to Luna's planning, quick thinking, and leadership that they've managed to start this small but strong Nation, that has become a bastion of hope for them and the survivors that are starting to pour in.
Luna nodded in approval as Apple finished her report. "Impressive stuff you two. Besides that, I also wanted to talk to you guys regarding food. While we can rely on the granaries for food for now, eventually we'll have to hunt. My plan is to expand and at least surround the foot of Mt. Kanlaon so we can eventually hunt the mutant beasts there for food, along with working our way towards the coast as well, to hunt the seafood there. If mutant beasts are as nutritious as that Crocodile, that may strengthen our Nation's overall strength and morale as well."
"Luna-sama." Hana stood up. She had changed the honorific she used for Luna from -dono to -sama, signifying the change in the amount of respect and admiration he had for him. "Bacolod has two different Zoos, the smaller one closer to us, and the larger one by the Provincial Capital Lagoon. I suggest that after we take over the school, we work our way towards there. The Lagoon has thousands of Tilapia. If we could take it, that's basically a free fish farm to feed our population."
Luna's eyes couldn't help but widen in surprise. "Of course! Hana, you genius! How didn't I think of that before? Very well. Boni, Elise when you take out your regiment to grind, tomorrow, try to whittle down the population in that direction a bit, so there won't be as much resistance by the time we work our way through there. The spawned zombies won't be too much of an issue. Hunt any Mutant Beast that you find, and if you can't handle it, call for me immediately."
Boni patted his chest as he replied. "You got it, bro! I'll send scouts in advance, just in case. Hehe. General Leman has been teaching me some tricks, I asked him if he could teach you too, and he said he'd be glad to."
Luna smiled, thinking that it was a load off of Boni's shoulders to have his father-in-law's approval. "Alright, I'll be sure to give him a visit tomorrow."
After the plans were set, for tomorrow, everyone dispersed and went about their duties. Luna would then head out and grind some more while heading a bit towards the East to see if he could spot any of the mutant beasts that escaped the Zoo, but just as he was about to leave, he suddenly felt a large amount of life force enter his system along with a soul message from Maxene.
"Father! Father! I just killed a giant eagle with Mother! It tried to eat me but I bashed it on its head! But, well, you see..." Luna could feel some slight hesitation from her before she continued. "it has babies. Can I keep it?"
If it weren't for the fact that she just talked about bashing a mutant beast's head in, this would have been like a perfectly normal scenario prior to the new world, where a daughter would ask her parents if she could have a pet. Luna found this quite amusing, then sent his reply. "Wait for me there, I have something that can tame one of them."
*Ancient Filipinos were animistic. They believed that everything has a spirit, from rocks and trees to animals and humans to natural phenomena. These spirits are collectively known as Anito.
** A mob, short for mobile, also known as an enemy or mook, is a computer-controlled non-player character (NPC) in a computer game such as an MMORPG or MUD.