After explaining to the group that it was all an accident, Boni slouched in his chair, seeming to have lost his appetite. Suddenly, he felt two hands pat his shoulders. He sat up straight as someone leaned close to his ear and whispered in a sweet, feminine voice, "Did you like what you saw?"
Luna couldn't help but appreciate the scene of Sura joking around like that. It seemed the short, though trying times they had spent together had already made her feel a sense of belonging. Sensing Luna's sentiment through their soul bond, Sura shot him a smile.
Boni immediately stood up and bowed as low as he could, apologizing profusely while trying to defend himself. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt you two! In my defense, maybe it was a good thing, since getting pregnant in the apocalypse wouldn't be the smartest idea!"
Maria couldn't help but tease them. "My, my. You two only met not long ago, and you're already doing the deed?"
"Now, now, sister. What they do behind closed doors is none of our business," Clara added.
Apple's face flushed red, while Mabini laughed softly on the side. It really did sound like teasing between family members.
"You guys, please don't misunderstand. We weren't doing what Boni thought," Luna said, deciding to stop the teasing before it got out of hand. He explained everything that had happened that night. Even Luna himself wasn't sure what benefits the encounter would bring, so he decided the only thing to do was to get stronger.
After eating breakfast, Sura headed out on her own. She informed Luna that she was going to test something, while the rest of the team discussed the prospect of starting a Nation.
After much deliberation, and with Luna expressing his willingness to take the risk, they decided to proceed.
They refused to be like those who could do nothing but hop from one shelter to another. They would grow stronger until they no longer had to fight just for survival, but could fight to expand a territory and save their fellow people.
There was no official meeting or fancy procession. It was just a group of friends in Luna's living room during an apocalypse. "As of today, with the blessing of Apolaki and Mayari, the Sovereign Nation has begun its existence," Luna announced. "Our goal is to obtain the strength necessary to liberate our country from these invaders."
Their biggest challenge was the constant spawning of zombies. Luckily, after the initial outbreak, they no longer spawned close to people, which was why they could sleep at night. Just as Luna was pondering their next plan, an option appeared in their consciousness.
Congratulations on forming your Nation. You have unlocked the subjugation option. You may choose to subjugate predetermined areas and mark them as territory of your Nation.
Conditions for subjugating an area:
Clear out the desired area.
Activate the subjugation option.
Prepare to defend the area from an onslaught of zombies relative to its size.
You may choose to subjugate a city piece by piece, or you could directly challenge the Titan, which may differ in each city, located at the city's center.
Should every area in the city be subjugated before defeating it, the Titan will naturally disperse, along with any potential item drops.
Subjugated areas will not have random spawns within them, but can still be attacked by outside forces.
Just as Luna finished reviewing this new information, he received a message from Sura. "Luna? Can you hear me?"
Startled for a second, Luna replied. "Sura? How are you contacting me?"
"The moment you summoned me, we actually had this ability already. We just never needed to use it. But never mind that. Focus for a bit and tell me what you feel."
Luna closed his eyes and felt a wisp of energy enter his body. One, then two, then three, then five, all at once. Sometimes it felt like the faint wisp from a regular zombie, barely noticeable. Other times, it felt like the stronger surge from an evolved zombie. "Sura, are you... killing zombies?"
"Yes! I'm currently about two miles away from you. After finding out about shared experience within a Nation's members, I wanted to see if our bond exceeded that. Alright, I'm heading back now, but I'm killing everything on the way."
"Alright. Get back safe," Luna replied.
He went to the gaming room, which they had aptly renamed the Intelligence Room, where the others were gathered. They didn't know how long the internet would remain up, so Boni was already archiving all available information.
Among the reported landmasses appearing all over Earth, one of the larger ones had emerged in the Sulu Sea. Decades ago, the Philippines had finished its most ambitious program: building bridges and subways to connect all the islands. Luckily, none of the new landmasses had appeared near this infrastructure, so it remained intact.
It seemed the military had been hit hard. Even Manila, the capital, was only just starting to stabilize its evacuation centers. Some criminals had managed to fend off the zombies and turn secure prisons into their fortresses. With the country in turmoil, no resources could be spared to handle them.
Bacolod City's officials had also posted an announcement on their website, though most of them were dead, which explained why there was currently an acting mayor named Felipe Buencamino. They were urging survivors to proceed to the city's Government Center, which they had barricaded and reinforced. They had teams killing the surrounding zombies, but there was no mention of a Nation, so it seemed no one had reached level 10 yet.
Just as they were reading this, Luna suddenly felt a surge of power. His whole body felt itchy as impurities left his pores. He had clearly reached level 11, and the divine essences were slowly refining his body in the process. He clenched his fist, feeling the power hidden within. He couldn't help but smile and sent Sura a quick "Thank you."
Five minutes later, she arrived back at the house. She reported spotting a group of men dragging women and some beaten men into a compound.
"The ugly side of humanity sure loves to rear its head," Mabini commented. "This whole event is basically the best thing they could ever hope for."
Sura glanced at him, then looked at Luna. "Should we do something about it?"
"I'm no saint, but if I can do something, I will," Luna said, his expression resolute. "It's better if we don't move together. A big group would be easily noticed. I'll go check it out. Everyone else, head out and grind some levels. We absolutely cannot fall behind in our progress." He turned to Mabini. "Oh, and Mabini." Luna tossed a skill book toward him. Mabini looked at it and saw it was the same skill Boni had: Holy Aura. "Protect your sister well."
"Thank you! Thank you, Luna!" Mabini bowed in gratitude. Apple did the same. The more time she spent by Luna's side, the more she realized that toward the people he cared about and those he deemed worthy, he did his best to look after them.
Luna nodded. "All of you, try to reach level 10 today if you can. Experience should be effortless to manage now that you can share it evenly," he said, referring to the Nation system's perk of even experience sharing. "If you guys hit level 10, we'll try the Subjugate option. It seems my house is large enough to be considered a territory. It shouldn't be big enough to warrant a horde we can't handle, but it's better to be safe than sorry." He was right. No one knew all the specific rules of this new world. They could only learn as they went or speculate.
One thing was sure: if they wanted to take back control of the city and regain some semblance of society, they would need to subjugate territories so their future citizens could have a safe place to stay. He planned to take over the schools, as they were built like fortresses and would be easier to defend.
With that thought, Luna headed out to the place Sura had described. She had only needed to tell him the street name, and he knew exactly where she meant. He knew his beloved city like the back of his hand.