Luna reached the compound Sura had described within a few minutes. Even he was surprised by how fast he had traveled, yet he did not feel tired. He had kept his Stealth skill active the whole time and decided against stopping to kill zombies. Every second was precious. Who knew what those men might do to their captives?
He vaulted over the gate and landed quietly on the other side, then moved quickly toward what appeared to be the main house. Laughter echoed from inside. Peering through a window, he did not see all of the men Sura had mentioned, but he spotted one of the women. She looked about nineteen, a Korean girl, possibly an exchange student, tied up as a man began to remove his belt.
Suddenly, Luna heard muffled screams from the second floor. The man with the belt looked up and laughed. "Looks like someone's starting much faster than we are, baby. Don't you worry. You won't be disappointed. The things I'll do to you... I'm sure you've never experienced anything like it from your little boyfriend."
Hearing the screams and the man's words, Luna seethed with anger. He slipped into the house and rushed into the room. Before the man could ask who was there, his head was sliced clean off. Luna looked at the Korean girl who was visibly shocked at what she just witnessed.
"I'll be back to get you," he said, then hurried to the other rooms, killing the men who thought they were about to have their way with the captive women.
He ran upstairs to save the last girl, who had already had her underwear removed. He had made it just in time. After beheading the final man, he quickly untied her. "You're safe now," he reassured her. "Get dressed and meet me downstairs with the others." He then proceeded to untie the remaining women.
There were five in total, all foreigners from what he could tell: three Korean girls, an American girl with blonde hair, and a Japanese girl. The Korean girl who introduced herself as Yu-jin begged Luna to help find her boyfriend. They found him tied up in one of the rooms.
After everyone was freed, Luna gave them time to collect themselves while he asked about their situation. They had all come from abroad and were staying in an apartment complex reserved for foreign students. The blonde American girl, Elise, had been living with her father, but a few days before the zombie apocalypse, he had left for the south for joint training with the Philippine military. She had stayed behind, and since Yu-jin and the others were already good friends with her, they invited her to stay at their apartment.
They had been awake when the zombies spawned that night, since they were also waiting for Fused Worlds Online to launch. Sang-hwa, Yu-jin's boyfriend, was with them as well. Afterward, they fought zombies together and reached levels 3 to 4.
As hardcore MMORPG gamers, they understood the need to progress quickly. While they were out hunting, the men from earlier ambushed them. Though not much stronger, the attackers managed to grab Yu-jin and threatened to kill her. They then beat Sang-hwa severely and said that if the others did not come with them, they would kill him. That was when Sura had spotted them.
"We need to thank your friend Sura when we see her. If it wasn't for her, we might have..." They all shivered at the thought. Sang-hwa clenched his fists, blaming himself for not being stronger.
"Alright. Well, you have two choices," Luna told them. "You can go your separate way, or you can join our Nation." He explained the pros and cons of being part of the Sovereign Nation. After discussing it as a group, they unanimously agreed to join.
Luna was, after all, their savior. They felt they owed him not only their lives but also their dignity. The rest introduced themselves. So-hee and Seo-hyeon were the other Korean girls. The Japanese girl introduced herself as Hana. She was skilled with a naginata but, unfortunately, was stuck with a wooden club.
Luna had several spare Itak Tagalogs from all the evolved zombies they had killed, so he gave each of them a pair. They were incredibly grateful. Joining Luna felt like the best decision they had made since the apocalypse began. On the way back to the base, he let them kill zombies, stepping in only when they seemed about to be overwhelmed by evolved ones.
By the time they arrived, the new group had reached level 7. They distributed their stat points according to Luna's advice. During that time, Luna reached level 12 as well, a good sign that Sura and the others had been killing many zombies.
A little while later, Sura and the rest of the team returned. Everyone had reached level 10. They would have stayed out longer, but they needed to store the spare Itak Tagalogs they had collected. They had not found many skill books, apparently having been unusually lucky before, but they did acquire a Heal skill book, which Apple used. She then healed Sang-hwa's wounds.
Everyone introduced themselves and got to know one another. Yu-jin's group could not help but glance several times at Sura after thanking her. They tried to recall if she was possibly a celebrity, but after some consideration, none of the known celebrities could hold a candle to her in any aspect. Her countenance was otherworldly.
Meanwhile, Luna was off to the side, disassembling one of his guandaos. He was trying to find a way to retrofit his Itak Tagalog blades to replace the weapon's head. He wanted to see whether, if he managed to attach the blades and used the weapon to kill zombies, he would still gain experience. If it worked, he could do the same for Hana, crafting something closer to the naginata she was proficient with. That would increase their combat power.
Nothing was fixed in this new world. This was not like a typical MMORPG where such modifications were impossible. He felt fairly confident it would work, and if he was correct, the possibilities would be endless.