Path to Power

"I see. Strange indeed. They don't exactly sound like disciplined warriors, but at least there are mentions of them battling beasts. Although, I don't know how powerful these 'Frost Wolves' are supposed to be."

King Elmon remarked after hearing some of Isaac's narration of the Player's discussions.

In order to prevail in battle against the horde of demons knocking at the gates, a great deal of strength was needed. Substantially more than what they had. Thus, the Kings could only hope that the new residents of the world were competent and friendly.

Of course, not too competent, otherwise power conflict would end up coming into play.

"Even if they're weak, the Lord's sorcery, this 'System', appears to give everyone an easier way to grow than what we're used to. What's most important is how amiable they are. If they're friendly, we can probably train them to be capable fighters over the next five years."

"Do you think their leaders will let us step in and take charge of their forces?"

"Well, if they're weak, they'd need to be trained too. Any reasonable fighter would accept the guidance of a Master. Besides, do they even have leaders? They don't sound very organized from what the kid has told us so far."

After some back and forth between the Kings, the attention shifted back to Isaac again. The information he had given them so far had more so been covering the aspects of their personalities that stood out the most, so as to answer what impressions they made on him. He had yet to delve into leadership dynamics.

"From what I understand, those at the pinnacle of authority amongst the players are known as 'Guild Leaders'. The Players that are looking for support are rallying around a few central figures with this position, a rather important one being Champagne Rabbit.

These individuals are providing guidance on how to handle the situation and are attempting to assemble everyone in the name of cooperation. While they are listened to and held in high regard by some, many others, even their own subordinates, seem to speak very casually to them, and even outright disrespectfully in some cases. I also noticed some individuals in these 'Guilds' simply deciding to leave to explore the new world on their own. Thus, I can conclude that the Players don't have authorities with comparable statuses to Kings.

The foreign NPCs do seem to have nations and rulers of their own, but I didn't learn very much from the conversations of the Players. There were just some casual mentions of Kings when discussing Quests."

"It's good that they're organized and are adapting to the situation. That definitely shows promise. Alright, from what I'm hearing, I think it's best to let them group up and acclimate before reaching out. It'll also give us time to get our bearings and assess the situation of our homes. As for the foreign NPCs, it sounds like there are a few in my own capital, and probably in the others as well. We'll just have to initiate contact upon returning."

With no objections to his analysis, King Elmon continued.

"We still need to discuss Classes and our plans for 'Leveling Up'. Do you have anything else to add before then, Isaac?"

"I do, Your Majesty. There are three additional functions other than the Player Forum that we Players have access to."

He really wished to keep the Guild Function to himself and to just provide details on the Chat and Party functions, so as to not upset the Kings by informing them of a method to grow in power he had, but he realized that it would only come back to bite him.

With all the talks of the Player Guilds, the Kings would definitely grow curious about the specifics of the organizations. They'd eventually meet with the Players and acquire intelligence on them. At that time, if they discovered that he was withholding such a capability, it would not look good.

"The organizations formed by the Players originate from one of those functions, the Guild Function. Similar to what you described with your title, My Liege, Guilds have their members gain bonuses to their Ability Scores and earn more Experience Points in territories where they have their main headquarters established.

They also have a feature similar to your ability to alter nobility, except the Guild Leader designates different positions in the Guild instead. The positions, similar to nobility, come with their own System perks and responsibilities.

They have no rewards and punishment system as you do, and members of Guilds may freely choose to leave at any time.

There is, however, something else that affects the 'Buffs' of everyone. All subordinates of the Guild Leader, regardless of where they are, gain a boost to all of their Ability Scores based on the Leader's Charisma. Additionally, the leader himself gets that boost upon becoming a leader, and again for every 1,000 subordinates he has under him."

He paused before going on to describe the other functions to allow the Kings time to think and question him.

They were all scrutinizing the information, and him, in various ways. In their world, the position of King was not inherited. A successor was chosen based on their strength and capabilities. They were cultivators, and discipline in body and mind was respected above all else. No wastrel would ever be worthy to become King.

Oftentimes, the children of rulers and people of high status would still be the ones to ascend the throne, typically because they had the resources and mentors to properly train their Ki. It was obviously preferred by the rulers to have those close inherit the title, so there'd be some instinctual rejection towards other talents. Hence, Isaac's hesitation.

However, at the end of the day, they all had their martial pride. Regardless of his worries, they'd treat him with respect as a warrior and member of the coalition army. They wouldn't actually harass him for having this.

In fact, such a method to grow the various forces in power was something essential to handling their predicament. None of the Kings were so covetous of authority that they would throw away a potential solution to their problem. Moreover, Isaac was one of them. He was low in rank, so he wasn't well known by the Kings, but he wouldn't have been picked to handle the artifact and make a wish if he wasn't a trusted soldier. Better to rely on him than on foreigners.

Thus, the look he received from most wasn't of hostility, but more of one assessing him of worthiness.

They all had the same thing on their minds.

Should they let Isaac make use of his ability to become a Guild Leader?