The Great Shuffle

Honestly, it wasn't all that surprising. In fact, it would be an obvious conclusion if thought about carefully.

The God of Chaos brought different beings and lands to their world. Would He actually neatly arrange them in a convenient manner?

Isaac wanted to bash his head against a wall. Why was this NPC describing a perverted version of his nation's capital? Because the Lord of Chaos shuffled everything around!

He could only wonder at this point how much of his homeland he'd return to would actually resemble what it once was.

Was his house even still there?

Conflicting emotions began to surface in him. On one hand, he obviously didn't want his childhood home to be missing. It was the only place he truly knew, after all. It was where he grew up to become the man that he was.

On the other hand, part of him actually felt a sense of relief at the thought that it could be gone.

He felt a bit of shame for feeling that way, but it couldn't be helped. With his brother's recent death at the hands of the demons, he had nobody left now. There was no family to return to in that place, that mere building. How could it even be called a home anymore?

What lived there now wasn't his family; the residents were memories of his past, ones that he didn't want to meet with anymore.

'That isn't what's important right now.'

Burying the complicated thoughts away to hopefully never return to, he started to contemplate what to do with the information he had at hand.

Two hasty decisions immediately came to mind, only to be rejected.

The first to come was the nagging urge to report to his king immediately that the foreigners were in their capital.

He wasn't sure what kind of unrest the people who stayed behind would face. They were mostly noncombatants who weren't fit to participate in the battle, with only a few competent fighters caring for them.

It naturally would be disastrous for them if the foreigners were hostile and powerful, considering that they'd be helpless.

However, a calm analysis helped him understand that they wouldn't mobilize even if he went to report it immediately.

Their bodies were full of vitality, and they could recover quickly, but they wouldn't be in their top conditions, especially not mentally. Going to face an unknown threat in that situation wouldn't be wise.

He knew there were already plans in place. A conference was to be held in the main tent later that night, and he was required to participate. All details discovered relating to the system were to be discussed before each nation's troops made their return the following morning.

The best place to bring up his discoveries would be there. That way, he could browse the Player Forum and his System menu more until the designated time. Telling his King before then wouldn't change much, since no actions would be taken prior to the conference.

The other hasty urge was to hide away his uniqueness from the others.

'My discoveries? Oh, I learned that I have the same Status as the foreigners and that the Lord of Chaos blessed me with a way to grow stronger even faster than everyone else.'

That probably wouldn't be the best line to deliver to everyone. Becoming the center of attention by painting a rather prominent target on his back wasn't exactly something he wanted to do.

However, at the very least, he needed to let the higher-ups know the general situation.

The personalities and dispositions of the foreign Players and NPCs, his means of communication with the Players, and the pleasant geographical changes could not be concealed. It would simply do more harm than good.

With this would have to come an explanation of why he was in possession of the knowledge, so he'd include his Status as a Player with his revelations.

His Party and Chat functions were also rather important, and would be more useful with others knowing, so they too would be mentioned.

As for everything else, he'd be keeping it to himself. The Kings were no fools, so he'd mention he received some additional rewards to boost his strength for giving the God an entertaining wish, but unless forced to do so, he'd keep the details of his other features to himself.

King Elmon was a fairly benevolent ruler known for his leniency. Isaac could only hope to rely on his support if the others tried to press for exactly what the System gave him.

***

***

***

"I am a Player."

If the System was able to quantify the number of eyebrows raised in response to a statement, the value would have certainly shown an amount matching everyone else in the tent aside from Isaac.

The young soldier under King Elmon who volunteered to activate the sacred artifact did indeed have an abnormality. What was before a mere possibility had become fact, and now it needed to be determined if it was good news or bad.

The gazes of many important figures had sharpened as they closely examined the speaker.

The pressure brought by this would normally be rather immense to an ordinary person, but Isaac was a bit surprised by how calm he became after making the announcement.

He was a bit hesitant to disclose the information to the different Kings, especially King Amor, but his worries seemed to fade away after getting it over with.

The most nervous moment in his entire life had already occurred not long ago, and speaking in front of this audience was trivial in comparison.

Their entire world was in jeopardy of being destroyed. They suffered through a devastating blow after the first wave of demons and nearly had to face another. He activated an artifact created by a God who, while he would never dare to say it out loud, was absolutely crazy as far as he was concerned.

He'd probably have nightmares of the moment he made the wish for the rest of his life, but the shift in perspective it gave him was astounding.

Interacting with Kings was much easier than being under the whims of a capricious God.

"So, what does this Status entail?"

King Elmon's curious gaze lacked the same intensity as the others. He questioned Isaac with a casual tone and a warm smile, encouraging him to continue.

"My liege, as a Player, I am able to see messages on my Status Screen from other Players writing to each other. It is also possible for me to converse with them, although I have not chosen to do so. The function is a part of something referred to as a Player Forum."

Isaac's answers were short and concise. He did not give a lengthy speech containing everything he was going to talk about all at once. That wouldn't be acceptable conversational practice with someone of a higher position.

Give short, significant pieces of information and wait to be questioned on it before continuing. That is the correct method that he adhered to.

"You can talk to the 'reinforcements' the Lord sent us, yet you're only bringing this up now? Do you not realize the severity of what you're saying? What else have you been keeping to yourself?"

King Amor wasn't just trying to stir trouble due to past national conflicts. It was evident to all that he was legitimately angry, and he wasn't the only one to feel that way.

Establishing contact with the foreigners was something crucial that needed to take place. They needed to talk to them to figure out what kind of people they were, and to see if they would actually be of help when the next demon invasion occurred.

The implications of Isaac's statement meant that they didn't need to go searching to find all of the foreigners. One message from where he was could reach them all at once. They didn't even have to be concerned about having a fight at first contact, since they wouldn't be face to face.

Yet, he kept this information to himself all day.

"Please let him continue, King Amor. I'm sure the boy had his reasons for waiting until now."

Fortunately, it seemed King Elmon was living up to his reputation and defending Isaac, much to his relief.

He waited a brief moment to see if King Amor chose to continue to berate him. After seeing that the King remained quiet with a look of disgruntled acceptance, he determined that it was safe to proceed.

"My sincerest apologies, your Majesties. It was my understanding that anything I reported would have to be discussed in this conference before taking any action, so I chose to wait to convey it to all of you."

He received a few nods, and nobody spoke up, so he continued.

"I watched the messages coming in from the Players throughout the day, and I learned a great deal about them and other NPCs that came with them, but I discovered something even more important in the contents of their conversations."

"When the System Announcement we received mentioned the distribution of new inhabitants and territories, what it meant was that the lands and populations of our world and another were rearranged."