Rejoining Whiskey and Jiehong, Zan and they held out near the back of the room, going over their purchased medical supplies. Hearing a wind chime in his ear, Zan excused himself. Luxley, he told himself. It was a small thing, the wind chime. He only recently had started hearing it when Luxley contacted him. It came before his voice. He told his mates he had to take a 'call' from his Expanse contact and excused himself.

Waiting for the soft chime to die down, moments later, Zan heard Luxley's voice. "Zan. You there?"

"Yeah. I'm here. What's up?" Zan said.

"I wanted to give you an update. The translation is going much slower than I anticipated. It will be another few days at the least."

"That is okay. I am at least a few days out from my base. As I said when we were together, take as much time as you need. How have you been?"

"I've been stressed out. And thank you. I know I told you a certain time and I tried to hit that time. It has to do with my dad. Since I started focusing on techy-mag engineering again, he has been sending every tutor in the land to me. I hardly have time to eat, let alone amuse myself, anymore!"

"No. That sounds bad. I guess you're not in a position to say no to your father, then. It would cause you trouble?" Zan asked.

"Yeah. Big trouble. Or big disappointment. Not that I care about that stuff. If I stopped with the techy-mag stuff, I would have scrutiny on me. We can't risk that. I will just have to get used to living an unamusing life, if you know what I mean," Luxley said with melodramatic sigh at the end.

"Well. If I was there, I would make your day more amusing. I usually do, right?" Zan said as a quip.

Luxley laughed. His sharp giggles betrayed his developing voice.

Zan smiled. Did he say something? Rescuing the situation, he said, "Maybe not amuse you in that way, but others. Like doing adventures together. Ha!"

Settling down from his laugh, Luxley said, "I would like that, Zan. How have you been? Staying safe on the battlefield?"

"As safe as I can be," Zan said, who then began a truncated rundown of the events which happened since they had disbanded.

"Whoa!" Luxley said. "You live an exciting life, Zan. I'm a little jealous."

"Don't be. It is stressful living this way. Fulfilling, yes, in exerting one's destiny and self in such a way, defending your home, but I would prefer a normal life over this war story..."

Luxley and Zan chatted for a few more minutes, talking about nothing in particular. Before long, thinking it was time to leave, Zan told Luxley, "I have to go. Let me know when you are getting closer to finishing the translation."

"Will do. Talk later, friendo," Luxley said before ending the call.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Friendo? What did that mean? Obviously, it was a term of endearment, a substitute for 'friend.' Did Luxley consider him such a pal it was time for nicknames? If so, then nothing made Zan happier than to realize he had made a new good friend! A real friend. Not only an acquaintance. Jiehong had never given him a nickname. Neither he to Jiehong, but Zan's point stood, he thought.

Zan turned back to his traveling companions. Whiskey, Jiehong. On the other side of the room, the soldiers and civilians of Winters's entourage reassembled. It was time to leave and face whatever terror lay outside, lying in wait for them.

Or he would have, if he hadn't received a System notification.

[New Feature Unlocked: Power Levels], the System spoke.

Zan sighed. Power... what?! Another headset thing? Now?

Zan turned his gaze to his bottom right. Where the status screens of he and his companions were. Over he and Jiehong's and Whiskey's icons -- little portraits Zan had mentally created from memories -- now stood something which had not been there before. A number.

Zan knew basic mathematics. Tens, hundreds, thousands, and so on. He learned from the traveling priest. Good man.

Whiskey's number was the lowest: a mere five (5) stood next to her name.

Jiehong's number came next: a ten (10) stood next to his icon.

Which put Zan in first place. His icon displayed a fifteen (15).

"Wait up, guys. My headset is doing a thing..."

Pinging the Screen Master, Zan asked him, "What is this? Power levels?"

"Ah! So, it finally unlocked! I was wondering when and if it would unlock for you. When you are not about to head into battle, we can discuss this system in-depth. To give you a curt answer on what it is, 'power levels' are an approximation of the world. By paying attention to power levels and how they rise and fall, and under what conditions they rise and fall, you will be able to train yourself to ever-more-significant martial and magical heights. Currently, its most useful feature would be its ability to display the power levels of your enemies. Useful for when deftly conquering large groups with multi-enemy types and for new adversaries you haven't ever faced. Be warned! The Command Center System's depiction of power levels is only an approximation, a guess. Many factors go into how the System prefigures a power level. Do not use it as an absolute ray of Truth. Understood?" Screen Master Simulacrum explained.

He thought it over for a moment and found he did understand. "I understand. We will talk about this more later. So many new things... it is a lot to keep track of."

"I know it is," the Screen Master said. "When you return to the command center, you will have access to many new training manuals. With the completion of the Command Center System, Sigma-Prime and myself have been busy in repairing the databanks. We've salvaged many of the aforementioned training manuals. These manuals will be of great use to you. I am seeing through your feed the others look ready to depart. I will leave you alone for now. Screen Master, over-and-out."

Overhearing the exchange through his own headset line, Jiehong said, "Power levels? Sounds kitsch. I like it."

"I don't know how I feel about it," Zan replied, in a better mood than he thought he would be in at enduring another change to his vision and self-conception. "I guess I'm rolling with the punches!"

"You must be pretty good at that by now," Whiskey said.

"I'm not bad, admittedly. I am far from an expert, though," Zan spoke.

Sharing a moment as they rejoined Winters and his men, Zan patted Jiehong on the back and forced a good face for Whiskey. He asked, "You guys feel like rolling up in punch river while an airship harasses us to death?"

Whiskey and Jiehong exchanged glances. "Tired though we are. I think we're ready for one more heaping serving of chaos before we find refuge in the city. Once more into the fray, eh?" Whiskey and Jiehong told Zan, though not in so many words.

Before them slowly opened a large set of double doors. Large enough for a crowd of their size to march, Zan and Friends took rearguard. The plan, essentially, was to 'wing it.' However this airship was to be handled, Zan knew it would involve him, magic, and his friends. And with such power on his side, what could go wrong?