The next day.
Ramon yawned as he rolled out of bed. He dressed in his armor and black shirt, combed his hair, and buckled his gear.
Kamil sat up. "You awake, Ramon? That was early."
"I guess the time here is a bit different, so I woke up on time. I don't know," Ramon said.
"Yeah," Kamil replied. "I felt weird about the time too."
Two hours before setting off to sea.
Under the sun at the bay, the ship waited while Nubian workers hauled crates and barrels up the gangplank. Ropes creaked, gulls circled, and the water slapped against the pier.
"This is a beauty, isn't she," Henu said to General Amon, admiring the hull.
Amon nodded. "She is one of the fastest and newest in our fleet. You are lucky to get her. She can easily house up to fifty people or more."
Behind them, sweating in the heat, Jack sighed. "It's really hot today. Why are we even standing outside."
"We should train our bodies for the voyage," Kasib added.
Ramon shot him a look. "We… you mean you."
Kairo approached, sipping cold water. "So you peasants will set sail soon, huh."
"Who did you call a peasant, little twig," Ramon snapped.
"You, but face," Kairo said with a straight face.
Ramon lunged, but Noya grabbed him. "Let it go. You are going to get us in trouble."
Drexel stepped in, patting Kairo on the head. "Don't tease our guests, Kairo." He turned to the soldiers easing the car along the quay. "Place it there," he said, calmly.
"You men are going on a journey to a faraway land that only a few have seen," Drexel went on. "Are you prepared for what is coming."
"What do you mean," Kamil asked.
"On the sea you may meet pirates or bandits, and creatures you have never seen," Drexel said, clearing his throat. "By the look of it, you need to level up. Kamil, let us start with you."
"Me. Start what," Kamil said, pointing at himself.
Drexel sifted a handful of sand and let it fall, shaping a small figure that looked like Kamil. "Look, this is you. You are very smart. Your tactical sense could be unmatched. Your willingness to protect others makes you a leader. You should defend, not fight on the front line. It might seem like a coward's move, but if the mind is not there, the body cannot move. If the brain of the team fails or dies, then think of the team as dead as well."
Kamil nodded as it clicked.
"Ramon," Drexel said, "you are interesting. You are not the most intellectual, but where you lack, you make up with sheer will. Your strength would be unmatched if you learned to control it. I heard about you and what you did at the battle with the Royal Nebu. You are the morale of the team. You must lead the charge."
"Kasib," he continued, "you are the strength of the team. You must protect and fight. You have the most raw power, but you are missing something. You do not use all that is given to you. You struggle with dark energy, do you not. Remember, the world is not fair. To be a strong warrior, you must take every option you have."
Kasib swallowed. He knew Drexel was right. He had avoided dark energy because it did not feel like his own and he thought that made him weak.
"And Jack," Drexel said, "you are intelligent and gifted in power, though not in raw strength. Your control is the issue. You might have the strongest Chronotex in the world, the power of a being, Steller. I wonder what it truly is. You will always be hope for the team, someone everyone can rely on. Your role is not just one. It can be many. Like a nomad, you do not have a fixed place, yet you manage."
Drexel turned to the others. "Then there are you three, Khonsu, Noya, and Yune, and I think Memnon, one of your strongest, is missing. I am guessing you already have roles in mind, since you three and Memnon are the Royal Guards. Teach a few things to your potential successors. One thing is key. If you do not have a Chronotex, you need dark energy."
"I am a strong user of dark energy," Ramon said.
"You all have it," Drexel replied with a faint smile, "but you have not fully unlocked it. Even you Royal Guards lack an identity in dark energy. Let me give you an example. Menes, your commander, has a dark energy ability called Absolute. It is authoritative, just like him and his role and personality. You do not have that. It is not guaranteed for every user. It unlocks when you connect to your life energy at a level most never reach."
"What do you mean," Kamil asked.
"Just like Chronotex users, dark energy users can awaken a special ability tailored to them," Drexel said. "For me, it is the ability to create shields. I can form small or medium sized barriers to protect me. It is not the strongest, but as the one who weaves illusions and tactics for our army, it fits. General Amon has a shield as well, but his can protect and attack. He can drive it like a ram. Kairo's is his Genie."
He looked around at the group. "All of you must find your own dark energy, specialized in your own way. Not all will be the same, although someone might share a similar ability. It is not like the Chronotex. It depends on who you are. I am shocked that even you Royal Guards have not found one. You have the Dark King, the man who mastered dark energy, as your commander."
Khonsu, Yune, and Noya pulled faces and whispered to themselves, "Commander Menes would rather read a book than train us."
Drexel winced. "Ah. I see. I guess the man is a bit strict."
"Commander Drexel, thanks for the information," Jack said. "I wanted to ask why you brought the car here."
"We need to build more, do we not," Drexel replied.
"How will you do that," Jack asked.
"We will show you," Drexel said, waving Kairo forward.
Kairo stood in front of the car and lifted his chin. "Genie, how much will it cost to rebuild this exact car," he asked.
The Genie appeared from nothing, a shape in the heat-haze. "Master Kairo," it said, circling the car and studying it. "It will cost six hundred gold coins per car and the knowledge of the car from the papers which Jack Sterling gave."
"Build it. Deal," Kairo said.
Ramon stared. "Six hundred gold coins. That is like my wages for ten years, or even more."
The Genie began. From thin air, wood and other materials appeared, stacking and joining. Within seconds a perfect copy stood there, a one-to-one twin of the original.
"Why would you trade us a ship and also pay six hundred gold to build something you could have built," Ramon asked.
"You see," Drexel said, "we want a good relationship with your kingdom. It would not be right to steal from you. Furthermore, the Genie cannot create what it does not know. The information Jack wrote about the car helped us build it. Without it, we could not."
"Ah, I see," Kamil said.