The eighteen mana roots were completely depleted, so there was no point in hanging around in this needle universe anymore. They could spend a bit more time here to mess with the giant fish, sure, but that was about all of the activities that they could do, there wasn’t anything else. Purpureus Mundi Aqus was otherwise really desolate, so desolate, that the team didn’t even understand how all the fish hadn't starved away already!
This sea was barely a kilometer wide, so it shouldn't be able to support such huge fish, and yet that wasn't the case, there were plenty of them in the vicinity. This was very puzzling, sure enough, but they had to leave nonetheless, because they got more out of this place than they originally wanted. They were content, so they swam upwards as if they were satisfied girlfriends, even, their stride was rather jolly!
At the surface, they met Gustav, and Tim was happy that the old lady didn’t attack his friend here. Although Gustav consumed less mana roots in comparison to his team, he was still at a decent level, because he already had a better mana quality than Arvena earlier on, before they walked through the portal. His mana quality had been at level two, and now it was at level five, which technically made him the weakest goblin of the group now, but a man with a level five man quality was anything but weak, he was very capable. The team has progressed exceptionally well today!
“Okay, so are we ready to leave?” Tim asked, and he had a little smirk on his face, because he felt responsible for all the progress his friends made. Inwardly, he wanted to be praised.
However, no one praised him, and it didn’t look like they were going to. Gustav even switched the topic entirely, as he started talking about the dragons.
“Georgie should be at level six right now, he managed to absorb a few mana points. Unfortunately he remains in the God's Punishment Realm so he’s an entire realm below us, but still, level six isn't that bad for a dragon.” He pointed out.
Tim was initially irritated that he wasn't getting praised, but then he excitedly asked. “What about my little Bolivamus Tal the Greater…?!”
Just then, he figured out something interesting. “Oh, I can see his mana pool now! Billy and the dragonflies are at level three, that's a bit sad, dragon's have been dealt a bad hand of cards…”
It was sad that the dragons couldn't progress as much, but they were dragons after all, so they may not need a good mana quality as much as most creatures did. The dragons certainly didn't need it throughout the recent, severely dangerous situations that they, and the team survived! They were good, they were happy.
Regarding mana quality, Arvena then pointed out. “You can see someone's pool of mana, after you cross over to the Fintelus’ Apprentices Realm. You can check on pools, as long as the bastard you're checking on has a lower mana quality than you, so it’s a very useful tool in most cases.”
“That's nice, so we'll always know when we're about to get fucked? Very handy.” Tim rambled.
The process of checking on someone else's pool was very easy, and visual. With an x-ray sort of vision, he could see how much mana was accumulated in one's belly. This process didn't cost a single point to initiate.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Mana in its entirety was blue by color, however, when it is in one's gut, it has these funny visual features that are symbolic to one's specific level. He'd only have to look at those symbols once, and then he'd recognize the level instinctively!
In this case, when he looked at Georgie the dragon’s mana pool, he saw that the pool assumed an iron-like color. Level six was called Dense, Iron Mana, so the symbolism behind the visuals in the pool correlated with the level’s name.
“Very interesting…” Skendus remarked.
Skendus appreciated this ability the most, because initially he had to determine how strong a person was, by attempting to read their minds, and this latter process was a bit more elaborate. His failure or success at mind reading, helped him determine the strength of a lot of people, but this new ability was a lot easier to use! It didn't take much effort to initiate it.
Anyway, they were ready to leave this universe now. They've certainly seen enough of it, and wouldn't want to return unless there were a bunch of roots waiting for them.
Timothy's new task here was to tamper with the portal so they wouldn't go back in time, once they crossed over to Valporovus. This was bound to be a bit tricky, but he felt capable of making the adjustments. He didn’t let his friends cross the portal just yet.
“Give me a minute here,” He requested.
It was crucial that they avoided going back in time, because it could put them in a bit of trouble. Firstly, he feared that he'd lose a couple of blessings from the priests of the three churches, which were blessings that they worked really hard to get, and this was one thing that he didn't want to risk walking into. If the Mark of Death got ‘remarked’ on their souls as soon as they crossed over to Valporovus, then they might as well stay in this universe, because it would be better than wasting another few weeks to appeal to the churches again!
“Okay…” He muttered, and got very close to the portal.
Timothy then grabbed the portal, as he had grown accustomed to, and after a bit of thinking, he tilted it. This tilt was very literal, physical too, and he instinctively tilted it by ten-percent!
Afterwards, he urged. “Okay, everybody jump in! Now now now!
Although most of the team didn't know what he was doing here, or what all of this intensity was about, they still trusted his word. He was the portal opener after all, so he was the most informed regarding portals!
The team jumped through the portal, the dragons followed suit, and so shortly after, they met with the little village that they left behind, before getting into Purpureus Mundi Aqus. The strong scent of recently roasted pork confirmed that they were alright here, it was unlikely that they'd run into past versions of themselves or anything like that!
“Oh, good, we're in the present.” He sighed.
Afterwards, as he noticed the confusion on the faces of his friends, he helped everyone catch up with what he had recently experienced. He was very specific about it, so he spent a solid ten minutes helping everyone understand why he had to tilt that portal.
“There seems to be a lot to this… portal summoning.” Gustav expressed.
Furthermore, he added. “Still, it doesn't look like we'll be going to the bug world anytime soon, so, how about we go with your other plan? How about we make a one-way journey to the Ruins of Aqumus?”
Timothy was craving to open another portal, but he understood that it could end up distracting them quite a bit. Visiting the Ruins of Aqumus had been their main goal ever since they stepped into Valporovus, and now since they didn't have any distractions, and that they were strong enough to stride The Old Sea where the ruins were, there was virtually nothing holding them back from doing so!
“If we cross the Fintelus’ Apprentices Realm of mana this month, then I'll be the happiest stingray in the world!” Tim remarked, and then he tore the portal out of its place.