Timothy and Gustav continued to explore the forest of sorts that they were surrounded with. The both of them were quiet as they walked, because since they couldn’t see the creatures around them, who were typically camouflaged, they wanted to try and hear them instead. This was their best course of action, and they were willing to burn the whole forest down if it came up to that point, because this place held wildlife that were very hostile to the goblin kind, after all. If beetles went through the portal, so can every other insect in here, and they took that into consideration. The two of them were quiet, and the further they walked, the more accepting they became of something that they noticed. This forest had a single, straight path between it, and this path led back to the portal that they’ve left behind. There were sections where the red grass was trimmed, as if someone tried to make this path more walkable, and this was very difficult to miss! They couldn’t miss it, because as e

“What do you mean he disappeared five days ago?” Skendus asked, and he was beyond worried. “Timothy disappeared first, and Gustav, one of our guards is said to disappear within the same timeframe as him, someone saw the two of them together up on a hill. We're quite certain that it was Gustav who signaled us, but when we got there, they were gone, and our best guess is that they got severely wounded in battle.” A guard explained, and his tone was rather formal, he almost sounded unapologetic.It wasn't too hard to believe that Timothy might have died, because he was generally reckless, and got himself into trouble quite often. Paired with the fact that a literal god may beam down here at any time, and kill them all together, his death became all the more believable. Arvena was here in the camp too, and she wasn't so appreciative of the other's tone, so she asked. “Well, did you find their bodies? Also, where’s Ortana?” “Ortana is out looking for Timothy’s body. Our scouts report th

Timothy was very close to a heart attack, but his willpower was unbreakable, he wasn't afraid of death! However, he didn’t want to die so randomly either, so he put something in motion to try and save his life.Gustav seemed to be oblivious through all of this, it took him a while to realize that something was wrong with his friend. When he saw Timothy holding his chest, he thought that he was choking on a cricket leg or something, so he patted him on the back!The old master hadn't attacked Gustav yet, and this was for the best, because he helped create a great diversion. Timothy leaned forward after he was patted on the back, as if to comfort himself a bit, but in reality, he was just trying to hide his hands under the table.A second later, a single bolt flew out of Timothy's open, leather bag of bony bolts, and it darted towards the master! He had been summoning the Bone Multiplier ability while his hands were under the table, and was strong enough to launch a single bolt.It was

Skendus, Arvena, and Ortana crossed the portal that they’ve discovered. They were immediately overwhelmed by the exclusive shades of red here at first, and then they made sure to be cautious of every step they took, because they didn't know what to expect here. For all they knew, they could be overwhelmed by a bunch of Demon Beetles at any second, and they would've been none the wiser, because they couldn't even tell the trees apart from the bushes around here. Caution was beyond necessary!“Aah, do you smell that?” Arvena asked, after a deep sigh. “Do you smell the mana? This has to be a needle universe, they're so secretive, and very hard to get to!”“A needle universe, huh? That's interesting, but I can't really smell mana like you can.” Skendus admitted, and Ortana was just as helpless. “There’s a lot of mana in the air, more than in Valporovus, actually.” She insisted, and then she pitched. “Maybe we can stay here for a while? Assuming that we don't get attacked by bugs. My mana

“You’re alive!” Ortana rushed over, and hugged him. She was relieved. “Of course I am?” Timothy hugged back, and looked at the rest of the team. He was wondering what was going on. “You’re alive too. I guess?”The group chuckled in response, they were enjoying his confusion. He might as well be confused, because he only saw this woman yesterday, and yet she acted as if he had been missing for ten years!“I’ve been looking for you for five days…” She then said, “The guards said that you got killed, and eaten, so I gutted a lot of bugs in order to find your body. Those guards are liars, they lied to me with a straight face!”Before Gustav could chime in on that last statement, Timothy cut his words short because no one wanted to be lectured right now, and then he emphasized a question. “Five days? We've only been here for an hour. Maybe an hour and a half, give or take.”With that said, both sides caught up with all the drama almost instantly. Time worked differently in this universe,