Michael stopped for a second. "What? How does this have 500 drops?"
Perhaps, Serena was mistaken. After all, that would be a surplus of 69 drops, which was not a paltry number at all. Michael was pretty sure that there would be wars fought to obtain that much Soo drops. There was no way that the vortex 'accidentally' gave him 500 drops instead of the 431 he purchased.
But Serena was absolutely sure. "Look at the label and try to see if there's a hint of octopus ink used in the words?"
Michael did as he was told, noticing now that a strange, almost magical, sparkling glimmer shined through the black letters. At first, he thought that they were made from sand, but he could sense a faint sense of Aubility Power from these words. "Yeah… and I can almost smell a hint of saltiness from the bottle," he confirmed.
"That's my father's personal stamp. This has to be one of his bottles," she insisted.
The fact that she knew about this secret font gave credence to her words. But still, it didn't make sense. Why would the Ocean King suddenly give him an excess of Soo drops?
"Let me explain. The bottles are part of father's personal collection of gifts. Valuable items such as iridescent pearls, rare and exotic scales, and other such curios are given out to his friends as a sign of good will. Amongst that lineup of gifts is this bottle. It contains 500 drops in total."
Michael stared at the bottle in his hands, his face twisted into confusion. He wondered what he did to earn the 'goodwill' of the Ocean King himself.
As far as he knew, he'd never even indirectly dealt with the literal ruler of the oceans.
"Does he know me?"
Serena furrowed her brows, before shaking her head. "Probably not… and before you ask, no. The vortex won't allow father to peer through to the other side. It only allows the transfer of Soo drops for security purposes."
Even she didn't know how or why this happened. The Ocean King was known for his spontaneity, but even this seemed too random.
"Maybe someone told him about the filter?"
She considered the thought for a second, before shaking her head. "Even if someone here reported back to Atlantis, they'd need to have travelled for a month at least before they reached the bottom of the ocean."
It had only been a few days since the first filter was installed, so that wasn't possible.
Michael was so stumped by this puzzle that his excitement for the Soo drops were completely buried.
"... maybe it's because he noticed the frequency," Serena muttered.
"Frequency?"
"Yes. The frequency in which you exchange for Soo drops. Perhaps he noticed that you are the only person who has been acquiring Soo drops at a commensurate rate.
The first time, you exchanged only a few drops. Then the next, tens of drops. Now, you obtained hundreds. It's not hard to see a pattern."
This was the only explanation that seemed reasonable.
"Father does like to appreciate talent," Serena added. "He's rewarding your ability to accrue Sand Dollars and wants to form a favorable connection with you."
If that was true, then his wish was fulfilled.
Michael really appreciated the extra 69 drops that the Ocean King generously gave him. If he did that every time he exchanged for drops, then he'd consider the old guy his best friend!
Of course, he knew that the Ocean King wasn't doing this out of the goodness of his own heart. No one was that altruistic.
It was basically an investment. Perhaps in the future, once they met each other, the Ocean King would cash-in this favor.
Michael was okay with that. "If you see your father, tell him I owe him a keg of beer," he joked.
Serena chuckled. "I have a feeling he'll like that."
…
…
…
Michael returned to the Nation of Reborn, back into his own room.
On his left hand was the 'wine' bottle containing 500 drops of Soo, and on his right was his Drone.
With arden excitement filling his eyes, he uncorked the bottle and drenched his Drone in the oozing transparent liquid oil.
As soon as the Spirit of Old touched the Mithril surface, the nanoparticles that made up its frame began to squirm as if they were little ants dancing and capering with being bestowed with ambrosia itself.
His Drone began absorbing the Soo drops, which would have been instantaneous if not for the voluminous amount of drops he gave.
His Drone floated in the air, engulfed in a sphere of Soo drops.
Even though the whole absorption only took about a minute in total, his excitement made it feel like an hour.
After his patience ran out, he grabbed the Mithril Drone from the air and observed its surface. He watched as the last drop of Soo disappeared between the cracks of the nanoparticles, finally completing the process.
[UPGRADES]
[Mithril Artifact: Drone]
[Spirit of Old: 500 drops]
[Expansion]
—Drones
——Mini drone (14) ><
——Drone Hive = ><
————Mini Drone = 1
[Pocket Dimension: 8 rooms]
—Subspace ><
—Isolated Room = ><
——Expansion = 1+
—New Rooms = 12+
[DRONE EMPORIUM]
[Mini Drones: 14]
[Discount:]
— (1x) 50% coupon
[Delivery:]
— (1x) Instant Delivery
[Search: ___ ]
Michael didn't even hesitate for a second before he purchased 500 Mini Drones in an instant. After all, there were no other alternatives. He had nothing else to purchase except for the [isolated rooms], which he wasn't yet willing to expand.
The [Emporium] also used Mini Drones as its mode of currency. So even if he didn't know what to buy yet, he wouldn't lose anything by getting the Drones now.
Not only that, but having 500 Mini Drones was also an advantage on its own. It was a literal army of Mini Drones, all capable of shooting Unity Guns at once.
With this thought in mind, the Drone started to release nanoparticles off of its surface as it began to create all Mini Drones at once.