Despite targeting most of her concentration on Toz's sword, Taienra kept the island going in the direction of Pirate Haven.
The island's inhabitants might have found a way to navigate and control their travels through the Void in Taienra, but they could only guess how much time they spent floating through the Void.
The only way they had to measure time was through the progress they made. And the first significant sign of progress was Toz's breakthrough to the fifth level. Toz naturally wanted to be hailed as the winner of the unofficial competition among the island dwellers. However, his claims weren't supported by the others since they wanted to be first and because Toz was already a step behind. He hadn't won the competition. He had merely joined the race.