The island descended the same way it had the first time, and the same five tables filled in the same order, though the mood settled differently now that everyone knew what to expect.
"Only three items tonight," John said, once the lanterns dimmed. "Fewer, but heavier. I'd rather sell three things worth fighting over than ten things worth forgetting."
Nobody looked disappointed.
...
The first pill sat pale gold on its cushion, faint cracks of light pulsing slow beneath its surface like something breathing.
"The Demi-God Spark Pill," John said. "For a Calamity-9 powerhouse standing at the edge of breaking through. It doesn't guarantee success, but it raises the odds by fifty percent, which is fifty percent more than most of you currently have."
[Demi-God Spark Pill: Demi-God rank. Increases breakthrough success rate to Demi-God rank by fifty percent when consumed at peak Calamity-9. Single use.]
"Two hundred," Baldric said immediately.
