"Of course I don't know its value! Why else do you think I came here?" Robin blinked at Mila, honestly baffled.
"This pill… I feel sharper, my focus clearer. If I'm not mistaken—I can stay awake at least five days longer than normal." Mila's voice rose in excitement the more she analyzed the changes inside her body.
The pill contained a hidden pattern of a secondary law Robin had discovered long ago in the beast zones—a law that once helped him endure sleepless days of research. He had perfected its first level, and after grasping the Law of Truth, his mastery deepened even more.
When he first saw the common Spirit Revitalizing Pills sold at outrageous prices, the idea struck him: If these fools are willing to throw gold at worthless crushed herbs, why not make something worthy of it? And so, he fused the Blood Impulse Law into the base pill.
The result seemed simple on the surface, but every cultivator present would have recognized it for what it truly was—a miracle pill.
No matter how strong one became, the laws of nature demanded sleep. Even a saint like Mila, who could force herself to stay awake for twenty days, would eventually collapse. More than once she had nearly completed a major breakthrough, only to falter at the last moment from fatigue, forced to stop or risk losing everything. That delay alone could cost her decades.
But with this pill… she could push through. She could break her bottleneck.
"Oh, I think you're right," Robin replied casually. "So… how much do you think one is worth?" He turned back to watch the auction, unfazed.
Smack!
Mila's palm struck the side of his head.
"What the hell?!" Robin glared.
"Stop acting like you made candy! This pill is a revolution—it could get me to level twenty-five! Would you stay serious for once?!" Mila's breathing quickened, her eyes blazing.
"Tch… just ask what you want." Robin rubbed the spot she'd hit, sighing.
"Tell me everything. What did I miss? And those numbers carved into them—what's the meaning?"
"You figured out most of it already," Robin shrugged. "But listen carefully: the effect scales with level. At your tier, you gained five days. If you were still at level twenty-three, it would've given you maybe half a day. After the effect ends, you can take another pill, but it will only give you one more day. Then your body collapses—you'll need sleep. Once rested, you can take another and the cycle repeats."
He leaned back. "The numbers are just categories. One for fighters below level eleven, two for knights under twenty-one, and three—for saints."
Mila's voice turned eager. "And if, say, a tenth-level cultivator swallowed a level-three pill?"
"No side effects," Robin replied. "But it'd be wasted. These pills are art. Rare, costly. I won't sell them cheap."
"I'll buy them! All of them! Name your price!" Mila's urgency betrayed her usual composure.
Robin raised a brow. "Don't forget our deal before you swallowed that pill. They go to auction."
"Why? I'll pay you! Even for the one I already took!"
"I want their true value. And this—" Robin gestured toward the crowded hall below—"is the perfect place to announce them. Don't worry, Mila. This isn't the last batch."
Mila bit her lip. "…How about this. Auction one of each grade, but the rest—five pills—are mine. I'll pay you whatever price the bidding settles at."
"Hm. Fair enough." Robin smirked. "You've been a good girl, after all." He reached out and pinched her cheek. To his surprise, she didn't slap his hand away, only huffed and turned her head toward the window.
So she's finally starting to treat me as an equal, he thought with quiet amusement.
The auction continued. For another hour, weapons and armors paraded the stage, gold pouring like water. Then, Lina clapped her hands. "Thank you for your enthusiasm! Our weapons are concluded. Next—we move to rare beast carcasses."
"Wait!"
A sharp female voice silenced the hall. All eyes turned upward.
"Oh, Lady Mila Bradley…" Lina's eyes widened before she smiled gracefully. "How may I serve you?"
"I have something to put up for auction," Mila said coolly, stepping closer to her window. "I believe today's guests will find it… valuable. Surely no one objects?"
Murmurs swept the crowd.
"Haha, of course not. An exception may be made for you, Lady Mila."
"Let's see what treasure Lady Mila brings forth."
Mila raised her hand. Three glittering pills rolled between her fingers.
"Pills?" Lina's voice held surprise. Pills rarely fetched interest among nobles. The craft had never truly touched the powerhouses' realm—until now.
"What are their effects?" one merchant called out, a saint himself, owner of a pill hall.
Mila's voice carried clearly across the theater. "I'll say this once. I'd rather keep them for myself, but I sell them today for the sake of their maker."
Her words only sharpened the audience's hunger.
"These are Spirit Revitalizing Pills—but modified. The one marked with '1' grants five additional days of clarity and wakefulness to cultivators below level eleven. The one with '2' is for knights under level twenty-one. And the one with—"
"WHAT?!"
Her words detonated across the hall.
"Oh my… if my son had one of these, he would've survived those bastards' pursuit. He lasted seven days before exhaustion caught him…"
"Is she serious? Five full days?!"
"That's… that's unbelievable!"
The hall erupted. Nobles leapt to their feet. Merchants nearly fainted at the implications. The storm had begun.