“Here. Eat it.”

Perrin handed me the freshly made, warm, and... moist orb.
The confidence in their expression was so radiant that, had I not witnessed the production process firsthand, I might have expected a heavenly delicacy and swallowed it down without a second thought.

I hesitated, recalling the last orb I had consumed.
What exactly was that glossy liquid trickling down its surface?

Even though I had no interest in bizarre "rewards," I found myself desperately hoping it was saliva. Anything more... and it was just too much.

Ah, wait.
This wasn’t the time to be …