Chapter 93: Death Before Success

Chapter 93: Death Before Success

Henie blinked, somewhat confused.

Hadn't she encountered a similar situation before?

As she was pondering, a white-bearded old mage with snow-white hair walked up to her.

The old mage looked very kind and nodded slightly to Henie.

Henie immediately recognized this mage as a regular customer of the shop.

"The same as last time."

The mage pointed to the blue potions on the counter, indicating for Henie to get him two bottles.

A heavy bag of Geo was placed on the counter, and he slowly left with the potions.

Henie weighed the money bag, then turned to put it in the cash box inside the store.

The rule of a maximum of two bottles per mage per day was actually quite good, at least for some mages.

They didn't have to worry about not being able to buy any because some rich person went on a buying spree.

After the initial frenzy, the daily limit of fifty bottles had resulted in a more reasonable customer flow.

After all, the price of one thousand per bottle wasn't something an ordinary mage could casually afford.

The customer flow hadn't increased explosively, but there were also never times when it was completely empty.

Strictly speaking, this kind of magic potion was, after all, a consumable item. Even if its effect was extremely powerful, it wouldn't be used frequently.

Most mages bought a few days' worth of potions to keep on hand, just in case they encountered a crisis, so they wouldn't have to worry about magical exhaustion.

After their regular training and dealing with trivial matters, they naturally wouldn't waste the precious potion, relying on natural mana recovery was enough.

After the customer left, Henie came to her senses.

The red impurity on the blue potion bottle had disappeared, but now, a red, wriggling thing was constantly approaching her.

It looked like a red jelly.

It seemed to have no physical form, and looked very strange.

To Henie, it felt like...

It didn't seem very smart.

"Hey, hey, hey? That's strange, can't you hear me talking?"

The red jelly was trying hard to stretch its body, attempting to attract Henie's attention.

A small jelly hand extended from its body, waving at Henie.

But strangely, Henie just kept looking at it, giving it no response at all.

The red jelly retracted its small hand, quieted down for a moment, and deflated a bit.

"Damn it! Say something, will you!"

Wow! Mr. Jelly got angry!?

Henie, seeing the jelly shaking with anger, felt a slight shock in her heart and hurriedly apologized:

"I'm sorry."

Hearing Henie's apology, the red jelly seemed very satisfied. It squeezed out two things like snail antennae from its round body, slowly waving them in front of Henie.

It seemed to be sizing up Henie, waving its antennae while asking:

"There are few humans who can satisfy me. Tell me, who are we going to beat up?"

Henie tilted her head, staring at this red jelly, thinking for a good while.

"Then... can you tell me your name?"

"Huh?"

......

The afternoon in the shop was quiet, leisurely time flew by, and night fell.

Henie returned to the mansion, walking to the front door.

Before she could reach out, the door was already opened by a servant.

"Miss Henie."

Henie was startled.

She had always been living here as a guest, and hearing someone suddenly greet her, Henie felt a bit guilty and shivered.

Looking up, she saw it was a familiar servant who had opened the mansion's main door for her.

Henie immediately felt relieved.

But soon, a cold wind blew past Henie's back, and she felt someone standing behind her.

That person's voice was utterly cold:

"Henie?"

The hair on Henie's body stood on end, and she slowly turned around to look at the newcomer.

It was Professor Viktor.

As usual, a jet-black crow was perched on his shoulder.

Somehow, the crow's eyes seemed to have become much more frightening.

Henie felt a bit excited at first:

"Professor! You're back..."

"What did you bring back?"

Henie was startled by Viktor's question, trembling and shrinking her head, not daring to make a sound.DiiScôver new stories on no/v/e()/lbin(.)c/o/m

Viktor glanced at the shaking Henie and dropped a sentence:

"Come to my study."

......

Early the next morning, Henie was feeling a bit gloomy.

She felt like she had done something wrong, making Professor Viktor unhappy, which had made her too afraid to approach Viktor until now.

Just as she was thinking of going to the garden to clear her mind, a maid hurriedly ran over and said to Henie:

"Miss Henie, the master is calling you to his study."

Henie was a bit confused, but her steps still headed towards the study.

She was anxious, constantly reassuring herself on the way that nothing was wrong.

Pushing open the door to Viktor's study, Henie saw Viktor sitting at his desk as usual, hands crossed.

Two papers were placed on the desk, which Henie didn't pay attention to.

"Pro... Professor, you called for me."

Viktor nodded, his eyes indicating for her to come to the desk.

Henie obediently walked forward, staring at the two papers in front of her, her hands finding no place to rest, seeming particularly uneasy.

Viktor spoke first:

"In front of you are two contracts. The first is an invitation from the Royal Academy."

"Sign this contract, and you will become an honorary associate professor at the Royal Magic Academy, with treatment equivalent to that of a professor, including a house of your own."

Henie listened, slightly dazed.

"Asso... Associate Professor?"

It felt as dreamy as if a long-cherished dream had become reality.

A warmth suddenly surged in her heart, spreading throughout Henie's body.

Her breathing involuntarily became a bit rapid.

Viktor, however, continued unhurriedly:

"The contract on the right is what I had Lia draft yesterday."

"Sign this contract, and you'll be a retainer of the Kravina family. You can choose a job within the family, or continue living here."

"Of course, the treatment will be equally good."

Henie was stunned again.

One was a nomination for associate professor, the other was to be a retainer of the Kravina family.

If she chose the second one, she would be... part of the Kravina family?

But the position of associate professor...

Ah ah.

Life is full of choices, Henie's teacher had once taught her.

Before Henie, two choices were laid out.

One was her long-cherished dream.

It was the reward for her years of hard work and study.

The other was the aspiration she wanted to follow for life.

Finally, Henie looked at Viktor.

She knew that everything she had now didn't come easily.

Therefore, Henie never thought her dream could compare to the aspiration before her eyes.

So, she made her choice.

"Professor, I want to choose..."

"Wait."

Viktor's sudden words interrupted her.

Under Henie's somewhat dazed gaze, Viktor tapped the desk.

A gentle breeze blew, sending both contracts to Henie at the same time.

Henie was a bit confused and puzzled, but Viktor's voice seemed to soothe her unease, sounding in her ears.

"I never said this was a single-choice question."

"..."

Henie stared blankly at Viktor.

Somehow, a faint moisture seemed to well up in the corners of her eyes, as if a layer of mist obscured her vision.

But it wasn't because of sadness, Henie knew very well.

When happiness surged through her entire body, it was as if a faint light had redeemed her entire world.

"Professor."

At this moment, she was infinitely grateful for her life.

The contempt, mockery, and abuse she had once endured.

It seemed to be resolved as if bitterness had turned to sweetness.

Henie's hand was on her chest, her voice slightly choked.

"Meeting you... really."

"It's so wonderful."

......

Henie, lv9 → lv10.

First-tier mage.