Chapter 11 - Greed Kills

Henry looked over. Felicia was still not done with her cleansing. Her face writhed in pain. She shook greatly as impurities kept oozing out of her pores.

It was shocking to Henry, but it made sense. Felicia was older than Henry, and she accepted impure substances from many men. This resulted in the accumulation within her.

A faint smell of a goblin appeared on her. A few minutes later, she stopped with a frustrated look on her face. She knew that she wasn't done yet as her body still felt imperfect.

"Don't worry. We have lots of time," Henry soothed her.

She calmed down and nodded her head. She waited for another droplet of mana nectar to fall.

And so, Henry watched Felicia as she resolutely waited for each mana nectar. After a while, he decided to explore the caves while waiting for her.

Henry walked towards the darker end of the cave passage. It kept going even though there were no more torches in these parts.

It was odd, and Henry's interest was piqued. He carefully looked around, not missing any minute detail.

"Hm? There is another crossing of mana pathways deeper ahead…"

Henry was stunned as he sniffed the air. A different source of mana nectar was further ahead.

He walked faster. Soon, he ran. He traversed deeper and deeper. The surrounding air became stuffy and hard to breathe in. The mana became denser and denser.

"Wow…"

Henry exited to a massive cave opening. Sharp crystals of mana stones pierced through the walls and stabbed all over the area.

The orange light from Henry's flame illuminated them and turned the area into a beautiful sparkle of blue and orange colors.

Henry walked slowly as he marveled at this natural creation. This Mana Mine wasn't man-made. Rather, it was discovered.

The passageways were eroded by water through countless years and opened the area.

'I can absorb mana quicker here.'

Henry touched the big crystals and reached the end. Another passageway continued on.

Henry stopped and looked behind him. The mana nectar was below this cave. They were very obvious as faint mists flowed out of the cracks in the earth.

The mist flowed like water and adhered to the large crystals, making them larger as they crystallized. The vast amount of mana nectar below stupefied Henry.

He wouldn't have reached this place if he couldn't sense the mana nectar. It was the reason why this place was still untouched by the miners.

He moved his hands in various motions. A short while later, an earthen brown crystal flew down to the ground and created a large opening.

It dissipated, and a pool of white liquid was revealed below. A fog spread out with the pool as the source. Pure mana permeated the surroundings, making Henry feel pleasant.

Henry was stupefied. He never expected this much. The drops from the first source were the normal amount for mana nectar.

He didn't know how much there was here, but it didn't matter. These were too much for Henry and Felicia alone.

Henry controlled his excitement and left in a hurry to call over Felicia. He came back with her running behind him. She was excited when he told her about what he found.

"Dear! Can I jump in?" Felicia asked with excitement.

She seemed like a little girl asking permission to jump into a pool. The vast amount of mana nectar made her restless.

"Wait."

Henry stopped her.

Greed was the downfall of many. It was better to be prudent than to be careless.

Henry chipped off a small mana stone and threw it in the pool. It made a plop sound and nothing happened.

"Hmm… Try sticking your toes in."

Henry watched as Felicia slowly dipped her toes into the white liquid. The pure mana passively entered through her pores and exited with impurities.

Nothing happened. Henry furrowed his eyebrows. Felicia was becoming more impatient as she waited for permission.

"Can I?"

"Wait!"

Henry rushed over and pulled Felicia out of the white liquid. A white fish jumped out. It had rows of sharp teeth that stuck out which barely missed Felicia's toes.

"Nectar Demon…" Henry clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Felicia felt a palpitation in her heart after seeing the white fish miss her toes. A chill ran down her spine. She exhaled a cold breath and stood a good distance away from the opening.

"What is a Nectar Demon?" Felicia asked while her heart thumped.

"Natural Treasures are not free. They are almost always guarded by a guardian. This Nectar Demon protects the mana nectar pool from greedy beings," Henry explained.

He was also a bit frightened seeing the Nectar Demon. He suddenly remembered that it existed and pulled Felicia out quickly. His instinctual knowledge of the Nectar Demon reacted on its own.

"What do we do?"

Felicia was horrified. She remembered the greed she felt in her heart earlier. She almost lost her toes because of it.

"I'm afraid we don't have the ability to subdue the Nectar Demon. It's stronger the more mana nectar it could swim through."

Henry sighed. He sat cross-legged and stared at the hole. The white liquid was very precious to them. It might even let Henry reach the High-class, which was two classes above Simple-class.

"Dear, if we can't, then let's leave."

Felicia shook her head. She saw that as a lesson to control her greed, and thus, she suppressed her desire for it.

"Mm. We can come back in the future," Henry said and looked at the mana nectar pool.

Henry conjured a spell that sealed the opening. He was unwilling to let this natural treasure go.

He already had an idea of something that could suppress the Nectar Demon. He would gather that item and return here to subdue it.

The thick fog of pure mana dissipated as the cave returned to its previous appearance after they left.

Felicia was silent along the way. She was sad but also grateful to Henry. She even felt embarrassed because of it.

"I shouldn't have been greedy," Felicia muttered in a bleak voice.

"As long as you understand, making mistakes is part of living."

Henry faintly smiled at her. This woman was smart. She learned from her first mistake and didn't argue with him.

"Yes."

Felicia already made a goal in her mind. That was to follow her son and support him from behind! She knew he was an esteemed magus from the past, so she was serious when it came to learning from him.

This was an opportunity. She knew firsthand what life was like without any good opportunities, which was why she cherished the opportunity to learn from Henry.

Her dignity was trampled by a hobgoblin, her grace was repeatedly destroyed by her clients, and Henry's family side shattered her confidence.

It was her time to regain all of them, and she wouldn't do it lazily.

A faint smile formed on Henry's face. Her proactiveness earned his respect. She hadn't passed all of his requirements to become his true disciple.

He was only taking her in because of what she did as his mother in this life, but at this moment, he glimpsed a future where she truly became worthy of becoming his disciple whether she was his mother or not.

He greatly anticipated that.