The following day.
After mass, the little witches left the Great Hall and headed to their classrooms for the first period of the morning.
In the Grand Lecture Hall, the students of Class Five sat up straight. Unlike their usual whispering and fidgeting, they all sat with their mouths pursed and hands flat on the desks, hardly daring to breathe.
This was Professor Tone’s Magic Bestiary class.
Soon, the professor’s lean, upright figure appeared at the door, followed by several maids. The maids pulled a trolley carrying a large crate of teaching aids.
The title of this lesson was “Darkness and Candle.”
Professor Tone was unlike the other teachers; she didn’t chat with the students or try to lighten the mood before class. She was concise, fierce, and went straight to the point without wasting a single word.
“Class is in session. Pull yourselves together,” she said in her familiar, stern voice.
Professor Tone flipped open her lesson plan and began her lecture immediately.
“Over one thousand four hundred years ago, the City of Enoch fell. The Great Deluge surged from all directions, smashing through the city walls. Calamity and misfortune spread uncontrollably, and humanity faced an existential threat. The exact death toll can no longer be verified, but based on archaeological findings and surviving myths, at least half the population was lost.
“Humans fled in all directions, becoming lost in the darkness, trapped by forces beyond their control. They were unable to leave and unable to contact the outside world. You will study the specifics of this history in Professor Cecilia’s Antiquities class; I am merely mentioning it here.
“During the first two hundred years after the fall of the City of Enoch, humanity was forced into small groups. Deprived of the protection of the Great City, they could only hold out bitterly in the darkness, struggling to survive. They had no way to contact the outside world, and navigating by the stars was unreliable. Weather, the natural environment, and certain terrifying entities would warp the starlight, causing travelers to lose their way.
“It wasn’t until about one thousand two hundred years ago that a man named Katz Candle discovered the ‘Candle,’ allowing scattered remnants of humanity to reconnect. Strictly speaking, the Candle wasn’t an invention; it is more accurate to describe it as a ‘geological discovery.’
“Katz Candle discovered that the light produced by burning certain ancient fossils of flora and fauna contained supernatural power. This light could deter Shadow Creatures and protect the human spirit from Mental Pollution and malice. This light is very special; it cannot be described simply as combustion. It is more like volatilization. It remains stable even in the rain or underwater.
“This major discovery triggered a chain reaction of structural changes. Since then, various tools that played a vital role in future migrations were invented. The ‘Light Ruler’ for confirming direction, the ‘Floating Lamp’ for scouting terrain, the ‘Luminoscope’ for checking injuries, and the ‘Cardinal Lamp’ and ‘Leap Light’ for long-distance travel, among others. But the most important, of course, was its original use—illumination.”
With a flick of her wand, Professor Tone opened the teaching aid box. Delicate little candles flew out, landing in the hands of every student.
For the little witches raised in the Eternal Night, the “Candle” was not unfamiliar. Even if they hadn’t seen one, they heard about them constantly. However, very few of them had seen the light of a Candle with their own eyes. Fossils weren’t just common rocks found anywhere; Candles were extremely expensive to produce. Every time one was lit, it was like burning money. Since children didn’t accompany adults on expeditions, they rarely had the chance to see it for themselves.
Holding the small candles, the little witches were both curious and delighted, unable to put them down.
Wang Yue pinched the inch-long candle. The texture was unusually hard, similar to beeswax. The wick had been meticulously inserted into a pre-made groove.
Professor Tone waved her wand, and the curtains on both sides of the room closed automatically, plunging the classroom into darkness. Then, she took out a match, lit the candle of the first student in each row, and had them pass the flame back.
Soon, the candlelight illuminated the little girls’ faces. As the fire was passed from one to another and spheres of light blossomed in the darkness, everyone felt a strange stirring in their hearts.
Because the candles were small and the light was highly condensed, the glow didn’t merge into a single field. Instead, each flame acted independently, wrapping each person in a bubble of light.
At that moment, Professor Tone took a dagger from the box, held it in a reverse grip, and turned sideways toward the door.
“What is malice? Malice is the subjective intent to harm others.”
The light from the front row hit her, casting the shadow of a woman holding a knife onto the wall.
“Malice can permeate the darkness and merge with it. Look, class—I am holding a dagger, but I have no malice in my heart. My shadow is normal. But if malice arises in my heart, and I wish to harm someone…”
The moment she finished speaking, her shadow suddenly bloated! It sprouted hideous horns and claws, looking exactly like a demonic spirit!
Professor Tone didn’t move an inch, yet the terrifying shadow acted on its own, raising its dagger and lunging forward! It was a heart-stopping sight.
“This is the manifestation of malice.”
Professor Tone turned around. Her shadow defied the laws of optics, crawling from behind her to the front. Then, like a living creature, it split and slithered across the floor, stretching out like long ribbons toward the students below the podium!
Cries of alarm rang out across the classroom!
Wang Yue’s heart tightened. Even though she knew the professor wouldn’t hurt her, she still felt apprehensive. When the shadows coiled around the bubbles of light, they couldn’t penetrate them no matter how hard they squeezed. The Candlelight acted like a physical force field, guarding the students’ safety.
Having demonstrated the manifestation of malice, the dark shadows retreated to Professor Tone’s feet, returning to normal.
“Once you become powerful witches and your mental state reaches a certain level, you will be able to utilize malice to command Shadow Monsters and tear your enemies apart…” Professor Tone’s tone suddenly turned somber. “Remember, do not pursue power too greedily. Do not admire Taboo Names. The end of a witch’s path holds only calamity and misfortune.”
Class ended.
It wasn’t until Professor Tone left that voices slowly returned to the room. Dorothy leaned against Wang Yue and complained, “I get so nervous every time I have her class.”
“The next class is hers too.”
“Ah! Don’t say it!”
“It’s Math.”
“I’m dead…” Dorothy grumbled and fussed for a while, then rested her chin on her hand and said gloomily, “Math is too hard.”
The school did have academic subjects: Antiquities, Geology, Botany, Math… However, the first-years were only learning introductory concepts. Math was limited to addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of two-digit numbers.
“Didn’t I give you the multiplication table?”
“That mnemonic is really useful, I’ve memorized it perfectly. But I still can’t do mental math for two-digit addition. It feels like something is stuffed in my head, blocking everything! Is it Mental Pollution? Am I going to die?”
“That’s the first time I’ve heard that excuse.”
“It didn’t hurt when Master taught me. How is this different from Mental Pollution? I want to use the Snuggle Method to learn!” Dorothy pleaded, tugging at Wang Yue’s sleeve.
“Fine, fine. I’ll teach you when we get back.”
As they were talking, Lilith walked over and made a fierce, pouncing gesture. Wang Yue pretended not to see her.
“Look at my shadow!” Lilith said.
Her shadow came to life, becoming sharp and elongated. It split open with a crescent-shaped mouth and hollow eyes, letting out bursts of eerie laughter.
“You ignore the good lessons and learn this instead? Are you sick?” Wang Yue said crossly.
“If Professor Tone can use it, why can’t I?” Lilith retorted.
“Is it the same? Your malice is directed at me.”
“Hmph!” Lilith turned and walked away.
The tension between the two was becoming increasingly twisted.
In the afternoon, they had three consecutive periods of Felidology. Dorothy had a long face because her PE class had been taken over; it was originally supposed to be two Felidology classes and one PE class.
Wang Yue preferred Felidology. How could field hockey be more fun than turning into a cat?
Another reason she looked forward to the cat class was her desire to try “leeching” power from the Cat Goddess, Bastet. Bastet was a rare example of an Old God who was relatively normal and held goodwill toward humanity. Old Gods had followers, so the probability of receiving a blessing from them was higher. Furthermore, as the guardian of cats, Bastet was the only deity whose followers were mostly feline. After transforming into a cat, Wang Yue’s affinity with her would be excellent.
This Felidology class was held in the Simulation Classroom. The Simulation Classroom was a sand pit roughly the size of a standard sports field. The teacher used witchcraft to change the shape and hardness of the sand, simulating various terrains to train the little witches’ athletic abilities.
Because of the ample exercise, the little girls were all in great shape. As long as they took their classes seriously, it wasn’t hard to maintain a lean, powerful physique with visible abdominal lines. Even the “plumper” ones were more of a sturdy, athletic build.
