Long before evening, the first-year students received the notification for the start of the Astronomy class.
It caused quite a stir in the library at the time.
Humans, in their childhood, are always filled with yearning for the starry sky.
Curled up in their parents' arms, looking up at the night sky dotted with myriad stars, and counting those brilliant celestial bodies with a childish voice—a faint sense of happiness would spontaneously well up.
But as one ages, the starry sky often becomes increasingly out of reach.
There is a saying in the circle of astrologers: Children can see the stars in their eyes. Once they grow up, that potential is lost. If one fails to enter the gateway during childhood, there is no possibility of learning astrology as an adult.
...
The first-year students were actually very interested in Astronomy, especially after that one class with Professor Didi. That interest had been ignited, and then... there was a gap of a full three months!
Therefore, they showed a very strong interest in the suddenly resumed Astronomy class.
In fact, rumors had been circulating for a few days that a new Astronomy professor would be taking up the post, and the little magisters had been secretly looking forward to it for a long time.
...
The next day, Wednesday.
Night fell.
Just past seven o'clock, the twelfth floor of the Spiral Clock Tower was already full of people.
At this point, there was still a full half-hour before the class started at seven-thirty, but having learned their lesson from the first class, most students chose to arrive early.
Those like Virt and Robert, who had previously been deducted points for being late, were like birds startled by the mere twang of a bow—once bitten, twice shy—and arrived earlier than anyone else.
However, the new professor was not sitting in the classroom early like Professor Didi used to.
Seeing no sign of the new professor, the students couldn't help but chatter and discuss among themselves.
Some were guessing who the new professor would be.
Others were wondering what would be taught tonight.
Was the new professor's temper good? Would they deduct points indiscriminately?
Would the content be interesting? How would it compare to Professor Didi?
At the end of the last Astronomy class, Professor Didi had shown the students a full moon at extremely close range, which had shocked them for a long time.
They wondered what kind of surprise this new professor would bring.
...
Dark arrived at the classroom at approximately seven-fifteen.
As soon as he entered, he saw Diana waving at him, so he walked over and sat down in the seat behind the two girls.
"Dark, have you seen the new professor?" Diana asked excitedly.
Dark shook his head. "Not yet. But a professor hired by the academy shouldn't be bad. At least in terms of skill."
Diana nodded. "That's true. I hope the new professor's lessons will be interesting and simple, not too difficult."
Dark smiled. He took out a notebook and a pen from his schoolbag, placed a small stand on the desk, and took out a Magic Guide Card.
On the card face, Little Eevee was widening its eyes, glancing around with curiosity.
Dark placed it on the stand, facing the blackboard.
Noticing this, Diana asked in confusion, "What are you doing?"
Dark pointed to Eevee-chan and said, "It has some interest in astronomy."
"(⊙o⊙) Oh!" Diana nodded, seemingly understanding yet not quite.
After she turned back, she suddenly tore a piece of paper from her notebook, folded it into a tripod stand, and then carefully selected two cards from her deck. Mimicking Dark, she placed them on the stand.
Seeing her imitate him so earnestly, her desk mate, Rose, couldn't help but cover her mouth and snicker.
Dark opened his mouth but couldn't say anything for a long while.
Those two Magic Guide Cards... they should be [Earth Bear] and [Bear Spirit], right?
...
"Cuckoo, cuckoo."
The wall clock above the podium suddenly spat out a cuckoo bird.
The students were momentarily stunned, suddenly realizing it was already seven-thirty, yet the new professor still hadn't arrived?
"Late for the first class?"
Dark gathered magical energy at his fingertips and scratched the chin of the Eevee in the card, causing its little face to flush slightly.
The noise in the classroom dipped for the instant class was supposed to start, but immediately after, it became even noisier than before.
The fact that the new professor was late surprised and puzzled the students.
It wasn't that professors had never been late—some even frequently arrived a minute or two late—but for the very first class, shouldn't one show some attitude?
Over there, Robert complained, "If I'd known, I wouldn't have come so early."
Virt asked, "Could there be an emergency?"
Robert replied, "I don't think so."
...
Time passed bit by bit, and the students' patience was gradually worn away.
A full five minutes later, the ceiling of the classroom suddenly became transparent, just like during Professor Didi's class.
However, the distance between their vision and the night sky was not shortened.
What appeared in their field of view next was a pumpkin carriage that seemed to have driven right out of a fairy tale!
It was called a carriage, but what pulled it were not horses, but two pitch-black, blurry beast shadows.
A golden road wound out from under the wheels of the pumpkin carriage, leading straight into the classroom.
The ceiling suddenly parted to both sides.
The pumpkin carriage flew down along the trajectory, drilling into the classroom amidst the students' exclamations, and flew to the edge of the podium.
As the pumpkin carriage came to a halt, a witch dressed in deep purple lifted the curtain and leaned out of the carriage cabin.
Hearts trembled.
Medea Bartholomew lifted her long legs, tightly wrapped in purple stockings, and stepped from the carriage floor onto the ground.
Clack.
The sharp high heel touched the ground, making a crisp sound.
Medea took off her pointed witch hat and shook her head slightly. Her long, black hair with a purple sheen cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall, accompanied by a rich fragrance spreading through the air.
That mature womanly charm made the boys in the front row blush uncontrollably.
She grabbed the brim of her hat and waved it outward. The pumpkin carriage suddenly turned into thick rolling black smoke and drilled into the hat.
Medea took out a wand as thin as a chopstick from the witch hat, then tapped the hat. The witch hat suddenly exploded and vanished with a bang.
"(@ o@ ) Wow~"
The whole room exclaimed in admiration!
...
"Is she performing magic tricks?"
Dark couldn't help but cover his forehead.
This new professor didn't give him a very good impression; she gave off a feeling of being overly flashy and seductive.
But the little magisters seemed to like this entrance show very much, even ignoring her lateness.
Diana was even still clapping desperately, her face flushed red with excitement—so pinchable!
After a while.
Medea seemed to have enjoyed the students' compliments enough and finally raised her hand to press down the noise.
Once the classroom quieted down a bit, she began her formal self-introduction: "I think you must have already guessed. I am your substitute Astronomy professor for this semester, the Guide of Fate, the Diviner of the Starry Eyes, the Witch of the Silver Moon—Medea Bartholomew!"
Guide of Fate!
Diviner of the Starry Eyes!
Witch of the Silver Moon!
Once these three titles were laid out, they gave people a feeling that although they didn't quite understand, it sounded formidable.
Although the little magisters didn't fully understand, they applauded vigorously in line with her tone, and for a moment, the atmosphere shifted continuously toward that of a fan meeting.
The corners of Medea's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a trace of smugness.
As expected, one should come out for a walk when lonely; the Star Tower was still too deserted.
...
Medea was here to teach, after all, not to perform.
After her self-introduction, she walked up to the podium, took out a roll book, and smiled. "Now it's my turn to get to know everyone. When I call your name, please stand up. If possible, it would be best to introduce yourself simply in one sentence so that I can understand you better. So, the first one, Emma Metis!"
Emma was stunned for a moment.
She remembered that her name was not the first on the roll book.
But since Professor Medea Bartholomew had called her, she had no choice but to stand up.
"Is this Miss Metis?"
Medea nodded and asked, "I heard you are the grand-student of the Secret Sage?"
Emma was stunned again, then shook her head. "No. Although my mother was a student of the Secret Sage, the Secret Sage had many students, and she was just one of them. I have no relationship with him."
Medea narrowed her eyes slightly, looked her up and down carefully, and then suddenly blurted out a sentence: "Thy throne stands upon the land of gold."
Emma blinked. What does that mean?
But Medea had already skipped past her and called the second name.
For every name she called, she would gift a sentence.
When students asked if it was a prophecy, she shook her head and denied it.
...
"Sarah Swati."
"Present."
Sarah put down her pen and stood up. She was very interested in the ambiguous 'prophecies' of this new professor.
She first introduced herself with a sentence: "Hello, Professor. I am a scholar whose ambition is to become an archaeologist."
Medea said, "A very good ambition. Look forward to it—drink with the Ancient Gods upon the River Styx."
Sarah's eyes rolled, and she asked, "Professor, I'm still young."
Medea paused slightly, then laughed. "I'm not cursing you."
"That's good."
Sarah patted her little heart and sat down.
...
"Teddy Doron."
"Present."
Doron stood up abruptly. He was extremely interested in the words of this professor known as a 'Diviner' and wanted to know what his 'prophecy' was.
Professor Medea Bartholomew looked at him with a smile.
It took three seconds for Doron to snap out of it, and he hurriedly said, "Shield of the Kingdom, Doron Family, Noble House, Gentleman!"
"Alright, my little gentleman," Medea said with a smile. "Time will eventually heal all wounds."
"Huh?"
Doron's excitement vanished instantly. "Professor, what does that mean?"
Medea comforted him, "Don't mind it too much. A person's life will always experience trauma. I said, this is not a prophecy."
Doron: Then why did you say it? Ahhhhh!
Doron sat down with a heavy heart.
...
"Rose Flotly."
"Here, Professor."
Rose stood up gracefully under Diana's envious gaze.
She thought for a moment before whispering, "Hello, Professor. I raise an orange Catnip."
Medea's expression moved slightly. She examined her carefully, her pupils dilating slightly with the reflection of a silver moon.
She opened her mouth, her voice distant and hollow: "Above the stars, thy destination."
Rose opened her mouth halfway. "Professor, I'm just an ordinary..."
Medea waved her hand and smiled. "No one is ordinary. Remember my words: Great people are born great."
Rose sat down in a fog of confusion, but she still copied down Professor Medea's two sentences.
Although Professor Medea repeatedly stated that her words were not prophecies, the more she said so, the more it smacked of 'trying to hide it only makes it more conspicuous', making people feel that they were prophecies.
This might be a conversational technique.
Or perhaps just plain truth-telling.
Who knew.
...
Prophets throughout history, whether genuine articles or charlatan swindlers, always liked to use exaggerated, semi-true, semi-false words to embellish their 'prophecies'.
There were naturally necessary reasons for this, but it indeed drastically lowered the credibility of 'prophecies', allowing some impostors to pass fish eyes off as pearls.
Professor Medea's 'prophecies' were clearly like this too, always cloaked in some lofty vocabulary.
For example, 'throne', 'Ancient God', 'time', 'stars'...
But if one analyzed them deeply, perhaps one could decipher content completely different from the literal meaning.
However, in the current situation, the little magisters didn't think too deeply.
They didn't find the 'loftiness' revealed in the 'prophecies' for Emma and Sarah strange, but they hadn't expected that Rose, who was unremarkable in every aspect, would receive such a 'high evaluation'!
'Above the stars', 'great person'—were these terms really describing her?
Many students couldn't help but look back at her, their eyes revealing various meanings.
But Rose herself was bewildered, even somewhat helpless.
She subconsciously grabbed Diana's hand, only then calming down slightly.
"Dianna Greatbear."
Professor Medea called Diana's name at this moment.
Diana originally really wanted to hear what her 'prophecy' was, but seeing Rose troubled by the 'prophecy', she became a bit unhappy.
Pouting, she spoke, "I am Diana. I like bears, I want to become a hero, and my idol is the Valkyrie."
Professor Medea nodded slightly and said, "Your name shall be carved upon the Monument of Heroes."
What is a Heroic Spirit?
It is an existence transformed from a hero whose great achievements are left as legends after death, becoming an object of faith.
In other words, she will eventually become a hero!
...
Professor Medea's blunt 'prophecy' shifted the students' attention once again, with more gazes landing on Diana.
Among them, Virt's gaze was the most fervent.
Because Diana's goal was very similar to his.
To become a hero, to become a true Brave.
This was the prayer he had held since learning he was the son of the Hero.
How he wished Professor Medea would speak the same 'prophecy' to him.
...
"Quite interesting."
Dark put down his pen and looked at the page full of names and 'prophecies'.
Starting from Emma, he had recorded every single 'prophecy' Professor Medea said.
Even though he knew very well that Professor Medea's 'prophecies' were unreliable.
After all, no prophet could give out so many prophecies at once.
Divination and peeking at fate all required paying a price!
But this didn't stop him from finding some amusement in it.
________________________________________
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