Chapter 37
Class
"Tap, tap, tap—" Angela walked slowly to the high platform at the front of the classroom under everyone's gaze.
The giant black rock python following closely behind her, because of its enormous size, could not stretch out on the high platform. So it coiled up in a corner of the platform, closed its eyes, and seemed to have fallen asleep.
After Angela arrived at the classroom, her gaze slowly swept across the room.
Matthew was on edge, Angela’s gaze sweeping over each of the apprentices.
When her gaze fell on Matthew, it lingered on him for a moment, and their eyes met.
Matthew's heart sank. "Could she have recognized me?" Just as this thought flashed through his mind.
Angela remained calm and composed, her gaze shifting to the apprentice beside Matthew.
Matthew's tense nerves relaxed. "It seems she didn't recognize me."
This is understandable, though. Wizards usually prepare multiple test subjects for experiments, and the faces of such consumables are not worth remembering unless they are the most outstanding ones.
Just like Matthew himself couldn't remember what the lab mice looked like, he could only distinguish them by marking them with numbers.
When Angela was conducting experiments in the Winter Realm, Matthew wasn't the only living subject. Perhaps her attitude towards Matthew was the same as Matthew's attitude towards laboratory mice.
"That's fine too." There was already one Mold eyeing him covetously, and Matthew didn't want another person who was lusting after him, especially one who was a senior apprentice.
Angela glanced around at the crowd before turning her gaze away.
"My name is Angela, and I will be teaching this general class on souls."
"Before we begin this lesson, I'd like to ask you a question: Do you know what the essence of the soul is?"
A male apprentice wearing black-rimmed glasses frowned in the audience. "The soul... is the sum of memories."
"The sum of memories? No," Angela shook her head.
A blonde, short-haired female apprentice answered timidly, "I believe the soul is a collection of consciousness."
Angela remained noncommittal as she continued, "Then what is consciousness?"
The female apprentice couldn't answer and was a little at a loss. At this moment, everyone below the stage started discussing it.
Matthew also pondered the essence of the soul.
Seeing that everyone had finished their discussion, Angela spoke up, "Consciousness is the source of all perception!"
"Alright, let's officially begin today's lesson, which is about 'The Relationship Between Soul and Consciousness'."
Angela's voice drew everyone's attention back to the present.
"As we all know, the soul is malleable, capable of bearing power, and even..."
Unlike Duarte, Angela's public courses were not perfunctory; instead, they covered a great deal about the science of the soul.
Her earnest explanation contrasted sharply with her aloof appearance.
Although general courses generally do not involve too much advanced knowledge, it takes a lot of time to collect and organize this knowledge on your own, and it is also quite difficult to understand.
This was very helpful to the apprentices in the audience, and even Matthew had some questions answered as a result.
However, for Angela, this was just the tip of the iceberg.
Two hours passed quickly...
"Snap—" Angela slammed the book shut with one hand, making a crisp sound. She glanced at the apprentices.
"Alright, that concludes today's lesson."
Only then did the apprentices realize that get out of class was over, and many were still reluctant to leave.
Matthew also benefited greatly from this lesson. Now, he snapped out of his reverie and hurriedly packed his things to leave.
He has too many things to do and no extra time to waste.
Although Angela didn't recognize him, or rather, she didn't remember him at all, Matthew instinctively wanted to stay away from Angela just in case.
At least until we have sufficient strength to protect ourselves...
At this moment, the blonde female apprentice who had just answered the question boldly asked, "Lady Angela, when is your next general education class?"
Because Angela's lessons were of such high quality, and this was a question many apprentices wanted to ask, everyone became very interested.
Angela's lips curved slightly into a bright smile. "There shouldn't be any more in the near future. You can keep an eye on the school's course schedule."
"Alright, get out of class is over. You can leave now."
Upon hearing Angela's words, everyone couldn't help but show expressions of disappointment.
However, the group was still somewhat engrossed in the lesson, and many did not rush to leave but instead discussed and verified the content with each other.
Some apprentices were scribbling rapidly back and forth in their notebooks with quill pens, seemingly recording something.
Of course, this did not include Matthew, who had already packed his things, stood up, and walked out of the classroom.
The apprentices below the stage did not rush to leave, and Angela on the stage also seemed to have no intention of leaving.
In the past, whether they were formal wizards or apprentices, they would rush out of the classroom as soon as class ended.
But strangely, she was still standing behind the podium, seemingly waiting for something.
Angela glanced at everyone again, her smile faded, her voice turned cold, and she repeated what she had just said.
"I said...you can leave now."
The once noisy classroom suddenly became completely silent.
Although Angela's voice wasn't loud, everyone heard it clearly.
Her words were like a thunderclap, exploding in everyone's ears.
It turns out that her words just now were not just a casual remark, but an order!
The scene was completely silent. The apprentices didn't dare to breathe and hurriedly packed their things to leave the classroom.
At this moment, Angela spoke again slowly, her voice still indifferent.
"Matthew."
"You...stay."
"?" Matthew, who had already stepped halfway out of the classroom, suddenly froze.
The exit was right in front of him, but Matthew didn't expect to be stopped by Angela here. He stopped and slowly turned around, only to find Angela staring intently at him.
The Black Rock Python, whose eyes had been tightly closed, slowly opened them, flicking its tongue as it looked at Matthew.
The other apprentices were also curious as to why Angela had kept Matthew, but none of them dared to linger, because they all clearly sensed the coldness in Angela's tone just now.
Everyone here is a wizarding apprentice and knows what kind of people they are. No one would assume that Angela is a kind person just because she gave a serious lecture earlier.
So everyone rushed out of the classroom. The apprentice who had been taking notes didn't have time to pack up; he hurriedly tucked the notes under his arm and fled as if he were escaping.
In less than half a minute, only Matthew and Angela remained in the classroom.
At this moment, Angela slowly walked up to Matthew.
"Lady Angela..."
"Matthew, we meet again."