Leon stood beside Zeke as the two of them waited alongside the other students of their years. They were currently in a central building of the academy that was heavily guarded. Dozens of mages that wore intricate armor or grand battle robes patrolled the building, their gazes sharp and attentive. The weakest of these mages was at least at the Master tier of their mana core, meaning that they were a veritable force to be reckoned with!
Aside from the mages, there were many more magic formations that were scattered around the building that enhanced its defenses, allowed for instant teleportation to easily mobilize troops, attacking formations, and others.
All these defenses were meant to protect just one thing. The gateway to God's Sanctum! While this was not the sole entrance to the Sanctum, this place was still highly guarded to prevent a sudden attack on the gateway. Not even Eric's office was as protected as this place!
After a few more minutes of waiting, Avery and Stewart appeared before the eyes of the students. The two middle aged teachers had changed into more protective gear, with Avery donning a light armor, and Stewart having put on some exquisite battle robes.
Stewart adjusted his large, round glasses as he addressed the students.
"You all heard the principal. Please, respect yourselves and behave as what a student of the Imperial Magic Academy is expected to behave as. If you violate any rules, then there is a seventy percent chance that you will be expelled without any chances of revisiting the case." He spoke sternly as he addressed the crowd of students.
"Yes, sir!" The crowd of students replied as one, and the man nodded his head. He turned around and led the way deeper into the building with Avery a step behind him. Before long, the group came before a large set of double doors that led into a much larger hall. When the double doors swung open, the students were finally able to set their gazes on the swirling gateway that led into God's Sanctum.
A pillar of golden light stretched high above, defying the knowledge that humanity had built up over millennia, until the past thirty years. Singular wisps of golden light swirled around the gateway, and the air was overly abundant with mana. The mana present was comparable with that which had been present in the mana concentration chamber that Leon had meditated in.
He took in a deep breath before walking forward with Zeke beside him. The large Minotaur had an excited look in his eyes as they approached the gateway. The few guards who were present within the hall were seated in cross-legged positions, with their eyes closed and their minds focused. Even with their eyes closed, they were much more aware of their surroundings than what the students who were eagerly looking around were. In fact, they could even tell the weight of each student that stepped into the room!
"Stewart, Avery." An old man with a long, white beard opened his eyes and looked down at the two teachers. He was floating above the ground to the side of the gateway, and when the group came close enough, he opened his eyes and spoke up.
The man gently floated down, his luxurious, golden mage robes swaying around him as he was supported by his magic. A powerful aura exuded from his body, one that showed that he was a powerful mage, even amongst all the powerful mages that were present in the building.
"Elder Moses." Stewart dipped his head slightly in greeting, as did Avery. The two teachers approached the elder and spoke for a few moments, before the older mage nodded his head and gestured to the gate. Stewart and Avery thanked him before returning to the students.
"Alright, we have gotten the permission to go through the gateway. Prepare yourselves, you might experience a bit of disorientation and dizziness, but that will fade away after you reach the other sides." Stewart, being the responsible staff he was, briefed the students on what to expect before heading straight into the golden pillar of golden light. Avery hung back to make sure that every student went through before following in from behind.
Leon felt a great warmth wash over, and envelop his body when he stepped into the pillar of golden light. His sensitive senses could feel the mana around him warp and shift in a way that he had never experienced before. Just like what Stewart had told them, a nauseating feeling washed over his body, but as he was prepared for it, the feeling was easily manageable.
The entire experienced only lasted for about five seconds, before the scenery around Leon changed to something vastly different.
Gold and white tiles expanded in Leon's vision as he stepped out from the opposite end of the gateway. Another set of mages that were armed and ready were stationed around the gateway, looking at the emerging group with guarded looks. Stewart stepped forward and showed the guard a badge that was crested with the insignia of the academy, and the head guard on this side nodded before stepping back.
Leon looked around with awe, taking in the sight of vastly different people from the human race. The head guard on this side of the gateway was a Golem, a creature made of stone. The large figure of the Golem stood at a towering 3.5 meters in height, looking down on the much shorter humans.
Around him were a variety of other beings from different race.
"Come on now, students. We have a world to see." Stewart smiled upon seeing the amazed expressions on the faces of the students who were just stepping into the Sanctum for the first time in their lives.
They quickly followed Stewart, while Avery took up the rear, making sure everyone followed, and soon enough, they stepped out of the well protected building where they gateway was located. Leon raised up his hand as a beam of light shone down directly on his face. The sounds of distant chatter reached his ears, and bird chirping sounded through the air.