I opened my eyes, this time instead of on the floor I was standing on my own two feet. I guess teleportation between worlds was different from teleportation on one planet. The place we teleported to was a large building, almost like a high school gymnasium, with almost twenty other platforms for teleportation. They are likely linked to the dozen and a half biggest cities in Haliborn. Of course the use of each portal was heavily regulated, only those with express permission from the headmistresses would be allowed to use them, which explained why the room we were in was currently empty.
The new Academy semester didn't start for another week and a half, or ten days to be exact. Most students wouldn't enter until the day before the school semester starts, the only exception being the students with nowhere to go, who stayed on campus during the break, and us, the heroes. The reason we are entering earlier was simple, to grind. We heroes only just recently awakened our class and statuses, which means we are heavily behind in level from those who inhabit this world from birth. Normally, a ten day period is not enough to catch up to a whole lifetime of experience but the Holy Goddess gave us all a boon. If I were to compare this boon to a video game, it would be 'Double XP'.
Well, it was more like 'Quadruple XP', as our growth speed would far surpass anyone in this world. This was given so that within the ten year period before the evil arrives we could become stronger than anyone else. The ten day period would be enough to bring us right on the coattails of the students currently attending here. This was, of course, only in regards to the lowest students of the Academy, as the brightest and strongest students here would be stronger than even Cardinal James is, a level that would take us at least a few years to reach.
Hera and I walked towards the exit of the room, our footsteps echoing lightly as we continued forwards. At the door there was a small counter with a bored looking man behind it. As we approached he grabbed a clipboard from the countertop in front of him and adjusted the drooping spectacles that adorned his otherwise boring face.
"Name and affiliation?" He asked with a bored tone. It seemed that he had no interest in either of us, and was simply here out of obligation for his job rather than desire to work. Not that I could fault him, staying in this echoing room all day waiting for arrivals would bore me to death as well.
"Cardinal Hera, Haliborn Central Church, escorting the Hero Caesar." Hera spoke for me, concisely stating our names and where we came from in order to efficiently get us into the Academy. I noticed that her tone tended to change depending on the situation. Her tone with me was lighthearted and teasing, but when she needed to be professional she was cold and serious. The gap between the two was quite… alluring.
"Right, the heroes were coming today, I forgot." The man spoke with a yawn. He marked off something on his clipboard before motioning us forward. "Enjoy the Academy." He said with a disinterested tone before waving his hand in a motion that screamed 'just hurry and fuck off'. What a pleasant individual. I kept my thoughts to myself and smiled slightly towards him with a nod before walking out of the room, holding the door open for Hera as I did so. She shot me a wink as she walked through the propped open door and I watched as she practically sashayed past me.
However, my eyes quickly shifted from her backside towards the view ahead of me. I was wrong when I had thought the building we came out of was big, the buildings ahead of me were all just as big, if not bigger. The campus was huge, practically the same size as a top tier university back on Earth. The difference was this place was far more beautiful. It was surrounded by forest and seemed to blend nature and science perfectly as the buildings didn't interrupt the natural landscape at all. It was truly breathtaking.
Hera smirked at my agape expression. She had turned around shortly after walking past me and examined my reaction to the campus. "So how's your first impression of my alma mater?" I turned my attention towards the woman in front of me, it wouldn't do to be enraptured by the scenery for too long.
"It's beautiful, truly." I gave her my honest impression, after all there was no use in lying. Almost as beautiful as you. I stopped myself from saying that out loud, it was way too cringy. My cheeks slowly gained a hint of red as I tried to shake my cringy thoughts from my head. I settled on changing the topic instead. "Your alma mater? You graduated from here?"
Hera smiled at my question. "Of course, all of us Cardinals did. The next generation of Cardinals will as well. However that won't be for many years, after all I only graduated a few years ago myself." Hera lifted a finger and began to twirl her hair. "I hope you create better memories than I did here." She spoke in a small voice, one tinged in regret and laced with defeated acceptance. "Now come, let's go on a tour, shall we?" Her earlier tone was nowhere to be seen, instead her usual preppy, lighthearted self was back.
"Yes, ma'am." I answered as I began following closely behind her, eyes glued to her backside. My memories look good so far.
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The Academy layout was simple despite its size. On the Northern end of campus was the teleportation gate that we came from, and the walkway from that ran straight down connecting all the way to the southernmost end of campus where the practical arenas were located. These arenas were for any of the more practical classes we would be taking, stuff like sword fighting, magic casting, alchemical experiments, and magical engineering all took place on the southern end of campus. Heavy magical barriers and safety measures lined the area around the practical arenas so as to minimize possible accidents.
In the exact middle of the road leading from the teleportation gate to the practical arenas, a second road intersected it, running east to west. On the eastern side were the girls' dorms, and the western side held the guys' dorms. The two halls were on opposite ends of the campus for a reason, they didn't want any situations to occur. Not that it would stop the more motivated students, but it was better than nothing.
The two roads were known as the main roads, and they separated the buildings aside from the ones at their ends into quadrants. These quadrants were known as the 'Freshman', 'Sophomore', 'Junior', and 'Senior' sections, and they contained classes grouped by student level. 'Freshman' students were the weakest ones, they were usually new entrants and those who had only enough promise to get accepted but not enough to advance. 'Sophomore' was the level where you finally began to hone your skills. This level was said to be around equal to the strength of a max potential normal person. Its other name was 'The Wall', as it was the divide between those born with talent and those who worked hard to make up for their lack of it.
After all, there was a set limit to everyone's potential. A limit that was set at birth and could not be changed. 'Junior' was the level of this generation of geniuses, those who would play significant roles in the world after graduation. Whether they were intellectual geniuses, physical geniuses, or magical geniuses, it didn't matter. Those who reached 'Junior' level were sought after by the most prestigious places both inside and outside of the Haliborn Kingdom.
The 'Senior' level was a level that few reached, and it was one that contained those who went beyond genius into the level of a prodigy. Those fortunate few who would reach this level were given the best care and shown the utmost courtesy no matter where they went. They were the ones who would pave the way into the next generation, the powerhouses and intellectuals who would be looked up to by everyone around.
Hera's tour ended at the boys' dorm, where she pulled a key out of her robe. "Looks like we're in room 204." She said, looking at the tag on the key before pulling the door open and walking inside. I followed quickly, not wanting to be left behind. We're? Don't tell me…
We walked up the stairs to the second floor and found room 204 fairly quickly. Hera quickly turned the key in the lock and opened the door into a fairly large common room. There were plush chairs for relaxing and a small table in the corner. There was also a small kitchenette on one side, and there were three doorways on the other. The furthest doorway led to what was obviously the master bedroom, with a huge bed and lavious decorations. There was also an attached bathroom with a huge bathtub inside, it truly looked like a noble's abode.
"Well, this seems to be your room, Caesar. What do you think?" Hera addressed me as I looked around. To be honest, it was probably too fancy for my tastes, but I didn't feel the need to bring that up.
"It's good, I like it. What are the other rooms?" I said while motioning towards the other two doors attached to the common room. Hera tilted her head at my question, seemingly confused.
"Those are obviously my bedroom and the shared bathroom? Where else would I sleep?" She spoke as if it were common sense, but I couldn't be more shocked. Seriously, I had the thought when she said 'we're' earlier but we really are living in the same dorm. Wasn't the school opposed to things like this? Well, not that I'm complaining, after all it means a beauty like her is in the same dorm as me, I suppose I'll just accept it.
After much deliberation and an entirely rational, totally not desire driven, decision, I decided to just go along with it. "Oh right, I guess that must have slipped my mind." I spoke with a nervous chuckle. Things are definitely looking up for me.
Boy how wrong I was.