After asking a few more questions, Mayumi and the rest had a small grasp of understanding of this world.
They then walked in silence for about three minutes before finally arriving at their destination.
It was a very big two-door opening kind of room. On the door were mysterious runes, pictures, and drawings of legendary men and women with powerful-looking beasts and monsters. At the center of the door was an orb-like engraving. It looked like a sacred item that could only be touched by legends.
When Kenji looked at it, he felt a sense of familiarity toward the orb, as if he had seen something like that before.
"Now everyone, please take off your shoes, for we will now be going into holy ground," the king said as he bent down and began to remove his shoes.
Seeing the king taking off his shoes, the others followed suit and took theirs off as well. Immediately after they removed their shoes, the king opened the door to the chamber after saying a few words or some kind of prayer chant.
"Let's go in," he said and then walked inside.
The group looked at each other first before they finally followed him in.
As they stepped inside, they were surprised by the splendor and mysticism of this place. There was no ground; they were actually standing on water! The walls of this place looked like thick and tall willows and oak trees.
At the center of the room was an orb—an orb that looked as pure as light itself. It looked so holy that they had the sudden urge to kneel on the ground and begin to pray to it.
"What is that thing?" Curiosity stemmed from Kenji's heart as he asked solemnly.
The king, without looking back, smiled. "You felt it, right? The urge to worship the orb, the urge to go and sing praises to it?"
"Yes, how did you know?" Kenji asked, his curiosity piqued.
"That's because you are in the sacred space of the god of magic—Magiris! He is the one who creates the magic orb which we use to assess the magical energy in a creature's being. He is also responsible for keeping the balance between magic users so that one wouldn't become too overpowered or weak," the king said serenely, lowering his head slightly to show respect to Magiris.
"So this is what we would be using to check our aptitude and class?" Yuji asked, a curious gaze in his eyes.
"Yes, that is correct. But I will not be the one to do it," the king said as he walked closer to the orb.
"Wait, if you're not going to be the one to use the orb and check our aptitude, then who is?" Mayumi asked with an inquisitive look in her eyes. The same went for the rest of the group; they were confused since it was clear that none of the king's co-workers had even seen this before today, let alone used it.
"I will not be using it because I am not a guardian. The servant of Magiris will."
As soon as he said those words, the water on which they were mysteriously standing began to stir violently, as if a tsunami was about to occur.
"What's happening?!" Due to the water stirring so violently, the group was beginning to lose their balance—all except one person, Mayumi.
Then, a voice suddenly echoed from all corners of this mysterious chamber of Magiris.
"Only those with faith can stand upon a raging river. And it seems only one person has faith in the group of young people I see below. I shall not attend to them."
"Loyal servant of Lord Magiris, come out and guide the lives of the faithful heroes summoned by God to purge this world of its impurities," the king said in a tone of mystery. It reminded Kenji of a movie he had once watched—this scene was so much like it.
"These are the destined heroes whom the gods have bestowed upon us as our saviors?" the echoing voice asked with a tone of inquisitiveness.
"Yes, loyal servant, these are the ones who have been summoned through the spell granted to us by the gods. I have brought them here today so you may assess their abilities, allowing us to better understand their powers and determine their next steps," the king said with a heavy voice that sounded different from the one they had grown accustomed to.
"If what you say is true, then I have no right to stop you from assessing them, for this must be the will of the gods."
Then, almost immediately, the water began to stir violently as a hole appeared at the center of the watery ground.
The water shook so violently that the group almost lost their balance and fell.
Kenji looked at the king, who stood with a calm expression. He stood like a rock in a giant wave—unwavering and unshakable.
"How is he not affected by the violent movement of the water?" Kenji asked, a curious look in his eyes.
Then, he suddenly spotted a golden hue surrounding the king's legs. "So that's it—he's using magic to stay above the water by just a little."
Boom!
A pure white orb suddenly flew out of the hole at the center of the water.
The light looked so pure and holy that it shone much brighter than the sun. They even had to use their hands to shield their eyes from its brilliance.
The orb of light then began to change shape, as the outline of a woman started to appear.
It suddenly transformed from an orb into a holy lady, draped in full white garments, holding a staff of light in her grasp.
"I am the loyal holy servant of the god of magic and the god of light. I am the Holy Servant."