Around the arena, vigorous fights were happening. Incantations and Invocations were happening around the seats, where only 11 remained sitting.
Before Laex was a man with a long black ponytail. He was wearing a black assassin's robe with a sword at his waist. The most noticeable feature, however, was his blindfolds that seemingly fail to prevent him from seeing.
"I was going to challenge one of the ten heirs, originally, but you seem more interesting than them. My name is Thorn," he said in a calm tone.
His straightforward statement gave the heirs no doubt that he was telling the truth. Though some of them were insulted by the remark, none showed it outwardly; they were used to that.
Seeing the man, Laex revealed an interested smile.
"There is an adage that goes: power sees power; power seeks power. True enough," he said before standing up.
"Come!" Laex dared with an excited smile, calling his Key.
Thorn immediately launched himself toward Laex, holding the hilt of his sword, ready to swing at any time. His speed made Laex look like the latter was not even trying.
'I cannot match his physique. Alas,' Laex sighed as he saw a sword headed his way.
The heirs could not help but be shocked as Laex blocked the sword with the nose of his Key. It seemed like there was some sort of barrier that prevented the Key from being cut into two.
"The {Gate of Protection}...," Luna said under her breath.
'The {Gate of Protection} is a difficult Gate to open without guidance. I, myself, lack connection to that Gate, needing many private tutoring sessions just to connect to it. However, what he is doing, calling upon the other side of the Gate without an Incantation, requires great mastery. This must be his main Gate,' Luna thought.
Meanwhile, Keith and Leila were looking at the scene, amazed.
"Would you look at that, both the {Gate of Arcadia} and the {Gate of Protection} are Gates that are difficult to connect with. To think that he would achieve a masterful connection with both," Keith commented.
"Ha! This child is getting more and more interesting."
Back in the arena, Thorn and Laex were continuing their fight. Without stopping, Thorn did not stop with his barrage of attacks, but it was always repelled by Laex's defense.
"This is not going anywhere," Thorn said before calling upon his Key.
{Gate of Armaments: Chains of Misery}
At his chant, a long black chain appeared in his hand, which, without hesitation, he used to bind Laex.
{Gate of Protection: Dome}
Pretty soon, the battle became simple. A guy, attacking, trying to destroy the other guy's protection.
"You must have something better than this," Laex commented as they reached a stalemate.
"My Source is deeper than yours! You would not be able to keep this up," Thorn commented.
"Still, though, I will show you something better."
{Gate of Armaments: Lance of Tomorrow}
As he called, the chains vanished and were replaced by a silver lance that glowed brightly at the tip. With a single leap, he came down to Laex like an arrow, ready to kill its prey.
For a moment, a glint of seriousness flashed in Laex's eyes.
'If I take this attack, my Source will be greatly diminished. Alas, this is the problem with only having an Orange Source,' he sighed in his thoughts.
{Gate of Arcadia: Shadow Fenrir}
A massive black wolf, the size of a house, came out of the Gate, receiving the Lance with its massive paw before vanishing into the shadows together with Laex.
When they appeared once more at a distance, Laex's face had gone noticeably paler. His eyes were still extremely focused, but it was evident that summoning the Character made him exhausted.
Meanwhile, a young man with short green hair and innocent-looking eyes the color of nature stood up amongst the heirs. He stared at the Shadow Fenrir in utter astonishment, as though he couldn't believe that Laex had just summoned it.
"What's the matter, Malik?" the lady with golden hair, sitting beside him, asked.
Before replying, he first swallowed his breath and composed himself.
"There is a great difference between Incantation and Invocation. To open a Gate, one must first build a connection with that Gate, enough for it to be written in our Codex. Incantation calls upon the powers inside the Gate and releases them into this Side. Meanwhile, Invocation requires not only a connection between the Gate but also a relationship with the Character to be summoned. It requires enormous time to build a relationship. Even in our Dynasty, which specializes in the {Gate of Arcadia}, only the cream of the crop can Invoke mythical Characters like the Fenrir. To think that a man without any help from our Dynasty can accomplish such a feat," he said, showing a bit of fear in his eyes.
In this world, the Dynasties try their best to monopolize all important information about the Gates. After all, if one doesn't have information about it, one cannot connect to it. It is their way of remaining in power, a big reason why they lasted for thousands upon thousands of years.
Malik's fear was deeply rooted as this was a challenge not just to him, but to the stability of their entire Dynasty, however premature.
In just a single opening of a Gate, the tide of the battle became extremely one-sided. Every time Thorn would attack the Shadow Fenrir, it would turn itself into shadow alongside Laex, completely nullifying the attack.
On the other hand, he could not resist the claws and fangs of the beast. In just a few exchanges, his clothes became torn apart, and he became bloodied and bruised.
In a decisive moment, a single showcase of power, everything Thorn had in his arsenal was irrelevant. It did not matter whether his Source was deeper than Laex; without enough knowledge and connection to his Gate, he could not call upon a force to combat the Shadow Fenrir.
"Would you look at that, a Shadow Fenrir," Leila said with a wide smile.
"This is a great lesson for that kid. The Source is just a tool to get power. Having more of it does not equal more power. It's just like having money. If you don't know what to buy or where to buy, it's useless," Keith added, looking at Laex with amazement.