Amidst the fury of snow, visibility got very low. Laex found himself trapped in the great blizzard with his skin slowly turning cold, about to get frostbitten.
With a flick of his hand, he summoned his Plume; the previously Red Source was now orange, and it contained a mystery around it. He Inscribed letters on his skin that drained the Source in his Plume to half.
It read: [Child of Winter]
In that instant, the cold was suddenly warm. His vision was still foggy, but he became used to the snow. He could recognize the shadow of Philip amidst the storm.
The Key opened the Gate to the Other Side, calling upon Incantations and Invocations to This Side. On the other side of the Codex came the Plume, which writes and declares. It associates individuals and objects from This Side to whatever it is beyond the Gates. This time, it was Laex declaring himself to be a child of the other side of the {Gate of Winter}, making him used to the Blizzard itself, the normal weather beyond the Gate.
To know this requires extensive knowledge of the Gate and wisdom on what the effect of the Inscription will be, because even a Child of Winter will die if struck by a sword.
'The power of the Plume. It was primarily used outside of this Zone 500 years ago, but the Dynasties should be powerful enough to get their hands on knowledge about it,' he thought.
Lo, he was right. Philip also had the same Inscription on his skin, resisting the bitter cold. Among everyone in the arena, only the 9 students who did not participate experienced the harshness of the environment, prompting Keith to protect them with his Key.
Striking the perfect opportunity, Laex pulled out his Key. Soon, orange smoke came out of its nose, like mist escaping from creak on the door.
"Where are you, peasant?" Philip asked in a mocking tone.
"Frozen solid already?"
Just as he said, an eerie feeling entered his heart. It was as though death was approaching his door.
All his life, he spent in fear of assassins. As an heir, his siblings plotted a lot against him as they all strived to compete for the crown and this spot in the academia. He knew full well the scent of death and the sound of it knocking on his door, albeit he did not know the reason why he was feeling it now.
{Gate of Winter: Snow Yeti}
His Source depleted further as a giant Yeti appeared before him. It looked around and smelled around, but it could not find any traces of Laex, which greatly frustrated Philip.
In an instant, he found himself in a disadvantageous position, even though it was he who called the Blizzard.
Leila, who was seeing all that was happening, could not help but chuckle, "The Other Side is nobody's ally. Even if it is you who called upon their power, if your opponent handles it better, it will be your loss."
"Indeed. This is what those heirs always lack: awareness. They were too used to crushing everyone beneath their deep knowledge and Source, that they lacked wisdom," Roger added.
Suddenly, his yeti turned vigilant, immediately turning around to face Philip. A furious look appeared in its eyes as it bared its fangs against him.
"What in the Gates is wrong with you!?" he asked, baffled.
The weariness in his heart grew as he felt the Character he summoned turn hostile against him. He immediately prepared his Key, ready to release it back to the Other Side in case it attacked him.
"Roar!!!" it growled as it leapt toward him.
"Damn you!" he cursed, releasing the Invocation.
To his horror, the release did not work, causing him to receive a direct punch to the stomach, making him fly and cough up blood.
"UGH!!"
At the back of the Yeti, letters could be seen Inscribed on its back: [Stay].
"A master of both Key and Plume, how terrifyingly talented is that kid?" Keith commented as he saw Laex sneak an Inscription to the Yeti when it turned around.
"He was brilliant with the illusion, too. {Gate of Arcadia}, {Gate of Protection}, and {Gate of Mirage}, such a diverse connection," Leila added.
"It seems like what he lacks in Source depth, he more than makes up for in mastery."
"All tricks, though. It amounts to nothing when faced with an experienced Adventurer. Nevertheless, with his skill set, he can be considered a Class II Adventurer. Better than the other students so far," Roger noted.
After receiving the blow, Philip's concentration wavered, causing the Blizzard to return to the Other Side. His source was down to a quarter, but still, it was far more than Laex.
In the battlefield, what was left was Laex, Philip, the Yeti, and the snow that accumulated on the ground.
The students could only look at the situation in disbelief as they finally saw what was happening clearly.
They couldn't accept that Philip was the one on the ground, coughing blood while Laex stood tall.
"GRRR!" the Yeti continued his rage as it ran toward its Invoker, ready to strike another blow.
{Gate of Winter: Pillars of Ice}
It proved futile this time, though, as giant stakes of ice pierced its body, killing it on the spot.
"Garbage!!" he cursed.
"I do not accept this!" he screamed as he struggled to get up.
Despite the situation, Laex still maintained a great distance. He knew that recklessness is the bane of all. Just like what happened to the Yeti, he was certain that his protective Incantations would consume far too much Source just to save his life if he were the one who was hit by those pillars.
"Come!" Philip taunted as he finally stood up straight.
His Key was gone from his hand, and the Plume was also not in sight. He stood there, in concentration, as he called for the ultimate weapon of every adventurer: the Codex.
In turn, Laex returned his Plume and summoned his Codex as well.
"The final phase of the battle had come," Luna said to herself.