/Ice Pillar/
At his command, a minor version of a Gate opened beside him and shot out pillars of ice toward Laex. As he did, small amounts of Source continued to drain from both his Key and Plume.
/Haste/
Out of options, Laex chose to reveal another Gate: {Gate of Tempest}. As he did, a noticeable shock could be seen on the faces of everyone, including Philip.
To connect with a Gate is mandatory; connect with two, and it's normal. However, to have mastery over two is already a genius feat. Not to mention, three or four Gates.
"For him to be able to utilize the {Gate of Tempest} while in Codex mode, he must have great mastery over it as well. To think that he has such a connection with the four Gates!" Malik commented.
"Hmph! What's the use of that? The way of the Dynasties is still the best way to go. Have a primary Gate to put your life and soul to, and not to divert your attention to multiple avenues," an Elf with long brown hair and fierce green eyes scoffed.
"How bitter of you, Derek," Malik retorted.
Equipped with the wind, Laex easily dodged the attacks of Philip. First it was pillars, then blades, then needles. Slowly, they were getting smaller and smaller, but also faster and faster.
It was a stalemate with Philip being unable to hit Laex and the latter unable to get closer.
"Laex will lose if this keeps up," Luna commented.
"Indeed. I don't think he has enough Source to call upon the Shadow Fenrir as well. He used it up during the Blizzard already," Malik replied.
"See? This is the disparity between us and the peasants. Either they are boosted to have their Sources deepen, or they have shallow Sources in exchange for more knowledge. They can never have both like us!" Derek asserted.
'He's right, though,' Laex thought.
'That is the major problems of those not born into a ruling class. They simply lack the knowledge and every day they spend gathering it is another day they do not spend in deepening their Source. This is why when a clan or a kingdom reach the status of a Dynasty or even an Empire in some cases, the chances of them being overthrown by their people gets extremely low. They have simply cut off their wings.'
'Alas, unluckily for you, I am me,' he chuckled in his thoughts as he flipped his Codex to the first page.
In it, a single line was written in a mysterious language, {Gate of Arcadia}.
As he did, the students could not help but look not to him, but to Leila and Roger. Even Keith suddenly turned his head to the two as he saw them practically jump out of their skin.
"Danger," Leila said with a fierce look.
"What sharp senses," Laex muttered under his breath.
"In this world, there are three arts: Art of the Key, Art of the Plume, and Art of the Codex. You all know the power of the Key and the Plume. Now, behold the power of the Codex," he said with a wide smile.
/Take thee, all that remains. Open the link! Break the Chains!/
{Gate of Arcadia: Open}
Every ounce of Source in his Key and Plume ran dry. His face became as pale as paper, and his knees fell to the ground.
However, before him came a gigantic {Gate of Arcadia}. Unlike when using a Key, it did not vanish immediately, but instead, it remained.
Seeing the Gate open, the Shadow Fenrir came out of it together with the Flame-eating Lizard. The Shadow Fenrir came to Laex's aid as the Lizard rushed toward Philip.
"Finish it quickly," Laex ordered in great struggle.
As he called, the battle did end fast. The Flame-eating Lizard that was the size of a bus melted all the ice that came its way.
Alas, Philip did not have enough Source to create a meaningful resistance. If it had been at the beginning of the fight, he would have been able to take care of the two Invocations, but with his Source already depleted, there was nothing he could do anymore.
He tried his best to attack Laex instead, but the Fenrir's ability was not something he could handle whilst being attacked by a Lizard. It was a helpless situation.
Finally, with a single breath of fire, Keith was forced to step in and save the heir, marking the end of the duel.
Soon, the {Gate of Arcadia} lost its brilliance and turned from material to ephemeral before vanishing away together with the Invocations.
"You did well," Leila commended Laex as she called upon the {Gate of Rejuvination} and healed Laex.
"Hahahahaha! Great job, kid! Never in my life have I seen an Adventurer with an Orange Source fully open a Gate!" Roger praised.
"You are a full-pledged Class II Adventurer!" he declared, astonishing the crowd.
"What!? Adventurers are classified into Class III, II, I, Master, Grandmaster, etc. Each of which is determined by the depth of their Source, knowledge, wisdom, and experience! Even us, heirs are only classified as Class III Adventurers even though we have a Green Source! How can a peasant with an Orange Source be better than us!? He merely got lucky in that fight with Philip!" Derek rebuked.
Roger merely looked at him in pity before reprimanding, "You heirs have the same problem. Your Source and knowledge are indeed outstanding, but you lack wisdom and experience; so much so, that your own powers are being used against you! A master painter will be able to create a more beautiful painting with a single color than a child with a thousand. Instead of nourishing your pride, learn from this!"
His speech made the heirs swallow a big gulp of air. It was an awakening moment for them. If Philip had conserved his Source from the start, then even if Laex used his final technique, he would have still lost. However, the experience and wisdom disparity was just too great, hence birthing Philip's loss.
"Show's over! There will be a single match interval before another can challenge for the first position! Meanwhile, those who wish to challenge the others, go ahead! Continue!"