The genie god, Gastelum the Magnificent, trailed the pair, pluming shadowy purple smoke as they climbed the platforms into the sky.

  Neither had paid the god too much attention. Help wasn’t required for this trial, and their attentions were too focused on one another. And by doing so, neither had noticed the reflective gleam in the avatar’s eyes.

  The flying goat attacks thinned out a little as they got higher. There were still patches of the demonic grass-chewers, but not enough to cause much issue for the duo.

  Bounding between platforms, Aaron could easily use [ Gust Step ], and Elmira was able to use her flying, glowing runes as stepping stones. However, it was a long journey up, and so they only used techniques between larger gaps.

  As they continued through the trial, he got a better read on Elmira’s Skills. He was fairly certain that the runes were actually a single Skill that created thirteen runes, each of which did something different.

  Considering the level she was, and the amount of mana the spell required, the power of each rune wasn’t that great. It was the versatility of the Skill that made it powerful. Several different types of attacks and defensive abilities are all packaged into a single Skill.

  He wasn’t yet sure what her Class was, but if it followed a similar theme to the rune Skill, it sounded like some kind of Swiss army knife Class, with a solution for almost every situation.

  However, adaptability had to come with a price. From what little Aaron knew about the System, you couldn’t have everything. If Elmira’s Class made her a jack of all trades, then she was likely a jack, not an ace.

  That said, he was certain about the feeling he had gotten earlier. Pentival held her in high regard, which didn’t make a lot of sense if she was just a jack. How was a jack of all trades one of, if not the best, amongst their group? It didn’t make a lot of sense, assuming his assumptions about the System were correct.

  In Aaron’s mind, the trade-offs for being so versatile would be great. At best, someone like that would be a great support unit, but not a great combatant by themselves.

  That flew in the face of everything he knew about the group.

  He eyed her carefully as she fought, but unfortunately, the engagements weren’t difficult enough to figure out if she was genuinely strong or not.

  He thought there had to be more to it than that, but doubted he was getting any answers. He couldn’t just ask her what her secrets were and how they made her powerful, after all. They had just met, and she was either going to lie or be offended. There was no way she was dumb enough to just spill all her secrets to him and tell him exactly what made her strong.

  No, that was silly.

  So, for now, he decided to complete the trial and see what more he could learn of her.

  But his focus was split. Learning about Elmira was helpful, but he still had his own goals to achieve, and it was still strange fighting and maneuvering through the trial whilst chained to somebody. For the first time, he wasn’t just thinking about his movements or his enemies, but an ally’s. And this made him think.

  Ally… was she an ally? They barely knew each other, but at least in this trial, it was accurate to call her that.

  But that wasn’t what was consuming Aaron’s thoughts. No, that was fighting alongside somebody. And that gave him an idea. As they fought, he started reading her threads of fate.

  He had never used the trait quite like this, although it wasn’t that much different from predicting an opponent, only he wasn’t trying to counter attacks, but rather counter her movements.

  By reading Elmira’s fate, he could move in step with her, and the chain tightened less often.

  Reaching a higher platform, they were once again attacked by the flying goats. But this time, Elmira took the liberty of moving around a little. She had very good senses, he realized.

  She didn’t need to read his fate or really even pay him much attention at all. It was almost as if she instinctively knew where he was and fought accordingly. And since Aaron was paying more attention to her location, she was able to move more.

  This was a skill she had honed through many battles, he realized. Aaron had learned a lot and had come far, but it was obvious that when it came to teamwork, Elmira, someone who had been fighting in a team for a long time, was on another level.

  Aaron wasn’t planning to build a team, but figured it was probably a good idea to knock a few of these trials out and fill the evident gap in his skillset.

  He couldn’t know when it might be necessary to fight with companions, and it was better to have trained himself to do so adequately, rather than charging around a battlefield like a lone warrior and causing more problems than he solved.

  Besides, he still wanted to figure her out. Not just because he wanted to understand how Elmira fought, but because he felt he might gain some insights into the System and its Classes along the way.

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  And so the trial became more about studying Elmira and how the two of them could combine what they did better, rather than simply defeating the monsters.

  As they bounced from platform to platform and new waves of monsters descended, Aaron honed this technique. With each encounter, he got a little more in touch with the team player side of himself and a little less solo-obsessed.

  And before long, the foundations of synergy were starting to form. Although it was clear more than one trial would be required to truly master teamwork, it was already a far shot from the selfish fighting style Aaron had entered the trial with.

  And who knew, maybe one day he would actually be decent at it.

  ***Elmira***

  “What are you doing?” Elmira said as she struck down one of the goats.

  “What do you mean?” Aaron replied as he dodged a couple of halberds whilst backstepping to keep close to her, and then returned with [ Spectral Fist ].

  “You changed your tactics. You were jumping all over the place before. Now it's like you’re never a few steps away, and also… you’re never in my blind spots.”

  “Oh yeah. Been experimenting a little.” Aaron winked as he landed another punch.

  Wait, is he suggesting that he made those adjustments to his technique just now?

  Elmira had long been one of Pentival’s elites, and she had worked with many, training and helping them integrate into the team between questing and fighting.

  Sure, she hadn’t spent that much time as a trainer in reality. How could she? The integration happened less than three months ago. But she had spent enough time in the role to know that most people couldn’t just switch it up and go from a solo show to a team player this fast.

  Even now, she was easily one of the best at it, as were the other elites who reached the trial with her. There were many others still stuck in the Tutorial that were far less competent at team fighting, which was, coincidentally, a reason they weren’t brought along for the boss fight.

  It wasn’t just that picking the raid option made the final fight harder, but the difficulty actually scaled with the number of people undertaking the challenge together. And so it had been a thorough decision who to take along for the ride.

  More importantly, Elmira knew this wasn’t normal. To get to the level she was at had taken the entire Tutorial, fighting with the same people every day. Spending the nights getting to know them, their stories, and their likes and dislikes. And yet, Aaron somehow made this much progress already? He wasn’t at the level of anyone on their team, but he was better than many that they had left behind.

  She sighed and shook her head. It didn’t make sense.

  It was Pentival’s idea that she got to know Aaron. He didn’t give her the details, but she could fill in the gaps. He wanted Aaron. And she knew why. Anyone capable of beating someone so many levels above them was an incredible long-term investment.

  Even if she or others in the group could beat Aaron now, the chances that they could if he managed to catch up to them were low.

  But there was more to him than just a fighter. It was… well… she wasn’t sure if intelligent was the right word. But there was something.

  He wasn’t a bumbling idiot or anything, but he was far from genius, and a decent step below Pentival in that regard, she’d guess based on what she had seen so far.

  But despite that, she was as impressed as ever. Because this was something else. Fighting seemed like it came naturally to him. Like he was born for this.

  If Pentival was born to be a leader, then Aaron was born to be a warrior; that much seemed obvious. But even that seemed like she was scratching at the surface.

  It was a pity that he had no interest in joining Pentival. Together, they could bring stability to the sector. But she also didn’t entirely blame him. She had figured Aaron would turn the offer down from the start, and hadn’t been surprised when he showed no interest.

  What she hadn’t told Aaron was that she was a little more than a simple free spirit. She was thinking about her own future as much as she was the sector’s, or Pentival and his empire, for that matter. And she wasn’t about to put all her eggs in the same basket.

  Elmira was a survivor, not an idealist.

  Pentival was still the favorite, for why wouldn’t he be? He had proven himself countless times. But she couldn’t ignore what Aaron brought to the table. He was overflowing with potential, and if he kept going as he was now, she had a hard time imagining that he wouldn’t overtake everyone. And as strong as Pentival and his team were, she had learned enough about the multiverse to know there was little that could be done about a lone being’s overwhelming power.

  “Gone quiet?” He said, between beating down the last couple of goats in their most recent encounter.

  “Just thinking,” she smiled.

  “Oh?”

  “It’s nothing. It’s just I was a little surprised how fast you took to fighting with others.”

  “Oh, yeah. You think I picked it up quickly?”

  “Very,” she nodded.

  “Well, that’s good. I was a little embarrassed about it, to be honest. I was starting to feel like I was picking up hermit vibes living in the place as long as I have. Honestly, it’s been pretty fun passing a trial with somebody else at my side.”

  As he spoke, they landed on the next platform side by side. It was the final platform, and the trial’s end was within sight.

  “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

  “Yeah, well, if you’re down for it, we should totally do this again sometime. I still sense a few gaps in my team skills.”

  Gaps? What gaps?

  While he hadn’t mastered team fighting, Elmira couldn’t really say he had any holes in his abilities. Only a lack of experience. She supposed that it didn’t really matter, since the end result either way was that he needed more practice, but “gaps” was not the term she would use.

  If this was how fast he learned during one trial, how far would he take his skills in another? She wanted to find out. To see just how much potential Aaron truly had.

  “Yeah, that sounds fun. I’ll need to check in with my people, but I’m certainly interested.”

  “Cool. Looking forward to it,” Aaron said and slapped his hand down on the dial, ending his trial.

  There really is something special about that man, isn’t there?

  In that moment, she took on a new objective. She was going to get to know Aaron better.

  She couldn’t help but wonder where this would lead her, or how much potential Aaron truly possessed.

  I think you’ve found yourself some competition, Pentival.

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