Corrine gave him a sympathetic wince.


    Sonic was jumping up and down, obviously excited by the fight. “You nearly beat me.”


    “But I didn’t!” Tom snapped at it.


    “How did you go through my shields so quickly? And that mind-stun reflect... It was beautiful. One more hit, and you would have had me.”


    “But I didn’t.”


    “You almost did.” Corrine patted him on his back.


    “But I didn’t.” Tom repeated stubbornly. The reflection of the mind attack, while theoretically powerful, had cost him. Without that hiccup, he could quite well have landed two quick Power Strikes while it was dealing with the surprise of him having seen through its illusions.


    “I know,” Corrine said compassionately. “In a year’s time, this will change. But Sonic was almost the perfect match up for you. You’re out of your depth currently, but the fact that you managed to get here speaks to your potential. Get the upgrades you’re after, and you’ll start winning.”


    Vturalta cleared her throat. “If you’ve done playing, we have more to cover.”


    They both flushed slightly at the disapproving tone, and then he continued the routine of being lectured.


    Six hours later, he got to enter the trial. Rather than being thrown straight into a training scenario he found himself sitting opposite April.


    The angel was smiling.


    “You know,” he accused her instantly.


    “Know what?”


    “That I got in.”


    “And that you’ve discovered you’re significantly weaker than everyone else.”


    “Really? You get that much information?”


    She giggled. “No, of course not. It communicates nothing to me, but I’m not,” she waved at her body. “Fifty years old or a thousand; I’m much, much older, and over time I pick up things. The Divine Champions’ trial is older than I am. I know how it works.”


    “I thought that, if I reached general combat four, I’d be competitive, but I’m far from it.”


    “I didn’t, but I also recognise that, in a year’s time, you’ll be twice as strong as you are now, and then you’ll start winning consistently.”


    “It won’t take that long,” Tom told her without hesitation.


    She quirked an eyebrow. “Ambitious.”


    “Corrine and I ran simulations, and identified the fastest way for me to become competitive. I don’t have to be able to win every fight. I can get smashed in most of them, but, if I hard counter even a quarter and sneak out victories against them, that will be enough. So, that’s what I’m going for. A lopsided build designed for a single purpose. For the real world it’ll be horrid, but for here, it’s great.”


    “And what’s your grand plan to elevate you to the lofty heights where three quarters of your opponents will easily defeat you?”


    “Step one: I need to learn to use Power Strike separate from the spear I hold in my hands.”


    “That’s harder than you think. Your opponents will be able to avoid any thrown spears unless you stack other skills with it.”


    “I was planning to transmit it to the target with Lightning Javelin.”


    She nodded:


    “A creative approach. But do you have a plan to upgrade Power Strike to work with that spell?”


    “I was just going to practice and extend it organically. If I spend fate on it, I’m sure I’ll evolve it  eventually. The first step is to get it to apply to thrown spears, then to magical construction.”


    “That could work,” she agreed, and then tapped the table with a thoughtful look on her face. “I take it you have full access to a version of the experience shop?”


    “Um… yes.”


    “Have you checked out Power Strike derivatives?”


    “No, I was going to talk to you first.”


    “Then maybe you should use it before we have this discussion.”


    “As in now?”You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    She nodded.


    “But how does the time dilation work?”


    She laughed. “Don’t worry, you can’t cause a catastrophic error.”


    Curiously, he stepped sideways into his new system room. The first thing he noticed was that the entranceway to the communal areas were shut firmly, which explained the time dilation bit. He had access, but only in a restricted sense. Everything else looked like normal, including the screens.


    His body was still in the café, April sitting across from him. She gave him a wave.


    Tom recoiled and she laughed in the monitor; a moment later she was standing next to him, leaning slightly against the metal wall near the doorway to the community areas.


    “Tom, you’re in my trial. This,” she waved at the monitors, then the walls. “This is a part of my domain, though here...” She tapped the door next to her. “Is a different trial, so you can’t enter. But everything else is as normal.” She nodded her head at the writing that was his link to the experience shop. “That, I can guarantee, still works.”


    He remembered why he was here and sheepishly faced the wall. “Show Power Strike upgrades.”


    Instantly, tiny text filled the wall, as literally tens of thousands of entries were displayed. The problem was that there were just heaps of permutations that the ability could morph into.


    “Show me those that are under tier-three.” He ordered to limit the display.


    The number of options shrunk. The writing was now legible, but there were still too many possibilities to wade through.


    “Ones that can act through a physically manifesting spell.”


    Only three options remained.


    <ul>


    <li>Phantom Power Strike.</li>


    <li>Lingering Power Strike.</li>


    <li>Channelled Persistent Power Strike. </li>


    </ul>


    Tom nodded. This was on the right track, but the information it was displaying, the name of the skill and what it did, was not necessarily what he was after. He scratched his chin as he thought about the problem.


    “For each of these, list the most common pre-requisites and merges needed to get the final result.”


    Surprisingly, the wall updated, showing that it was responsive to his complex command. What was displayed was a mess, and he was after ease of implementation, and he knew that there were thousands of ways to create abilities. “Show me the paths that need the fewest steps.”


    April coughed. “Do you think any of your existing abilities could be helpful?”


    Tom’s head snapped around to stare at her. She looked perfectly innocent. “What was that?”


    “Don’t remember.” She smiled.


    He recognised that look. It was her cheeky expression, the one she used when she had already pushed the rules as far as she could, and needed him to come to the conclusions himself. The question was, what she was hinting at?


    She has asked what other abilities could he use. His mind went to his precognition skills, but that couldn’t be it. But then again, it didn’t matter which one she referred to, only that one existed and he could find it.


    “Show the paths that require the fewest new skills,” he clarified.


    The trees rearranged, simplifying themselves significantly. New skills glowed slightly to identify them, and he saw what April had been suggesting. One of the pathways used his Instant Strike skill as a base, but that wasn’t the best option. The pathway for Lingering Power Strike was materially shorter. Then he frowned as he focused on the detail. It was simple in terms of steps, but it required the acquisition of a tier-two skill. His heart sank. Until he had coins, acquiring anything new over tier-one was effectively impossible.


    “And new skills are limited to the tier-one range.” He ordered.


    Only that hierarchy changed, but it immediately became more complicated than the other two, and it meant none of them were simple. They all required at least three new skills.


    He wanted to scream. At the rate of three months per skill, that was a disaster. The wait for Lightning Javelin had felt excessive, but it looked like it was going to be shorter than the other part of his plan. It was possible this solution was so convoluted that he might need to take a different path. He could always use coins to buy a skill to address his weakness, but such shortcuts where titles were involved was going to reduce the effectiveness of his long-term build.


    “Don’t panic.” April told him. She pointed, and one specific line was highlighted. Tom focused on it and tried to work out what she was suggesting. It was a tier-two precursor to the tier-three solution and had inputs of Instant Strike, Magic Breaking Power Strike and Extended Spear Skill Execution.


    “Tom, it’s not that complicated.” She grumbled and clicked her fingers. It opened up into a description.


    Skill: Intangible Power Strike – Tier 2


    Allows non-physical aspects of Power Strike to be conveyed on a spear of the user to a distance of twenty-four metres.


    “That’s exactly what I need,” he muttered in surprise. “But what is it? I’ve never heard of intangible skills.”


    “There are intangible versions of all weapon skills,” April explained to him. “They’re useful for delivering debuffs, buffing allies, and amping up the power of remote strikes, which is what you want to do.”


    “Rahmat could do something like this. But I thought it was just his domain.”


    She shrugged. “If he had a domain, then it was most likely responsible, but it could have been these skills or their more advanced versions. The important thing is that will combine well with Lightning Javelin and break magic shielding like you’re aiming for.”


    “Can I buy Extended Spear Skill Execution and start learning it straight away?”


    She laughed. “When you have the credits for it, I’ll slot it into your training schedule. Is there anything else?”


    Just like last time when he thought about it, he felt the disk appear underneath his clothes. This was the touch of DEUS. He sensed that she was working within the rules, but only barely. The disk was not supposed to have been able to leave the Divine Champions’ trial, not even for another trial space. But apparently April seeing this was important and only the fact he had created it personally and without anyone aiding him made it possible. He pulled it out and passed it to her:


    “I need to create a tier-two version of this.”


    She didn’t take it when he offered it, but she did examine it carefully. “I see. But you do understand that the rules won’t allow me to give you a design?”


    “I know. But the stuff you were teaching me... If I learn enough, I can do it myself.”


    A big grin spread across her face.


    “Don’t you go and tease me about becoming a crafter.”


    She laughed. “My lips are sealed. But…”


    “April,” he warned.


    She once more looked innocent. “What I was about to ask was whether this means you’re going to listen to me now?” She was grinning. “Well?”


    “Yes.”


    “Yes, what?”


    “Yes, I’ll listen to you.”


    “And you’ll refrain from complaining about how boring it is?”


    He threw his hands up in the air in mock exasperation. “You were right, and I was wrong. Are you happy? And yes, I’ll pay attention, and I won’t complain.”


    “Excellent. I’m glad you admitted it. Now let’s get to work.”