Aldrin's experience of fighting could be summarized in one sentence. He's an expert at killing ants.
Having watched his Dimensional Clones day and night killing ants and caterpillars in different ways than he could think of and even doing it by himself one time, if he wasn't called an expert in it then who would be?
But no one knew about it except Aldrin himself.
With the Combat Assessment's aim to evaluate the type of Energy Refiner he was best suited at, Aldrin also started contemplating about it as soon as his opponents were generated one by one.
The first one was a lone figure who instantly charged out to lunge at him. It was a truly reckless attempt that someone with little knowledge in combat could topple him down.
Sidestepping to let the figure pass by him, Aldrin spun once and stabbed the figure in his back.
There's no such thing as honor if one's life was on the line. He'd rather live and bear the shame of it than brag about honor in the afterlife.
"Come!" Having his gears fueled, Aldrin watched as another lone figure was generated by the simulation.
However, it was now wielding a gun in each hand.
Before Aldrin could process it all, the simulated figure fired at him.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
No matter how much he improved from becoming an Energy Refiner, it hadn't amounted to him being able to do those stunts one could often see in movies.
Like cutting the bullet in half to stop it.
He had no choice but to roll on the ground and hoped that bullets couldn't catch up to him.
'Renissa mentioned feeling the pain. For sure, this will also emulate the feeling of being shot at, the feeling of bullet lodging between my flesh. The only difference will be... I will not bleed out.' Aldrin thought as he once again rolled in the opposite direction, dodging bullets.
When he stood up, he aimed the handgun in his hand in his opponent's direction but... he's not a marksman!
Aiming while also making sure not to be shot at by running away or rolling around was a hard thing to do!
BANG!
And there went the bullet flying past his opponent's head.
BANG!
And there went the bullet hitting the ground and stopping.
BANG!
And there went the bullet ricocheting back at him.
After three tries, Aldrin gave up trying to hit his opponent with his handgun.
His only experience with firing one was yesterday. And that time, he had a clone to block the Rift Monster which allowed him to aim while being stationary.
"Mister... You're not in a street fight. Use your refined energy."
"Aldrin, think about directing your refined energy to your feet, arms and any other parts of your body. We're Energy Refiner, that's the basic use of the energy we refined. Think about our fight yesterday."
The first voice came from Janet and the second one from Renissa.
And both of them were reminding him to use his refined energy.
'Why... Why am I trying to fight it with only my physical prowess? Stop sticking to what normal people will do!' Aldrin berated himself after being reminded by the two women spectating this assessment.
As soon as his mind geared towards it, the Energy Quintessence in his body churned and began working at delivering the necessary refined Energy to the part of his body he wanted to focus at.
Standing up after another roll, Aldrin turned swiftly as he charged forward, his legs glowing faintly.
BANG!
The simulated figure fired again but Aldrin stomped his feet and jumped. Jumped high enough to reach a height he would find unimaginable before.
With the chance opening up to him, Aldrin brandished the sword in his hand, taking down the figure.
By the time his feet landed back on the ground, the Virtual Simulation continued.
From one to two to four.
Aldrin faced simulated humans that had different fighting styles. Each time, he would think of how to defeat them.
And when he seemingly faced everyone, beasts of various sizes began to emerge.
Against them, Aldrin became even more nimble with his steps, precise with his strategy and confident with his every strike and shot.
-
-
"Congratulations. Here's the result of your assessment."
Again, with a wide smile on her lips, Janet handed him a card.
Amidst his effort to catch his breath and rest after an intense 30-minutes inside the Virtual Simulation Room, Aldrin fell against a group of beasts that his nimbleness couldn't outrun.
After handing that card to him, Janet turned around and began ascending the stairs, leaving Aldrin and Renissa behind.
"Here." Renissa extended her hand towards the slumped Aldrin.
Without hesitation, he took it and stood himself up. "Thank you."
"Look at it and tell me the result."
With her voice laden with a tinge of excitement, Renissa's gaze remained on him.
And being urged by the woman who was seemingly more excited than him, Aldrin raised the small card given by Janet.
In it, there were only two lines after his name.
[Aldrin Fallwater
Elapsed Time: 35 minutes 23 seconds
Result: Support-type]
"Support-type," Aldrin murmured.
Upon hearing that, Renissa's eyes lit up. "That's great! A Support-type! Given that you could easily think up a strategy on the spot even when you're in that kind of predicament, that's the most suitable for you."
"Is that the basis of my assessment?"
"Yes. Do you think you're going to get Attack-type?"
"No. I really have no idea. I only followed your advice and moved accordingly. Alas, I didn't last that long." Aldrin released a sigh.
SLAP!
With a crisp sound of her palm hitting his skin, Renissa slapped Aldrin's exposed arm. "What are you saying? Do you think your result is bad? Look at this."
Aldrin ignored the slight stinging pain as he watched Renissa produce the same card and handed it to him.
"See my 'Elapsed Time'." Renissa followed up after noticing Aldrin looking confused.
And following her words, Aldrin raised the card. As soon as he saw what's written on it, his eyes slightly widened while focusing his gaze on the woman in front of him.
[Renissa Evergreen
Elapsed Time: 8 minutes 34 seconds
Result: Attack-type]
"Now do you know why I received that assessment?"
"... You probably kept on attacking without thinking about the consequences of whether you would be countered or not."
"Bingo!" Renissa exclaimed. And a few moments later, the woman giggled before continuing, "It's not about how long you're there. It's about how you approached the situation you're in. You last that long because you always plan your every move. Although there were excessive ones wherein you could finish it easily but you didn't, that showed that you're the type that wouldn't do anything impulsively. Emotion wasn't included in the assessment though. Whether you would move based on your emotion or not, that could only be checked when you arrived at that point."
After explaining how the assessment worked, Renissa and Aldrin returned upstairs and met Janet back where she first saw them.
"Finished with your little heart-to-heart talk, huh?" Janet teased playfully.
Upon hearing that, the two looked at each other and as if they rehearsed it together, wryly smiled. They're already tired of responding to her never-ending teasing.
Besides, Aldrin already agreed to do something for her in exchange.
However, Janet whistled and clapped her hands. Perhaps not wanting to lose with something she started, her grin grew wider.
"Mhm... That's what I like to see. The two of you having a mutual understanding." She then acted as if she was wielding a bow and shot the two of them, acting as their cupid.
But with the lack of reaction from the two, she eventually gave up.
"Alright. Stop with the games. I was still inputting your data in our database. But let me congratulate you now." Janet mused. "Welcome to the Refiner's Association."
After that brief celebration wherein the two women clapped their hands while commending Aldrin, Janet then asked for his phone.
She downloaded his Energy Refiner Identification in it along with the manuals about the 'do's and don'ts' for the association.
After reminding him to read it, he was then asked by Janet to return three days later for an official of the Association to welcome him personally.
According to Renissa, that would be the time where he would be choosing which path to take. To become a City Hall Guard or join other Energy Refiner organizations or corporations.
On their way out of the Association, Aldrin and Renissa ran into the Frostland Corporation's Lonewind City Branch Head or also known as Renissa's boss.
However, she seemed to be in such a hurry that after greeting and congratulating Aldrin, her steps led her further inside the Association's building.
Not giving too much of a thought about the Branch Head's hurried expression and with his registration done, the two left the building and began walking side by side along the streets of the Central District without any destination in mind.