Dawn was 22, just like him. She had entered the military at the age of 18 and advanced to the rank of Colonel by 20. Currently, she was trying to become a Brigadier General but that had been stonewalled by her betrayal.
Now that she saw a new opportunity, she couldn't help but stick to him like glue. He didn't necessarily mind. She was a Triple-Archetype Elite after all.
"Can I trust you?"
He immediately used the Gambler to ask a question.
"I know about the Gambler. It's famous after all. Thank you. Since you altered my fate for the better, I'll be honest"
According to the Gambler, there was a 100% chance she was telling the truth.
"RNG. That's the best way to describe the Gambler. RNG with a delayed effect. You didn't know if you were screwed or in luck until much later. Unpredictable results. Not good enough for the Pentagon. It gets instant results in your hands. Positive instant results. I'm sure you're using something else in conjunction with it, but I won't ask"
Being able to deduce that much was as expected from someone who was almost a General.
"I also know about the ex-general, the head instructor, Madelin, that Neil Sommers fellow, and the deal you made with my ex-General. The fake deal at least. I used my connections to deal with them. I'll be your liaison and also your battle buddy. This is the most obvious choice since none of them are Elites"
Silence.
"I also know about Cat, Kitty, and Mama Cat. It's just a coincidence that I'm called Feline. I have no connection with them"
It was like his entire life experience was exposed in front of Dawn.
"I only took the time to find this out because if I'm going to stick with you, I need to also know your situation so I can deal with it appropriately. How often do you get a General following you around and protecting you"
"Not a general yet"
He corrected her half-jokingly.
"Same thing"
They walked for a while before she spoke up again. This time, his ears perked up immediately.
"A Triple-Archetype Elite is different from a Triple-Archetype Operator and Covert Ops, Black Ops, and Shadow Ops Soldiers"
Dawn bought food from various stalls and passed half of it to him. They ate and took in the scenery for a while. Her space and moon shorts was like a painting made by someone specializing in anime-realism. The pink sky and sun bra was a stark contrast and painted an imaginative story. Her long black hair was like a void that connected the two. Her pink gloss lipstick, blush, and black-pink eyeshadow made her seem like a regular girl.
The starry fingernails completed her look and made her seem like the universe. Brilliant, stunning, and hard to peel your eyes from.
"The latter all rely on Double-Archetypes and the Triple-Archetype Operator is a junior training to become a Triple-Archetype Elite. Takes bloodshed and near death experiences to 'evolve'"
"Normally. High School students can apply to an academy or private institution or try out for the military if their academic abilities aren't up to par. Regardless, academic students will have to eventually apply to the military to continue down the path of a WMR"
"The military either puts you through training or sends you immediately on a mission"
"WMRs get promoted faster through the ranks. I'm not the fastest ranker. That would be Storm Chibi. Became a Brigadier General 1 year after joining the military from High School. Part of the strongest Elites that enforce the United States will"
Dawn looked at the couples in the distance and laughed. She looked back at him as though suggesting something and then looked again at the couples.
"Compared to that Chibi, there's no point in having anyone else"
"Is the Chibi just really good or do they bank on their traits?"
"The Chibi was born with 5 traits, but has only used 1 their entire life. Once when they were about to die, they pulled out the 2nd trait, and that's how they became famous"
"What are the traits they use?"
"No one knows. It's a secret they never shared"
"How good are you compared to them?"
"Not very, but the stuff I'll teach you will skyrocket your abilities in combat"
"How do you know I'm not already better then you?"
"I don't, but I'm a specially trained Elite. I've been taught stuff you can only dream and haven't practiced"
"How about a demonstration then?"
"I'll fight you as a top of the line Specialist"
"Looking down on me?"
"Soldiers never show off everything they have to the enemy. They adapt based on how tough the opponent is. I'll be fighting you as a Warrior-Magician Double-Archetype Operator. Specialized ones are called Spellblades"
Immediately rushing towards him, she was both slow and fast, yet covered great distances in a matter of seconds. The blade in her hand was not long or short. It seemed to devour everything in the world as she swung it towards him.
He wanted to cast a spell but found himself unable to. He tried to use his traits but they were similarly affected.
Operators were useless in front of her, yet there were people stronger then her. So if he couldn't do that, the Sprinter decided to run and run. It ran up a building and then looked down. Dawn was looking back at him but he couldn't see her face. The Sharpshooter aimed his gun and fired a shot. As the bullet impacted the blade, it broke into fragments but the weapon was otherwise fine.
What the hell was that thing? She called herself a Spellblade?
He began digging through his information network and found a few clues. Combining the close range lethality of a Warrior and the long range devastation of a Magician, something unique was created. Possessing a Domain, anything that came within range of it was subject to supernatural manipulation. They were the synergy of Strength and Magic. Two Archetypes recombining their specialties so they were no longer either a Warrior or a Magician but a Spellblade, a Transformed Archetype.
It was called Exponential Stacking, compared to Multiplicative Stacking for Double-Archetypes and Additive Stacking for WMRs. When a WMR learned Multiplicative Stacking, they became Double-Archetype Operators. When a Double-Archetype Operator learned Exponential Stacking, they became a Double-Archetype Specialist.
Double-Archetype Operators could still beat a Double-Archetype Specialist. It was just very difficult. There was a balance between skill and creativity where one could overcome the other.
The Spellblade utilized some kind of domain where physics and the supernatural could be manipulated to their advantage. The only way to escape would be to rely on the Rogue's speed. This meant that the base Archetypes of a Spellblade had a disadvantage in front of it.
The Sharpshooter wasn't necessarily exclusive to a Rogue. He could use Warrior and Magician traits with it. In a way, it did represent a Rogue based on its design, and this specialty was still at a disadvantage. Was it possible to synergize the Rogue with the Sharpshooter?
He decided to overwhelm Dawn's attack speed with even faster speed. The Sharpshooter's overwhelming burst was indeed too much for Dawn to handle even with her domain so she set up a Force Field instead. There were signs that Anti-force was being used to let her catch up and Resistance to reduce the damage as she tried to think of a solution.
Asphalt began to melt as a fireball flew at him. It had the same properties as the blade in her hand. Every shot was useless, even with his Rogue traits. The Sprinter ran and barely had enough space to make it to the next building, except the fireball had tracking properties as well. It moved as directed by the blade. With a spin, multiple fireballs shot out of nowhere and chased him down with even faster speed. With a slash, the fireballs split. Soon, an army of fireballs was chasing him down. It was similar to the situation with Neil Sommers but nothing he did worked.
He was tempted to use the Gambler and the Genius, but then he thought about how Chibi supposedly used one trait their entire life and he felt ashamed.
But should he feel ashamed?
There were all kinds of geniuses in the world.
If a one trait genius existed, why would a multi-suit genius be any inferior.
So he asked a question using the Gambler.
"Can I run through those fireballs without getting hurt?"
No.
Then he used the Gambler's Counter to stack the odds in his favor and ran through the fireballs. It was like he didn't exist because every time he ran through a fireball, it lost purpose and spun out of control.
"Can I control the fireballs?"
No.
Once again, he stacked the odds in his favor and used the Sprinter to control all of them at once. Every time Dawn tried to regain control, he used the Gambler's Counter and the Sprinter to regain control.
Then Dawn took out a massive broadsword and swung it. He crashed into the side of a building. The last he saw, it wasn't a real sword but the projection of one. It came out fast and superseded his processing speed.
[The Sprinter can process at inhuman speeds, but as a Magician with Guerrilla attacks employed using the concept of Time, you don't really stand a chance]