Unchosen Champion

It turned out that Coop’s travel speed was quite a bit higher than that of the Avatar of the System. She couldn’t keep up with his ability to completely bypass obstacles, combined with the fact that he consumed no resources while flickering across the landscape.

Coop’s ability to step through the world of mists, shifting himself by way of spectral mana was exceptional, especially when bolstered by his excessive investment into multiplying his stats such that his Strength and Agility were both absurd relative to his supposed power level. Lyriel was immediately frustrated by the vast gulf between expectations of a meager level 0 and the reality of mistjumping.

Coop had met and fought other humans that had similar mobility skills and those experiences had deceived him into thinking that he wasn’t so special. However, according to his new alien companion, it was extraordinary among the broader galactic community. She suggested that most factions would have nurtured him into a powerhouse the way the Endless Empire had supported Charlie and Camila.

Despite the previous encounters with Coop, Lyriel had never actually seen him in action. Each time she visited Earth she interfered with the local mana, preventing him from demonstrating his skills, but it didn’t take long for her to get the picture.

The second time he teleported away from her, after they crossed the Mississippi Sea, just to lean on a tree and wait for her to catch up, was enough for her frustration to boil over. She scolded him like he had escaped a leash and nearly ran into traffic. He struggled to convince her that he wasn’t that helpless.

She was loath to admit that this primitive human had already surpassed one aspect of her capabilities, but it was clear as day that his skill was superior to her ability to hover long distances. Despite mistjumping requiring more physical effort to accomplish, due to Practical Application, he even saved on mana relative to her skills and his stamina allowed him to keep going indefinitely. She couldn’t help but be knocked down a peg.

Lyriel made the executive decision that they would hike together instead. She made it seem like it was a matter of convenience, but after the way she reacted when he left her behind, he knew that she was mostly worried about him being defeated by remnants of the Primal Constructs lingering within the former domain while separated from her. The fact that he had absorbed a penalty and was weakened by the repeated battles with Region Bosses as well as canceling his eldritch evolution left her feeling rather protective of the leader of her newly joined faction. He thought it was surprisingly considerate of the prideful alien, though she seemed completely incapable of actually expressing herself without the lens of haughtiness.

Coop pretended not to notice, playing along with her whims, though he couldn’t help but feel at least a little smug about how he abused his Retribution and Salvation skills. To this day, he wasn’t completely sure whether mistjumping was an intended interaction or just something made possible by the ethereal weapons being protected from disarmament combined with his unique set of starter titles and willingness to experiment.

“No need to gloat, little human.” Lyriel bristled as Coop watched her smoothly glide across the grassy Great Plains, finally closing in on their destination.

Coop raised his eyebrows, the picture of innocence, in response to her unprompted comment. He merely needed to jog to stay by her side.

“I know what you are thinking as clearly as that yellow star rises above your planet.” She added. “A simple creature like you cannot disguise their internal reflections from someone of my stature.” She continued, flicking a finger toward him, drawing a wide smile from Coop.

The more he got to know the so-called Avatar, the more he was able to see through her attitude. She was always good for a pompous reaction that Coop had gradually learned wasn’t entirely real. He imagined that she had played this character for so long it had bled into her normal self. Her disposition wasn’t as bad as she made it seem at first glance and he couldn’t really fault her for some manner of defense mechanism considering the circumstances of her entire existence, but that didn’t mean he’d treat her differently to others.