
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
Let's consider a different grid layout where some letters of the word "CONTEST" have different arrangements and paths:
```
     C
    C O
   C O N
  C O N T
 C O N T E
C O N T E S
C O N T E S T
```
In this pyramid-shaped grid, how many paths can form the word "CONTEST" exclusively following diagonal or vertical movements, starting from the top "C"?
A) 0
B) 1
C) 2
D) 4
E) More than 4

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
user