
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 \( a \star b = a^b - ab + 5 \) where \( a \) and \( b \) are positive integers, \( a \geq 2 \), and \( b \geq 3 \). Find \( a + b \) if\( a \star b = 13 \).

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