Rooted! I must say the beginning steps were frustrating, but I was able to learn something new from the privesc method! Thanks for the box @sahay .
Hints for user: enumerate everything and think like a lazy user/admin. If you get stuck decrypting something, there is a video out there that provides a great solution. After that, be sure to check your DNS settings!
Hint for root: don’t get caught in a wormhole overthinking the priv-esc; as has been said many times once you find user the path to root is literally right in front of you.