"Ahem. That was very unprofessional of me." Eva coughed.
Ana figured that the sexual tension between them would soon turn cold if he let the pace drop so he quickly opted to keep the conversation flowing.
"It looks like the crystal ball is broken now."
"We- we have a spare." Without showing her face to Ana, Eva walked away and grabbed another crystal ball.
But before returning, she slapped her face a few times and only then did she turn to face Ana.
Ana sat down on his chair again by himself to make her feel comfortable.
"What is the average rank that the hunters in this academy have?" Ana, as any other man with good taste in women, decided that he wanted to have a little more from her.
He had really enjoyed the small touch that Eva had given him but who could blame him for wanting a little more spice, especially since he's been single for so long?
"Hm… I believe for the freshmen it's E rank and it rises a rank every year till around the end of third year." Eva's stern voice had become a bit more girly.
It was attractive and turned on Ana very much, because Ana was the kind of guy who dug cute and loyal girls.
"Does a lower rank affect their standing inside the academy?" Ana nonchalantly asked this question while he fantasized about Eva's expressive face and sweet lips.
"Even though instances of discrimination are strictly prohibited, in the end it is a competitive world out there, so individual hunters and Matriarchs may have their own biases."
But Ana's cute daydreaming came to a sudden halt when he heard Eva's answer.
"Wait, does that mean that the bottom ranks find it difficult to survive here?" Another problem seemed to present itself to Ana.
"Yes. You can say that." Eva, however, was completely unaware of Ana's troubles.
Ana had his pride and he would never accept being a bottom feeder. And although he would love to show off his SSS prowess, he wasn't going to do that by sinking low enough to turn into a girl or femboy or whatever.
"Okay. Let's begin now." Eva put the crystal ball in the same position on the table as before.
"Ma'am, don't you think we can just skip it?" Ana wanted to hide his pathetic male body's identity. "This grading process is just so tedious and boring."
He considered the option of switching and trying with his more powerful side but he had no time to do that because Eva lingered right infront of him.
The cockroach excuse wasn't going to work twice too.
"This is important since it will decide whether you get a contract from a matriarch." Eva insisted on it since it was her duty as an instructor to grade the fresh hunters.
Ana really wanted to ask her what was the difference between matriarchs and hunters but he focused on his main problem for the time being.
He needed a quick solution to get a decent rank so he wracked his brain and recalled everything that he had learned after coming here.
"Just apply a little of your mana here and it will be over soon." Eva slightly pushed the crystal ball towards Ana.
"Mana." An idea clicked in Ana's mind as soon as he heard that word. "Right."
"Yes, now put your hand over it."
Ana thought of something wild and began to fill his head with multiple questions. He remembered that his female side had an unlocked active skill and that skill could be shared because of his passive skill.
It must be a strong skill if it belongs to a SSS rank body, right?
So, what if he tried to use that stronger skill with this weaker body? What would happen then? Would his body be unable to execute that skill or would it strain this body to death?
Ana thought about the possibilities and gambled on one outcome. What if using that skill boosted his male body's rank? It was a wild theory but Ana had no choice except to risk it all to save his dignity.
"You may begin now." Eva told Ana who was still contemplating.
"Okay..." Having finalized his next course of actions, very slowly Ana extended his hand towards the crystal ball while he simultaneously tried to activate his skill in his mind.
[Active Skill: Lightning Blitz initiated]
His screen opened up and informed him of the activity of his feminine skill.
[Active Skill: Lightning Blitz failed]
The skill failed but Ana tried again.
[Active Skill: Lightning Blitz failed]
Ana's frustration grew as he kept activating it continuously without stopping while Eva kept looking at what he was doing.
She smiled and thought that Ana was being anxious because it was most likely his first time being assessed.
"Do not worry, even a F rank is not bad. Being an awakened hunter in itself is a huge thing." She encouraged Ana but he wasn't buying any of it.
[Active Skill: Lightning Blitz failed]
[Active Skill: Lightning Blitz failed]
[Active Skill: Lightning Blitz failed]
Ana's stubbornness knew no bounds. He would die but not give up, so he repeatedly kept trying.
[Active Skill: Lightning Blitz activated]
And by some miracle, the skill magically activated.
Without delay, Ana swiftly put his hand on the grading machine.
Lightning cackled out of the crystal ball and it began to vibrate violently.
"What? What is happening?" Eva was surprised to see the crystal ball shake like that.
In her entire time spent in this academy, she had never once seen that apparatus behave in that manner.
"Wait, stop. I think something is wrong." Eva quickly came and tried to remove Ana's hand away.
But right at the moment that she touched Ana, lightning exuded out of the ball, making it crack slightly, and Eva's body got hit with a tremendous current that threw her backwards.
Ana instantly let go of what he was doing, as he jumped up and grabbed Eva's hand to prevent her from falling.
"Are you alright?" Ana asked her, closely checking if she was hurt.
"Hah…hah…" Eva's normal fair face was completely red and she deeply kept exhaling.
Soon, her breath became more haphazard and she lost strength in her legs but Ana held her up by holding her waist.
"Hah…hah…" Unable to speak, Eva's eyes became dazed as she stared blankly at the ceiling.
Ana wondered what had gone wrong but soon his screen popped up again.
[Active Skill: Human Aphrodisiac learned]
[New Main Task:
Seduce Eva Poli and form a connection with her.
Reward: Increase in Protagonist percentage]
While Ana and Eva had reached an impasse, the cracked, lonely and ignored crystal ball began to dim down.
In the center of its translucent sphere, a single opaque letter was etched magnificently.
The decipherable letter, much to everyone's relief, was shaped like a big 'D'.