The elevator doors opened with a soft chime onto the seventeenth floor, and Alex stepped into a world of sterile white and glowing blue. The corridor stretched ahead, lined with glass-walled chambers where faint pulses of magic hummed through the air. The scent of ozone and clean antiseptic filled his lungs. Everything felt too bright, too advanced, too far removed from his crumbling apartment and the warehouse's oil-stained floors.
A young female assistant in a crisp uniform greeted him with a polite nod. "Applicant Alex? Follow me, please. Dr. Elena will conduct your assessment today."
He adjusted the strap of his duffel and trailed after her, heart thudding steadily. Through the glass he caught glimpses of other applicants—some radiating visible auras of power, others shifting nervously like him. None looked as ordinary as he felt in his faded hoodie and scuffed shoes.
The assistant stopped at a wide circular chamber and gestured inside. "Good luck."
Alex stepped through the doorway. The room was dominated by a raised platform at its center, surrounded by tall crystal pillars that hummed with latent energy. A large floating orb hovered above the platform, its surface smooth and translucent. Holographic displays floated nearby, ready to project data. The whole space felt clinical yet alive with magic.
A woman entered from a side door, and Alex's breath caught for a moment. Dr. Elena was in her late twenties, tall and elegant, with sharp, refined features and long dark hair pulled into a neat bun. Her white lab coat hugged the generous curves of her chest and hips, the fabric tailored to professional perfection yet impossible to ignore. Piercing green eyes assessed him calmly as she approached.
"Alex, correct?" Her voice was smooth and authoritative, carrying the faint warmth of someone used to delivering difficult news. "I'm Dr. Elena, senior mana assessor. I'll be handling your innate ability and power-level diagnosis. Please, place your bag down and step onto the platform."
He did as instructed, setting the duffel aside and climbing onto the cool surface. Elena moved around him with practiced efficiency, tapping commands into a floating panel. "Relax and breathe normally. The process is painless. We'll measure your raw mana capacity, elemental affinities if any, and any unique traits. The central crystal will respond to your signature. F-rank is the lowest measurable level. SSS is the highest we've recorded in our history."
Alex swallowed. "And if I'm… below that?"
Elena offered a small, professional smile. "We'll cross that bridge if we reach it. Most applicants register at least low E or F. Ready?"
He nodded, palms suddenly damp. Elena gestured, and the floating orb descended until it hovered directly in front of his chest.
"Place both hands on the orb and try to push whatever mana you can muster into it. Even a faint glow is fine."
Alex pressed his hands against the cool crystal. He focused, imagining energy flowing from his core the way he'd seen in the promotional videos. Nothing happened. The orb remained dark, its surface reflecting his own uncertain face back at him.
Elena frowned slightly and adjusted a setting on her panel. "Again, please. Deeper this time."
He tried harder, straining until his arms trembled. Still nothing. The orb stayed lifeless.
A crease formed between Elena's brows. She initiated a secondary scan. The crystal pillars around the room brightened, bathing him in soft blue light. Data streamed across the holograms—lines of text and numbers that meant nothing to him.
Then the orb flickered once… and shattered.
A sharp crack echoed through the chamber as the crystal exploded into countless glittering fragments that dissolved into harmless sparks before they could hit the floor. The pillars dimmed. Elena's eyes widened in genuine shock.
"This… this is impossible," she murmured, voice barely above a whisper.
Holographic displays flared to life around them, flooding the room with red warning indicators. Alex stared at the largest readout, his stomach dropping like a stone.
Mana Capacity: Negative F-rank
Affinity: None detected
Historical Note: Lowest reading in 57 years of National Adventurers Party operations.
Elena's fingers flew across the controls, running cross-check after cross-check. "Negative F… not even zero. An active absence. The system has never encountered a signature this low." She glanced at him, her professional mask cracking with disbelief. "In fifty-seven years, nothing like this."
Heat flooded Alex's face. Humiliation burned in his chest. He stepped down from the platform, legs unsteady. "So that's it? I'm not even worth sending into a beginner dungeon? Just send me home to get evicted?"
Elena didn't answer immediately. She was staring at a secondary layer of the scan, her green eyes narrowing as she zoomed in on a faint, buried signature. The data stream shifted from red to deep violet, highlighting a previously hidden line.
"Wait," she said sharply. "There's something else. A secondary trait, dormant and deeply embedded. It was masked by the negative reading."
She enlarged the hologram so they could both read it clearly.
Trait: Symbiotic Essence Weaver (Unique – Previously Unrecorded)
Activation Condition: Requires raw, unprotected sexual union with female mana-bearers of sufficient rank.
Effect: During climax, the user's mana circuits merge temporarily with the partner's, allowing permanent absorption of a massive portion of her raw power. The boost scales directly with the partner's rank and the intensity of the encounter. Stronger partners yield exponentially greater gains. Multiple simultaneous bonds can stack multiplicatively.
Elena's cheeks flushed a delicate pink despite her clinical tone. She cleared her throat, forcing her voice to remain steady. "In simpler terms, Alex… your power doesn't grow through conventional training or combat. It activates exclusively through intimate physical union—specifically, unprotected sex with female adventurers. When you reach orgasm inside a woman of sufficient rank, you absorb a significant surge of her mana. Permanently."
She paused, letting the words sink in, then continued with careful precision. "For example, a successful union with a C-rank adventurer would elevate you to B-rank. Bonding with an A-rank would push you straight into S-rank. Higher ranks—S or above—could take you to SS or SSS. The more intense and pleasurable the encounter, the stronger and more stable the transfer becomes. If you were to… engage with multiple partners in one session, the effects could compound dramatically."
Alex stood frozen, mouth slightly open. The humiliation of moments ago flipped violently inside him, transforming into something hot and electric. His mind raced with the implications: the gorgeous assessor standing right in front of him, the promise of climbing ranks not through endless grinding but through raw, skin-on-skin ecstasy. A slow, hungry grin spread across his face before he could stop it.
Elena noticed the shift in his expression. Her flush deepened, but she held his gaze with professional firmness. "This ability is extremely rare and potentially controversial. The guild will monitor your rank jumps closely. Discretion is essential—not every woman will be open to this method, and some encounters could be… dangerous if mishandled. You must be careful who you choose."
She tapped a final command, registering him officially. "For now, you are listed as F-rank Provisional with a sealed special trait notation. I've assigned you to a beginner clearing squad for tomorrow's dungeon run. Your squad leader will be Kira, a C-rank swordswoman. She's… capable. Use the time to prepare. The guild provides basic gear for new recruits."
Elena stepped closer, her lab coat brushing lightly against him as she handed him a small access card. Her scent—clean, faintly floral with an undercurrent of something warmer—filled the small space between them. "Your first power assessment is complete. Report to the equipment wing on the fifth floor before you leave today. And Alex…" She hesitated, green eyes flicking over his face. "If this trait is real, you could become one of the strongest adventurers this country has seen. But it starts with courage most people lack."
Alex took the card, fingers brushing hers for a brief second. The contact sent a spark through him that had nothing to do with mana. "Thank you, Dr. Elena. I think I understand exactly what I need to do."
He picked up his duffel and headed for the door, mind already spinning with dark, thrilling possibilities. The negative F-rank reading no longer felt like a death sentence. It felt like the setup to the ultimate cheat code.
As the chamber door slid shut behind him, Elena remained standing beside the shattered remnants of the diagnostic orb, one hand pressed lightly to her chest. Her breathing had quickened, and a small, secret smile touched her lips.
In the hallway, Alex exhaled slowly, heart racing. Tomorrow he would meet this Kira. Tomorrow the real game began.
And for the first time in his life, being powerless had never felt so full of promise.