“What is your name, if you even have one?” The man asked.

  “My name? I don’t have one.”

  The man sensed that Ink became calmer and started opening the potions.

  Did he believe that lie? Am I an incredible actor? I need to have my show, but why is he opening the potions? Is he going to burn me again?

  The man went to his table, opened a cabinet, and took out a jade-like mug. He poured one drop of the blue potion.

  “Here, drink this.” The man gave Ink the cup with a very thick drop of the liquid.

  “What are you trying to achieve?” Ink grabbed the cup and stared at the drop with a blank expression.

  “To test out your rank. I gave you a cup because you aren’t very aggressive.”

  “I feel like there is a deeper meaning behind the liquid, but since you insist, I will drink it.” Ink licked the blue drop; it instantly disappeared at the touch of his tongue. The aftertaste was something so fresh, it reminded Ink as if he had just eaten the strongest yet delicious mint.

  “How does it feel?”

  “Refreshing. Extremely refreshing.”

  “Very well, so you are at least above low D-rank. Now let’s try normal D-rank.” The man grabbed the cup and added a lighter blue liquid to it.

  Ink grabbed the cup and, without hesitating, licked it.

  The liquid immediately disappeared; the taste was bland; however, the aftertaste was sweet, not in an overwhelming way, but instead a sweet taste so refined all Ink could think of was the color pink.

  “How did it taste?”

  “Sweet”

  “Congratulations, you are above D-rank. There are many left, so next we will try to get a high D rank.”

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  Ink nodded and gave the cup to the man.

  The man poured a pink liquid and gave the cup to Ink.

  Ink grabbed the cup and was surprised to see a beautiful reflection of the pink that faded beautifully in the jade-like cup.

  Ink licked the drop; similar to the past two, there was no initial taste and it quickly disappeared. The aftertaste was also something euphoric; it tasted like what one would believe a cold would taste like as a child. It tasted sweet yet refreshing; it was a perfect combination of the last two he tasted.

  “So tell me how it was?”

  “It tasted like a cloud.”

  “Haha, that means you are at least above D-rank; let’s test to see if you are a C-rank.”

  When Ink handed the cup, the man poured a deep red liquid.

  Ink saw how beautiful it looked and tasted it before second-guessing himself.

  Unlike the last two, the liquid was thick, not disappearing at the touch of his tongue; the taste was kind of spicy. Ink was expecting another beautiful aftertaste, but it was the opposite of delicious.

  The aftertaste is extremely salty. Ink opened his mouth in disgust. He frantically started cleaning his tongue; every second it was on his tongue, it felt as if he was licking the tallest mountain of salt.

  “That is the end of our evaluation; you are now a high D-rank.” The man handed Ink another drop of the pink liquid.

  Ink grabbed the drink and licked it; he felt his mind clear.

  “You can now rest, but before you go, do you want me to say a message to the person who controls you?” The man asks as he is walking to where his aromas are located.

  “No, I will let him investigate everything by himself.” Ink smiled and closed his eyes.

  “If that is what you wish, then be it. Now it’s time for you to go to sleep.” The man grabbed the aromatics and a molcajete to start blending the smells.

  Yves returned to his body, extremely drowsy but very relaxed and happy.

  “What did I get?”

  “You achieved a high D rank; congratulations, you are above average.”

  “Thank you.” Yves smiled on the outside but was very disheartened, as he had struggled so much to advance two levels.

  Didn’t Ink tell me I would be a low C-rank?

  “Hurry up and go to your next evaluations. They might be better than your current results.”

  Yves thanked the man and left the door.

  He saw no one waiting for him walked up to the second room and knocked.

  A bald man opened the door wearing a pure white outfit.

  “Hello, young man, Are you here to test out your rank?”

  “Yes.”

  The bald man moved and let Yves enter.

  Yves was fascinated by the room. On the outside, it looked small compared to the other two rooms, but when he entered it tripled in size.

  “May I ask what your name is?”

  “My name is Yves; nice to meet you.”

  “Can you stand inside the massive headphones?”

  A large black-and-white headphone was laid on the floor, making the entire room stand out even more.

  Yves stood in the middle of the headphones, looked down, and saw an infinite black void.

  “What am I going to do?” Yves asked as he stared down at the void.

  “I will test out your aptitude and see what element fits you better.”

  Yves nodded and stopped looking down, as the more he stared, the more scared he became.

  “For the first test, I will give you a potion that will make you unlock all of your power.” The bald man grabbed a clear liquid and gave it to Yves.

  “What will this do?” Yves asked as he gulped from seeing the strange yet familiar liquid.

  “You will have to release all of your power into one of the speakers, which, if done correctly, you will pass out, and the color of the void will change, and that will tell your element. Also, it will fill the void with your mana, and that will tell me your capacity and potential.”

  “Is it accurate?”

  “I mean, not entirely, but this is the best we have. There might be some missed diagnostics, but we are in no situation of trying to perfect it. This is more like a rough draft of your abilities.”

  “So there is a chance that I might be weaker or stronger than the test shows.”

  “Yes, now let’s stop chit-chatting and start your evaluation.”