Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem

Blue needles of concentrated magic power flew out like hornets. They stung Zach's barrier and shattered like pellets of glass without so much as leaving a dent. But even when the magic missiles hadn't done anything, Zach felt a chill run down his spine.

Without his barriers, he would have been in trouble. The power and speed of those things weren't anything to scoff at.

Despite that, they had only served as a distraction to let Lexi close the gap and slash across Zach's stomach without him reacting in time. She would have succeeded in revealing Zach's dark insides to the world if it hadn't been for his barriers.

Her sword broke through the dome-like barrier around Zach like it was ice, and her sword was lodged in it for a second before she pulled back and thrust forward.

Her sword pierced through the dome-like barrier around Zach, only stopping when it struck the skin-tight barrier with a clack.

Magical energy flared out along her sword, enshrouding it in flames that shot straight onto Zach, bathing him in red fire. The fire wreathed around Zach but was unable to so much as singe a hair on his head. The heat couldn't penetrate his barrier.

That wasn't everything in Lexi's arsenal, so even if she was surprised at the sturdiness of Zach's barriers, she was confident she could break through them before or later. But before she could, a tightly wound fist came bearing down on her face. It didn't hit. She pulled back just in time to let it slide past.

But in doing so, she revealed an opening and Zach took a step forward, swinging another fist upward. Lexi leaned backward, and Zach's fist grazed her jaw. The barrier over his knuckles tapped her slightly, tilting her head but without doing any damage.

As she continued with another step backward, Lexi slashed upward with her sword. She reinforced her slash by Dominating the sword. More like a club than a sword, the weapon crashed through the first barrier before ramming into the second one. Even the barrier that was like a second skin cracked under the hit, even if it didn't break.

It was enough to stop Zach in his tracks and stop him from pressing the attack.

Both Lexi and Zach took a step back, panting slightly. They looked at each other, admiration in their eyes.

"Have you been slacking off or what, Lexi? If it continues like this, you might lose your place in the family."

"As if. If anyone's going to lose their place, it's gonna be you, you little twat. Our family doesn't think highly of cheaters and steroid users."

"What?"

"Isn't that how you got that strong?"

"Nope. I mean, not if potions don't count."

Lexi's eyes widened. Right. Zach had become the owner of a guild of alchemists, and one of his familiars was a desert witch, a very capable one at that.

It was a method so expensive and ineffective that even scions of reputable households like the sons of daughters of Evandiel balked at using it, though they also didn't use it because it was unnecessary.

Using potions to cut short the time needed for recovery and increase the rate at which the body builds muscle wasn't as efficient as it sounded. The potions also tended to lose effect after using too many, even when made with excellent and expensive materials.

However, with Alzara's skill and Zach's Material Extraction, the potions he used were of such impeccable quality that they barely lost effect while also being efficient. And when they did lose effect, Alzara had another recipe ready to go that would give similar results if not better.

Since he was making the potions, he also didn't have to worry about anything but the cost of the materials, which, compared to the price of the potions he and Derot were selling, was but a fraction. Even when Zach poured liquid gold into his body, he was still making a profit from his guild.

Derot had lost weight and hair in the process and looked unhealthily tired. But he was still working hard to fend off every other merchant and alchemist offended by the unnamed guild's meteoric rise on the market.

"It does. Cheater. Ptui." Lexi mimicked a spitting motion as she confirmed that Zach had used a shortcut. She wouldn't admit she was jealous. Instead, she fired a hastily conjured ball of lightning at Zach's face.

He blinked as it struck the barrier and dissipated with a fizzle without doing any damage to him or his barrier. The next second, the same moment he opened his eyes again, a sword came flying. It bounced off the barrier and dropped to the ground.

Zach's eyes couldn't help but trail after the sword as it bounced and rattled on the ground. That was a mistake. It wasn't something that would have changed anything. Technically speaking, it was a mistake to look away from his opponent.

But even if Zach had been able to react in time, he wouldn't have done so. He was confident he could take any hit.

However, Zach couldn't even see, much less react to Lexi's next attack.

A spell descriptively named Strike gathered in the air in front of Zach before striking him in the center of his chest like a battering ram. It sent him flying across the room, his barrier be damned.

Before Zach could land, another Strike hit him and smashed him into the ground hard enough to make the inflexible body of a human bounce up again.

Lexi had said she wasn't holding back this time, at least to herself.

She didn't give Zach a chance to gather his bearings and continued hitting him with repeated Strikes. The force of each blow resounded through his body, disorienting him and shaking up his organs.

It was not comparable to when he overworked his Blessed Defense.

Through his tumbling vision, Zach threw up a barrier powerful enough to thwart one Strike. The time he bought with that was enough to gather himself and stand up. After taking so many, Zach could tell when and from where the Strikes were coming, letting him set up small and solid barriers to stop them before they could hit him.

At the same time, he sprinted toward Lexi.

As a mage, she had the advantage when they were at a distance. He had to get close.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Lexi grinned when Zach rushed at her.

Experience new tales on empire

Predictable as ever.

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