Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem

During those couple of weeks, Zach also started thinking more about his second contract skill. Unlike with his first, there weren't any lessons about it, and he hadn't gotten to it yet since he was busy with other lessons, studying, and club activities.

Since he was the club president and the only one with such great access to the library, a lot of the paperwork and administrative duties fell to him. It wasn't an overwhelming amount, but Zach had a tendency to let things he didn't want to do build up.

But eventually, he found for himself a relaxed evening with his three maids.

There was nothing else to do.

There was, but Zach ignored it.

So, he looked at his interface again. Nothing had changed since last time, even after he got Alzara to stop scaring away all the monsters.

"Alzara, do you have any idea what my contract skill with you does?"

Alzara tilted her head.

"It was called Material Extraction, right? Have you tried it, Master?" She asked while walking around Zach and standing behind his chair before putting her arms over his shoulders.

"I have tried trying it. But nothing seems to happen. I don't know what kind of materials I am supposed to extract or from where. Or am I supposed to extract something from materials?"

Zach couldn't help but be a little confused.

"It's a skill borne from our union, Master. I know as much or as little as you do about it. But if I were to share some of my great, desert witch wisdom, I would guess that you extract materials from, let's say, resources in their raw forms."

"What do you mean?"

"Those monsters and plants you have gathered, their only purpose is not to be collected, right, Master? I have also seen people selling parts of monsters around here. It's not because they are valuable as a form of currency. These things are useful for various things. One example would be potions.

With certain ingredients, parts of specific monsters and plants, you can create various combinations that have interesting effects." Alzara spoke not far from Zach's ear, which made it slightly difficult to focus, and she said a lot, but Zach felt like he got the gist of it.

"So, my skill can, what, harvest the valuable parts of whatever I use it on?" Zach asked.

He felt Alzara's arms move as she shrugged.

He frowned.

"But why? Why a skill like that?"

"I may be a desert witch, Master, but I'm still a witch. Potions, talismans, brews, and so on. I can make it all. I'm guessing that's why you got such a skill."

"I see…" Zach nodded slowly, not quite sure about the reasoning. His contract skill with Yanael didn't seem to have anything to do with her. It was a defensive skill he could use to keep himself safe when she fought and killed his enemies. Simple. Straightforward. Self-serving.

Material Extraction, if he went by Alzara's guess, would make it easier for her to craft potions and talismans. Discover hidden stories at m,v l'e|m-p| y r

"The one who will benefit the most from such a skill is you, Master," Alzara spoke as if she could read Zach's thoughts.

Zach's skill could make her crafting–her job–easier. But that meant she could work and make more. And if she made potions that helped him somehow, it was he who would end up gaining from it.

"I guess that's true." He was a little disappointed since it didn't seem like it would be useful in combat, but it wasn't like he needed it.

"Assuming it's like that, how do I get it to work? Do I just need to point at something and shout out the name of my skill like a magic chant?"

"Doing it like that might help. But is that what you do when you use those barriers of yours?"

"No…"

"Then…?"

"Yeah. I think I've got it. Let's try it out next time we're in the forest."

"Of course, Master."

Zach could feel a sharp gaze on him, so he detangled himself from Alzara's arms, stood up, stretched, and bade his maids a good night before he went to bed.

The next day, Zach and the rest of the club members set out in the same groups they had used since their first expedition. The goal of their expedition was to venture slightly deeper into the forest to look for new varieties and plants and gather samples of specimens subjected to more underworld energy with a higher concentration.

It was simple enough that they could do it in a day, thanks to all their previous trips and the experience they had built so far. Even if they went deeper into the forest, it wasn't like it was a different forest. It had been exposed to more and stronger underworld energy, but it was a gradual difference.

As long as everyone was careful, they had nothing to worry about. The ones with the most to worry about were Zach and Nessa since Nessa was trying to get closer to her Millipede most of the time.

She had started learning from Zach when it came to getting distracted. She still had her sense of direction, and she still knew how to read a map. But when talking to or trying to charm her Millipede, time and the ground beneath her feet seemed to slip away.

Zach's chatter and strange thoughts didn't help. Surprisingly, the two could walk and talk without any notion of the time passing.

That was why they were a little late to return to the Academy. The sun had yet to set, but they had agreed to gather in the club room around an hour before sunset, not a minute.

To their surprise, however, Zach and Nessa weren't the last to arrive.

What was even more surprising was that it was Liam and Rierdan who had yet to return. Liam was a third-year, and Rierdan was recognized as the best in the class when it came to traveling through the forest.

"T-they probably just lost track of time, right?" Zach hopefully looked at the worried faces of his club members.

"..." They didn't answer him. They didn't need to. It was obvious Zach himself didn't believe what he was saying.

Awkwardly, they sat in silence. Eventually, a couple of minutes after the sun had set and in the twilight of dusk, a common thought rose. They should do something.

But before anyone could voice that thought or actually do something, Liam burst through the door.

"R-rierdan! He was taken!" He clutched his shoulder, his shirt torn, blood streaming down his body, and his hair a dirty mess.