Harem Sync: Divine Edition-Chapter 7: Predator’s Gaze (2)

The world around him slowed down slightly. Everything became sharper. Clearer.

Isabela continued to move, but now Haru saw things that no one else could see.

♦ Physical weaknesses: Slightly injured left knee, tense right shoulder.

♦Emotional weaknesses:

◊ [Insecurity: "Fear of being considered weak"]

◊ [Repressed desire: "Never been touched by a real man"]

The information appeared floating around Isabela, visible only to Haru.

He smiled inwardly. "This will be useful... huh!?" he thought, already seeing an opening in how to approach her.

Isabela stopped moving and noticed his intense gaze. Fixed. Too focused.

"Stop looking at me like that, you jerk!" she shouted, pointing her sword at him.

Haru blinked, returning to normal.

"Sorry, miss. It’s just... you’re very talented. I was trying to memorize your movements." It was a blatant lie. But she had no way to prove it.

Isabela snorted, irritated. "Now it’s your turn. Perform the same movements."

Haru picked up the sword. He adjusted his grip. He took a deep breath.

And he performed.

Perfectly.

Almost.

"Waking up, fighting, and dying every single day sharpened my mind in an absurd way..." he thought as he moved. "If I didn’t memorize that assassin’s steps, I would die faster. And it was always painful. That cycle taught me to observe movements..."

He got most of it right. But he failed the last three movements. His wrist turned wrong. The blade lost its angle, and Isabela frowned.

Cedrick, who was standing apart, watched calmly. He crossed his arms, analyzing. "He only missed those last three movements not because of weakness... but because of a lack of proficiency with swords," he thought. "He doesn’t have a correct and flawless grip. Still... and probably if Miss Isabela didn’t tire him out so much with the running and push-ups, he would probably, perhaps, compensate for his lack of proficiency..."

Isabela clicked her tongue. "Tsk... continue," she said impatiently. "You understand. You will practice the last three on your own. I don’t have much time."

She stopped in another pose and began another section of movements. Faster this time. More complex. During one of the movements, a side spin followed by a downward cut, Isabela made a mistake, her left knee gave way. She lost her balance. Her body tilted to the side.

"Hah! Opportunity!" thought Haru, happily.

She fell. Haru dropped his sword and ran. He caught her before she hit the ground.

She was in his arms, princess style. Face close to face. Rapid breathing on both sides. Her breasts pressed against his chest.

Isabela’s eyes widened. Red with embarrassment. Surprised.

Haru smiled slightly.

[Touch of the Goddess]: ACTIVATED

Isabela, embarrassed: "Let me go!" she said, shaking her body to free herself from Haru’s arms.

Cedrick began to approach, with steady steps.

Haru slowly put her on her feet. But he didn’t back down.

"Your knee is hurt. Let me see it," he said, bending down without waiting for an answer, thinking something completely different: "Fuck your knee, I just want to get as close to your thigh as possible... hahahaha..."

Haru touched her knee over her white sock. He pressed lightly, testing the joint.

Isabela’s leg was firm, somewhat muscular from all the training, but still had soft curves. The white stocking squeezed her thigh lightly, marking the flesh. Her sun-tanned skin appeared above the edge of the stocking, warm to the touch. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Isabela let out an involuntary moan of pain when he squeezed her knee.

Haru smiled. "Relax. I’ve seen this before." That’s what he said, but what he thought was: "I’ve never done this in real life... I’ve only studied and played a crappy simulator... but what a hot thing, I’m getting hard already!"

Isabela, annoyed at being "saved" by a slave, shook her leg and pushed Haru away from her knee. "If you’re so experienced, show me. Fight me. No weapons."

Haru smiled broadly. In addition to touching her for pleasure, he had also touched her to get some mana. More than before. Not to mention that he had leveled up that morning.

The system notified him of the amount of mana in the corner of his vision.

[700/2,400 Mana]

He accepted.

The fight began.

Isabela advanced with a straight punch. Haru dodged, leaning his body to the side, she spun and kicked sideways. Haru stepped back, letting her foot pass through the air.

He didn’t attack. He only defended. Isabela became increasingly frustrated. She used more force. More speed, until she started using mana. Her attacks were bathed in red fire. Haru, who had copied her technique, didn’t use it. To avoid problems. Instead, he circulated his mana internally. Just enough to increase his agility at the right moment. An extra boost when dodging.

Isabela was panting. She took a deep breath. Her face was red from the effort.

Haru stopped moving. He stood still in front of her, arms crossed.

"You’re wasting energy. Do you want me to show you how it’s done?"

Isabela, irritated, lunged with her flaming sword straight at Haru.

With his burned hand wrapped in bandages, Haru tilted his head to the side. The sword grazed his face. He felt the heat. He grabbed her fist with his bandaged hand. The burn hurt, but he ignored it and guided Isabela into a stance he thought was correct. He slightly turned her fist on the sword, adjusting the angle of the blade.

He stood behind her. Isabela had her back to him. He held her hand that wielded the sword. His other hand rested on her waist. Haru pretended it was instruction. But it was clearly sensual.

Isabela froze. She felt his touch. The heat of his body pressed against her back. His breath near her neck made her blush.

Haru whispered in her ear, his voice low and controlled: "See? Speed... And control."

Before Isabela could react, Cedrick pulled Haru away by the arm. He pulled him away from her.

Isabela sheathed her sword quickly and abruptly. She turned her back and left the training ground without saying a word. Cedrick followed her, shooting Haru a deadly look before leaving.

Haru stood there, alone in the middle of the courtyard.

"Damn... I’m hard..." he thought.

He ran to the stable.

"Hahahahahaha!"...

...

Isabela was in her room, alone.

She slowly took off her training clothes. The white linen shirt stuck to her body with sweat. The short skirt fell to the floor. She took off her long socks, leaving red marks on the skin of her thighs where the fabric had been tight. She took a shower...

She stood in front of the mirror, half-naked. Her sweaty body glistened faintly in the light of the mana lamp, and she touched her own shoulder. Where Haru had touched her.

"Why does that slave... look at me like that?" she thought, frowning. "As if... he already knew me?"

She shook her head, irritated. "How absurd. Now I just think he’s a lucky pervert."

She put on her nightgown and lay down on the bed. She pulled the sheets up to her chest, closed her eyes, but couldn’t stop thinking about him.

...

Haru was in the stable, in the corner where he slept.

After jerking off three times thinking about the feeling of having a hot girl’s ass pressed against him, without it being the bus brake on the way to school.

[Isabela Valtherion has taken an interest in you] +100 XP

He finally opened the system.

┌─ [STATUS WINDOW]

◊ XP: 1135 / 2.500 [LVL: 7]

◊ Strength: 7 ↑↑

◊ Agility: 9 ↑↑

◊ Stamina: 6,2 ↑↑

◊ Intelligence: 11 ↑↑

◊ Luck: 3 ↑↑

◊ Mana: 350/2400 ↑↑

└────────────────♦

┌──[GOALS]

♦ Isabela

◊ Gain her trust, to do that compete in the guard election and win. (6% progress)]

◊ Get physically close enough to collect essence. Collect as much as possible. (6% progress)]

└────────

┌──[SYS.GOALS]

♦ [QUEST: "Prove Your Worth"]

◊Survive 7 days of training (Day 1/7)

[New Quest Unlocked: "Physical Intimacy"]

◊ Make Isabela willingly touch you.

Reward: +1 Skill Slot

└────────

Haru smiled broadly.

"Twelve percent in one day... At this rate, she’ll be in my bed, I mean, in my hay, before the end of the week."

He looked at his hand. The one that had touched her. He could still feel the warmth of her waist.

"Six more days. And this time... I’m going to steal more than just mana... Not to mention that this is my first hottie, I still have a harem to build if I want to survive!"

However, at midnight, while Haru slept, the air shifted. The metallic sound of a blade heading toward his skull was his usual alarm clock. Haru didn’t open his eyes; he reacted. He turned his body to the side, letting the cold steel pierce his wooden pillow.

As he got up, a silver flash crossed the room. A throwing knife. Haru, with his reflexes at the limit of his new agility, stretched out his hand at the last moment, letting the knife pierce his palm, but he defended himself, grabbing the knife handle with his other hand. In one continuous movement, he threw the knife aside. The blade stuck into the thigh of the figure who had tried to pierce his brain. A muffled grunt echoed.

"Shit... where’s my sword?" Haru thought, quickly groping the hay around him before charging like a cornered animal at the attacker in front of him (who had thrown the knife), but a third enemy fell from the ceiling in front of him. The stranger stretched out his palm: a wave of green energy expanded and enveloped Haru’s body.

Haru’s muscle fibers locked up. It was as if his blood had turned to cement.

"Damn it!" he screamed mentally, forcing every neuron to move, but that magic was beyond his current level.

The second attacker (who threw the knife) approached. He removed his hood, revealing his cold face. It was Cedrick.

The butler had no anger in his eyes; he had the boredom of someone cleaning a stain on the floor. Cedrick raised his index finger. At its tip, geometric magic circles formed, glowing in a pale blue hue. He pressed his finger against Haru’s forehead.

♦ [MANA INHIBITED]

◊ Ability to use Skills: 0%.

"Let’s go." Cedrick’s voice was more authoritative. "Don’t make us carry your corpse before it’s time. Follow us."

The being emanating the green wave relaxed the pressure, but did not release it. Haru felt the strength return to his legs, but his mana was dead. He felt like just a man against monsters again.