HDXD: Omni Harem System-Chapter 36: On The Ground

FWOOOOOOSH!!

The cold wind of the Monster World roared past Adam’s ears as he plummeted toward the twisted expanse of the Paffora Forest below. His body ached all over, his arms barely responding, his wings piercing through the sky towards the ground. Blood streamed from his lips, hot and thick, leaving a crimson trail in the air as he fell.

His entire liver region was swollen, a deep, bruised section that spread up his chest, and pulse like fire, with all honesty it felt like he was beaten with a hammer in that area, and stabbed on top of the inflamed area.

He was done 3 fingers as well, but beyond that, and the blood loss he lives.

As a result, he was disoriented, and with the speed he was falling, to get away from the skies as quickly as possible, it did not make things any better.

His initial vision was blurry, as he tried to focus.

’I need to slow down.’

He said to himself, as he was about to crash into the endless webs of branches and seas of giant monster-like trees below.

CRASH!

Branches splintered as he tore through the canopy like a raging tank, sharp leaves slicing at his skin like blades. The impact sent a jolt of minor pain through his nerves, but he barely had time to react before he slammed into another tree...hard, and the impact was loud.

BOOOOOM!!

The sound of his landing could be heard within a small area, as he came crashing down at high sub-sonic speed, and hit the forest floor like a ragdoll, rolling once before coming to a jarring stop, forming a small crater in the ground, and shaking the area a little.

Adam emerged from the crater, his landing rough but alive, his new abilities to make his wings as light as a feather due to his new lore ability assisting him with his weight control when plummeting downwards helped him with his landing.

That and he was slowly making the air dense, via air magic hence the reason, why his body was glowing silver in color, with a magic circle scribe at his chest.

He still had a ridiculous amount of Astrum left in his reserves, and with his absurd absorption rate, it was practically cheating. The Astrum he used to form the air sphere around his head and the protective cloak around his body? Completely insignificant.

By the time he spent it, he had already absorbed nearly fifty times the amount back. At this point, using magic for Adam wasn’t even a trade-off...it felt as natural as breathing, with almost no cost at all.

For a moment, he just stood there.

Looking around, and taking in his surroundings.

"It’s just like Minerva said... but seeing it in person makes her description feel downright tame when she first describes this place to me."

Said Adam.

Turning his head to the right, then to the left, taking in the sight slowly.

The trees here are massive, some of the smaller ones here were easily thicker than two school buses side by side, so one can imagine how thick to bigger ones truly were. Their trunks stretch impossibly high, their branches twisting and sprawling in every direction, especially near the canopy, where they’re not just thick, but gnarled and chaotic.

The leaves glow a deep, eerie red, more visible now in the night, casting an unsettling light through the dense forest. Beneath them, strange vegetation thrives, bluish bushes, unnatural greenery, and god knows what else. The air is thick, suffocatingly humid, yet cold at the same time.

But the worst part?

Was easily how the nature of Miasma differs here when it is being compared to more normal parts of the Monster World, due to how dense it was here.

Normally, the purple mist appears at night, when Miasma is at its strongest, but here, it literally seeps into everything, clinging to the air like hardened glue, and flowing water that was fluid in motion, or like a blood stain on a white shirt, simultaneously tangible, yet intangible.

As a result, the Miasma in the atmosphere was so potent that it changed reality itself, straining every inch of this place with a creeping violet hue, showcasing something that can only be called a literal supernatural phenomenon.

But that aside, he rubbed his head, as he said to himself.

"Yeah, I get it now... no wonder not even normal monsters can survive in this place, their weak bodies won’t be able to handle the nature of this Miasma"

"However though let’s give this a try... it is a two-step process to healing, but it is relatively easy in execution."

Adam scanned his surroundings until his eyes settled on one of the massive, ancient trees towering above the forest floor. His gaze sharpened, not just in focus, but in perception.

Because if there was one thing all living creatures had in common, aside from their souls, it was their life force. And his special eyes at this very moment were seeing that lifeforce.

And this tree’s life force... was immense.

Without hesitation, Adam strode toward it, intent on using one of the necromantic spells inherited from Typhon via the Codex. Unlike most Astrum-based magic, which relied on extracting or manipulating attribute-specific energy, Typhon’s magic was different. It required only raw Astrum for it to be cast.

Raising his right hand, he began constructing a spell. A magic circle materialized, swirling into existence like a twisted rainbow of unnatural hues, colors that shouldn’t exist, yet did.

The completed circle hovered just above his fingertip, a perfect nine-inch sphere of layered runes and sigils.

But then, the spell took a dark turn, its true purpose being revealed.

The circle moved.

It slid downward...onto his flesh, starting from his fingertips, then to his wrist.

And the moment it made contact, his skin began to disintegrate.

His flesh peeled away in an instant, down to the very marrow of his bones. Blood boiled and vanished. Muscles withered and turned to dust. Yet, strangely enough, there was no pain.

When the decay finally stopped, half his hand was nothing but bare, ivory bone, etched with ancient markings, pulsating with eerie energy. Adam flexed his skeletal fingers, his gaze locked onto the ominous aura emanating from them.

An absurd amount of Astrum bled from his body to sustain the spell. But it didn’t matter. He absorbed energy so fast that the cost was meaningless.

"Well then, let’s give this a try."

Said Adam, as he approached the tree. Looking at it, anyone can say it was as ancient as it was large.

From there, he began to touch the tree.

The moment his bony fingertips made contact with the bark, the effects of the spell began immediately.

Decay.

Withering.

Death.

All that and more began to happen to the tree Adam was touching, its very life force flowing into him.

Leaves crumbled into dust. The trunk, once thick and thriving, shriveled and cracked, its vibrant wood turning gray and lifeless. It didn’t take long...within seconds, the colossal tree was nothing more than a hollowed-out husk, drained of every last drop of its life force.

Adam pulled back his skeletal hand, now brimming with stolen vitality. He observed it for a moment before finally speaking.

"Wowww... this... this strangely feels so good... aghh... but alas, I wonder... HMMMM!! Say System."

He said, his voice calm yet expectant.

And the System replied back

『Yes Master』

She asked, causing Adam to ask what he wanted to ask.

"How much life force did I just take with that touch?"

The response he got however made his eyebrows twitch.

『From my analysis... you have absorbed approximately 2,731 years of life force from the tree』

Adam blinked in shock

Then once more, finally he said.

"...Huh."