HDXD: Omni Harem System-Chapter 43: Aftermath

The icy grip of the battlefield was beginning to thaw.

Scattered embers still flickered in the distance, their glow barely visible against the vast stretches of frozen land. The once overwhelming chill that gnawed at Adam’s bones had begun to ease, giving way to a gradual warmth seeping back into the air.

The oppressive frost, and the rigid stillness, both were fading as though nature itself was reclaiming its balance.

Adam exhaled, his breath no longer forming thick clouds of vapor. The battle had ended, leaving behind only the scars of destruction...charred ground, shattered ice, and scattered remnants of what was once a violent clash between predator and prey.

Amidst the wreckage, his eyes landed on something that shouldn’t have survived.

It was the envelope for Mewroar, that Minerva gave him.

As he held it up, he couldn’t help but ask.

"Again, how did this thing even survive?"

He asked, but no response came.

Somehow, against all odds, it remained untouched.

That in itself was a mystery.

In a battle fierce enough to leave the meters of the landscape in ruin, how had a mere letter endured?

He pondered on it for a while, but soon he left it be, knowing he wasn’t going to get an answer.

"...Doesn’t matter."

He muttered to himself.

After all, the most important thing was that it was safe.

He held onto it tightly, feeling a sense of relief wash over him. If it had been destroyed, he wouldn’t even know where to start looking for another copy without going back to Minerva. For now, he could only be grateful.

Yet, as he reflected on the fight, something tugged at the back of his mind.

That moment.

The moment he had been on the verge of death, just before he gathered the will to fight back, to keep going, he had felt something.

A touch was the better word.

A faint, fleeting, but unmistakable feeling.

Of course, his instincts had told him it was Minerva, that she had reached out to him through their link, but now...

He began to think further, as he pondered, saying.

Was it really her?

Or was it something else?

The question gnawed at him, but in the end, the answer didn’t matter. Real or unreal, illusion or truth, it had pushed him forward.

And that was enough.

If anything, it only made him more determined.

Still, that left a bigger question.

Why had the Bulgae targeted him?

Adam frowned, his thoughts circling back to the creature’s aggression. It had been relentless, almost obsessive in its pursuit. It chases, seems personal even...as if the beast had a specific reason to come after him.

"System."

Adam called out, his tone filled with curiosity.

"Why did the Bulgae come after me?"

Adam frowned, his thoughts circling back to the creature’s aggression. It had been relentless, almost obsessive in its pursuit. He had encountered monsters before, but this was different...personal as if the beast had a specific reason to come after him.

"System."

Adam called out, his tone was filled with curiosity.

As he asked the System what was on his mind.

"Say System...any idea why the Bulgae came after me?"

The moment he asked this, the System replied back saying as such.

『Hmm... Give me a sec』

She said, and a brief moment passed, right after an answer came, as the System announced.

『Alright, got it. The big mutt was after you because of your Astrum』

Adam’s brow twitched....confused even.

"My Astrum... HAAA, but why though?!"

『Yep! Your Astrum is, like, really pure... Thanks to your Gate of Magic, you absorb and refine Astrum way better than anyone else in the Universe with Merlin herself being your only equal in this field. That makes you a walking five-star meal for predators like the Bulgae, Superficialls like that, crave Astrum given they can’t form contracts, now other creatures absorb Astrum, but when it comes to Spiritualist like you, there is no greater meal, so much so, to them eating you, is worth the risk of death』

The System explained, causing Adam to scratch the back of his head, as he commented as such.

"So that it eh?! Hmmm... not going to lie, I was expecting more."

He said out aloud.

Given the System explanation, it wasn’t because of anything personal, he had simply been top-quality prey. Or at least, that was how the Bulgae had seen him. But still, the fact that his Astrum was so potent that it attracted high-level predators like this... that was concerning. If one had come after him, would others follow?

At this thought, Adam shook his head.

There was no use dwelling on it now.

He would deal with it when the time came.

For now, there was another issue.

"Ah Shit... The MAAPPP!"

He said aloud.

As he finally realizes that the map has likely been destroyed, reduced to ash in the chaos of battle.

A minor inconvenience, really, after all, he had memorized every detail of it. Still, he let out a sigh. Given it would’ve been nice to have it, just for reference.

"Oh well! I don’t really need it... At least the letter is safe though."

Adam said as he held the letter for Mewroar in his hands, and if the map was gone, so be it.

His memory was sharp enough to make up for it. The real problem was something far more immediate.

His clothes.

Looking at himself, he butt naked, as his clothes were destroyed in battle, and sadly he did not bring a second pair of clothes with him at all.

It was not exactly the best look for someone trying to maintain some level of dignity.

"...What the hell am I supposed to do about clothes?"

He groaned, realizing he had no immediate solution.

Out of all the problems he had to deal with, this was the most serious of them all for sure.

However, just as he began to grimace at this fact, soon after, a familar voice rang in his head, it was the voice of the Universal System Losdeus.

[Notice!! Your Lore Core has been updated with a New Lore]