HDXD: Omni Harem System-Chapter 28: Minerva’s Mission

The scent of liquor hung heavily in the air, so thick that it felt almost tangible. Adam wrinkled his nose slightly, though he had long since grown used to it. Still, the sheer potency of the aroma never failed to remind him of one undeniable truth.

"Honestly, Minerva drinks as much as ten humans together need to drink water."

He muttered to himself, shaking his head as he continued walking across the courtyard.

The courtyard itself was vast, a sacred training ground of sorts, dominated at its center by a towering Gurgoa tree. Its thick, gnarled roots sprawled out like veins through the earth, its canopy adorned with resplendent red and glowing orange flowers.

That grows on the tree.

A beautiful sight, yet deceptively deadly.

To humans, the flowers were lethally poisonous, but in the world of alchemy, they were invaluable. Their properties made them a crucial ingredient in various potions, medicines, and poisons alike.

And underneath that very tree, as expected, sat Minerva.

She was lounging in her usual carefree manner, legs lazily stretched out, back against the colossal trunk, and in her hand...a sake cup, filled to the brim. The woman's purple glowed faintly under the fading daylight, her eyes half-lidded in amusement as she gazed at Adam's approaching figure.

"...You sure took your time, boy."

Adam chuckled sheepishly.

"Ahaha... sorry, big sis. I ran into Roland on my way here, and well, you know how talkative he can be when you give him the time of day."

Minerva merely raised an eyebrow, taking another slow sip from her cup.

"Hmph... That damned machine does like to talk too much...but still... it's unusual for you to be so late."

Said Minerva, causing Adam to scratch the back of his head awkwardly before shaking off the tension and getting to the real question at hand.

"But that aside, why did you call me here three hours earlier than usual? It's barely past three. We normally train around six, six-thirty, when the great mist descends, signaling nightfall in the monster world... and Miasma is at its strongest."

Minerva didn't answer immediately.

Instead, she let out a long sigh, then slipped a hand between her ample cleavage, rummaging for something.

Adam, at this point, wasn't even fazed by her ridiculous but hot and teasing antics. A moment later, she pulled out a folded envelope, the parchment bearing the insignia of the Shinso family.

"Well...

She finally spoke, holding the letter out to him.

"We've been training for a while now... and seeing that I've taught you the basics....how to move, how to control miasma, and how to compress it into something tangible. It's time you put those lessons to the test."

Minerva said.

Adam hesitated slightly before taking the letter, his brows furrowing.

"What do you mean?"

Minerva smirked.

"I have a mission for you. No, rather, a direct order to you, I am coming to you not as big sis, but as the family head. Think of it as your rite of passage, now that you're old enough to start handling Shinso family matters."

But knowing it would be pointless to reject it, he inwardly sighed and said.

"Alright... what's the mission?"

Minerva leaned forward slightly, her expression growing uncharacteristically serious.

"You're to deliver that letter to an old friend of mine. He is stationed in Paffora Forest, along with his people. Normally, I'd contact him myself when I need to get an important message across, but for some reason, my telepathic link isn't reaching him. That means something is blocking it."

She paused, her tone growing graver.

"Which could be either a good or a bad thing, if I am thinking as to why it's the case. But considering who he is... I suspect the latter for them... but the former when it comes to benefit in the long run, given few things in this world hold the power to sever my connection like it is doing right now."

Minerva informed Adam as she got her point across.

However, Adam blinked, a sense of unease creeping up his spine.

"Wait... what? Uh, big sis, no offense, but if you're saying this could be dangerous, why are you sending me? You do realize I'm still a kid... a five-year-old kid."

At these words, Minerva let out a low chuckle, her sharp teeth flashing in amusement.

"And yet this five-year-old is self-aware enough to question it."

She said while leaning back against the tree, her eyes gleaming with mischief, then continued by saying.

"Look, boy, I wouldn't be sending you on a death mission if I wasn't sure you could handle it... have some fate in your big sis would you."

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Minerva said while taking another sip of her sake, and eyeing down Adam as they chatted with one another at this moment, after all, his reactions were quite cute.

Adam of course still looked uncertain, so she continued.

"Paffora Forest is dangerous, yes...

She said and started to explain how that place operates.

"It's filled with Superficials of all kinds. But here is the thing, the stronger someone is, the more dangerous that place becomes, as a person's strength attracts the superficial in accordance most of the time. To put it simply, it's more lethal for me than it is for you. So logically, it makes more sense to send someone weaker."

Adam narrowed his eyes, as he challenged the explanation and said.

"That logic is backward if you ask me."

Minerva grinned.

"Maybe...

"But it's also true...

"And more importantly, I wouldn't send you if I wasn't confident I could pull you out at any time."

Her voice softened just slightly.

"I always know the location of my family members who bear the Shinso name. The moment you're in serious danger, I'll summon you right back here."

That reassurance should have made Adam feel better.

But it really didn't, and that didn't stop Minerva from trying to calm his worries down, by continuing by saying.

"Besides."

Minerva continued, swirling the sake in her cup.

"You need to get stronger....and you know that as much as I do, after all, you know how this world works. The greatest power one can receive is born through feats. You need accomplishments to earn Lore Abilities. This mission? It's your first real step forward."

She locked eyes with him, her expression dead serious despite the alcohol in her system.

"So don't hold back... Just go wild on this mission."

Adam exhaled slowly, rolling her words over in his head. There was truth in what she was saying. Experience mattered. Power was earned. And if he wanted to truly grow, he had to push himself beyond just training.

So, despite the gnawing feeling in his gut, he met Minerva's gaze and nodded.

"Alright, big sis. I'll take the task."

A slow, satisfied grin spread across her lips when Adam responded.

"Good... I know you would pull true... the Shinso family doesn't bring up cowards after all."

But that didn't mean he wasn't worried. After all, Paffora Forest wasn't just any forest, it was home to creatures that defied logic, beings that could only be described as Lovecraftian horrors.

Monsters that would be even scary for the usual Monsters in the Monster World.

The monsters in that forest weren't just monsters; they were primordial beasts, untouched by modern evolution, more akin to nightmares than living things. Unlike the structured hierarchy of the monster world, Superficials were pure, unfiltered chaos born from dense miasma that empowered and twisted their being to no end.

His mission wasn't just dangerous.

It was straight-up suicidal if not anything else.

But Minerva was powerful, absurdly so. And if she said she'd pull him out when necessary, he had to trust that.

'No point whining about it, Adam.'

He thought to himself.

'You knew what you were getting into when you came to this fanfiction world of HDXD.'

Still, he needed more information on the person he was delivering this letter to, as such he asked Minerva, saying as such.

"If I'm delivering this letter, I need to know who I'm delivering it to. Can you give me any details?"

Minerva of course nodded her head, downing the rest of her sake before answering.

"He goes by the name Asander Meowroar, Monster King of the Suicidal Nekowolves, of Clan Ultima."

Adam blinked. Then blinked again.

"...I'm sorry, did you just say Suicidal Nekowolves?"