Never knew I was cross lol, yeah cross country bikes ok, but the only place theyre better than the galaxy is in the mud and never see too much of that even on rainy days
For the riding the OP wants I weould go with LGF's suggestion and fitting tyres with some thread maybe some cyclocross tyres. There an idea how about a cyclocross bike.
I think an MTB for the riding the OP wants to do is overkill.