CHAPTER 289: THE TALE OF ALEX STRATOS [PART 1]

Alex deliberately stayed behind after adjourning the meeting.

Since the others had their own business to attend to, they left the clock tower one by one. Once he was certain that everyone but Latifa and Lotte were out, he approached the sleeping beauty’s bed and looked at the young fox lady.

Lotte stood at the side, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched Alex. A faint smile adorned her lips, her eyes slightly squinted as if looking at something very amusing.

"Latifa, can we talk?" Alex asked as he sat on the bed. "I want to ask you something."

No answer.

Looking at Latifa’s face, Alex was almost sure she was asleep, just like always.

But there was something that didn’t escape his notice—when he sat on the side of the bed and asked his question, her tail started to gently sway. Was she really asleep?

Since he had no way to verify, Alex went with the safer option, asking her Second Alter, Lotte, instead.

"Lotte, can you or Latifa enter people’s dreams?" Alex asked.

"No comment," Lotte answered.

"What do you mean no comment?" Alex blinked. "I’m just asking a simple question."

"And I’m just giving you a simple answer." Lotte smiled sweetly.

"No comment is not an answer."

"It is a reply, no?"

Alex sighed before glancing on Latifa’s swaying tail, which seemed to be mocking him. For a brief moment, the young man was tempted to hold that tail and press it against his cheek to feel how soft it was.

However, he couldn’t possibly do that. After all, Latifa was a girl. Holding her tail without permission would be inappropriate.

He could still remember that the young lady had kicked his character, Alex Stratos, in the game when an option to hold her tail appeared on the choices.

At that time, he felt it was the obvious choice.

Unfortunately, his affection rating for Latifa was very low at that time, so instead of raising her affection, it only made it decrease.

But it didn’t end there. Latifa also unleashed a 99-hit Combo, instantly killing his game character on the spot.

Alex didn’t want to experience that suffering in real life!

Suddenly, Alex had a thought.

He leaned a little closer to the young lady before saying something.

"Let’s go sing Karaoke next time."

The fox tail that was gently swaying earlier stood straight, its hairs hardening like needles.

Alex also saw the young lady subconsciously clench her fists, and her expression turned into a pout.

Although this couldn’t be considered as evidence, the young lady’s reaction was too funny to ignore.

Lotte, who was looking at the two, covered her lips as her body shook from time to time.

Clearly, she was holding back her laughter as she also found Latifa’s reaction quite funny.

"So you’re not going to admit anything, huh?" Alex asked. "Hmph! Since you and the Latifa in my dream are different people, I’ll make sure to give her a hug. I’ll also hold her tail while I’m at it."

Latifa’s tail, which already stood on end, ignited with a purple flame, which made Alex hastily back away.

"You’re not allowed to hug me in reality or in a dream," Latifa replied, glaring at Alex.

"So you’re the Latifa in my dream, correct?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"You just admitted it earlier!"

Latifa frowned. "I didn’t admit to anything. However, you’re not allowed to touch me if you dream of me."

Alex sighed and raised both of his hands in surrender.

"Okay, let’s talk this out." Alex grabbed a chair and placed it right beside the bed.

After sitting on it and making himself comfortable, he gazed at Latifa and asked in a serious tone.

"We both saw each other’s memories," Alex said. "I don’t know what you saw, but I believe you saw some unbelievable things, right?"

Latifa puffed up her cheeks before lying back down on the bed, facing the other side and only showing her back to Alex.

Clearly, she didn’t want to talk.

In all honesty, Latifa saw unbelievable things.

However, it wasn’t the memories that Alex had on Earth.

The memories that Latifa saw were the memories of Alex Stratos.

The Alex who faced off against Boss Monsters, which were Rank 7 and higher.

Latifa was truly shocked when she saw Alex’s Dungeon Raids alongside his guild members.

She also saw him die in some of those raids, which made her feel confused.

In the end, she thought that they might be the memories of Alex’s past lives, similar to the time when she and Alex were in the Morgim Trials.

Because of this, she decided to enter his dreams to see if she could gain some information about his past lives.

However, what she saw was a world very different from her own.

Noelle, who had a very close relationship with Alex, seemed to know her as well for some reason.

In fact, Latifa found the dream quite weird since she was unable to manipulate it.

The young lady wished to know more about Alex, so she entered his dream to see traces of his past.

But whenever she tried to dreamwalk, she would always find herself inside the apartment of a young man who didn’t look like Alex at all.

However, Latifa knew with every fiber of her being that the young man was really Alex.

He had dark-brown hair and brown eyes. Although he wasn’t as handsome as the current Alex, he still had this charm that could attract ladies if he put some effort in his looks.

Also, Noelle seemed to be a little older than her as well, but not by much. At most, she was in her late teenage years by human standards.

Outside of Alex’s apartment was a world that was very different from the world she was in.

She took in these sights and sounds, thinking that it might also be part of Alex’s other past lives, which he dreamed subconsciously.

But when they took her to the Karaoke Shop, Latifa experienced something that made her question her life choices.

Noelle sang beautifully, and even Latifa, who wasn’t well-versed in the musical arts, enjoyed it greatly.

Alex also sang wonderfully, making her heart skip a beat. Frankly, she would like to listen to him more.

However, when she tried to imagine the singing of the Alex she knew, the Alex in the dream transformed into the silver-haired young man she was familiar with.

Although she was surprised about this sudden turn of events, she was still very happy because her wish was granted.

However, the moment Alex Stratos sang, the world shattered completely, and she fainted then and there.

When she woke up, she suffered from a migraine, which lasted for hours.

Since then, she decided to put her dreamwalking on hold for the time being, until she understood what happened in Alex’s dream.

The young lady’s thought was broken when he once again heard Alex talk to her.

"Latifa, look at me," Alex said. "Let’s talk."

Latifa didn’t answer right away, and Alex remained silent as if waiting for her answer.

This silence lasted for a few minutes before Latifa turned around to look at him.

"I’m sorry," Latifa said. "I intruded in your dreams without permission."

"That’s fine," Alex answered. "Now, can you tell me what you saw in my memories? I don’t want you to have any misunderstandings, so I wanted to have a proper talk. That way, I can explain things properly."

Latifa nodded. "Okay. I also wanted to know the truth. Did you really fight against the Rank 8 World Boss, Cerberus?"

Alex blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I said, did you really fight the Rank 8 World Boss Cerberus?" Latifa repeated. "How did you manage to survive that encounter when you’re just a Rank 2? That’s impossible, right?"

Alex tilted his head to the side because the Rank 8 World Boss, Cerberus, was one of the Raids that he had participated in with his guildmates.

"Also, did you fight the Rank 8 Field Boss, Dullahan, with only two people supporting you? That’s a little insane, don’t you think? I saw you die three times fighting it. But since you died so many times, how come you’re still alive?

"Do you lose your power every time you die? Is that why you are only a Rank 2 Warrior right now? Are you an immortal or something?

"Last but not least, I saw you when you were still a baby. You were held by a middle-aged man wearing a crown. Are you perhaps a prince of a faraway kingdom?"

Lotte, who was listening quietly from the side, looked at Alex in disbelief.

There was no reason for her to doubt Latifa’s words. Alex must’ve truly fought against strong monsters in the past.

Latifa was looking at Alex with curiosity and waited for the young man to answer her questions about the handsome and dashing Shield Savant she saw in his memories.