Chapter 194: The Warrior Princess "Um, thank you for your help," Latifa said as she bowed slightly to the young man in front of her. "I would’ve been at a loss for what to do if you hadn’t been there." "You’re welcome, and thank you as well," Alex replied. "It’s also to your credit that I earned a lot of... things. If you need my help in the future, feel free to call me again. As long as I’m free, I’ll gladly assist you." Alex was actually looking for a way to befriend Latifa, who was mostly asleep in the academy. Meeting her Astral Projection was only a random encounter, and the chances of that happening were very small. But since the young lady had sought him out for help, he thought that it would be a shame if this were to become the end of their relationship. So he decided to tell her that she could count on him if she ever found herself in trouble. "Thanks, I’ll do that." Latifa smiled. "See you around, Alex." She then disappeared into particles of light, off to somewhere in the academy. Alex sighed as he watched her go, feeling happy that he had somewhat become friends with the sleeping beauty. The young man then returned to the Ironheart Dormitory and was informed by Chuck that Professor Gareth had looked for him earlier. "Did you do something bad?" Chuck asked. "Professor Gareth is actually a very chill professor. If he’s looking for you, it might be because you are going to be punished." "I already met Professor Gareth," Alex replied. "He just wanted to ask me a few questions. Nothing too complicated." "I see." Chuck patted his chest in relief. "I really thought you were in trouble when he looked for you. By the way, Alex, since tomorrow is Saturday, do you have any plans?" The students of Frieden Academy only had classes on weekdays. Weekends were for rest. Most of them either leave the academy for short trips, visit their hometowns, do some personal training, or simply study a little more to get ahead of their peers. Alex thought for a bit before shaking his head. "I don’t have any plans for tomorrow." "Perfect!" Chuck patted his best friend’s shoulder. "Then, how about you accompany me on a little fishing trip?" "Fishing trip?" Alex blinked. Truth be told, Alex had never had the chance of fishing back on Earth, so he had tried his hand at fishing in Arcana. Although he wasn’t that good at it, he wasn’t that bad either, and it would be a good way to spend his day off.. "Okay, sounds good," Alex replied. "Where will we go fishing?" "Um, you see, I have a fiancee..." Chuck’s face reddened a bit. "However, she doesn’t like me. But a few hours ago, she suddenly invited me to go fishing at the Arowana River. It is the home of monsters that are Rank 3 to Rank 5. "I’m a little intimidated, so I’d like you to accompany me. So, thank you for agreeing. You’re really my best friend!" Alex almost choked on his saliva when he heard the words Arowana River. That was a mid-grade hunting area for ELO Players because of the high-ranking monsters that lived in it. Since many low-level players died in this river, it came to be known as the Newbie-Killing River. Anyone below Rank 3 must be extra careful whenever they visited this place, given it’s very high death rate. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮 "Chuck, does your fiancee hate you?" asked Alex, who was doing his best to keep the smile on his face from twitching. "Well, she says she really doesn’t like me," Chuck admitted. "But since our engagement was arranged by our parents, she also had no choice in the matter." "I see. I now understand why she invited you to go fishing." Alex patted the teenage boy’s shoulder while looking at him with pity. "Dim Dim," the Dim Sum God agreed. For the two of them, it was incredibly obvious what was really going on. Chuck’s fiancee wanted to use him as bait for the monsters in the river. If he got attacked by strong monsters while out on a date, then it could be easily written off as an accident. In that case, it would also be Chuck’s fault for being too weak to protect himself from such threats. "Chuck, as your friend, I want to tell you that this is a bad idea," Alex said seriously. "I don’t know who your fiancee is, but she must really hate you a lot." Chuck’s shoulders sagged a bit after hearing his best friend’s words. He also felt that being invited to such a dangerous place was strange. But since he really liked his fiance, he had decided to just go ahead and agree to her request. As a safeguard, he had also decided to invite Alex to join him. But hearing Alex say that his fiancee hated him straight to his face made Chuck a little anxious. "What’s your fiancee’s name?" Alex inquired. "Xenia," Chuck answered, still feeling down. "Xenia Valeria." "Huh?!" Alex looked at his friend in shock. "Are you talking about Xenia? That Xenia?" Seeing his best friend’s reaction, Chuck regained a bit of his confidence and raised his chin arrogantly. "Yes, my fiancee is that Xenia," Chuck stated. "Why are you engaged to the warrior princess?" Alex blinked. "Even if she’s the fourth princess of the Kingdom of Avalon, she’s still a princess." Princess Xenia was one of the main supporting characters in ELO, especially when it came to politics and events that happened within her kingdom. She was a true beauty, and many players liked her. However, Alex was not one of them. The main reason for this was because she was part of the anti-commoner faction. Unsurprisingly, she was one of the bullies who tormented Nessia and Renard in the main story line. However, after Nessia gave her a good slapping—and Renard gave her a good stabbing—the princess realized the error of her ways and became one of the most powerful supporting characters in the game. Princess Xenia was a Weapon Master, allowing her to gain mastery of any weapon she liked. She also had a special skill called Critical [EX], giving all of her attacks a 50% chance of landing a critical hit. However, it didn’t end there. Once her rank increased, that critical chance would increase by five percent. She had gained the skill Critical [EX] when she became Rank 1, and the Princess was currently a Rank 3 Weapon Master. This meant that every strike she unleashed had a 60% chance of dealing critical damage, making her a bloody damage dealer who was a permanent member of any strong party. In short, she was the META, and having her as a party member made dungeon expeditions and fighting monsters so much easier! Even though Alex didn’t like her, he had to admit that forming a good relationship with her was better than antagonizing her. "Chuck, I don’t know if you’re lucky or unlucky." Alex scratched his head. "Your fiancee is a certified lioness, but there is one thing that you should know about her." "And that is?" Chuck inquired. "She’s bi," Alex answered with a straight face. "Bi?" Chuck frowned. "What’s a bi?" "Oh... she likes both guys and girls," Alex explained. "As long as they are good-looking, then she likes them." "Wait, does that mean that me being her fiance is destiny?" Chuck flipped his hair. "I am the most dashing, handsome, and charismatic person that I have ever had the fortune of meeting in my life. It’s no wonder she chose me as her fiance." "... Right," Alex said as he did his best to keep his face smooth and expressionless. In the end, the young man decided to follow his roommate to the Arowana River, secretly hoping that he was overthinking the death flag blatantly waving on top of Chuck’s head.