38 Spinning Top

The first place Matt went was his lab. He was glad to have a place to do things secretly without prying eyes. Once he was in, he saw Martha sleeping. He poured out all of the water he brought into the feeding dish and then popped the top of the vial of blood. This was his first time directly harvesting blood from someone. There was a strange feeling in the back of his mind. It was the hunger he had suppressed.

Matt drank the blood in one go, making sure not to lose any or leave evidence. He wondered what exactly was happening inside his body that allowed him to absorb genetic material so quickly. Whatever it was didn't show up on a medical exam at least. He put the vial in bleach and went to check on Martha. She had gotten up and drawn up all the water. When Matt appeared in her line of sight, she awkwardly stumbled forward toward him like a puppy.

The first thing he noticed was that Martha had grown a bit larger. He strokes her hair-like leaves and formed a telepathic connection to her. The process was still difficult and he was tired from overusing his mental energy. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to create a stable channel before losing concentration. Realizing he reached his limits, he locked up and went back to his quarters.

Alexis had long since went to sleep. It was a few hours after his regular sleeping time so he didn't expect her to stay up. After washing up he went over the plans for the next week. His main goal was to harvest a vial of blood every day and make it look like weakness from excessive drinking. Since these vials held fifty milliliters, he could draw fifteen in one go without there being any symptoms. Based on the total blood volume, if Matt drained someone completely, he could gain six-hundred evolution points.

Matt clicked his tongue and started to doubt his pacifist strategy. However, he quickly suppressed those thoughts when he realized he wouldn't even be here if not for his strategy and choices so far. Without increasing DNA absorption to level ten, he wouldn't gain so many points from blood. Matt was also aware that killing someone without sufficient power would be suicide. But, keeping a blood bag under hypnosis and then disposing of him by sending him to attack Lorenz would be perfect.

After he rested an hour, Matt decided it was time to spy on Alexis's dreams. He formed the astral body described in the skill and felt like he was looking down at himself from above. His vision was identical to the black and white vision when using only his mental energies. Using that, he made his way toward Alexis and entered her head. Once inside, the first thing he saw was a blinding flash of light. When he looked down, he was wearing a jersey and cleats.

Suddenly, a black and white ball was kicked toward him and he instinctively bumped it with his chest and settled it underfoot. Then, he charged toward the goal and kicked it completely off target. However, at the last moment, the spin he placed on the ball turned and landed neatly into the top left corner of the goal and the crowd went wild. His team ran over to him and lifted him up. A trophy was passed to him and he held it.

When he was let down, the coach came over and gave him a hard slap on the back. As the team was cheering in excitement, he saw someone that looked just like Alexis come from the support crew. She had a ballcap and long ponytail. She was dressed in casual Earth civilian clothes. For someone that wasn't quite used to the space uniform aesthetic, this outfit was absolutely stunning. The atmosphere and sights reminded him of his past life.

"You did it Matthew, we won the world cup!"

After congratulating him, she gave him a kiss and the team came over with the cup to get a group picture taken with their striker getting action. Matt realized that everyone was speaking Russian but he understood it. After the long kiss ended, many reporters swarmed the team asking for comments. However, Matt took Alexis by the hand and dragged her away into the locker room. Matt forgot himself for a moment and was swept away by the emotions.

The first thing he did when they entered the locker room was enter a utility closet and lock the door. There was enough room for at least four people so it wasn't cramped. Matt started to take off Alexis's clothes and she did the same to him. After doing it several times, they laid on the mats breathing heavily. Matt was playing with her long blond hair and seemed to have completely forgotten he was in a dream.

"I'm happy that you scored the winning goal, but also a little sad."

"What's wrong?"

"You'll just be so famous and there will be so many prettier girls than me after you…"

"That's impossible, you're the prettiest girl in the world." Alexis seemed to be happy when he said that which made him relieved.

"There's something I wanted to tell you after the game… you're going to be a dad…" She said it in a way that was slightly scared as if he would reject her. However, this scenario brought Matt back to reality. He remembered he was in a dream, Alexis's dream.

"A father… I think that would be wonderful."

Time passed quickly in the dream and they had already been together in dreamland for years. Their child was a cute little boy they decided to name Alex to match his mother. Matt thought it was appropriate because they had the same eyes. On Alex's first birthday, Matt and Alexis got married. The wedding was small and quiet because he was a retired football player and a world cup winner so they wanted to have a private wedding. Matt didn't have any family, but the team showed up on his side.

On Alexis's side her parents, brothers, and cousins were all there. Looking at how he had no family made him a bit lonely inside but this was a dream and it was probably just that Alexis didn't know about his family. After the wedding, Alexis's parents offered to take care of Alex and the two of them went on a honeymoon. They traveled all over the world and had a lot of intimate moments. Matt eventually switched into coaching and they settled down in the capital.

They had their second child a year later. She was a little girl that they named Katrina. The dream played out quickly, but spanned over many years. Most of the day to day was skipped by the dream realm and it was mostly highlights that Matt experienced. However, this was a very lucid first-hand experience to taking care of children that existed based on Alexis's imagination. However, this escape from reality made Matt feel very solemn and satisfied with life.

Matt felt the end of the dream nearing. He wasn't sure how he knew, just that the world felt like it was coming apart. In the last moments he was holding Alexis in bed with their two children squeezed between them. The last thing he remembered were the two of them proclaiming their love. The dream faded away and the two of them woke up simultaneously. Alexis immediately looked around as if searching for something and then rested her hand on her stomach. There was a bittersweet smile on her face and she turned to Matt with glazed eyes.

"Matt… are you awake?"

"Yeah. Are you okay?"

"I just had a really happy dream."

Alexis hugged Matt and tried to go back to sleep. When Matt returned to consciousness, he didn't feel like he had just dreamt for a few hours. He felt like he spent years in another world. It was dangerously addicting. However, in the wrong mind and wrong dream, it could be very bad. Matt was glad to have discovered this first before trying it on someone else.

He was being very intimate and close with her like he was used to from the dream, but it was not something he normally did. The dream had inadvertently changed how he perceived their relationship. He only knew her for a few weeks in reality, but because of that dream, a foundation of years was built even if it was fake. He stroked her hair but it was short in reality. Alexis seemed to notice and remembered bits of her dream. She decided to grow out her hair at that moment.

The two of them eventually fell back asleep and had a dreamless rest of the night. Although he didn't figure out if she was spying on him, there was plenty of time for that. At the moment, Matt just enjoyed the lingering feelings from that vivid dream.

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Hey guys, the contract went through so now I can choose to go premium. What this will do is lock chapters behind a pay wall. I don't really want to do this, but if I do, my book will get more support from Webnovel in the form of regular features.

The downside would naturally be having to pay for chapters or use the free daily fast pass. If I do choose to go premium, it won't be for several more chapters since I want to reach a good point in the story and have enough free chapters.

What do you guys think about this? Let me know in the comments.