No regrets

19996, 19997,19998,19999, 20000," Alden dropped to the ground in exhaustion as he completed his sets. It sucked for him because now that he was stronger, normal means of training didn't work for him.

" Pheow!" He grabbed a bottle and gulped down some water, stopping to catch his breath a few times.

Alden turned and looked at himself in the mirror. He couldn't help but feel impressed by his physique. Compared to himself less then 2 months ago, now he looked like a beast.

Alden was as muscular as an ox, with his arms being thicker then a tree. His shoulders were like large mountains on either side of his head, and his chest was puffed out like a proud lion.

His biceps were like massive rugby balls, and the veins in his body were as large as a pencil. His six packs seemed to have been sculpted to perfection, and altogether his physique would put a bodybuilder to shame.

His beard covered his jaw, making him look like a fierce lion. Instead of making him look hyperagressive, it was just enough, making him look both more masculine and handsome.

He was currently shirtless, due to the intense heat. He even opened the windows, in hope that it'd help him by letting some breeze in. South African summers were something else!

His train of thought was interrupted by his mother's voice.

"Alden, a friend of yours is here to see you!"

"A friend?" As far as Alden knew, he had no friends. He was pretty much a loner.

Alden opened his room door and jogged down the stairs.

"Yeah mom!?"

He came into the kitchen to find that seated at the table situated in the middle of the room was none other than Lily Parker.

"Lily!? What are you doing here?" Lily met his surprised expression, and an equally as surprised expression came over her face. She looked away shyly, and Alden realized something.

"Oh sh-" Like the wind, he dissapeared from the kitchen. His speed, faster then light itself.

He felt like jumping off of a cliff, but he didn't want to go down that path again. He didn't realize he was still shirtless. He cursed at his error before he wore a shirt and went back downstairs.

"Haha... Hello," He said awkwardly.

Lily just glared at him, clearly disentertained.

It was a good thing his mother wasn't in the kitchen.

"Alright, so... What's up?" Alden asked.

Lily sighed before saying, "You've been saying that I shouldn't use my parents money until I've set up a guild. Now, you've been saying I should wait before setting up a guild. Why can't I just do it now? Why do I have to wait?"

Alden sighed, before saying. "Could you wait just one more day?"

"One more day? Why?"

"Because, you'll realize tomorrow. Just wait a while." Nothing but sincerity filled Alden eyes, as he stared pleasingly at Lily.

Lily sighed.

"Fine. Only one day then..." She stood up from the chair, and I'm a few seconds she had left the house.

Alden heard a voice.

"So...Who is this... Friend?"

"Oh..." Alden cursed under his breath before spinning around. "A work colleague. That's all."

"That's all?" his mother asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"That's all!" He groaned, before darting to his room to escape the he harassment he would suffer lest he stayed.

~~~

It was early morning, when the rays of the sun peeked through the curtains, blinding Alden's sleepy eyes. All his sleep was however, washed away by the realization.

Today was the big day.

Though he knew he'd be graded S-class, it still excited him to see that. It was like a testement of how far he'd come, a proof that he'd changed.

In under 10 minutes, Alden was done with all he needed to do. He wore a simple black hoodie with black track pants, before heading downstairs.

"Early today? Aren't you?" his mother asked.

"I've got things to do, mom," Alden said as he sat down to breakfast.

His mother simply smiled. It brought hot to her heart knowing that her son had found himself, she was sure it took a lot of falling before he could finally stand. Now, all she feared is if he would keep standing.

Very soon, Alden was done eating. Then, he looked to his mother.

"Can I take the car?"

"Ah... Of course," she was caught a little off guard by the question.

Alden stood up to leave before he said something to his mother.

"Oh, and make sure to keep an eye on the TV. Something bigs happening today." Then before she could probe further, he spun around and left.

His mother could just watch him in surprise.

Alden sped down the road, overtaking a car or two along the way. He hummed a tune, and kept an eye on the scenery as he drove, suddenly, he felt a need for an iced coffee. With his desire in mind, he took a few turns on the road till he reached a takeaway.

He parked his car, and jumped out of the vehicle. As he was about to walk away from it, he noticed someone familiar seated on the sidewalk.

He didn't say anything, he just entered the shop and got what he wanted, together with some extra food.

"Hello, old wise guy!" Alden greeted, a pack of food in his hand.

"Oh? It's you again..." The beggar narrowed his eyes as he stared at Alden. "You look different. You look like...a man."

Alden smirked, "well , you don't look much better , honestly."

The old man didn't know, but his advice had saved Alden, in a way. It played a role in guiding Alden. Because of that, Alden couldn't let the guy rot on the streets.

The old man accepted the food and thanked Alden before enjoying the meal.

"Hey old sir," Alden said.

"Yeah?"

"How'd you like a job?"

"A job?" The old man paused halfway through eating. "Of course! In what?"

"I want you to be my personal advisor and also, as a team captain in my friends guild."

The old man paused, before thoughtfully replying. "I can work with the first one, but I'm not to sure about the whole ranger thing."

"What... Why?" Alden asked, puzzled.

"Well...my ranger license was confiscated." The old man said.

"Confiscated? Why's that..." Alden asked surprised, he quickly added. "If you're okay with telling me."

"Of course," the old man chuckled. But this ain't the type of story you go yapping around about! "

Alden nodded.

" Well... I was a big dog jack in the day. I thought I could bark up any tree but I soon realized, that wasn't the case. I was accused of heinous crimes, and my license was confiscated. Furthermore, I was banned from seeing my family."

A sad laugh followed the statement.

"Can you get it back?" Alden asked.

"60000. For that price alone."

Alden whistled. It was looking like it's take a lot more to get the old man's help. "

~~~

Here he was again, back where it all began.

Alden walked into the Rangers association office. He felt a sense of deja vu as he absorbed his surroundings, a large spacious lobby with couches set up within. At the front desk was the same young lady he had seen the last time.

He recalled how nerve wracking it had been for him coming here alone. He also remembered how the last time he had embarrassingly been a stuttering mess.

This time it would be different, he would not leave here depressed and dejected but he would be confident and joyful. This was the end of any trace of his weakness. This, was the beginning of his strength.

With every footstep powerful and domineering, like a lion, he walked up to the front desk. The woman looked up at him from where she sat, her eyes tired and bored.

"Good morning, how can I help you?" She asked.

"Good morning. I'm here to reawaken."

The secretary sat upright. "Reawaken? That will cost you R10 000, sir."

"I've got the money required."

The secretary seemed to be unsure about something, but she simply nodded and turned to her computer.

"Name?"

"Alden Hall."

She began to type into the computer and after a moment she paused, and her eyebrows narrowed as she asked, "Wait, were you awakened as an F-rank 2 months ago?"

Alden nodded.

"Uhh, sir...are you sure you want to try and reawaken? There is a very low chance of you reawakening."

"Don't worry," Alden said, a confident smile on his face. "I'm sure."

The woman sighed and began typing into the computer.

"You know where to go, right?"

"Yes," Alden said with a polite nod. "Thank you."

The woman nodded and Alden turned around and walked further into the building.

The woman lifted her gaze and watched Alden leave from the corner of her eye. She felt her heart ache for him. To her, it looked like Alden was finding it difficult to accept his fate. His determination was admirable, but it seemed hopeless.

"Though, I don't remember him being so..." She searched for the word. "Confident?"

Originally, she remembered seeing a sickly, nervous and untidy mess of a boy. Seeing his pitiful state, she'd even secretly wished he'd get a good class.

When she heard that he'd gotten an F-class, she felt terrible for him. She couldn't imagine how unfortunate the boy was. However now, he seemed to have changed. Now she feared that on failing twice, he'd be more emotionally damaged than he was the last time.

The woman sighed, why was she worrying s much. It was none of her business, right?

Alden however, found himself walking through the corridors, toward the testing room. Suddenly, the journey to the room seemed to lengthen.

An irratable anxiousness filled his chest, and Alden felt his legs grow heavy, it was as if they'd turned to lead.

What if something went wrong and he tested as F-class? What would he do then?

Alden shook his head.

That wouldn't happen, because he was no longer weak. He knew that, it doesn't matter if the world didn't know that.

Back when he was in the EARTH DRAGON dungeon, he had asked himself a question. What would be a viable reason to dedicating his timeto growing stronger? Was it worth it.

Truth was, he didn't know.

At least now, he had a reason. He has felt what it was like to experience extreme regret. That was, when he found himself a step closer to death. The crushing realization that he wouldn't have another chance.

He didn't want to feel that regret again. He would do everything to make sure he never had any regrets.

That began now.