Reflection

Alden used his mother's car to go out for a drive.

He had attended two funerals that week. One was the funeral that was held for those who had fallen inside the dungeon and the other was his father's funeral.

Alden was confused. He wasn't sure how his father simply died in the dungeon but he remembered that only 2 people had died. His father and a friend of his. From what Alden had heard, there was a strange member in the group, and he, Alden's father, and his friend all got separated from the rest of the group.

Alden found that suspicious. The person who told him told him not to make a commotion about it and told him that they suspected there was some sort of foul play behind the demise of his father.

Alden had thought about what had happened for a while and he figured out what could have been the reason behind his father's death. The red bugs core. It was a pill that had been formed from the core of the Red Bug, a bug found in the S-class dungeon of the Red Dragon.

From what his father had said, there were a few big-name competitors who wanted the pill. Alden's father was an A-class ranger and thus had quite a bit of cash, his father was one of the competitors for the Red Bug pill and Alden guessed some big shot had taken out his father.

Alden gritted his teeth with anger as he overtook another car.

Power, power, power.

He needed power!

Lyle, Arnu, and his father.

All of them had died because they lacked power. Lyle and Arnu lacked the strength to defend themselves while his father had lost his life because he lacked the influence to make him a formidable opponent.

Alden needed to get strong, strong enough to avenge all those he had lost to the cruel oppressors.

Alden realized he had been driving a bit too fast and slowed down.

He stopped outside a takeaway and after getting himself something to eat, walked out to go into his car.

"Hey, hey young man, could you spare me some change?" A hoarse voice called out to him. Alden saw a rugged-looking beggar sitting on the pavement outside the shop, his eyes were on Alden and Alden could see a lot of rich experience in those eyes.

"Wait a second, will you?" Alden said before going into the takeaway place and returning with an extra place. He took a seat next to the beggar and leaned back onto the wall of a building. He took out the food and began to share it with the beggar.

"Thanks a lot, I haven't had much to eat in a while," The beggar said before he began tearing into it like a hungry wolf.

"No problem, how long have you been out here?" Alden asked the beggar, as he began to eat his food.

"Well, for a while," The beggar said, not removing his focus from the food before him.

"Any kids?" Alden asked.

"Well, about one or two. " The beggar replied thoughtfully.

"Strange," Alden thought to himself. The beggar spoke again.

"Ah! I've got a girl about your age. Maybe, I can't recall since it's been a while since I've seen her." The beggar said as he stuffed some salad into his mouth.

"Oh, how long ago was that? Since you have been in the streets?" Alden asked.

"Nah, A lil' before that," The beggar said with a laugh. "Besides my home and my money, I've lost quite a bit."

"You must have been around for a while," Alden said to the beggar. The beggar was a scrawny old man in his 50s', he had a greying beard that was untidy and curly hair that hadn't been combed for a while.

"Haha! That is true. I have been around for a while. I have been a successful ranger and all," The ranger said good-heartedly.

"You have been a ranger?" Alden asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I got retired and a bunch of other stuff happened. But! Enough about me. Tell me about you?" The old man said, he had finished eating and he was sitting cross-legged now and watching Alden.

Alden took a deep breath in and began to talk. He felt there was no harm in telling this harmless beggar about his life, of course, he did not tell him about his hacker system but told him about everything else.

"Well, you've had your fair share, I can say one thing to you. Treat life as a race. A race you've been running since the time you were born.

The part of the race you've already run is your past and the part that you've still gotta run is your future.

The point at which you are is your present.

Now, by focusing on the past, you're just taking a few steps backward and you're not progressing but doing the opposite

By focusing on the future, you're taking steps forward and you're making progress. By only focusing on the present, you're standing in the same spot doing nothing.

Right now, son, you're focusing too much on the past, and thus you're walking backward. Only by walking forward and thinking about the future can you make progress.

However, the part of the race you ran does matter. It matters because it reminds you how much you've run. But that's all it is.

Don't make it any more than that."

The old man spoke to Alden as if he were speaking to his son.

Alden was just watching, the blindness Alden had once felt had disappeared. Alden felt he understood. He understood and he was ready to complete the race.

But first, there was something he needed to do.

"Thank you for the advice, I hope I'll find you here again," Alden said removing a stash of notes and giving the beggar. He hoped the beggar found a cheap place to rest for the night.

Alden walked away toward where his car was and he seemed different. He was no longer depressed or uneasy but he was relaxed and confident. He knew what he wanted, and he would get it.