“I can finally retire after many years. So... why am I back in this shitty world!” Riley exclaimed. He looked at his hands and himself in the mirror; he bore his teeth; he’s back. He did regress.
“No way! I do not accept—“ Riley’s eyes widen; bad timing, a system window popped up. Now he declined its invitation to become an awakened.
“You have declined the System’s Awakening. You have not awakened.” Riley’s eyes widened; he grits his teeth. “What the fuck! That’s not fair! I meant that I do not accept this regression! So why... why, why, why, why! System, come back!” Riley pleads.
“Fine, fine, fine! Be like that! Tch!” Riley clenched his hand. He looked around his crummy apartment; he lives like shit. Speaking of shit, it smells like shit. “What the fuck? Do I not clean this apartment?” Riley asked himself as he stood from his worn-out air mattress. He looked at the empty cups of noodles; his eyes landed on the cans of beer.
"God, this place is a mess. Geez, I live like a fucking goblin,” Riley mumbles under his breath; he starts cleaning the place. His eyes pan back to the mirror; he looks at his long strands of messy hair, his blue eyes, and his collar shirt. “Maybe I should get a haircut.” Riley mumbled as he went back to pick up the garbage on the floor. He throws everything into a black trash bag. He walks out of the apartment; he shields his eyes from the blaring sun.
“This sun is violating my eyes! Tch,” Riley mumbled as he threw the trash bag out. “No… I can’t keep living like this! I was Riley Whitlock, the ‘Mad Swordsman.' There is no way I can live like this. Awakened or not, I will rise!” Riley clenched his fist as he stated his words; his cheeks blushed at people staring at him weirdly. Riley immediately bolted back into his crummy apartment; he slumped on the wall.
“What the fuck! Why did I say that?! God dammit! That was cringe! I was previously 67. Damn it! Did my brain regress as well?! No… this is the real me.” Riley puts his hand on his head, his eyes panned over the semi-clean apartment. “What do I do now? I rejected the system by accident; I can’t get my license as a Hunter now. I can’t enter the portals without it. No. Don’t tell me!?” Riley’s eyes widened.
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“I have to become a ‘Portal Cleaner’ or a ‘Crystal Miner’!? No way in hell! I disallow it! This is so B.S.!” Riley grits his teeth; he rises. “Or-or-or even worse! I have to do a 9-5!” Riley grimaced at the thought of doing any of those jobs. He frantically thinks about what to choose. “Dammit! Fine! I’ll be a stupid miner or whatever,” Riley sighed. A ‘Crystal Miner’ is a person who mines crystals inside the portal; they risk their lives for low pay and bad working conditions. In other words, he’s going to get treated like trash.
“Beggars can’t be choosers, I guess,” Riley lets out a long, weary sigh; he checks his phone. It’s 1:27 PM. “I still have time to visit the agency,” Riley stashed his phone away. He heads out of his apartment without brushing his hair or doing anything to make himself look ‘presentable.’ He walks through the bustling streets; he’s slightly taller than most people. He reaches the agency; it’s a tall building with a luxurious exterior. He enters the building, and people immediately shift their glances at Riley.
He walks up to the desk; a lady with glasses looks at him. “How can I help you, ma’am?” The lady asked as she adjusted her glasses. “I would like to apply as a... wait—did you call me ma’am?! I’m a sir, ma’am.” Riley smiles as a facade; his veins surge through his hand. “Pardon me… sir. What would you like to apply as, sir?” The lady asked as she typed the information on her computer.
“I want to apply as a ‘Crystal Miner,’” Riley said as he looked at the lady. The lady nodded and started to input more information. “What’s your age, sir?” The lady asked as her eyes were glued to the screen. Riley’s mind started to race; he didn’t know how old he was at this time. He started to ponder for the answer. His mind finally clicked. Since he rejected the system’s awakening, he should be 23 at this time. “I am 23, ma’am. I was born on June 11, 2001, ma’am. My name is Riley Whitlock. I am from the S-district,” Riley answered; the lady stood there quietly, silently typing away the information.
“Are you Awakened?” The lady asked; Riley stood there quietly, not answering. “No, I am not awakened, ma’am,” Riley immediately felt eyes bore on his back. The lady didn’t respond as she kept typing. Riley tapped his foot on the clean, sparkling marbled flooring. He looked around; he saw other people looking at him. The lady stopped typing; she looked at him. “Take a photo, sir,” the lady said as she grabbed the camera and pointed it at Riley. Riley looked at the camera once; it flashed.
Riley waited for a few minutes for his license. “Here’s your license, sir,” the lady said as she gave Riley his license. Riley took the license from her hands; he looked at it, looking at all his information. He was supposed to be a master swordsman, not a damn miner. He sighed and walked out with the license in his hand. He went back to his crummy apartment; his stomach grumbled. He took out his wallet to see if anything. A fly flew out of his wallet.
“Gah! What the fuck! That’s supposed to only to happen in cartoons or movies! Am I that broke?” Riley questioned as he saw his empty wallet; he had two dollars to his name. He took out his phone to check his bank account. He had… 20 dollars in his name. Riley’s face turned blank. He’s broke, hungry, and a damn miner. What else? “Great. Just great,” He sat on his air mattress. “I guess it’s time for noodles, again.” Riley stood up and grabbed the noodles from the cupboard. He looked at the noodles cup in his hand.
“No! I am going to earn money!” Riley said as he placed the noodles on the counter. He walked outside and headed to the agency once more.