5 Eavesdrop

Chapter: 5

"Eavesdrop"

The curtain revealed itself, as Zen had a revelation!

"Yikes, didn't realize the cost would be to cripple my stamina," Zen swiped the screen away, "Guess that means in a fight against powers, I either tire them out or they tire me out, huh?"

As much as he would like to stay in the park a little longer, Zen needed to leave asap. He spotted a couple coming closer to him from afar and didn't want them to be suspicious of his acts. The three delinquents were still alive and their souls intact. Even though it was a waste of time and energy, Zen was glad he got a new ability.

Speaking of his new ability, he noticed that his mana number was regenerating back slowly. He was glad at first but came to realize something unfavorable. After counting in his mind, he approximated that his mana was regenerating at a pace of one mana per two minutes which he considered a snail's pace with a 20 mana bar.

"That's WAY too slow!" Zen complained and continued. "I'll be drained faster than I can drink a can of soda."

After he learned a bit about how mana worked based on his perception, Zen decided to use it when he would be in a pickle. Not wanting to question it anymore as time was running out, he finally untied the three before throwing their unconscious bodies into the woods nearby.

After leaving, Zen glanced back in disappointment. He couldn't help but feel like it was a waste to leave three extra stats lying there unabsorbed. Deep down in his mind, it wasn't just a waste but a broken decision in general. His reasonings were simple. "To be realistic, an extra stat or two wouldn't hurt since I'd already made enemies with that white-headed girl's father. Having a butler or caretaker dressed in such a fancy clothing was a sign that the scumbag was filthy rich."

Knowing what the rich were capable of, Zen knew another horrific session could fall upon him if he was to be careless. Back then when he was kidnapped, his strength wasn't enough to break out of the choking position he was placed in. If he were to be attacked by someone of the same caliber, he would be in deep trouble.

After he got to his workplace, Zen headed towards his bike and began rummaging through it, lifting it around to find his keys. After he found it, he sneakily bolted to his apartment. The ambiance wasn't as dark anymore and the birds were starting to wake up to chirp.

While dashing home, he was still pissed at the fact that the red-headed girl had destroyed something so precious to him in such a manner; apart from his life of course. The bike was like a memory to him. The vehicle has been with him ever since his younger days, lasting until now due to his constant maintenance.

"I have to bring it to John. He'll know what to do." Zen thought while running.

After reaching his apartment complex, Zen rushed towards a swirling staircase. He then ascended to the sixth floor as the elevator was still in maintenance.

On that floor, there was an open corridor made mostly out of cement concrete flooring. The rough surface of the floor meant that tripping on it would be a painful experience for your face and knees. Additionally, there was a cement fencing to the corridor's side. It was yellow in color and had a hint of white, showing any small cracks that have been aging alongside the building.

Zen walked past his neighbor's doors before entering his room. After getting in, there was a sense of nostalgia and happiness to have finally come home. It was like a long trip returning to see your family but in Zen's case, he had no family but a place he could call 'home'.

Zen immediately cleaned himself up in the showers before jumping on his bed. His next plan now was to find out more about this Kain brat in addition to bringing his bike to John, the mechanic. He was good friends with John so he never thought about EVER consuming that bloke's soul.

Afterward, he closed his eyes and got a few hours of sleep before waking up to the sound of his alarm, screaming like a nuclear siren. The morning had started, despite being the afternoon, and he needed to leave for work. Even though his life has changed forever, he couldn't just get up and leave his old one.

After he freshened himself, he suddenly realized something problematic. Zen has been riding his bike toward work ever since the beginning of time and space. Never a day where his bike went missing or damaged. How would his co-workers react if they were to spot his broken bike in the middle of the parking lot?

"Shit, you gotta leave! Get your asses out there now!" Zen panicked as he was stuffing a leftover chicken sandwich from yesterday's lunch into his mouth. He did it so quickly that the mayonnaise didn't even have a chance to spill out.

He then burst through the front door and ran through the corridor towards the swirling staircase. Before he had reached the staircase though, he took a swift glance at one of his neighbor's doors having a broken doorknob. It was wrecked inwards as if someone had punched it or something.

Since it wasn't really his business to question what had happened to it and he was in a hurry, Zen decided to chug it up to his neighbor accidentally breaking it with their powers. He knew accidental uses of an attribute were common in his area which meant broken stuff like this happens all the time.

***

Knowing how to use his stamina bar more efficiently, Zen managed to reach the restaurant without ever breaking any sweat. Immediately, he rushed towards his bike and began searching for a way to hide it from his co-workers. There was an air filter connected to an air conditioner inside, three painted walls with artsy graffiti on one side, a bunch of glass windows, and a green dumpster sitting beside the backdoor.

After going around the place once or twice, Zen knew he couldn't hide his bike anywhere so he decided to leave it near the green box of trash. Having experienced how dirty dumpsters could be, he couldn't bring himself to put his bike in there as he planned to get it fixed by this evening.

Subsequently, he got in before turning on the lights in the kitchen and the serving area. He then did his usual routine of cleaning up before his juniors arrived. After they entered, Zen was in the bathroom cleaning the mops. Since this was the perfect time to see if they had noticed his bike or not, he decided to eavesdrop on them.

After he pressed his ears against the plastic door as quietly as he could, the system suddenly popped out which startled him, almost giving him a heart attack.

*ding!*

〚※〛 〚※〛

[You are in a position to eavesdrop!]

[Tip: you can hide from the eyes of a soul to be able to activate your 'eavesdrop' skill, which you can use to get more hints from him/her to gain extra stats for soul consumption!]

〚※〛 〚※〛

Zen quickly skimmed through the new text in front of him before being able to see his two co-workers through the bathroom door as if they were shadowy figures talking to each other.

After waiting for a few seconds to determine if he was safe to come out or not, a white icon of a human eye suddenly appeared on top of their heads. It was taunting him while pulsating back and forth, like a beating heart.

Subsequently, Zen glanced at it before his system asked if he wanted to eavesdrop on their conversation or not. Since he assumed they were just going to talk about his broken bike anyways, he decided to give it a go, even though it was an untrustworthy and illegal move.

Suddenly, every sound became a blur as if he was hit with a flashbang, leaving only the vivid voices of the two behind. It was an unpleasant feeling at first, but he had quickly gotten used to it in the next five seconds.

"Woah, this feels weird. It's like I'm actually near them, joining them in their conversation." Zen thought before he heard an aggressive and content sigh of annoyance, traveling from his eardrums into his skull, widening his eyes.

"She dumped me last night, man!" It was Joel speaking. Suddenly, Zen was intrigued as he had never seen Joel so angry before.

"Shit, now I gotta know."