Sitting on a chair looking at the wall whose paint had begun to be peeled off, Ray's expression was blank.
This was his apartment. Living in luxury for 6 years in the Time-Stop period, and returning here made him a little depressed.
As for the reason he returned here, it was to avoid leaving any loopholes and expose himself.
Although electronic monitoring is not too popular currently, it is still there.
If he went in one place and popped out from another, a fool would know there was a problem with him.
One can imagine what will happen if his powers are exposed, all types of ghosts and gods will entangle him trying to bring him to the research table.
Although he can't be killed or trapped due to the time rule, passively getting beaten is not a solution and it is also not in line with his personality.
So unless his strength is strong enough to create a steel solid deterrent, he will avoid getting exposed.
Ray looked at the still and silent surroundings and then shifted his attention to the 'Time-pause' option on the panel.
[Time-pause: 5 years, 364 days,59 minutes]
He carefully felt his will that was slowly but steadily wearing down to the last brink.
He could have resumed the time flow as soon as he returned to his apartment but intuition told him that it was best to do it when his 'will' was on the verge of collapse.
He didn't know why this was, but he complied with the feeling.
As soon as the number of years corresponding to the 'Time-Stop' function on the panel reached 6 he instantly felt that his will was holding on to the last thin line.
His mind was impacted by a massive amount of chaotic thoughts, and his emotions suddenly amplified 2 to 3 times, he felt he was losing his reason and sinking into a quagmire that was difficult to get rid of.
All this happened in a breath of time leaving him unable to react, panicked he quickly used the last trace of his reason to resume the flow of time.
Suddenly a rush of noise bursting toward his ears, along with his chaotic mind made him suddenly confused and muddle-headed, his eyes went blank.
5 minutes later
Hu hu cough
Gasping for air holding his head, Ray breathed a sigh of relief when he felt his mind calm down slowly.
Ray slumped on the chair, he felt like he was going to die at that moment or maybe he would be dead if hadn't reacted quickly enough.
As time passed slowly, his mind completely calmed down, and he was no longer affected by chaotic thoughts.
As soon as his attention shifted he finally noticed the difference in himself, and his senses, he was able to follow the trajectory of a fly roaming about in his room and hear the conversation of a passerby under his apartment.
In time pause he was able to trace the increase in his strength and defense but he didn't have any idea how much his senses had improved since the whole world was stationary.
But now listening to noise coming from the window and an increase in his dynamic vision he feels his senses like his strength and defense have also doubled.
This was the happy thing and another happy thing was that his 'will' was also recovering rapidly with the flow of time.
It was not only recovering but also becoming more solid and durable, he feels he would be able to spend more time in next time-pause.
He understood the reason his intuition was telling him to persist till his will was unable to hold on.
It turns out time will use the principle of breaking and repairing to strengthen his 'will'.
As he constantly pauses time, it will make his 'will' constantly wear down and then recover, strengthening it and making his stay in time pause longer and longer.
If his 'will' was like an iron then time was like a hammer, constantly hammering his will, making it stronger and stronger.
Standing up he went outside, living in absolute silence made him want to go out and look at the hustle and bustle of the world, regulate his mood, and do some planning too.
Exiting the apartment building he suddenly had a feeling that he forgot something.
"Never mind" Shaking his head he threw the feeling out of his head, even if he forgot something important he would just rewind the time and do it.
Walking on the street leisurely he had an unprecedented peace of mind, at first he was a little uncomfortable with sudden noise but as he blended with the surroundings this feeling quickly disappeared replaced by a calm and peaceful mood.
He also had a relaxing endeavor during the Time-Stop period but this feeling was different, it was peaceful, as if he had no worries about the world, free and easy.
Shuttling among the crowd, looking at the cars coming and going, people bickering with shopkeepers, couples flirting with each other, and hurried expressions of workers the side effects bought by Time-Stop were greatly alleviated.
Well, looking and the anxious and hurried expressions of the workers he understood what he had forgotten, he was also one of these workers and he also needed to report to the office.
But he had already decided to resign, with his top hacking skills he was an excellent programmer, a program coded at random would ace the industry, so there was no need to put up with a stingy boss and colleagues who formed cliques.
If an eternal and immortal existence like him becomes someone else younger brother wouldn't it be a joke?
He had decided to open a software workshop on his own and work his way up from it.
Walking to a coffee shop at the end of the street, Ray ordered a cappuccino, drinking it in small sips he enjoyed the freedom time had bought him.
From the corner of his eyes, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a beautiful shadow at the corner table in the cafe.
A cute Asian-American mixed-race beauty, with white skin, an oval face slightly angled eyebrows, big curious eyes, a button nose, and dimples that formed on her cheek from time to time made her very attractive.
Many male compatriots were looking in that direction intentionally or unintentionally.
Ray became interested in her.