I blinked, “So let me get this straight, you want me to go to a research center periodically for tests, and if I agree to do so, you are willing to waive my hospital fee?”

Dr. Kalnest nodded, “If we receive patients with magic-related injuries we are supposed to offer this deal.”

I sat back in my hospital bed, “that seems oddly generous.”

He gave me a look, “a nosy one, are you? Well, you’re right. It was government-mandated they cover the cost.”

“Huh,” that was awfully fast. This seems like such a minor issue too. “How do I sign up?” My insurance plan doesn’t cover magic.

“Just sign this form,” he said while handing me a clipboard. It was remarkably thin, only one page. I guess they didn’t have time to make it 50 pages long.

I skimmed it quickly. It seemed pretty straightforward; in exchange for going to a research center once a month, the government would foot the bill. I saw no reason not to sign.

“Is that all?” I asked, eager to leave.

“Yes, it should be. You are free to go; just remember to hand the form to the receptionist when you sign out.”

I thanked the man and stepped into the hallway. It was just what you would imagine when thinking of a hospital. White tile floors, white walls, white popcorn ceilings. White everything.

In the hallway to my left was an ancient man who looked more like skin stretched over bones than a living human. Surprisingly, he was walking with a spring in his step, showing no signs of his advanced age. To my right was a family of three, the mother chastising the son for something or other.

I walked to the elevator with a spring in my step. I definitely took it because I was too lazy to walk down the stairs, not because I was a bit scared of stairs. Nope, that would never happen.

Inside the elevator with me was a guy who looked to be my age. He was blond, tall, and corded with lean muscle, the type you get from playing sports.

The elevator dinged as it descended, both of us content not to speak. Well, I was; he seemed to be lost in thought. The ride felt like it was taking forever! I was only on the fourth floor! How long could it take to go down three stories?

Eventually, I had to admit that the elevator wasn’t descending. I hadn’t heard a chime in a while, and I didn’t feel like I was sinking.

“Hey dude, I think the elevator is stuck.” He startled and looked at me as if he hadn’t noticed my presence. How much of an airhead is he?

“Holy crap! You almost gave me a heart attack there.” He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “What were you saying? I was lost in thought.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

I gave him a singularly unimpressed look. “I think the elevator is stuck.”

“Oh, yeah, it does seem to be taking a while, doesn’t it?” He inspected the buttons, “are we supposed to hit the phone or the alarm button?”

“The phone, it calls the technicians. Tells them that the elevator isn’t working.”

He hummed, “then what is the alarm for?”

“It's for when the call button doesn’t work,” I replied half-heartedly, already debating whether I should just use a magic missile to blast my way out.

“But if the call button isn’t working, why would the alarm button?” He seemed determined to pump me of everything I knew.

“Don’t quote me on this, but I’m pretty sure that the call button only alerts the technicians, while the alarm button bothers everyone in the building.” We stood there awkwardly for a while before I spoke up.

“Did you hit the call button?”

“No, I thought you did it.”

I huffed in amusement, today really was not my day. “Then we forgot to hit the button.”

He guffawed, “we had an entire conversation about the damn buttons, and we never actually pressed them!” He leaned over and pushed the button. “There, that way we don’t forget again.”

I opened my mouth to object, but I closed it without saying anything. “We’re both idiots, aren’t we?”

“Yup,” he agreed cheerfully. “Say, I never caught your name. Mine’s Patrick.”

“John, I’d say it's nice to meet you, but we are stuck in an elevator.”

Patrick guffawed again, “likewise,” Patrick gave me a strange look, “hey...do I know you from somewhere? You look familiar.”

“You ever heard of The Magic Man?”

He gasped, “holy crap! You’re The Magic Man! I can’t believe I didn’t notice before. You even said you were in the hospital!”

I was a bit unnerved by his reaction. I wasn’t used to so much…exuberant attention. “Yeah, I was experimenting with aspecting magic, and I blew myself up. I’m lucky I chose the healer cluster.”

“I’ve been curious, how did you manage to figure out magic manipulation and magic missile so quickly?”

The tone of our conversation had shifted completely. Before it was stilted, we didn’t actually know what we wanted to talk about. Now it felt natural, like a real conversation. It was…nice. I haven’t had someone to talk to in over a year, not since The Accident.

“It was a combination of luck, me being a nerd and me being an idiot. I’m a massive nerd, and this type of thing, the screens, and whatnot? It's a genre of books, and I’ve often thought about what I would do if I was in one. Admittedly they are usually a bit more…apocalyptic. I was lucky enough to be with a mage cluster that could help me learn mana manipulation. As for the stupidity, well,” I chuckled nervously.

“Learning magic missile isn’t as hard as I made it out to be. When I got the skill, it brought with it the knowledge of a better way of casting it. All you really have to do is for an oval with your mana and push it.”

“That wasn’t what I expected,” he said dumbly, a bit shocked by my speech.

“What did you expect?” I was a bit curious; I had no clue what my viewers thought of me. I was so busy I had never gotten around to checking the comments. I felt a bit bad about that.

“It sounds a bit stupid in retrospect, but I expected you to just be really talented or something like that.” He rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. I had noticed him doing that quite a bit; a nervous habit, perhaps?

“You’re right; it does sound stupid.” Patrick deflated a bit at that. “But enough about me, why were you in the hospital?”

He rubbed the back of his head again. “I was experimenting as well, trying to enhance my muscles. That didn’t work out, and I kinda sorta tore them into bloody pieces.”

“Huh,” I thought about it for a second. “You want to work together?”