Chapter 3: Laying around

I wake to sunlight shining in my eyes.

The room looked identical to the other one, except for the fact that this room came with some extra chairs and a small television.

I push myself into sitting position using my left hand, and look out the window from the bed.

I see the familiar buildings in the distance. The regular blue sky that I’ve known in this world, and the other.

I smile as I look at the calming view.

I take a deep breath and look at the table at the side of my bed. On the side table was a sheet of paper with pen beside it.

I pick up the note and read it.

‘Good morning,

I hope the travel was nice… well, I guess you wouldn’t know. Anyways, I was able to get your sizes before I left, and the prosthetic arm should come in after you finish reading this paper.

Also, the nurse will help you put it on. Everyone will act like you’ve been there a while so don’t be too surprised.

I’ve also allowed them to let visitors come.

Best wishes;

Head Nurse Chelsie’

Oh! My arm is coming faster than I would have hoped.

Like it was scripted, there was a knock at the door accompanied by a scary voice, “Mr. Ryu, are you awake?”

I slightly raise my voice, “Yes, come in.”

The nurse was wearing the same clothing as Chelsie, but her hair was jet black with normal green eyes. Her face… well it looks like it was assaulted by a baseball bat… many times over. Her figure was round in places a figure normally isn’t round at. She looked like a nurse from some third-rate horror movie.

I swallow my saliva nervously. The nurse walks over holding my prosthetic arm. She says in a voice that would make a normal person need new pants, “I’ll be helpin’ yer put on dis here arm.”

I nod slowly, “That would be wonderful.”

She smiles slightly. It was a crude smile, but a smile nonetheless. She walks closely to me and places the stump of my arm into a holding area on the prosthetic. A strap was placed across my shoulder and various electrodes were attached to my arm.

These electrodes could detect the electrical signals that moved along the nerves in my arm causing the arm to move almost like it would normally.

There was no way to make this look like a normal arm due to the lattice type structure for the cooling of electronic circuits. It was at least water proof.

Holding the manual for the arm in my left hand and reading, I pay very close attention to the placement of the electrodes just in case I end up having to place them myself.

It will short circuit with over use, causing it to be unusable for a couple of days.

It had a rechargeable battery that needed to be charged once a month.

Other than that it would function almost like a normal arm. Only to be used for basic needs like dressing yourself, drinking and eating, and light exercise.

So… weak man’s arm. Better than nothing at all. I just have to switch my dominant hand to my left, no big deal.

I sigh as the scary nurse leaves the room.

She turns around as she starts closing the door, “The nurse in charge of overseeing you will be here shortly.”

I sigh in relief. Thank the gods that she isn’t the nurse overseeing my recovery.

I take some deep breaths and start to sense for the power of heaven and earth in order to raise my realm as quickly as possible.

I am not allowed to use any method so the only way is to directly absorb the power of heaven and earth, slowly rising in level like that.

This method is relatively fast and allows you to be able to directly manipulate the power of heaven and earth within my body, however, the stress it puts on the body is greater than average.

After absorbing the power of heaven and earth I will be able to counteract the strain by using internal energy, but I have to absorb it super slowly at first.

If the power of heaven and earth is like an ocean, normal people would think of their power as a drop in the ocean, and they would be right, but in order to even get to the ocean you must travel along the shore. With this method you must start smaller than a drop of the ocean, start with the grain of sand beneath your feet.

In order to do this you must be able to clearly sense the power of heaven and earth.

Then one must slowly absorb one speck at a time. As the specks are absorbed one must use the specks to protect their body, allowing to finally absorb the drops!

If it was to be said numerically, one speck was a million times smaller than a drop. To reach even the first realm, one needs about ten drops. All this is just theory though, power is relative to the user and their technique.

However, to even be able to absorb a speck, your knowledge must surpass that of those at the sixth realm!

This is because if a person were to try absorbing even just the power of heaven, they will not be able to control the flow unless they understand the theory behind manipulating the power of heaven and earth.

I smile lightly. The method I used, when I was a young man in the other world, to walk on top of the water was basic manipulation of the power of heaven and earth. This method just places solid objects beneath your feet at a height set by yourself. In theory, it allowed someone at low realms to walk in the air. It’s a theory because you’d have to be at the sixth realm to do manipulation that precise, but there are almost always exceptions when talking about cultivation.

So to not waste any more time I absorb the first speck.

The first speck I absorb is a speck of heaven power.

In the body are invisible ‘veins’ that circulate the entire body. The two types of power have their own respective veins. The heaven veins circulate in a different area than the earth veins. Heaven veins circulate around the internal organs and focus mainly on the brain and the heart. Earth veins circulate on the four limbs and also focus on the brain and the heart. The two veins never touch each other, and will never interact. All people have both veins, however, one set should be completely blocked with no hope of ever unblocking it. I however have both unblocked.

The reason why I chose to circulate a speck of heaven power first was because the damage to my internals is the worst. The chance of me dying from circulating this speck should normally be only five percent, but with this much damage to my internals, the chance of me dying is about sixty percent.

I take a deep breath and circulate the speck of heaven power within my heaven vein.

The speck makes it way from the area around my heart, up to my brain. The speck is slowly coating the vein in a minuscule amount of heaven power. The speck coats the vein from the brain back to the heart.

I focus my breathing. Now for the dangerous part.

The speck travels lower in my body and coats the vein. The heaven vein travels beside the internal organs. The internal organs will normally absorb the heaven power from the vein. I have no idea what will happen to the fake organs.

The speck travels past the organs and coats the veins.

The fake organs are absorbing the heaven power! The organs act as if they are the real things! Amazing!

The heaven power fully circulates, the first coating is done! I move the speck through and coat the heaven veins two more times before the spec is fully used.

I do the same thing with the earth vein and nothing eventful happened.

First step done!

I smile to myself and sigh with relief. The most dangerous part ended without issues. Now training will get exponentially faster.

I can absorb two specs next time. Then four, then eight, then sixteen. The number would continue to increase like that.

I open my eyes and look outside. Five minutes has passed since I received my prosthetic arm.

I practice using the arm. I can now pick up a glass of water like a normal person would!

As I was cheering on the inside, a knock comes from the door with a very feminine voice comes from the other side, “You have a visitor.”

I sit up in the bed, still holding the glass of water, “Come in.”

The door opens and two women walk in the room.

The one on the right was the nurse. Her figure was thin, yet she was quite tall. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and was a light brown color. Her eyes were blue and her face was fairly attractive. Her posture… was questionable though. She looked like she was ready to jump on me.

The woman on the left looked about my age. Her hair was a dark brown, her height was about five foot ten at a glance. Her eyes were a cyan-ish color. She was clearly wearing lipstick as her lips were bright red. Her figure was stunning compared to those her age, but not at the level of wars starting.

The nurse walks closer and stands very… way too close to me. I take a sip of the water as she starts talking, “Good morning again Mr. Ryu, have you decided whether or not to accept my love yet?”

I almost do a spit take.

What did she just say!?

Okay, I was prepared for some awkward situations because the note said ‘everyone will act like they know you’… but why on earth is this nurse saying that she loves me!? What did they make her believe!?

I set the glass down on the bedside table. I take a deep breath, and say while composed, “I will not accept due to the fact that I do not feel the same way towards you nor will I ever.”

She starts blushing and puts her hands on her face, “Just as harsh as ever. I love it!”

I give her a disgusted look, but it just excites her more. She needs some help.

I don’t know what’s going on… I mean at all. I think I should Google how to deal with a masochist later…

“Umm. Did you forget about me?” The other girl stops my thoughts where they were.

I sigh and ignore the perverted nurse, “Nice to meet you, my name is Ryu. May I ask the reason for your visit?”

The girl laughs slightly, “No need to be so polite. I just came to see the person who saved me.”

I tilt my head to the right, “Huh?”

She frowns slightly, “Do you not remember me?”

I furrow my brow and frown, “No matter how hard I think, this bo- I can’t seem to remember who you are.”

The nurse coughs to get our attention, “Most people who are in an accident of that degree… and manage to survive, usually do not remember the happenings of the accident.” The girl and I understand at the same time. She looks at the nurse and the nurse nods, “I shall take my leave for now.”

The perverted nurse leaves, and the girl sits on the end of the bed, “You’re lucky to not have any major injuries after that sort of acciden-“ She looks at my right arm and her eyes go wide. She starts to panic and stutter, “I-I-I’m s-s-so so-so-sorry. B-b-because of m-me y-yo-you lost y-y-you’re a-ar-arm.” Tears start to flow from her eyes.

I put my right hand on her shoulder, “No need to cry.” I move the prosthetic around like a normal hand, “Science is wonderful, and it’s almost like the genuine thing, barely even noticeable.” I close my eyes and nod.

I feel my arm move. I hear her shaky voice, “But it has no feeling…”

I open my eyes to see that she moved my hand to her chest, “What kind of test is that!?” I quickly pull my arm away.

She ignores my comment, and gets in my face, “What else is injured because of me?”

I sigh lightly, “Nothing else, just some minor bruises.”

Her eyes slightly shine, “Really?”

I nod, “Really, really.”

She smiles and wipes the tears from her face, “That’s good that it is only your arm that got hurt.”

I don’t think I’ll tell her I’m right handed. I smile at her, “So who are you?”

She smiles like she never even cried, “I’m Sayaka.”

I nod, “You see… that doesn’t help me at all.”

She nods along with a serious expression, “Well, you see. You saved me from being hit.”

I frown, “Saved you from being hit by what?”

She laughs lightly, “Well here’s what I remember from my point of view. I was walking down the street and was walking across a train crossing listening to music louder than I should have been. I didn’t look for a train and I was suddenly pushed as a gust of wind flew behind me. After I land on the ground my headphones fall off and I hear a train horn. After the train passes I see you there covered in blood and unconscious. I called the paramedics and you were taken to the hospital immediately.”

Inside I was shocked. This body got off with only this much damage after being hit by a train!?

Outside I stayed composed. I nod, “So that’s how it happened.”

She frowns, “Should you not have more of a reaction after hearing that you were hit by a train?”

I shrug my shoulders, “Nothing can be done about what happened in the past, I just have to look in front of me.” I smile lightly, “You have to remember to look left and right though.” Her eyes start to water. I quickly say, “It was a joke! A joke!”

She smiles again, “Well, I have to get going now. I have some errands to run. I’m glad that you will recover fine and live a long life still.”

If three more years is a long life, then yeah, I will definitely live a long life.

Sayaka walks out the door, and the nurse walks in.

The nurse smiles, “Would you like anything Mr. Ryu? Perhaps you want me?”

I frown, “I would like you…” I leave a long pause. She smiles, “…to leave me alone.” She blushes as she walks out of the room.

She says over her shoulder, “Oh yeah. There is another visitor here to see you. Will you allow it?”

I nod as she leaves. How troublesome to have a pervert nurse.

I sigh as I stare out the window. All I can see is the sky out the window. Today looked nice outside… what day is it even?

I frown as a familiar face walks in, Claire. Oh s***, my arm! If she sees this she will not leave me alone. I quickly hide it under my bed sheet. I smile at Claire, “Thank you for coming to visit me.”

She smiles and says in her childlike voice, “It’s what friends do. Anyways, how are you feeling?”

I smile, “I feel great. How about you?”

She starts to cry, “I missed you so much. They wouldn’t let me see you for two months saying you were in critical condition.”

“Two months!?” I accidently shout.

Claire nods, “Yeah, they wouldn’t even tell me what happened to you. All they would say was that you were in a large accident.”

I nod, “I understand your concern as my childhood friend, but I have a really important question.”

Claire nods quickly, “I’ll answer anything.”

I nod seriously, “Did you take extra notes for me in classes?”

This body went to school with Claire. She even had all the same classes as him.

She nods slightly confused, “Since when were you so interested in school? I did take the notes for you… but I was planning on giving them to you as I left.”

She was carrying a bag on her shoulder. She takes out several colored notebooks. I look at them, “That’s a lot of notes for four classes.”

She looks at the notebooks and puts two of them back, “I almost gave you my personal writing books by accident, tehe~”

I don’t ever want to know what are in those. EVER.

I smile as she hands the books to me. I grab them with both hands…

“What happened to your arm!?” As she sees the prosthetic she screams.

The nurse comes running into the room, “What’s wrong?”

Claire points at my arm, “Why does he have a prosthetic arm?”

The nurse frowns, “He lost it in the accident.”

I laugh lightly, “It’s no big deal, am I right?”

Claire glares at me, “Aren’t you right handed?”

Damn childhood friends! I nod, “I can use the prosthetic to do normal things still.”

She frowns still, “What kind of accident were you in that was so bad that you were in critical condition for two months, and even lost an arm?”

I bite my lip while hesitating. The nurse talks instead, “He was hit by a train.”

Claire gets angry, “How were you stupid enough to get hit by a train!?”

I shake my head, “I didn’t do anything stupid. I totally white knight the s*** out of the situation by saving some random person!” I confidently puff out my chest.

Claire pouts, “It better not have been a girl.”

I start whistling… well, I don’t know how to whistle, so it just sounds like air coming from my mouth.

A voice comes from the door, “Sorry for intruding I forgot my bag here…”

It was Sayaka. Sayaka stared at Claire. A cold atmosphere erupted within the room.

The nurse heads for the door, “I will take my leave here.” Take me with you!

Claire looks at me with an evil glare, “Ryu… don’t tell me…”

I nod slowly, “I’m not a hundred percent sure what you mean… so I’ll clarify. This is Sayaka, the girl I saved from the train…”

Claire closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She jumps at Sayaka and grabs her collar on her shirt, and proceeds to drag her out of the room.

Sayaka has a ‘please help me’ expression on her face as she is dragged out of the hospital room.

I clasp my hands together and lightly bow. I pray that you survive this endeavor. Now let me take a look at these notebooks to catch up on some school. As many famous people have said, ‘Knowledge is power’.

I open the first book. ‘Fantasies of Ryu vol. 21’

My jaw drops…… I don’t know how to react. I close the notebook.

I don’t know what bothers me more.

The fact that she has fantasies about me.

Or the fact that there are twenty volumes before this one.

I move my hands to my face and rub my eyes. How am I going to deal will all these crazies? Why me? I want out already.

I hear a knocking sound… From the window…

I look to the window and it’s a face I recognize…

I truly am surrounded by nothing but crazies…

It is my mother.