Chapter 6: The Hospital Library Arc Begins
"Thanks, doc. Can’t tell you how much you’ve saved me from that boring room... without a single sexy nurse in sight," Max said to the young doctor, Mitchel, who had quickly become his ally during his stay. Their bond? A shared love of computers, a full-blown porn addiction, and a mutual appreciation for the absurdities of hospital life.
"Man, you have no idea how many times I’ve begged to interview new nurses," the lanky doctor groaned, tugging at his lab coat in frustration. "That old hag of a head nurse? She picks the ugliest ones imaginable. Skin like tree bark... figures either stick-straight like poles or round like—well—rocks. I swear, Max, you have no idea how disappointed I am. I became a doctor so I could boss around beautiful nurses, and instead... this!"
Max couldn’t help but feel the guy’s pain. In his previous life, he’d done far too many ridiculous things just to be near beautiful women. Alas? In the end he was barely able to stay near another human, let alone flirt with anyone remotely attractive women.
Max didn’t have much to console Mitchel with, so he just gave him a pat on the shoulder and said, "Anyway... thanks for letting me read these books. You sure some of them actually have magical knowledge in them?"
"Well, yeah," Mitchel replied, adjusting his oversized glasses that perched precariously on his long, awkward nose. "Doctors these days have evolved quite a bit thanks to magic. Almost any book in our field has at least some magical content. The catch? Most of us can only read it. Very few can actually perform the magical procedures."
He leaned back, looking slightly proud. "I can use a low-grade healing rune, but it’s nothing compared to a doctor trained in full magical procedures. Those guys? They’ve studied and practiced for years to reach that level."
Max nodded, taking it all in as he scanned the bookshelf. Most of the titles were standard biology and medical textbooks. Like Mitchel said, magic was sprinkled in here and there—mostly runes, their effects, and instructions on how to use them without even sensing mana. Perfect, since Max couldn’t sense a thing yet. After all, he still had a few months before officially hitting sixteen.
But Cassian—well, Max, now—was mainly hunting for the section meant for doctors specializing in magical medical procedures. Mitchel guided him there, and it turned out that this corner had maybe a dozen books. A dozen. Compared to the hundreds, maybe thousands, scattered across the rest of this ridiculously huge room, it was practically a cupboard of secrets.
"Here it is," Mitchel said, plucking a massive tome off the shelf. The thing was at least four inches thick, nearly a foot long, and heavy enough to double as a blunt weapon. "Basic runes used in medicine..." He handed it over carefully.
"I’m not sure you’ll understand much at first," he added, smirking. "But hey, it’s better than staring at the saggy nurse bodies out there."
Max took the book with a grin, already imagining all the ways he could turn this magical knowledge to his advantage—and maybe even show the universe who the real MC was.
As Max opened the tome, Mitchel leaned over with a wide smirk.
"But who knows," he said, "you might even master the procedure to make... uh... saggy tits elastic again. Like your step-grandmother. And don’t take offense—she’s one hell of a sexy sixty-two-year-old I’ve ever seen."
Max blinked. Sixty-two? She didn’t look that old—just slightly wrinkled, and, sure, the hair was almost white—but otherwise, her figure could still compete with half the thirty years milfs, he’d seen. Well... that would explain her obsession with magic. She’d been born in the era when magic was new, probably part of the first generation actually raised with it.
"None taken," Max said, eyes lighting up. "But... wait—making saggy tits elastic means I could rejuvenate bodies with just runes? No spells, no elixirs?"
Mitchel nodded.
Max grinned, heart racing. This meant that even without traditional magic, he could extend his lifespan. And judging by how things were shaping up, he might even be able to sculpt his body into something perfect—perfect for combat, perfect for... other extracurricular activities.
"Yeah, man... you wouldn’t believe some of the folks out there," Mitchel said, looking a little traumatized, like he’d lived through it himself. "Old as centuries—or maybe more—but somehow they look like they’re in their prime. You think you’re kissing the tender lips of a twenty-year-old... and inside? Older than your great-grandmother."
Max, of course, didn’t care. In his book, as long as the body looked young, who cared how ancient the soul inside was? Wrinkle-free skin meant top-tier excitement—age was just a number.
Of course, that was the thought process of someone whose romantic "experience" could be counted on one hand, with a few fingers still left over. Experience or not, Max wasn’t about to let that stop him from appreciating the perks of youthful-looking bodies—real or magically enhanced.
Glancing at his watch, Mitchel let out a hurried sigh. "Alright, enough about old womens and saggy tits. I’ve got to go make my rounds. You can read these here—don’t take them outside the room. And if the head nurse—that old hag—catches you, just tell her I said it’s allowed. Saves you from a ten-minute lecture that could make your ears bleed, though not me."
He hesitated for a moment, looking a little troubled, then added, "Seriously... you know I’m doing you a huge favor here. Keep that in mind."
With that, he was gone, leaving Max alone. And finally, with a grin spreading across his face, Max cracked open the massive book, excitement practically buzzing from him as he dove in.
"Written by Alysa Fermen, huh?" Max muttered, glancing at the author’s picture on the introduction page. Black hair, deep black eyes, probably in her forties. He raised an eyebrow and thought, "Quite the milf... still alive, I wonder?"
Making a mental note to look her up later, he turned the page, already buzzing with anticipation to dive into the actual content.
