The fire burned not even three feet from Liam, and yet, he could not find it in himself to feel afraid of it. It felt as if the fire was a part of him, and Liam had a feeling that he wouldn't get hurt even if he touched it.
Unknown to him, Liam's hand moved toward the fire to touch it. Beckoned by his memories, Liam's hands itched to grab that fire and embrace it.
However, fate was not in Liam's favor, and the nurse quickly moved to grab his arm and pull him back to his feet.
"Are you stupid? No, wait! Maybe being hit by a truck and having your heart stop affected your brain as well. But surely, you're not stupid enough to purposely try to end your life so soon," the nurse complained as she dragged Liam out of his room.
Every step caused pangs of pain to travel up Liam's spine, and he shivered at the sensation. But it also helped numb the ache in his heart.
He watched as a few guards ran past him to try and put out the fire before it could spread.
It took an hour for the guards to put out the fire, and Liam could tell from their faces that it had been a hard-earned battle.
Most of the patients and doctors looked relieved and exhausted after this ordeal, and Liam felt a pang of regret for his actions.
Of course, that regret was quickly overshadowed by his desire to find out more about the situation.
"Ugh, this is annoying. Looks like I'll have to work overtime because of what happened," the nurse complained as she kept a hold on Liam.
Her nails bit into his arm, and Liam let out a small curse. The nurse noticed his discomfort and immediately turned toward him to apologize.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't accidentally hurt you, did I? Here, let me see your wound," the nurse said, turning Liam's arm up and down. But neither her words nor her actions held any real concern.
Liam was tired of all the fake concern, even if it came from a stranger tasked with faking it. All he wanted was some free time to gather his thoughts and process this new turn his life had suddenly taken.
"It's alright, miss. I can make my way back to my room on my own. You don't have to worry about me. But perhaps it would be better if you focused your attention on someone who needs it more than I do," Liam said softly.
His words made the nurse flush red in embarrassment. She tried to correct herself, but Liam had already walked past her.
For some reason, it no longer hurt Liam to walk around.
Considering that he had been hit by a truck just a few days ago, Liam should have been in a condition critical enough to endanger his life. But none of that was reflected in his body's current state.
If anything, Liam felt more powerful and energetic than before, and he was sure he could do a lot more than he could before he died
A few hours later, Liam's doctor came to check up on him.
Things had settled down, and the hospital staff finally had enough time to make rounds and look in on patients they had been neglecting.
Liam was blessed with a doctor who somehow looked to be in worse condition than he, a critical-condition patient (allegedly), was in.
Cough
The doctor let out a small cough as he looked at the chart in his hand before giving Liam a serious look.
"Excuse me, Mister Sanders. Please, let me have a look at your chart… Hmm, it says that you were a victim of a truck-hitting accident. It's fortunate that you survived. We don't get to say this a lot… or at all in recent cases," the doctor said, putting the chart down as he brought out his instruments to examine Liam.
It felt like an invasion of privacy, and Liam could certainly tell he was not the biggest fan of being touched without consent. But he endured it for the sake of getting a full-body check-up.
"Hmm, let's see… Maybe I need to run another diagnosis. This clearly cannot be right. Let me check again…"
The doctor looked down at his report, frowning, before sighing as he looked at Liam.
The look of wonder and curiosity on the doctor's face made Liam take a step back, feeling a little awkward. He could tell the doctor was not happy about something, but he had no idea what the doctor was trying to figure out.
"Is something wrong with my report? If you tell me, maybe I can help check as well," Liam asked cautiously, trying to navigate the doctor's mood.
The doctor seemed shaken by something on the chart but eventually pulled himself together, letting out a relieved sigh.
"It's nice to see your chart looking this good. At this rate, you won't need any more time in the hospital, and we can send you back home. Do be careful at work, and let me know if you need a written note from a doctor to legally skip work," the doctor said, winking at Liam as a joke.
But Liam could somehow sense the doctor's unease, and it made his heart skip a beat.
Forcing his expression to remain neutral, Liam smiled at the doctor.
"I see. In that case, I'll take your word for it," Liam replied.
The doctor looked worried until the last moment he left the room. Before walking out, he turned back to give Liam one final look of concern.
Liam continued to look at the door until the doctor disappeared before Liam decided to sleep as well.
…
Liam tried to fall asleep, but every time he closed his eyes, his blood sang with excitement, causing him to wake up just as his brain decided to drift off.
It was tough for him to keep himself awake without keeping himself occupied, and that was what forced Liam to take action.
He shot up in his bed and looked at his hand.
"I need to find out the truth. What happened before—the fire, these memories—all this cannot be a coincidence. I feel as if I can grasp something, but I cannot think of what it is. My memories had an interface-like thing. Now that I think about it, wasn't it like some kind of system?"
Liam was a busy man who did not have much time for leisure. But despite being uncultured, he was not a complete idiot.
Even he knew about the sudden surge of 'system-like' media that most of his peers enjoyed, and he had gotten a small glimpse into that world.
That's why he could confidently define that 'entity' in his memories as a system.
"That being said, I have no idea how I actually connect with it. As far as I recall, I just willed it out whenever I wanted to—"
[Welcome, user…rebooting system…reconnecting user…]
[Identifying data…Error…Original user not found…]
[Reconnecting to new user…]
The sudden appearance of the screen made Liam jump back and hit his head against the backrest of the bed. His chest hurt as his heart suddenly leapt into his throat and tried to murder him.
"Fucking hell! How is this much more stressful than actually being hit by a truck… No, wait, this actually doesn't compare."
Liam calmed his heart down as he looked at the system.
As someone who had only ever seen other people play games, he knew enough about systems to recognize what was happening.
"So, now that I have this system, what can I do? Can I get the system to tell me more things? What are the capabilities that I am granted with?"
Liam questioned himself, though he quickly felt a little silly.
Even though he was aware he was acting a little childish, Liam couldn't help but play around like this. But there was a limit to everything, and he had reached his mental limit for the day.
Pulling the covers over himself, Liam knew it was time to sleep.
[System update…integrating host memories into new body. Increasing mana capabilities…opening spirit gates.]
[User will now be able to use their mana more efficiently. Would user like to access a tutorial for mana control?]
The system asked, but Liam was already half-asleep by the time he responded.
[Understood! The tutorial for the magic class will begin in a few minutes. User is asked to brace himself before the tutorial starts.]
The system booted itself and then went silent. Liam, who had already fallen asleep, didn't hear any of this.
But the system was already hard at work, ensuring Liam's body absorbed all the necessary information.
Unaware of what was going on, Liam kept sleeping while his brain continued to absorb more and more knowledge of the world around him.
The next time Liam woke up, he felt more refreshed and his body also felt more energetic.