Lucian picked up his phone, sliding his thumb to tap the answer button, “Doctor?”

  “Lucian! Good to speak with you again. I tried to reach you a bit ago but I guess you didn’t have service.” Doctor Anderson replied, “I have excellent news.”

  Lucian could hear the excitement in his voice, and felt it to be minorly contagious, “Ah. I was underground. Do tell, though!”

  “I believe I have found a solution to your arm problem.” Anderson explained, “I’ve gotten a new skill, I haven’t tested it yet, but it should be able to just grow your arm back.”

  Lucian blinked, “That’s great! Why haven’t you tested it yet, though?”

  “I haven’t needed to, thankfully.” Doctor Anderson chuckled, “I can take care of the little things with my other skills, and I haven’t had to treat anyone missing a limb since I got it.”

  “Fair enough, I guess I can be your guinea pig.” Lucian laughed a little. They conversed for a short while, and found a time slot for Lucian later that day.

  After they finished talking Lucian took a shower, and then told Annabelle that he was going to go see Doctor Anderson. Despite his insistence that he didn’t know how long the process would take, she decided to come with him.

  They got onto a bus, and were off towards the hospital. Eventually they arrived, stepped off of the bus, and headed inside.

  Lucian walked over to one of the reception desks, “Hello! I’m here to see Doctor Anderson.”

  The receptionist looked up at him, “Do you have an appointment?”

  “I think so. I was on the phone with him a bit ago.” Lucian said, “He might have something in your system for me, I’m Lucian Caldwell.”

  The receptionist looked at their screen, “One moment.” And clicked a few buttons, “Ah, here we are.”

  It didn’t take long for Doctor Anderson to join them in the lobby, “Lucian! Good to see you alive and well.” The man smiled, “I have a surgical room ready for us. I’m not sure how long this will actually take, though I suspect a while.” He looked at Annabelle, “You are welcome to wait in the lobby, or in the cafeteria.”

  Annabelle nodded, and gave Lucian a hug, “Good luck golden boy.” She teased before heading off to find somewhere to wait.

  Lucian followed Doctor Anderson to the surgical wing, where the doctor had him change into a hospital gown before bringing him to the operating theatre he had reserved. There were several other doctors and nurses present, conversing with one another.

  “These are several of my colleagues. They are here to observe, and to assist in the event that anything goes wrong.” Doctor Anderson explained, gesturing to them, “We’re going to put you under for the duration of the operation. I suspect the process of re-growing your arm won’t be comfortable, perhaps painful even, but I also sense that I will need to re-expose the healed over section of your arm - which will certainly hurt.”

  Lucian shivered a bit, “Alright. Ready whenever, then.”

  “Good to hear. Remember, we’ve got a whole team in case anything goes wrong.” Doctor Anderson gave Lucian a reassuring smile, and gestured for him to climb onto the surgical table. The team of doctors got to work. Lucian was hooked up to heart rate and blood pressure monitors. An alcohol swab was used to sterilize the inside of his elbow, and an IV was inserted.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  “Lucian, what’s your Constitution?” Doctor Anderson asked, “We aren’t 100% sure how dosages will interact with a classed individual with an above average Constitution, but rest assured that if anything goes wrong I am confident in my skills’ abilities.”

  Lucian mentally checked his stats, “40. My Endurance is 40 as well, actually. Not sure what matters and what doesn’t.” He said, glancing at the doctor he assumed was the anesthesiologist, “Sorry for the trouble.” He chuckled.

  Doctor Anderson and the anesthesiologist briefly conversed, deciding to start with a normal dosage and work upwards.

  That was where Lucian’s memory cut out as he lost consciousness.

  He woke up later, eyes flickering open slowly. He was lying in a hospital bed. He yawned and stretched out.

  Annabelle leaned over him, obscuring his view of the ceiling, “How are you feeling?”

  Lucian smiled up at her, “Well… I can feel both of my arms, so that’s a plus.”

  Annabelle laughed a little. “I’m glad you’re feeling good.”

  Lucian slowly sat up, and rolled his left shoulder, “How long did it take?”

  “About 4 hours.. Then you slept for another hour.” She answered.

  Lucian looked around the room for a moment, “Huh. Not as long as I guess I would have thought.” He lifted his arm up, closing his left hand tightly into a fist, “It feels perfectly fine, too. No weird pain or stiffness or anything…”

  “Well, I’m certain Doctor Anderson will be happy to hear that. Be right back.” Annabelle hummed, and walked over to the door, opening it and slipping out.

  Not long after, she returned with Doctor Anderson in tow. He grinned, “I’m thrilled to hear it feels fine!”

  “I imagine having this kind of thing available now will open a lot more doors, medically speaking.” Lucian smiled, standing beside the bed and pulling his hoodie down over his head.

  Doctor Anderson nodded, “A miracle at our fingertips. It’s truly wonderful. Admittedly, it was utterly exhausting, but that’s a small price to pay. I can only hope more people end up with a class like mine.”

  “Since it took so long, I imagine it’s a channeled skill, right?” Lucian tilted his head curiously, cat ears reacting in tandem. Annabelle was staring at them.

  “Indeed. Costly as well. Thankfully, my Spirit pool is quite large.” The doctor said, “I put quite a lot of those free points into it directly.”

  “Well, that’s good. I can’t imagine channeling a skill for that long was pleasant, probably worse than focusing on a normal surgery.” Lucian chuckled.

  “Oh yes, but I didn’t spend the entire 4 hours straight using it. I took breaks to recover energy.” He explained, then laughed, “Sadly I don’t have quite that much Spirit.”

  “Makes sense.” Lucian walked over and offered his hand, which the doctor shook firmly, “You have my number. If you ever need me to profess the efficacy of your abilities to a board or anything, let me know. And of course, thank you again.”

  Doctor Anderson smiled warmly, “Thank you, though hopefully that won’t be necessary. And you’re very welcome, Lucian.” His pager went off and he looked down at it, “Ah, I’m needed elsewhere. I’m sure we’ll see each other again, in the meantime, take care.”

  Lucian and Annabelle made their way out of the hospital, as they walked out of the building, Lucian offered his left hand to her, and they interlocked their fingers, “So… How about that date?”

  “How about it indeed. I know a good spot for dinner and we won’t even need a reservation.” She smirked.

  “Great. Mind if I quickly run back to my apartment, or what's left of it, and grab a new set of clothes?” Lucian chuckled, using his free hand to tug at his hoodie - it wasn’t in the best shape.

  “Go for it. Might as well grab them all and bring ‘em over to my place.” Annabelle smiled, "I'll meet you there, then we can go out.”

  Lucian grinned, “Sounds like a plan. See you soon!” He let go of her hand, and the two separated. “This shouldn’t take long at all…” Lucian thought to himself as he bounced up and down twice, and then took off down the street.