Enigma of Sin

In a horse drawn carriage in the middle of a forest, three people rode in the front, three in the actual carriage itself, and a couple more on horses followed. Inside of the carriage a small blue haired woman was talking to a young boy.

"Okay Kayn, it's taken just about a month to arrive, but we are just about at my home village, Corsa. Your job will mainly be observation of the healing that myself and the local healer, Drav, perform.

"I will ask you to perform only healing on small cuts or wounds that I think you can assist with. This may exhaust you though so stop before you reach your limits as Drav or I can finish the job. Remember, this isn't for you to cure or solve their problems, but for you to learn from us so you can apply that knowledge to the future."

Since they were close to the village, Lydia was giving her final instructions to Kayn as he was reading a book about healing utilizing the water element.

Kayn kept his head stuffed in books during the travel, only performing his martial arts forms and practicing with a pair of short swords that he was allowed to bring. He would do this whenever they stopped to set up camp for the night or eat a meal and rest.

Since she didn't get any reaction from Kayn, Lydia started to wave her hand in front of the boy's face. "Kayn, hello? Are you listening to me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Master. Yes, I heard you, I was just engrossed in the book you had written about applications for water elemental healing. Do you by chance have any books on the anatomy and physiology of different races?" Kayn asked since that knowledge was crucial to his theories he wanted to apply in the future.

"Yes, but as I've told you before, almost no one has gone in depth and only surface level or quick examinations have occurred. I will provide you with what I have, however, what I have is mainly related to the demon, beastkin, elf, and human races."

"Yes! Anything will do Master, have I ever told you that you're the best? Because you are!"

'Such a child.' Lydia thought to herself while showing a small smile on her face. It was only at times when Kayn wanted something that he truly acted like a child.

Kayn was different than any other disciple or student she had ever had. He always wanted more knowledge and seemed to absorb it like a sponge. The theories he came up with were preposterous in her opinion at times, but feasible if implemented properly.

…

The trip to Corsa was something that Lydia would do almost yearly, but had held off on for over a year this time due to her new disciple. Corsa was mainly populated by those of the demon and human races. Any race born from a demon and another tended to just be called a demon race, hence the diversity.

Lydia herself was a demon race, but they didn't have an exact name. Her race was just known for their blue hair and smaller stature, but this didn't mean that there weren't taller people among her race due to the mixing of races.

Corsa was a small village that only consisted of around 150 people. However, during a visit from Lydia the village was crowded as Drav would always advertise the event to the nearby villages when she contacted him about her trip.

It was a good opportunity to bring business and traveling merchants to the village for its prosperity. Plus, since they were offering low cost to free healing services, most would not pass up the opportunity to at least get a standard check-up.

Kayn, Lydia, and their party got settled into rooms at the inn, which was offered by the village for free, then they went to meet Drav and begin their work.

Drav was a human of medium stature, appearing in his late 40s, who worked in a small hut near the center of the village. There was nothing very remarkable about him to make him stand out, but he was a mid-stage 2 mage that could perform healing spells to a reasonable degree.

He didn't have the mana capacity to perform high level healing spells, such as regenerating limbs, but he could solve most problems for a small farming village. With Lydia here, she would only charge a small amount for missing fingers or toes and regenerate limbs at a massively reduced price from the norm.

Kayn quickly learned of the money system of the continent. He didn't bother with it before since he never left the house, but all the empires in the continent used the same currency since they were simply precious metals shaped into a small square.

Surprisingly the metals here were basically the same as those found on Earth. Copper was the lowest currency, followed by silver, gold, and then platinum. Each was exchanged at a 100 to 1 rate, an example being 100 copper coins is equivalent to 1 silver coin. The only reason platinum was worth more than gold was because here it was rarer than back on Earth, not to mention it had a higher luster due to mana as well.

A normal price that was charged in the capital for limb regeneration was 2 platinum coins since they were typically tier 7 or higher spells, but Lydia would only charge 1 silver coin during the duration of her stay in the village. Sometimes this attracted even those who had the money to pay for it but wanted to abuse Lydia's goodwill. She most of the time wouldn't worry about it, but she noted them in a journal in the case she ever saw them again for healing services.

Lydia believed she needed to give back to the villagers and surrounding citizens for all they had done for her when she was growing up there. Nourishing a healer was the pride of any village, and they had done it twice.

"We will only be staying here for a week Drav, so let's get started. Tell the local Count that we are here and he can spread the news." Lydia said as she prepared herself for the long lines to come. 

"Already a step ahead of you Elder Lydia. I notified the Count as soon as the guards informed me you passed the gate." Drav said with a small bow.

Kayn rose his eyebrow at the usage of "elder" in front of his Master's name, but thought it was out of respect for her talent and cultivation level.

Drav and Lydia soon set up in two different rooms of the hut before opening the door, observing that a large line had already formed.

Most people seemed healthy and were there for standard check-ups, but there were a few with wounds or that were sick. Lydia was required to see the most wounded or serious diseases due to the amount of mana it required to help them, while Drav would take care of any lesser problems and Kayn was left to ask questions for standard check-ups or to observe Lydia.

Drav was a good healer, he just didn't have the necessary amount of mana in his core to continue all day if he used tier 3 or 4 spells regularly. They would normally take a short break every few hours for this reason alone by Kayn's calculations.

Kayn was only allowed to watch for the first day. He didn't have a mana core so he didn't have enough mana to perform regular healing or even cast diagnostic spells, but he still found the experience worthwhile.

Observation and then application was always how Kayn learned best throughout both his lives. He only lived until his early 20s the first time, but he had figured out how he learned best during college. Observation and then practice, practice, and more practice.

The days passed quickly and on the 8th day Kayn was finally able to see his first regeneration. A farmer had lost half of his hand in an accident. Lydia determined it was only a minor regeneration service and she could use a tier 6 spell, thus she charged him 50 copper coins, causing the man to almost cry.

The farmer made at most 10 silver coins of profit a year. Being able to spend 50 copper coins to regenerate his hand which would normally cost at least 1 platinum in the bigger cities was a miracle in his eyes.

Kayn watched the entire process without closing his eyes. Lydia performed a few complex hand signs while saying a string of words before she placed her hand on the wounded area. The man's hand began to grow out of the wounded area shortly after. Once the process was done, he noticed that the new part of the man's hand and new fingers lacked a lot of muscle and their movement appeared very stiff.

"It will take about a month to get your flexibility back into your hand and perhaps half a year to regain the muscle." Lydia stated to the farmer before collecting the payment. The man gladly handed over the required amount thanking her on the way out repeatedly.

Kayn continued to ponder on the issue since Lydia had once told him that there wasn't a way to restore the flexibility and muscle mass during the regeneration process.

The week passed by like that. Kayn learned many things and how what he termed "patient care" to Lydia worked in his new world. He couldn't wait to form his mana core so he could begin to help others with his own methods.

The Count of Corsa threw a grand feast for the healers the night before they left, offering many delicacies that Kayn had never tasted before. He decided that learning how to properly cook a variety of dishes should also be a goal in this life once he tasted these new flavors.