Enigma of Sin

Seeing that people were entering and leaving the building just like a normal shop, Kayn entered inside and saw that what he entered was essentially a reception and waiting room, similar to how clinics functioned back on Earth.

Knowing how the process worked, Kayn stepped into reception line. As he waited for his turn, he listened in on the people in front of him registering for their appointments. From what he gleamed, people could be permitted access to the inner ring, regardless of their circumstances, if they were only coming for healing.

However, they had to register at a post that was set up in the outer or middle rings where they would be given a token to enter the middle and inner rings. They would be given an estimated cost for treatment and asked to pay half ahead of time. Once they paid, they would get their token. 

The White Hand Society was able to keep track of its patients this way because they had a two-way inscription tablet. One side would add names and what the treatment was as soon as they paid and the other would remove their name once they arrived, were treated, and paid the remainder.

While Kayn did find it a little ridiculous that they didn't just have a few healers stationed in the outer ring, he was sure he would learn why later on. Most of those here came for treatment of a disease or simple wound anyway, which even lower rank healers could deal with.

On the other hand, the prices in comparison to what Elder Loren charged were simply incomparable. And the prices even varied depending on the healer you were assigned or requested. There were a few stage 2 healers who had comparable prices to Elder Loren, but stage 3 and higher would charge higher prices for the same service apparently.

Kayn could only attribute the price gouging to having a more experienced healer, even though having a higher core stage didn't mean you had more experience than someone else. For example, Elder Loren was over 100 years old, but Kayn could perform the same treatments she could, but his were technically more effective.

It wasn't that Elder Loren wasn't a good healer, she was just restricted by her knowledge, elements, and ability to wield mana freely like Kayn could.

While Kayn was lost in his thoughts, it was his turn to approach the desk, to which the person behind him promptly cleared their throat to get Kayn moving forward.

"Hello, name of the appointment holder?" The young man behind the counter let off the aura of a 1st stage core mage and was most likely an apprentice here, but worked at reception in return for the lessons he received.

"Umm, I don't have an appointment. I actually came here because I was wondering if it was possible to join the White Hand Society as a healer." Kayn replied since he didn't actually come to use their services.

The young man gave Kayn a funny look because Kayn looked younger than he was, yet he was only an apprentice and even then, it was an arduous process to apply for. Not to mention the healers here would only accept one 1st stage apprentice at a time and all of their slots were currently filled.

"I'm sorry, but if you're looking to apply for an apprenticeship, all of the spots are currently filled and it will probably be a couple of years until one of the masters here is accepting a new student." The young man tried to let Kayn down easily, but inwardly he was cursing at Kayn for thinking it was that easy.

"Ah, you misunderstood me." Kayn smiled back at the receptionist. "I'm here to apply for a healing position, not an apprenticeship as I'm already well versed in the art of healing."

The young man doubted Kayn's words, but he still had to do his job correctly unless he wanted to be disciplined. "Is that so? I don't think we are hiring any 2nd or 3rd stage healers at the moment, I will need to check with one of the elders."

"I'm at the 4th stage if you wouldn't mind telling them that." Kayn smiled as he spoke having an idea of what was going through the young man's head.

"4th...4th stage you say? How old are you…?" The young man seemed to be lost in his own thoughts before quickly snapping out of it. "Ah, forget that last question, it was rude of me. Give me one moment to contact one of the elders.

The receptionist went around a corner out of sight for a bit to use a communication crystal, but Kayn was able to hear him talking with someone through the crystal. When the young man got to the part about what stage Kayn was at, he heard the supposed elder say that he will be down immediately.

Just as the receptionist came back around the corner with a bit of a stunned expression, a middle-aged man came down from the stairs just by the reception area.

"Hello fellow healer, my name is Yu Rin and around here I'm known as either Healer Yu or Elder Yu, but you may refer to me as you wish. May I ask what your name is?" Yu Rin spoke as Kayn inspected him. He had a thick mustache with short black hair and large fluffy ears. Glancing down, Kayn even saw a tail that was wrapped around his waist much like a belt.

"Hello Healer Yu, my name is Kayn." With Mana Sense, Kayn could tell that Yu Rin had a 3rd stage core. Thus, he decided to refer to him as a healer rather than a senior or disrespectfully by just using his name.

He wanted to give off a good impression rather than seeming likely a complete newbie or a haughty individual that is full of themselves.

"Healer Kayn, is that your surname or given name? I would prefer to address you by your surname given your stature."

Kayn knew his surname would come into the picture eventually, so when he got his identity renewed, he included a last name on it. "Kayn Ashan."

"Thank you, Healer Ashan, or do you prefer Elder Ashan?" Yu Rin continued his questions as he didn't want to disrespect the apparent 4th stage healer in front of him.

"Just Healer Ashan is fine."

"Now that we have our names sorted out, please follow me upstairs where we can have a little more of a private talk if you don't mind." Yu Rin found Kayn to be quite likable already since he wasn't acting almighty even though he was within the top echelons of healers being at the 4th stage.

"Lead the way," Kayn replied.

…

Once they entered into the office belonging to Yu Rin, he decided to immediately get down to business as he knew that some healers and mages in general hated their time being wasted.

"First off, let me tell you about the requirements for joining the White Hand Society. First, I'll check your core stage to ensure you are at the level you stated. It's not that I doubt you, it's just part of the process.

"Second, we will assign you 5 patients that have checked in with varying difficulties of treatment to test your knowledge so we can ensure that you are up to par for our standards.

"Lastly, we will talk about your desires and role you would like to play within our Society. Regardless of what you decide to do, being an official member of the Society comes with many benefits here in Mancea, so it is recommended that all healers join us whether they work for us in an official capacity or are just members for the advantages.

"There are no quotas or membership fees to joining, once you pass our examinations, you can become one of us with all benefits, simple right?" 

After Yu Rin spoke, Kayn nodded as those requirements truly were pretty simple. As long as they didn't assign him to regenerate a limb or something during his testing, he would be fine.

While he could regenerate limbs, he hadn't bothered to learn the normal spells or improved his own that would provide a hastened process yet for his new core level. He would have to take his time doing it little by little as he had done so before if they ended up asking him for that service.

After agreeing to go through with the testing, Kayn was led to a smaller room that had a small purple half sphere laying on top of a table.

"Place your hand and inject a bit of your mana into the device please. It will measure your core's strength, nothing else." Yu Rin assured Kayn that it was just a measurement of strength as some mages were quite peculiar about having their age revealed.

Seeing as how Kayn appeared quite young, he assumed that Kayn was probably older, but using an appearance alteration artifact, pill, or potion.

Kayn was feeling relieved after hearing this, but for the exact opposite reason to what Yu Rin was thinking. If they discovered that he was at the 4th stage and less than 20 years old, he was positive some kind of uproar would occur.

Kayn placed his hand upon the device and injected a little of his mana. Shortly after, the words (Core Stage: 4) appeared on the table next to the half sphere in the same purple color as the sphere.

Seeing this, Yu Rin became excited since most healers that were already established didn't bother to join the Society, and he could even earn a reward depending on what Kayn decided to do after he joined.