At that moment, all Nolan could think about was getting a Scar that would be more useful than the ones he currently had, which, despite being extravagant and flashy, weren't useful at the moment...
But his thoughts were interrupted when he took a closer look at the rusty longsword that would cut him. Its hilt and blade were dirty; the point resting on the ground had pierced the old, black wooden floor of the platform, which was covered in moss, dust, and mold. Nolan also noticed that traces of blood from the last four young men who had been cut still dripped down the sword.
A chill ran down Nolan's neck, a kind of remorse mixed with a sense of danger and self-preservation rising from the depths of his mind, screaming at him not to be cut by that old, dirty, bloody, and rusty sword…
"Where do you want your Scar?"
Hidden behind a metal helmet with the visor slightly raised, the soldier asked after Nolan had been silent for a long time.
After thinking as quickly as he could, Nolan slightly lifted his shirt with his gloved left hand, exposing his well-defined abdomen, and used the index finger of his right hand to slide along the left side of one of his abdominal muscles, marking where he wanted the 4-centimeter Scar.
Coincidentally, this was the same spot where his father also had his only Scar. Nolan then added:
"It can be here, but I have a request…"
"What request?" the soldier asked curtly and stiffly.
"You, hm… You could clean your sword first?"
If Nolan could see the soldier's face beneath the helmet, he would have seen him with his mouth open and eyebrows furrowed at the unusual request. The Priest and the Captain were the only ones close enough to hear the unusual request, but both found it rather strange; after all, excessive cleanliness and personal hygiene were things only women possessed in this world…
Perhaps out of pity for the young man on the verge of possible death, the soldier simply nodded. Then, he poured water from his canteen onto the sword and quickly wiped it with a dirty handkerchief he had with him…
The sword wasn't as clean as Nolan wanted, and the rust still remained, but he finally felt that unpleasant sensation disappear. Immediately afterward, the man cut where Nolan had indicated.
"Slash"
Like the others, the cut was extremely precise, further reinforcing Nolan's belief in the armored soldier's talent with the longsword.
Nolan also endured the pain of the cut without uttering a single groan or sigh. This greatly impressed the Captain and the Priest, as it was quite unusual among young men.
But upon closer inspection, they noticed the small White Scar above his left eyebrow and deduced that the young man had been injured before and survived.
Nolan watched the Old Priest apply the Sacred Ointment directly to the wound; the injury quickly became numb, stopping the bleeding instantly due to the viscosity, or perhaps the passive effect of the Sacred Ointment. Then, the Old Priest placed the remaining dark green paste on a strip of white cloth that had been precisely cut to perfectly cover the wound.
Nolan didn't stay to see the rest of the ceremony; he descended from the stage and returned to his room in the Bronze Tavern. He tried to sleep a little until lunchtime, but couldn't because he had too many things on his mind. Among the many things keeping him awake was the three-day waiting period for everyone who participated in the Ceremony to find out if they would live or die.
The basic pattern for knowing whether you would survive or die after being wounded was actually only 48 hours; those who were going to die would present with fever, nausea, swelling, and a foul odor from their wound. After that, the family could only say goodbye to the person, because they would only have 24 hours left before dying. In this situation, no cure, ointment, or miracle could save someone suffering from infection in the final 24 hours.
For the 10 percent who survived the initial 48 hours without problems, it was enough to wait the next 24 hours before finally obtaining their new power through the Scar that formed. At this point, the wound would heal on its own, and you would discover what level of power you had obtained through its color.
The minimum to obtain Bronze Scars, Silver Scars, and Gold Scars was wounds of at least 4 centimeters, with Bronze being the most common and Gold being very rare. Below 4 centimeters, you would only receive White Scars…
Nolan had chosen the location of his scar based on the location of the only scar his father possessed. He only thought of this when his turn came, and it was more of a nostalgic choice to have something that resembled him…
Lost in his thoughts and still using his scarf to hide his face from the villagers and especially from Zack and his henchmen, Nolan decided to spend the next 48 hours in his room, requesting that all his meals be delivered there. He also avoided having many conversations with the other soldiers and even ignored two invitations to dinner with the kind Luna.
And when the first 48 hours passed, Nolan breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing that he had no symptoms of someone about to die. Furthermore, through Old Derrick, who came to check on him, he discovered that of the 7 participants from Cerimony, 3 had all symptoms, one of them being one of the girls he vaguely knew who had joined the ceremony at the last minute.
After confirming that Zack would survive, but that none of his henchmen would resist, Nolan simply sighed at not being able to kill the two scoundrels personally, but was happy that Zack was still alive.
Soon, the final 24 hours finally passed, and Nolan, who was facing a full-length mirror in his tavern room, lowered his shirt, hiding his new scar, nodding in satisfaction at having obtained his second Bronze Scar.
After escaping death twice in a row in less than 4 days, he just wanted to leave and travel safely, but now, he would have to face death for the third time soon in the dangerous racial battle that was about to begin…