The Tattoo on his forehead was gone.
He knew something was off because no one was looking at his forehead while talking to him, not the nurses, and not even the government officials. At first, he thought it was because they didn't want to be rude, but as it turned out, it disappeared.
He started searching for it on his body, in case it had gone somewhere else, but what he saw after taking off his shirt left him perplexed.
There was a huge moon tattoo on his upper belly, in the same spot where Lilly had hers.
The only logical explanation was that the mark came from the curse he had obtained.
Thinking of his abilities, he thought about summoning the axe he got.
And suddenly, the axe with which he had killed the Dread-fiend manifested in his hand.
It was subtly different, but he could not explain what had changed about the axe, it was as if an aura radiated from it, which was thirsting for battle.
After that, he showered and went to sleep.
After about an hour, he was woken up by the sound of the door opening.
He instantly jumped out of bed, his axe manifesting in his hand, and saw a boy around his age dressed in the same outfit he had been wearing before undressing for bed.
He was pretty tall and had short brown hair and a friendly look on his face.
"Ah, shit. Sorry, man—I have really bad eyesight. Can you help me get to my room? I can't read numbers right."
Sola could not help but laugh at this guy, who was handsome.
"Alright, I will help you. What's your name?"
The young man smiled at him.
"Edric, nice to meet you."
He said it as if waiting for Sola to tell him his name.
"I'm Sola, so Edric, which number is your room again?"
They were walking toward his room when they saw a group of girls coming their way.
It only took a second for Sola to notice that they were staring at him weirdly—some of them even looked mad.
'Are they mad at Edric? Did this guy went into a girl's room by accident?'
But then it hit him.
He was walking around in only his underwear, holding his axe with one hand, so he looked like a psychopath.
As they got right next to them, he raised his hand axe still in hand and said:
"I am sorry I forg-"
But as soon as he raised his hand, one of them—the one closest to Sola—screamed, and they all ran away.
"Sola, it's ok, you don't have to threaten them, they won't tell anyone, calm down."
But he was frozen in place.
"I was not trying to threaten them, I just wanted to apologize."
Edric looked in his direction, while still walking and said:
"Next time, don't point a weapon at them; maybe it will work."
Sola dismissed the axe and led Edric to his room.
Before running to his own.
He woke up early and went to the cafeteria, and was eating alone.
Looking around, his eyes landed on a handsome guy with glasses who was deciding what to eat.
It was Edric.
After picking up his plate he looked around searching for a familiar face and at the end his eyes landed on Sola.
He rushed to the table Sola was sitting at and put down his plate.
He looked hurried.
After sitting down, he looked at Sola dead in the eyes and spoke.
"I am so sorry for what happened yesterday, and I think you were right."
Sola had a confused expression on his face, swallowing a piece of bread, he asked.
"I was right about what exactly?"
Edric adjusted his glasses and said:
"Those girls from yesterday—you should've threatened them more, because they told everyone what they saw."
After drinking half of his cup in one gulp, he added:
"But don't you worry, I already explained the situation to some of them."
Sola didn't know what to say, he just didn't want everyone looking at him like he was some kind of weirdo, which probably wouldn't happen because Edric was helping him.
After eating, they went to the room where their first training session would be held.
There were already some people inside. The room itself was huge, with a ceiling about 6 meters high, and the space was vast. It was filled with various training and fighting equipment — bows, swords, axes, and more.
Sola and Edric sat on the long staircase where everyone else was sitting.
Soon, more people came in, all of them about the same age. And at last came a tall woman, who was their teacher.
When she entered the room, everyone fell silent.
She had short brown hair and sharp features, and a serious expression rested upon her face.
"Greetings, everyone. My name is Beth."
"Before we begin training, I want to explain what's happening in the world, since some of you came here straight from the hospital, right after waking up."
She started walking around as she was talking.
"About a month ago, portals opened up all around the world, and from them came monsters. Our artillery did little to harm them, and the only way they've been stopped is with the help of the system we all have here. You see, these monsters sometimes don't kill humans right away — instead, they feed on their souls. We don't know how they choose whose soul to devour, but there seems to be some kind of pattern in their choosing.
The system, however, allows some of those people to challenge the monster to a duel before their soul is completely devoured. If you reject the duel, you die. But if you accept it, you receive blessings from previously unknown gods.
They grant you marks, which sometimes manifest as tattoos on your body, though it's somewhat rare for that to happen. These marks give you power, usually connected to the god who bestowed it.
You also have a chance to receive essences, which grant you powerful abilities or physical boons."
She took a little pause to let everything sink in.