Damned Healer-Chapter 88: Expecting Flashier

"Couple more days and we'll know more about it," Leander finished, then realized he was the only one left who hadn't shared his abilities yet.

Just like his mother, Leander was a Mystic. A rare class, but perfect for a leader — able to handle multiple roles in battle.

His blessing was called *Chaotic Gravity*. He could distort gravity, either across a wide area or on specific targets to support allies. The downside? It drained a ridiculous amount of energy. So he normally used it in a more controlled way — mostly to enhance his flying swords.

Basically, he could attack like a mage using those swords, support allies (or himself), and even fight on the frontlines like a tank without being directly hit — just controlling enemies and locking down their movement.

That was the theory. In practice, with only two rings, the only viable way for him to fight effectively was using his blessing on the flying swords.

If he tried anything bigger, he'd only be able to do it once. Still, there was potential to combine it with artifacts to boost its effect — like he had done in the last battle.

Once everyone had explained their blessings, they gathered for some physical combat training with weapons. Harper led this part. It was important for everyone to be prepared for emergencies.

Darian, who had always wanted to learn how to fight with weapons, gave it his all, trying to soak up everything.

Afterwards, the five of them went to another building where they were going to spar against Zeal's team — a group with three rings. Not knowing your opponents' blessings was part of the clan's rules, meant to keep training realistic.

No one went around showing off their blessings — only your own group was supposed to know what you could do.

Of course, Leander's group had fought Zeal's team a few times and had some guesses about their abilities, but they still didn't know their full potential. Plus, everyone trained constantly to come up with new and better ways to use their powers.

Even though Zeal's group had big limitations — like not being allowed to use weapons or too much power — the fight only lasted a few minutes. Leander's group got wiped out easily, before Darian even had a 'chance' to heal anyone.

He didn't make a big deal out of it. It wasn't that he couldn't heal them — honestly, he felt like he could've kept the whole team going for hours. But using his power drained something deeper... something that wasn't easy to refill.

So the day ended, and the routine repeated over the next few days.

On the fifth day...

Leander burst into the training building early in the morning.

"We got a summons from the clans. It's from the Empire. We have to go!" he said seriously, making everyone jump to their feet.

"Only the top clans ever get called like this... but... the Empire specifically asked for Darian to be there."

Everyone was caught off guard.

During those past few days, Rhea had come back, saying something big and secret was being discussed among the major clans. No one had leaked anything — the matter was clearly important.

And now... they were summoning the whole clan — and Darian?

Damon and Rhea had gone ahead to try and find out what was going on. Darian's group followed shortly after, stopping in front of a massive building in the center of the city.

The whole area was locked down tight, surrounded by dead-serious military personnel. No one without clearance could even get close. Secrecy was absolute — they couldn't risk this info leaking to the other empires.

Everyone handed over their ID cards and were quickly led into the building, tension thick in the air.

A soldier guided them through a dark hallway to a heavy, reinforced door. They took a deep breath before stepping inside. It opened into a massive conference room, already packed with people.

The room was completely silent.

Leander swallowed hard — he recognized almost everyone there. Leaders, vice-leaders, and council members from the biggest clans in the Empire. And worse — a dozen of the Empire's top-ranking military officers were there too. Their orders were basically law among all High Humans.

Every eye turned to the newcomers with clear impatience.

Freon, a middle-aged man who looked a lot like Raon, was there. He was the vice-leader of the Red River Pact — the Empire's biggest clan.

Beside him stood another man, tall and muscular, dressed in light clothes like a martial artist. His presence was intense, his gaze sharp like blades.

The younger ones instantly felt crushed by the pressure — like regular humans standing in front of a High Human. No doubt that was the actual leader of that huge clan. Still, he stayed expressionless. His aura wasn't forced — it was just who he was.

Freon, though... Darian noticed a lively, bloody light hidden in his eyes.

Rhea motioned for them to come over and sit in the back, next to her and Damon.

Once everyone was seated, someone at the center of the room let out a short breath.

"Let's begin. Some of you already know parts of this, so I'll explain everything now."

Almost everyone — including Rhea and Damon — was dying to find out what this was all about.

"Recently, we received a gift. Something that could completely shift New Arcadia's standing. Not just that — this thing might change Earth's position in the Divine Protection Universe." He looked around, deadly serious. "A new Supreme Artifact showed up... actually, no. This one might be beyond a Supreme Artifact."

Everyone hearing that for the first time froze.

Supreme Artifacts only appeared in extremely rare cases — usually during S-rank missions. All of Earth's top clans had one or two of them, and that was the only reason they could clear those missions at all.

Back in the day, S-rank missions had a 95% failure rate. But every empire was still forced to try, even if it meant sending people to their deaths. That only changed when the Solar Federation discovered the existence of Supreme Artifacts.

Since then, because they were the first, the Solar Federation stayed the strongest empire on Earth. New Arcadia was the third to get one — and that's how it held onto its current ranking.

Then, a bearded man, who looked like a monk, spoke calmly:

"Sir, this sounds... strange. May I confirm it? My blessing allows for accurate appraisal. No one on Earth can match my ability—"

"There's no need," the officer cut in firmly. "We've already confirmed it. We used the highest-grade appraisal artifact. It's slightly weaker than your blessing, sure, but... it gave the highest possible rating — one never seen before — and then it tried to go beyond that... and exploded."

Nearly everyone shot out of their seats. The appraisal artifact was the second most valuable and powerful item the Empire had — only Supreme Artifacts ranked higher. Being able to properly appraise something was a top priority.

And that artifact never got things wrong. If it exploded... then even a slightly better blessing wouldn't change the outcome.

"Back to the matter at hand," the officer continued, pulling everyone's attention back. "There are a lot of things we need to work out. Mainly: how, when, and who gets it."

Everyone nodded. The military officers were all powerful High Humans too, but they'd been chosen by the Empire for their unique skills, not just brute force. Meanwhile, the leaders of the top clans were just as strong as the top-ranking officers.

Freon raised a hand and spoke coldly: "Right. Like we discussed earlier, obviously my clan — the Red River Pact — should keep it. All other concerns are irrelevant. We can handle everything safely. Anyone here have a problem with that?"

The whole room sighed in silence.

The Red River Pact was way ahead of the second-place clan. Giving them this new artifact would skyrocket their power — which was great for the Empire as a whole.

But at the same time...

Rhea and everyone from the small Azure Haven clan broke into a cold sweat. If the Red River Pact got their hands on something stronger than a Supreme Artifact, their power would grow so much... that if Freon ever decided to crush them out of revenge, probably no one would dare step in.

"That's the obvious choice. But if it were that simple, I wouldn't have called all of you here." The officer spoke flatly. "Let's get to the point. Bring it out."

He signaled, and a group of soldiers moved, carrying an object sealed inside a black box.

Everyone held their breath, tension and curiosity hanging heavy in the room. No one knew what kind of artifact it was. The person chosen to wield it would need to be compatible. If it turned out to be highly specialized... maybe the strongest clan wasn't the best option.

And then—

The black box opened...

A small bow, in reddish-yellow hues, was revealed before everyone. It didn't look like much at first glance — people were expecting something flashier.

But Rhea and Darian's eyes went wide.

'Oh? My boy — Celestial Solar Bow!' Darian thought excitedly.