Damned Healer-Chapter 91: His Choice

"Sit down. Freon, go heal yourself—you've clearly been rejected. We'll continue." The senior officer said curtly.

Freon's eyes stayed locked on Darian—if he had the strength, he would've jumped him right then and there. But Darian just waved him off, like shooing a fly.

Freon ground his teeth so hard his blood dripped from his lips.

The room sank into silence as the soldiers helped Freon to his feet and escorted him out.

Darian sat cross-legged, totally chill, as if none of this had anything to do with him. Next to him, everyone from the little clan sat petrified, sweating buckets.

"Next." the officer ordered.

People approached one by one, all cautious. Everyone kept a serious stance and even activated defensive artifacts before touching the bow.

Nobody really thought Darian was behind what happened—he was too far away, just a rookie. Any flicker of his power would've been spotted immediately.

So the conclusion was obvious: this bow was terrifyingly picky. That only made everyone more eager to win it.

Luckily, no other big reactions happened. One after another tested it with no response—only Anbon, the Flame guy, had gotten anything.

That spread a wave of discouragement—seemed like that clan would walk away with the bow.

But of course Darian had a plan B. He hadn't used all his black power in that attack—just a tiny trace remained. He could use it to trigger the bow's Yang power, boosting someone else to the same level.

The problem was choosing who.

He'd activated his curse and scanned everyone: almost everyone there had a normal black karma. Only about five people, from smaller clans, stood out negatively. How to pick?

Then, a young woman moved quietly forward.

She had long brown hair, dark expressive eyes, and a slender figure. She wore a red crop top and a short skirt that showed off her legs.

When she touched the bow, she closed her eyes tight, her lips moving like a soft whisper.

Suddenly, the bow pulsed, shocking everyone.

A radiant gold aura flared up.

It wasn't subtle or pitch-black like with Anbon. Nor was it the pure white of Darian, but it wasn't far off. It was a brilliant gold... perfectly matching the "Solar" in its name.

Darian's jaw dropped. Someone had really done it all by herself? He—and everyone else—felt that she'd unlocked the bow's true power.

"Nayara... amazing," Rhea whispered excitedly at his side.

That woman grinned excitedly, pumping her fists, then went back to her seat.

Rhea caught Darian's look and thought, 'She's currently the vice‐leader of the Amazon Sentinels—the third largest clan in the Empire. She's the same age as Leander, very young, but she's the Empire's biggest recent prodigy. Three rings, only four years since her awakening.'

Darian was stunned. Getting a second ring in under three years already meant genius—third ring was ten times harder. And she did it in only four years. That was real talent. Becoming vice‐leader of a major clan was totally justified—a clear bet on her bright future.

'She wasn't announced to the public because she awakened just after the last tournament. In the next one, where you'll compete, she'll be revealed too... Nayara is the Empire's biggest gamble,' Rhea said softly.

'You know her?' Darian asked, thoughtful.

'Yes—her grandparents awakened in my generation. We did missions together back then. They're good people. I watched her grow. She works hard, honestly, despite that scary talent of hers. She'd be perfect for this bow.' Rhea said, looking at Darian, trying to convince him. She wasn't 100% sure, but felt he could decide the bow's fate.

Darian just nodded quietly. He didn't have a sharp instinct for reading people, but someone had to get the bow... she seemed like a good pick.

Nearly an hour passed. Everyone who wanted to test finished. No one else triggered a big reaction—just one person got a faint red aura, clearly weaker than the first two.

The officer said, "Looks decided. Anbon and Nayara stood out most, but I think no one doubts the real winner, right?"

He glanced at Anbon. The muscle‐bound man just snorted, said nothing, and accepted his loss in silence. Explosive as he was, he wasn't irrational.

Even his karma didn't stand out too negatively. Darian was sure Anbon wasn't directly behind Freon's deeds; he probably left the messy bureaucracy to his vice. Still, he was responsible—being innocent isn't the same as being ignorant.

Everyone sighed, while the Amazon Sentinels clan members glowed with excitement. Being the third‐largest clan, now with this Supreme Artifact, they could move up to second and even challenge Red River Pact.

The officer turned to Darian: "It's as proposed. Nayara of the Amazon Sentinels is the most compatible."

Darian nodded: "Yes, it'll be hers. I accept that deal."

"Great. They'll pay you a symbolic three billion Merit Points, split into three annual installments. Obviously that's not the artifact's real value—it's priceless. But it's an amount that only an S‐rank clan can pay without wrecking their finances," announced the officer.

Darian merely nodded. He wasn't lacking points, and now had nothing to worry about for a good while.

"I hereby close the meeting."

With that, everyone rose, a bit disappointed, and began to leave.

"Aunt Rhea." Nayara quickly approached them.

Rhea smiled and congratulated her. Nayara was accompanied by a middle-aged man—likely her clan's leader.

Nayara turned to Darian, looking him in the eyes. "Thank you. We'll properly pay for the artifact. You hate those idiots, right? Me too. Having this bow isn't bad for you."

"No need to worry. I'll handle them when the time comes," Darian replied indifferently, as if those two posed no threat.

He fully trusted he'd get his revenge. Not arrogance—just confidence that he'd go to any length to get what he wanted.

Nayara nodded, satisfied, then looked to Rhea. If she was Darian's guardian, he certainly wasn't crazy... well, maybe a little, but not a threat.

"Let's go. We'll have our work cut out at the clan managing our funds. These points don't grow on trees," said the middle-aged man lightly.

Nayara said goodbye to Rhea and the others, then left.

Everyone from the little Azure Haven clan also departed, visibly relieved it ended well.

Silently, they summoned two cars and headed back to the clan.

They all thought the same: 'How the hell did Darian get something so amazing from that Array? Pure luck?'

They remembered the test results from days ago with him.

It floored them. He'd maxed his endurance and elemental affinity... which floor did he even reach in that Array?

But no one asked. If he didn't want to reveal, that was his choice—and everyone respected it.

Darian noticed their thoughts and was grateful no one asked. The people in that clan seemed truly trustworthy.

When they returned, Rhea privately spoke to everyone involved in the previous night's celebration.

Darian sensed it—just from their subtle looks. She probably warned them not to tell anyone about his talents, or outsiders might connect the dots and start hassling him. It was clear he didn't want that.

The next day, everyone in the group trained together again.

Nothing unusual happened. The day ended, another began, and the cycle repeated.

Until finally, a month passed.

Then, after forty days, Leander brought the news: their mission had arrived.