Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2339 mutated eye?

”...Perhaps you were looking at the wrong thing.” Jabbaʼs iris began to rotate as hidden letters and numbers gradually emerged within that concealed vortex, overlapping one another in an orderly flow as though an invisible system had suddenly awakened deep within his eye.

Before long, the Cosmic Identity Card appeared with perfect clarity before his vision.

Dozens of glowing entries materialized beside the War Lord, neatly arranged one after another as though the universe itself had compiled a complete record of everything related to the giant and was now presenting it directly before Jabbaʼs eyes.

Even if Jabba had never encountered this thing before, and even if he had not personally designed it, that single glance would have been enough for him to understand virtually everything about it. He could identify every major and minor aspect of the array, recognize the identity of each individual component, and immediately grasp how every separate part contributed to the existence of the whole.

”Iʼm looking at the wrong thing?” Klein laughed in disbelief. ”Are you talking to me?”

”I know youʼre a Third Stage Truth Chosen and all that, but it doesnʼt change what Iʼm trying to say.” Jabba casually shrugged. ”Truth Chosen usually see how something works. They understand why it behaves the way it does, how its internal mechanisms interact, and what causes each change. But I see what that thing fundamentally is before anything else, and I see how the universe itself treats it, recognizes it, and acknowledges its existence.”

”...?” Klein looked genuinely surprised. ”Are you saying your eye is different from mine?”

”I think so.” Jabba shrugged once again. ”Iʼve compared this with other Truth Eyes, tested one after another whenever I had the opportunity, and the difference has always been obvious. I think my Truth Eye mutated because of my constant research into blood variations and the countless times I forced myself to distinguish between differences so subtle that ordinary perception couldnʼt even recognize them.”

”A mutated Truth Eye?” Kleinʼs eyes widened to their limits as genuine curiosity replaced his earlier amusement. ”Interesting...” Then he glanced sideways at Jabba with renewed interest. ”Hmm... Lord Human wouldnʼt choose just any insignificant First Grade to become his disciple, I suppose.” He then turned back toward the War Lord, his eyes radiating a brilliant green glow as he activated his own perception once more and resumed examining every part of the enormous construct. ”Alright, tell me what youʼre seeing. I want to know exactly what a mutated Truth Eye can reveal!”

”....” Jabba quietly began reading the entries one after another: internal attributes, external attributes, affinity, potential overall power, compatibility, operational characteristics, and countless other primary categories that exceeded a hundred in total, carefully skimming through each one until his attention abruptly settled upon a single entry. ”Hmm?”

”Thatʼs definitely it... Itʼs far too low!” Jabba muttered under his breath as his eyes remained fixed on that single line.

”What are you talking about?” Klein narrowed his eyes and immediately began examining the War Lord even more carefully, instinctively searching for whatever flaw Jabba had apparently discovered.

Jabba blinked once and deliberately focused all of his attention on that single entry alone. Instantly, every other category and line of information vanished from his sight as though they had never existed in the first place.

Millions of letters, numbers, equations, formulas, and incomprehensibly detailed calculations exploded into view before his eyes, flowing endlessly like a vast ocean of information that continuously reorganized itself every passing instant.

”Ugh...” Jabba gritted his teeth as sweat rapidly streamed down his forehead. Even his eye itself began trembling violently beneath the overwhelming strain, while the muscles around it twitched uncontrollably as though simply maintaining his focus demanded an unbearable amount of effort.

”...?” Klein frowned in confusion at Jabbaʼs condition. He immediately deactivated his own green Truth Eye, took a towel out of his ring, and hurried over to help Jabba however he could, wiping away the sweat forming across his face. He had absolutely no idea what was actually happening before him, but there was no doubt in his mind that Jabba was doing something far beyond ordinary observation.

”Haaah!” Jabba could no longer remain standing. His legs suddenly gave way beneath him, forcing him to crouch abruptly as he grabbed both knees tightly with his hands, desperately trying to keep himself from collapsing completely while struggling to catch his breath.

”...Are you alright?” Klein frowned deeply and immediately began examining Jabbaʼs condition from head to toe. The exhaustion covering him was unmistakable, his breathing had become noticeably heavier, and his face had turned pale, making him look as though he had just run around the entire planet several times without stopping.

”Almost.” Jabba let out a long breath before forcing himself back to his feet despite the lingering exhaustion weighing down his body. He pointed toward the towering War Lord standing before them. ”Thereʼs a coordination problem between the hearts because I based the design on independent, variable energy conduits. In theory, that was an excellent approach because it allows the array to draw upon an enormous amount of energy simultaneously, unlike the comparable arrays used by the other powers throughout the universe, where a single core inevitably becomes the bottleneck for every major technique... but in practice, just as you said yourself, the problems will begin to surface during its very first battle. The arrayʼs active heart wonʼt be able to draw the amount of energy it needs from the other hearts at the exact moment it needs it, and the mental synchronization between them isnʼt refined enough to let all five move in perfect unison while continuously exchanging leadership during combat.”

He then pointed toward the arrayʼs chest, where the central structure was located. ”If you add a fixed energy channel alongside the independent conduits, itʼll most likely solve the problem. The Structural Integrity should jump to at least sixty percent, and afterward youʼll be able to improve it gradually with better solutions, finer adjustments, and additional research once enough combat data has been gathered.”

”Hmm.” Klein nodded thoughtfully while rubbing his chin. ”Alright. Give me the new design, and Iʼll modify the array.”

”...I canʼt.” Jabba replied in a low voice after a brief silence.

”Excuse me?” A smile slowly spread across Kleinʼs face. ”You canʼt do what?”

”...Iʼm not really sure how to explain it.” Jabba scratched his head awkwardly. ”But after my eye mutated, I lost the ability to see the patterns themselves. In situations like this, all I can see is the final picture. I identify where the problem lies based on how the Laws acknowledge the object, rather than by tracing every pattern responsible for creating that result.”

He pointed toward the War Lord once again. ”For example, the universal Laws are telling me that this array has weak structural integrity and will eventually collapse after only a few uses, but I donʼt know why. I suggested investigating a fixed channel because I designed this array in the past, and I still have experience as a conventional Truth Chosen, so I can roughly infer which part is most likely responsible once I know the final outcome. But I canʼt take it any further. My research from this point onward wouldnʼt be much different from that of any ordinary researcher who doesnʼt possess a Truth Eye.” Then he turned toward Klein, lightly patted him on the shoulder with a sympathetic smile, and said, ”Good luck!”

”What do you mean, ʼgood luck,ʼ man?!” Klein immediately brushed Jabbaʼs hand away with an indignant expression. ”Iʼm an array construction specialist!”

”Sky Opening City is full of Truth Chosen.” Jabba casually waved as he resumed walking toward the gate without slowing his pace. ”Work together with one or two of them, compare your findings, and the problem will be solved sooner or later.”

”Thatʼs not fair!!” Klein shouted from behind him in frustration, glaring at Jabbaʼs retreating back as though trying to force him to return.

”Iʼm rooting for you!” Jabba waved without looking back, his pace never quickening despite the excitement beginning to build inside him. With a single activation of his imagination, he could already picture how his meeting with Master would unfold once Master saw everything he had accomplished over the past several years, and the thought alone was enough to put an eager smile on his face.

Whoosh.

At that exact moment, a Shadow Sword silently appeared beside Jabba and immediately matched his pace as they continued walking side by side. ”His Majesty is currently traveling on an extended tour. His present location is unknown, and it is not possible to go to him.”

”...?!” Jabba abruptly stopped in his tracks, unmistakable disappointment spreading across his face as the excitement that had filled him moments earlier suddenly froze. ”I canʼt meet him? When will he be back? And where will he return to?!”

”We do not know exactly. His Majesty departed Donara fifteen days ago,” the Shadow Sword replied in the same calm tone as always. ”However, before leaving, he instructed Marshal Sakar to come to Donara, so there is a very high probability that His Majesty will return there soon to meet him. If your matter is extremely urgent, you may head there yourself and wait for his arrival.”

”Prepare the coordinates. Then letʼs go!” Jabba immediately regained his momentum and quickened his pace toward the portal once again.