2339 - Mutated Eye
“…Perhaps you’re looking at the wrong thing.” Jabba’s iris began to spin, and hidden numbers and letters started to appear within that concealed vortex.
Soon, the Existence Record Card materialized.
Dozens of glowing items appeared beside the War Lord.
Even if Jabba didn’t know what that thing was, even if he hadn’t designed it himself, that single glance alone was enough for him to know everything about it—to recognize the identity of every detail, big or small, related to the array.
“Looking at the wrong thing?” Klein laughed. “Are you talking to me?”
“I know you’re a Truth Chosen of the Third Level and all that, but it doesn’t change what I have to say.” Jabba shrugged. “Truth Chosen usually see how something works, they see why it behaves the way it does. But I see what that thing fundamentally is, and I see how the universe treats it and acknowledges it.”
“…?” Klein was puzzled. “Are you saying you have a different eye than mine?”
“I think so.” Jabba shrugged. “I’ve tested this and that, and there’s a clear difference. I believe my Eye of Truth has mutated due to my constant research into blood variations.”
"Mutated Eye of Truth?" Klein's eyes widened to their maximum. "Interesting..." He then stared at Jabba from the side. "Hmm, Lord Human wouldn't choose just any First Level nobody to be his disciple, I suppose." Then he turned back to face the War Lord, his eyes glowing green, and he too began to observe the War Lord. "Alright, tell me what you see. I want to know what a Mutated Eye of Truth reveals!"
"..." Jabba began reading the items one by one: internal and external attributes, affinity, potential total power, and other headlines that exceeded a hundred, until he reached a specific item. "Hmm?"
[Cohesion Power: 37%]
"This is without a doubt... It's extremely low!" Jabba muttered.
"What are you talking about?" Klein narrowed his eyes and began to examine more closely.
As for Jabba, he blinked his eye and chose to scrutinize that single item alone, causing everything else to disappear.
Millions of letters, numbers, and equations began to leap before his eyes.
"Ugh..." Jabba gritted his teeth, and sweat began to drip from his forehead, until his very eye started trembling from the sheer strain.
"...?" Klein was puzzled by his appearance, so he deactivated his green Eye of Truth, then took a towel from his Ring and began helping Jabba as best he could... He might not know what was going on, but Jabba was undoubtedly doing something.
"Ugh!" Jabba could no longer stand, so he suddenly dropped down and grabbed his knees with both hands, as if trying to keep himself from falling.
"...Are you alright?" Klein furrowed his brows and began examining Jabba. Exhaustion was clearly visible on him, as if he had run around the planet several times!
"Almost." Jabba let out a long breath, then stood up again wearily, pointing toward the War Lord. "There's a coordination issue between the hearts, because I relied on independent and variable energy vectors. This was excellent in theory, since the Array would be able to use immense energy simultaneously, unlike its counterparts scattered across the Universe among other powers... But in practice, as you yourself said, problems will start to appear with the first battle, because the Heart of the Array won't be able to draw the energy it wants from the other hearts at the time it wants, and the mental connection between them isn't good enough to allow them all to move at the same moment."
He then pointed toward the center of the array. "If there were a stable energy transfer channel next to the independent carriers, it would most likely solve the problem. The Cohesion Quality would jump to at least 60%, and you could slowly raise the result later with better solutions."
"Hmm." Klein nodded. "Not bad, give me the new design and I'll work on modifying the array."
"...I can't." Jabba replied in a low voice.
"Excuse me?" A smile appeared on Klein's face. "You can't do what?"
"...I don't know how to say this." Jabba scratched his head. "But after my eye mutated, I can no longer see the engravings. I only see the final image in situations like this, and I identify the location of the problem based on the laws' acknowledgment of the thing."
He then pointed toward the War Lord. "For example, the universal laws here say that the cohesion of that array is weak and will collapse after a few uses, but I don't know why. I suggested you look into the stable channel because I designed this array before, and I have experience as a traditional Truth Chosen, but I won't be able to advance further. My research on the subject won't differ much from that of any ordinary researcher who doesn't possess the Eye of Truth." Then he turned to Klein and patted him on the shoulder. "Good luck!"
"What do you mean by 'good luck,' man?!" Klein pushed Jabba's hand away. "I'm a specialist in building Arrays!"
"The Sky Opener City is full of Truth Chosen." Jabba waved and began moving toward the Gate. "Cooperate with one or two of them, and the problem will be solved."
"This isn't fair!!" Klein shouted from behind.
"My heart is with you!" Jabba waved goodbye, his pace not quickening. Just by activating it, he could already imagine how the meeting with The Master would go when he saw what he had accomplished.
At that moment, Shadow Sword appeared beside Jabba and began walking alongside him. "His Majesty is currently on an extended tour. His current location is unknown, and he cannot be reached."
"...?!" Jabba stopped, a clear look of regret appearing on his face. "I can't meet him? When will he return? And where will he return to?!"
"We don't know exactly. His Majesty left Planet Donara fifteen days ago," Shadow Sword replied. "But he requested Marshal Sakaar's presence on Planet Donara before he left, so there's a high chance he will return to Donara soon to meet him. If you're in a great hurry, you can head there."
"Prepare the coordinates, and let's go then!" Jabba turned and strode quickly toward the Gate.