Chapter 2389

2389 - Identity Card

"...What do you mean by the Eye of Truth mutating?" Robin showed a strange smile and asked slowly.

What he had seen in the book now was not a miracle, but it undoubtedly did not contain the method of writing used by the Truth Chosen. Instead of reasoning through Patterns and making comparisons and analyses, Jabba was only writing: The probability of this is 99%, and therefore—

Where did you get the probability on which you base the rest of your words?!

Or: This serpent is this old, and therefore— Where are your deductions about the serpent's age?

That was why Robin had read the entire book, willing to be convinced by its contents, but that would only be if those probabilities were correct and nothing else was written, and that was it. So he asked him for an explanation of what he had just read!

But... a mutation of the Eye of Truth?

That was new.

"Yes, my eye underwent a mutation not too long ago." Jabba furrowed his brows and nodded seriously. "I no longer see Patterns as before, but I see something like a window beside my target. In that window, I see all the information that can possibly be seen about the target, and the weaker the target is or the stronger I am, the more that information increases."

Then he turned to the side, pointing toward a certain strange-looking stone, and his pupil began to spin: "...Take this stone for example—it contains three ordinary basic components of stones and 3 grams of a rare material. Its price should be around 75 Pearl in the market. It was part of a rock formation beneath the ground and emerged in a volcano 6,600 years ago in an explosion, settling atop the mountain... I also see other information, such as its exact dimensions, the colors of every particle within it, and the history of its movements over the past few thousand years—and, of course, the fact that it's inanimate."

"......" Robin stared deeply into Jabba's eyes, his hands beginning to tremble slightly. "You see... a status window?"

"Yes." Jabba nodded. "I see everything about my target's status through text that appears beside it. I call this mutation the Cosmic Identity Card!"

"Hmm!!" Robin bit his lower lip and closed his eyes, then clenched his fists tightly.

Whether he was feeling exhilaration or restraining himself from hitting someone was unclear.

"You see a status window beside everything you look at, huh?" Sakaar spoke in his deep voice, clearly hiding other meanings.

"......" Jabba cast a sidelong glance at Sakaar with his unsteady eye, then quickly looked forward again. "That's how it is."

Then he flashed a smile toward Robin, "And that's not all—I've discovered that I can interfere with some of the options I see in the window."

"Wh—what?" Robin asked with a faltering breath.

"Look." Jabba pointed at the rock again, "One of the entries that appears to me when I observe that rock is the color entry. Linked to that entry are a number of elements that give the stone those different colors in their visible proportions."

Then he began to concentrate, "Now, I'm going to change the proportion of one of those elements in the rock."

*Huum*

Robin's eyes opened wide... The faint purple hue began to increase noticeably, and using 10% of the Eye of Truth, he could see new patterns—not foreign ones, but he could see one of the elements transforming into another right before his eyes!

Then he turned back to stare intently at Jabba's face, "……..?!" And with heaviness, he opened his mouth, "Do you know exactly what you're doing?"

"I'm changing the proportions of the elements." Jabba nodded, fatigue showing slightly on him as he began rubbing his forehead, "But it's undoubtedly very difficult—had I chosen to increase that rare substance by even just one gram, I would have been exhausted far more visibly."

He then continued, "This made me wonder for a while—what difference makes me exert more effort on one thing than another? Or makes me unable to change a certain thing from the ground up, until I concluded that this has to do with the Cosmic Identity clause. The stronger, rarer, and more useful something is, the harder it is to manipulate. These are limits I don't understand."

"Ah..." Robin stared intently into Jabba's eyes, "Perhaps because you're only at Level 18. Maybe when you reach Level 48, for instance, you'll be stronger."

"You're right." Jabba nodded seriously, "Progress is difficult when I compare myself to some of the genius Truth Chosen, but it's inevitable." Then he furrowed his brows slightly, "I feel that this transformation is radically different from what I experienced with the ordinary Eye of Truth up to Level 10. I think the levels and progression are more tangible and perceptible, rather than just trying to search and acquire general knowledge and waiting for any benefit to appear... It's completely different in that regard."

"......"

"......?" Jabba was puzzled by Robin's gaze toward him, "What?"

"Young man..." Robin continued staring at Jabba, "You possess the Master Law of Identity."

"...?!" Sakaar turned sharply toward Jabba.

He had indeed deduced several things from the Master's manner of speech and expressions, but this was bigger than he had imagined!

"Hah?" Jabba showed a half-smile of surprise, then waved his hand, "Don't be ridiculous." Then he caught himself and quickly laughed, "Hehe, sorry, sorry, it's just a reflex."

"The ridiculous one is he who uses a master law and doesn't even know what it is!!" Robin stood up and lightly smacked the back of Jabba's head, "How in the hell did you transition from Truth to Identity without knowing it? Without me knowing it?!"

"Alright, stop now, this is starting to get creepy..." Jabba's expression shifted, "The mutation happened gradually, I didn't feel it. It's impossible for it to be a completely different master law!"

Then he realized something, opened his eye, and shouted, "And I didn't take it from anyone, I swear on that!!"

"Stop, really." Robin smacked the back of Jabba's head again, "It's not a potato someone can just hand you. I can't sense any traces of filtration or release on you either—it's clear you reached it through your own effort. But how? Identity is supposed to be the antithesis of Truth, and you were a Truth Chosen!"

Then he began scratching his chin for a moment, after which he took a step back and opened his arms, "Examine me with your eye and tell me what you see."