2395 - The First Disciple
“…Why don't we use that insult as a weapon?”
“…” Robin leaned back in his seat comfortably. “Go on.”
“Alright, hear me out then,” Jabba moved forward to sit on the edge of his chair. “You want me to abandon the Second Training Path entirely and devote myself to curing humans, and perhaps to restoring users of Beast blood to become pure humans again, correct?”
“Yes.” Robin replied without argument.
“That's irrational.” Jabba shook his head. “It's the most widespread path in the universe—out of every 100 users of internal energy, 99 of them use the Second Path. How do we turn all of them back into humans? How much time and effort would that require? And how many of them would actually support the idea and invest time, effort, and money to undergo the transformation?”
“…” Robin nodded. “I was thinking we could forget the old ways and erase the Second Training Path entirely, while you focus on strengthening my Sixth Path.”
“What about the children of Second Path users?” Jabba shook his head. “We're leaving the largest segment of the universe behind, casting them aside and excluding them for things they had no choice in. What the ancients did before the start of the Cycle truly wasn't fair, but your bias against those victims isn't fair either.”
“...” Robin nodded and gestured for Jabba to continue.
“I will do what you want. My next step was going to be researching the activation of mutable particles in human bodies without a trigger. After all, I am human, and you have a massive human army that must not be stalled or rely solely on the Sixth Path. My research will undoubtedly strengthen them.”
Then he gestured to the side, “And now let us set that aside. Together, my research and yours will place humans in a position they have not reached since the beginning of the Cycle. But that is not enough,” he then gestured toward the book, “If we apply what is in this book, we will elevate the power of the entire Universe at once, without sacrificing anyone.”
Then he gestured toward the cliff, “Take your new Guard, for example. What will you do with her? Go and tell her she is an Abomination and must return to being human after she has spent hundreds of thousands of years in her current body, grown accustomed to it, and come to love it? How would that make you look, even if you were right? Measure that against all creatures.”
“...” Robin gestured for him to hurry up.
"I initiated this research to fundamentally remove the boundaries on Second Path users, but after what I've seen and heard, I believe I need to upgrade my work further." Jabba furrowed his brows slightly, "I need some time to devise a method of transforming beast blood into mere serum to activate mutable particles and remove the boundaries from the old-timers—this will also make the appearance of any beastly traits on new users far less pronounced."
"New users?" Robin furrowed his brows slightly.
"Teacher, don't forget that humans are not all equal. Even if we find a way to stimulate without beast blood, the problem of innate talent will remain. These activating serums will be perfect for building massive armies without taking innate talent into account."
Then he winked at Robin, "This is exactly why I said we'd use punishment and humiliation as weapons—everyone is already accustomed to taking beast blood. If we make the experience better and open the boundaries for them, we'll earn the gratitude and debt of the entire Universe. It will make them stronger, even erase the traces of sabotage and weakening that have been hindering the Universe all these years... We'll target 99% of trainees in one stroke—how much advancement will the trainee base in B-14 see?!"
“…” Robin began tapping on his seat, “Using punishment as a weapon doesn’t sound bad.” Then he gestured toward Jabba with his head, “What would you need to speed up this mission? Or the two missions, if you want to be precise.”
Now Jabba had to refine the preliminary solutions he had laid out—this was no longer just a step forward as he had thought, but a matter of life or death for the entire universe. If he didn’t improve them enough, the Master would abandon him.
There was also the method of activating the Mutable particles in humans without using beast blood—that would take even longer!!
“…” Jabba looked down for a few moments, “I’ll need more samples of the beast blood that people on the Second Path use for transformation and development. I’ll send the Shadow Swords to the markets to collect every possible sample—the more there are and the closer they are to the source, the better. I’ll also need a large number of resources to merge them with the Savage Blood to reduce its side effects. So, initially, I’ll need a substantial number of Shadow Swords and a respectable amount of funds.”
“Closer to the source, you say?” Robin smiled, “What if I sent you to the source itself?”
“…?” Jabba furrowed his brows slightly, “You mean the Savage Behemoth?”
Jabba, of course, had seen Robin's conversation with the Savage and Kiryān from beginning to end, but he hadn't expected to be addressed with such standing directly.
"So, your coming days will be spent there, and I'll have him bring every drop of blood from all the beasts in his garden and provide you with whatever resources you need at his personal expense—just explore the Reapers' blood in his beasts at your leisure and get rid of any contaminants or anything you might find harmful in your lineage. That won't be difficult with the Master Law of Identity." Robin chuckled as he finished speaking.
This might seem like punishment or bias against the Savage, but he would most likely be delighted to hear that he could participate in some way in mending what he had corrupted.
Then he stood up. "Come with me," Robin said, leaving the cliff overlooking the war against the space beasts behind him, and began walking toward the other end of the mountain, with Jabba following behind.
"Jabba," Robin spoke as he advanced slowly, "I chose Shaddad to be my second disciple because I admired his dedication to the power of the body, his passion for it, and the purity of his love for it. Indeed, with some support and the help of Sky Opening city, the Fifth Body Path is nearing completion." Then he paused for a moment. "Why do you think I chose you? Even though you were an officer who knew nothing of research and sciences."
“…Why?” Jabba furrowed his brows in confusion—why was he bringing up something like this now?
Robin had already reached the other side of the mountain, then pointed toward an empty patch of desert and began doing something that caused disturbance in the area.
But he continued speaking as he did so. “Because you are sharp-witted.” Robin replied with a frown, “And a smart person will excel at anything they choose to specialize in themselves.” Then he continued seriously, “And you chose your specialty, and you excelled at it.”
*Hmmmm*
A massive square Golden Gate opened in the desert, and Robin tossed four discs and two rings toward it. The gate began to react and intertwine with them.
Then he created a second one beside it with the same details.
Afterward, Robin finally withdrew his hand once the gate stabilized and turned back to look into Jabba's eyes. “That one on the right opens at Zavarus's palace beside the Garden. Tell them who you are and they'll let you in, and tell them to expect more visitors from this gate, as it will remain open.”
Then he raised his hand and placed it on Jabba's shoulder. “Go and rebuild the Second Path. Enjoy your pride and glory. Rewrite history with your own hand.”
“…” Jabba nodded firmly. “One day, everyone will say that the disciple of Lord Robin Burton has— Whooooaaaaa”
Robin had indeed grabbed him by the collar and hurled him down the mountain, straight toward the Gate.
"Hmm." Robin placed his hand behind his back and continued watching his screaming disciple. "Boys grow up fast."
Then he calmly returned to his chair.
Select a chapter to jump to.