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Chapter 62: Essence of Chaos

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Robin's parents both sat in the hotel room along with the rest of their close friends. As they watched their son fight, Joseph pumped his fist into the air while Christina silently cheered Robin on. Although she was quiet in order to not disturb little Jackson, her facial expression more than enough to explain her current feelings of pride.

“YEEAH!” Joseph shouted. “That's my boy!”

“Honey please. Jackson will wake up.” Christina reprimanded him.

“Your kid's talent is astounding,” said Zuri. He pushed his glasses up with a finger. “Within a year, he's already strong enough to compete at this level.”

“Fool, you're admiring the wrong thing.” Alexander disagreed. “In terms of talent, nearly every one of those individuals far outstrip him. Despite this, he still stands on top. That is the work of another factor.”

“I agree,” Barney chimed in. “Ever since he was young, he's always been a hardworking boy. I don't think anyone here has forgotten how he runs laps around the village every day.”

They all simultaneously nodded their heads. The one who spoke this time was Risha, Adam's mother.

“Certainly, had Robin not been there to push Adam, I would never have seen his talents flourished to this degree. You've raised a fine son, Christina.”

Christina gave her thanks to Risha. Her face had pride plastered over it, yet it was slightly sullen. Joseph did not miss this detail on his wife's face.

“What's wrong, honey?”

“It's just.. Robin seems so blessed.”

They waited for her to continue.

“Even as a kid, Robin was different from the others. He didn't complain about the exercise like the other kids, nor did he cry when he got hurt. I can't help but be worried about his future.”

Joseph looked at her with a smile.

“Worried about what? Our kid is smart, strong, and was raised to be cautious thanks to being brought up in our village. He's also not arrogant by any means. Not only that, he doesn't even seem to be hitting his limit. He's probably going to keep getting stronger too. Stronger than he is NOW. Think about that, honey. He's in the top 16 Hunters of his generation across KINGDOMS.”

It was at this moment, Robin's first round against Sun was finished. An overwhelming victory. Joseph rubbed Christina's shoulder to assure her.

“See?”

However, she wasn't moved.

“That's exactly my point!”

Joseph looked at his wife in shock.

“Honey..?”

“Robin has always been a talented kid. We've known that from the beginning. Not just him, even his friends- Blake, Adam, Conner, and Ophelia- all seem to be geniuses. But they grow as if to match his pace. His growth rate is astonishing to say the least, and it's only getting bigger! It's as if he has been blessed by the gods. I mean, who else from our village have gotten as strong as them? They were so good, we actually had to chase them out so that they wouldn't be hindered by us!”

“Christina, calm down. I don't understand what you're trying to say.”

She took a deep breath.

“..When we were young, did a single one of us appear on that screen? Nope. We lost the preliminary round. We weren't famous people, we were just pebbles among a sea of people just waiting to be washed away, but we could not let that happen to us. As nomads, failure meant death, so we honed ourselves to the point of exhaustion. Before we knew it, we founded a village, but death was always one step behind us.”

Christina gently caressed little Jackson's cheek as she recalled their history.

“Then comes Robin, born on the lowest rung of the ladder with the talent that surpasses those we only dreamed of walking next to. With that kind of future, I can't help but worry about the trouble he has to face in his life.”

The gathering of friends all had their own opinions about the subject. Naturally, this was a concern all the parents had when they sent off their kids one year ago. It was a part of the culture of Remnant to be lenient and free, but it didn't mean they couldn't worry. Although they each had words to say, it wasn't their place to say it. That was the husband's job.

“Honey..” Joseph began.

“Struggling is a part of life. Whether he struggles now or later both depends on him and luck. The only thing we can do as parents is help minimize it and help him walk through it.”

“Of course I know that, but Robin is different. He's not like us who trained all our lives to get to this stage. He's talented, and while being talented is a good thing, being too talented will only bring trouble... I just can't shake this feeling that something bad is gonna happen to him, and if we can barely beat him now, just what can we do for him then?”

“Then, the answer is simple then: just don't let it happen.”

Christina stared at her husband in disbelief.

“The number one thing engrained into every one of those kids in our village was that safety was always the number one priority. If it's too strong, run. If there's a threat, don't blindly charge through. Robin's gotten stronger, but that seems to have made you forget he's smart too. Never has he bitten off more than he can chew. You taught him that yourself.”

“...”

“Didn't you hear what he said to us in the car? The reason he wants to become strong is to protect the things he care about. No man that cares that much about others would do something reckless.”

Hearing those words, Christina finally loosened her shoulders as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her. Indeed, she was the one who talked to Robin about safety the most all those nights on their porch. Although she realized this was her needlessly worrying, she still wanted to hear her husband console her. The friends at the table smiled wryly and repeated those thoughts in their hearts. Their eyes were on the T.V. the entire time, but it was then that the explosion on the screen caught their full undivided attention.

Seeing Robin's victory, every individual without exception cheered. Someone from their tiny village was among the top 8 in the world! Little Jackson began crying at the noise, forcing Christina to rock him in her arms. Although her worries were quenched at the moment, she couldn't completely shake off that uneasy feeling.

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“And the winner is....ROBIN WOLFHEART!!”

Robin knelt down. Because the adrenaline was starting to fade away, the pain came rushing back. If the fact there was a thick metal object embedded in his shoulder wasn't clear before, it was sure clear now.

“Gasp..Ha...Ha...”

Enhance

Four men and women dressed in white appeared on stage with a bed cart like those you would see in the hospital. One pair examined Robin and Sun each.

“How's he looking?” the assistant asked.

“He's demonstrating heavy signs of exhaustion and Aura depletion. Nothing seems to be life-threatening. This boy on the other hand..”

The lady looked at Robin. She placed two fingers on Robin's neck to measure his pulse while simultaneously using Identify.

“Ssss..”

She sucked in air through her teeth.

“His health is decreasing steadily, but there isn't an immediate threat. Thankfully, the impaled staff is keeping him from bleeding out quickly. Help me get him on the cart.”

“But the patient can't lay straight with it in him.”

“No choice. If we were to pull it out and use an elixir to heal him, the wound would close immediately. However, doing so means his bones might not heal in the correct position.”

“Look, I know this is gonna hurt, but I'm gonna need you to bear with the pain for a bit until we get to th--”

= Fuck that =

Robin grabbed the staff with his right hand. In a single stroke, he yanked out the staff that was no longer red from only the paint. Sweat dripped down his forehead as Robin tried to not make too much noise.

“Graaah! Ha....Ha..”

“--..Or you can do that.”

The lady placed both of her hands on each end of the hole in his shoulder.

Cauterize

The flesh solidified into a dark red color as the surface was burnt closed. The assistants put both fighters on the carts. An individual of each pair of medics activated an identical skill.

Stabilize

A glow of light surrounded both boys' bodies. Their health stopped dropping for the entire duration the skill was being used. With the boys' bodies no longer in danger, they pushed the carts out to transport them to get treatment. As they were leaving, robots were busily coming out to the stage in order to clean up the mess Robin and Sun made. Before long, the stage was looking as if nothing ever happened.

“Well then, lets move on to the next match shall we?”

…

Robin was sitting up in a room that was crowded with patients. Students lined up the wall up to the very end. The majority of them were glaring at Robin with stares that seemed to drilled into his soul. With his treatment over and done with, Robin was waiting for the doctor to do his final check up in order for him to leave. Unfortunately, with so many patients, Robin could only wait.

“Why are they all staring at me?”

The question was directed at Raven and Sun, who were both sitting in a similar bed across from him.

“Aren't most of these guys in here because of you and Diane?” Sun replied.

“There are over 50 people in here....”

“A lot of people from the preliminary round still aren't finished with their treatment.” Raven explained. “Because they need to give priority to participants in the future round, everyone else gets minimal treatment.”

= I guess that explains why they all look like mummies. =

In terms of hatred, Robin got more stares than other people. The reasoning was because Robin's team left the most destruction in their wake. Sun's nunchucks was a shotgun, Nora's hammer was a grenade launcher, Velvet was a mage, and Robin, being Robin, used needles, bombs, grenades, flash bangs, or whatever he grabbed on the battlefield.

If one were to look at it from another angle, Diane was actually merciful since her electricity would knock out her opponent instantly while others would have to burn in the flames for who knows how long. Robin didn't pay them any attention after that though. They wouldn't have any scars left after the treatment anyway, so he turned a blind eye to their actions.

“Speaking of which, is that why you're still here?”

“Yes. Because your grenade exploded in my face, the fragments injured me. I protected my face with the thing, but as for the rest of myself..”

“Ah...looks like I caused you trouble. Sorry about that.”

“It's whatever.”

Sun stared at the two who were having a conversation that obviously ignored that he was here.

“Well, I don't believe we've met. I'm Sun.”

Raven casually looked at him in the corner of her eye and said nothing. If he was curious, he could look at her name with Identify. Seeing the difference in treatment, Sun was shocked silent for a few seconds. His eyes darted back and forth between Robin and Raven.

“...You actually claimed her to be your woman, yet you have another at your side....”

““I'm /She's not his/my woman.””

Sun rolled his eyes and his body as he sulked at the wall.

“No..it's fine.. Not like polygamy is illegal anyway... I'm not judging.”

“You're totally judging.” Robin retorted.

“No I'm not.”

It was Robin's turn to roll his eyes. With Raven remaining silent and Sun quietly murmuring to himself, Robin sank into his own world as well. He stared at the newest windows in front of him.

+68 Exp. Level up!

Thanks to your exceptional control over your Aura, you've created a new skill, Aura Spear. Because of a great struggle over a similar goal, you've gained a new rival. Bonus from Rivals Forever is increased from +10% to +15%. Because you've constantly overcome situations where you should have lost by normal standards, your affinity with Chaos has increased.

Aura SpearYour ability to manipulate Aura has allowed you to manifest it physically. You were only able to interact with other objects slightly until now. With your increased ability to manipulate Aura, your Aura is now capable of becoming a weapon. Cost depends on how much Aura is used.

Cost: ---Aura

= That is some insane experience I gained here. Although, if I didn't get that much for having my shoulder impaled, then I would be seriously angry. I also seem to have gotten a new skill too. Aura Spear, huh. I've tried making weapons with my limbs many times before.

I wonder why it decided to work now. Maybe I haven't tried hard enough? Wouldn't that mean I can technically make anything with Aura? That's insane. I should try making wings. That attempt in the preliminary round was neither bad nor good.... Speaking of new skills... =

Robin reread the first window.

= The hell is Chaos? I've never been taught nor heard of anyone having 'affinities' toward anything, never mind Chaos. Whatever that means. =

Robin tried thinking of what it could possibly mean. With no knowledge about the subject, he could only experiment and gather the facts. The first obvious thing was to look at the conditions. Impossible battles? If one were to look at recent battles, Sun's trump card was a skill that was meant to turn the tides at the last second. In the battle with Raven, Robin's Aura was depleted so he should have been disqualified. Despite this, Robin still won in both cases.

= There isn't any similarities between the condition of either of the two fights other than me fighting in a perilous situation that threatened my life. Is the condition itself related to my life or is it strictly based on the difficulty?.. Hm.. I feel like that isn't it.... Impossible battles.....Wait a second. What if the key word here is “Impossible” not the “battle” part.”

Robin tossed the idea around in his head. Nobody disturbed him since the other two were doing their own thing anyway. The more he considered it, the more it seemed plausible, but how would he test it?

= The only thing I can think of is Dust Creation! That totally defies common sense. I bet if I used that skill, I could trigger the conditions. If I don't, it just means I'm wrong. =

Robin did not expect much from the experiment. He was merely exploring due to his curiosity. He held his open palm in front of him and activated the skill.

Dust Creation

Robin channeled his Aura into his hand and closed his eyes. In his mind, he imagined a crystal the size of his thumb. As for the element of the crystal, Robin imagined a Red crystal that contained explosive fire that he was very familiar with embedding into his weapons. First, the image was a blob of mist. As the mist got more and more concentrated, the more defined the boundaries became. Finally, Robin's hand closed to form a fist. In his hand, Robin could feel the smooth surface of the crystal he had imagined in his mind.

Robin opened his eyes with nervous expectations. Confirming the existence of the Red crystal in his hand, Robin began to laugh excitedly. He had create something from nothing! His happiness was short lived as he realized he was no longer in the infirmary. What filled his vision was simply darkness. Up, down, left, or right. No matter where he looked, the void seemed never-ending.

He suddenly felt hot air blowing on his face. Robin tilted his head up to find himself staring into a pair of glowing, red eyes. It was an existence too large to describe. With fur darker than even the void it existed in, the creature nodded it's only free head as if judging Robin. Robin had not noticed it's existence due to how its vast figure encompassed his vision. Had the three-headed beast not been sealed by the numerous pillars poking through its body, Robin felt he would already be dead.

If he considered the situation logically, he would know he was safe, but Robin did not have such luxury. Dread filled his entire being as he began sweating profusely. Its appearance only provoked more fear inside of him. The three heads stared with red eyes that seemed to see into his soul, and then it smiled. It was just a smile, yet Robin felt it was something that was far more terrifying than anything else he had ever felt.

“Robin?”

Robin blinked his eyes to find himself back inside the infirmary. Just as quickly he had found himself in that situation, he had returned. He darted his eyes back and forth. He was back in the same bed, surrounded by the same stares as if that had never happened. Upon examining himself, he noticed he was rapidly breathing in and out.

“I-I'm fine,” he assured Sun.

“Oh, don't scare me like that man. I thought you were dying or something.”

“...”

Robin look up to see Raven staring at him. To be more precise, she was eying his fist. Robin glanced down to find himself clenching a lump of Red Dust crystal. It was a success! Windows popped up in front of him.

Because you've done the impossible, your affinity with Chaos has increased. Conditions have been met. You have become a messenger of Chaos. Essence of Chaos acquired. Thanks to your class, your basic understanding is stronger than others. Essence column has been added to status plate.

Essence of ChaosInside you is the potential of Chaos. Just like Good and Evil, Peace and Order has a polar opposite. As you come to understand more about this profound concept, the greater the effects your Essence of Chaos will have. In the face of chaos, the natural order and rules have no meaning. When activated, your Aura will be converted into Essence of Chaos. Depending on your understanding, the effects can vary. You can transmit the Essence of Chaos to influence surroundings.

Known effects: Creation

A warm sensation enveloped Robin's entire body. It felt as if a foreign element was forcefully trying to enter him. Warm quickly turned into burning as Robin felt his insides try to reject it but failing to.

“Gah!”

He bent forward in the bed, furiously panting. Sun stood up quickly in worry. He hurriedly asked what was wrong, but Robin was too blinded by pain to answer. All kinds of emotions began filling his mind. Feelings of jealousy, anger, lust, pride and envy circulated within his thoughts. His mind quickly drifted toward insanity.

= What a worthless piece of scum. =

= I'd fuck her. =

= Kill! =

= An animal! =

= I'll kill him! =

= Beautiful! =

It was as if Robin had acquired a sixth sense. It was totally different feeling from using Bloodlust. Robin originally thought Bloodlust was like a sixth sense, but the two were simply incomparable. His semblance was as if someone noticed a tiny detail by concentrating while this sense was like suddenly being able to hear after being deaf.

The burning sensation stopped and so did the pain. With it, so did the insanity. Robin's mind sobered up, the feeling of going insane had vanished. He realized these feelings actually did not belong to him, but to the people around him. He had become able to read the feelings of other people! The emotions he felt were not limited to negative thoughts. He could also feel positive ones, although there were few at the moment.

= What is going on? =

The sudden intake of so many emotions had left Robin confused and dazed. Although he had sobered up, Robin felt his thinking ability feeling sluggish as if it was overloaded with work.

Enhance

With Robin's Aura now activated, his cognitive processing speed increased. The results were obvious as he felt the burden lift from his mind and began analyzing everything that had happened.

= ...I created Dust for the first time, and then I got dragged into complete darkness. What was that thing? A.. Grimm? But it was so huge. Bigger than anything else I have ever seen! It was larger than an Armored Nevermore, and a normal human is only as tall as the beaks of those things!... Sigh, no point in contemplating about the things I cannot understand. Rather, the more urgent issue is my body. =

Robin looked down and was astonished. His body was not covered in its usual silver glow, but was a light purple instead. Before, his body was already fully recovered by treatment of Heal among other things, so Robin could not distinguish if this purple Aura was responsible for healing his body. Why did such a thought pass through his mind? As of right now, Robin's body was full of vigor. His senses sharper than ever before.

= I had only enhanced myself slightly, yet I can already hear voices in a room down the corridor. Is this the work of Essence of Chaos? I don't understand everything, but there is no doubt that it's powerful. However... why does this feel so familiar? =

Various emotions flowed through Robin as he became aware of an existence. An existence that contained a concentration of negative emotions so deep Robin felt he would drown in it. Sadness and pain so deep Robin could not explain yet at the same time was so familiar with. The carrier of these emotions was Raven. He stared upward into her eyes and she into his. His eyes had curiosity whike hers contained shock.

The nature of each Essence was different, but its origin was the same. If Robin could feel the similarity between his Essence and Raven's which he was the target of time and time again, it would be no surprise that Raven, who had been using this since she was young, would also. The moment Robin created the Dust crystal, Raven had felt something was wrong. Then, she felt his body filled with Essence, and subsequently, become a being similar to herself.

Essence of Darkness

With her usual red Aura converted into Essence, it turned into a dark black color. The two Essence flickered on the surface of their body, as if they were resonating off of one another. It wasn't like anything either of them had ever seen before. Aura does not resonate with other people. They merely enclosed around the host. The two individuals were so confused and lost in their own thoughts they did not pay attention to Sun's cries of worry at all. Then, the world froze.

Domain of Time

Essence of Time: Pause

-Robin S. Wolfheart-Race:Faunus (Wolf)*Class:MercenaryLevel:66Experience:23/660Semblance:Bloodlust (Evolved)Essence:Chaos

Health:1545/1545Aura:2160/2160

Strength:395Dexterity:410Agility:295Endurance:300Vitality:411

Inventory57/200

MercenaryYour Aura has given insight to your true nature as a person. Thanks to your past experiences, you tend to doubt others and closely examine their purpose for getting close to you. Thanks to this, the only things you can trust is money and a few people whom you know very well. As a mercenary, you enjoy using all forms of weapons and can grasp how to use them very quickly and efficiently. This results in extra bonuses depending on the weapon. Furthermore, you are able to learn general skills of any kind.

Current Bonuses: (+10 Active) Martial Arts Master, (+10 Active) Sword Mastery, (+14 Inactive) Dual Sword Mastery, (+16 Inactive) Axe Mastery, (+10) Sharpshooter, (+10) Knife Juggler, (+15% Exp) Rivals Forever, (+10% Active) Lone Wolf

Current Skills: Identify, Enhance, Detect, Lockpick, Helmsplitter, Aura Sword, Defuse, Hack, Aura Limbs, Aura Shield, Disguise, Piercing Bullets, Dust Creation, Aura Spear, Essence of Chaos