Staring at the Mana Sword, broken into two pieces in his hand, Rocky was stunned...
What had he just done... to destroy such a valuable weapon, it was simply wasteful... No, that's not the point!
The point was, how could a Mana Sword embedded with two Magic Stones be so easily severed!
This outcome made Rocky scarcely believe his own eyes because even the powerful Void Magic Armor could not so easily destroy a Mana Weapon!
Could it be... could it be...
Thinking this far, he suddenly looked towards his left hand, no, towards the Rune Sword he was holding in his left hand!
Could it be that the power of this Rune Sword was so great that it instantly cut through the Magic Sword?
At this thought, he couldn't help but inhale sharply and felt somewhat dizzy.
Because this simply shouldn't be happening!
Previously, Winsel had already mentioned that Mana Runes were merely substitutes for Magic Stones, and aside from one being a rune and the other a stone, there was essentially no difference between them.
So the Mana Sword he was holding should not have been severed by the Rune Sword!
This result completely baffled Rocky.
Unable to solve this puzzle, he then brought the broken Mana Sword up to his eyes to inspect it, finding nothing unusual, and then he carefully examined the Rune Sword he held, noticing nothing different besides the pattern made up of runes on the blade...
No, wait!
Looking closely at the runes on the Rune Sword, Rocky suddenly realized something!
There was indeed one difference between the two swords, which was that the Mana Sword had only two Magic Stones embedded, but the Rune Sword was densely covered with runes!
This discovery led him to a crucial question!
"Could it be... could it be because there are more runes than Magic Stones, so the power of the Rune Sword greatly surpassed that of the Mana Sword...?"
No sooner had this thought emerged than Rocky gasped. He suddenly had a feeling as if his train of thought had been opened by a massive door.
Yes, that must be the reason. The Rune Sword could so easily bisect the Mana Sword because the amount of Mana contained in each was vastly different!
Although the Mana Sword was embedded with two Magic Stones, it had only those two; however, looking at the runes on the Rune Sword, there were so many that they formed a complete pattern!
Which meant that although both were Mana Weapons, there was no difference in quality, but there was a vast difference in quantity, and this was likely the root cause of the Mana Sword being easily slashed in two.
And if that really was the case, it was terrifying because this might suggest that Mana Runes, as Winsel himself claimed, were an invention no less great than Sky City and Void Magic Armor!
The reason for this, Rocky realized swiftly, was his own Magic Armor!
As everyone knows, the Void Magic Armor is powered by Mana, which naturally comes from the Magic Stones embedded within the armor. However, like the broken Magic Sword, the stone nature of the Magic Stones places many restrictions on embedding, and this material limitation indirectly restricts the power of the Magic Armor.
But what if... what if the Magic Stones in the Void Magic Armor were replaced with smaller, more convenient Mana Runes? Would this not break the limitations? With more Mana, would not the same set of Void Magic Armor be more powerful than before?
And once Void Magic Armor broke through the limits of Mana, could it not open up even greater development possibilities!?
A series of speculations burst from Rocky's mind, instantly clarifying the true use of Magic Runes for him, and he finally understood why Winsel had devoted his life to researching this invention, because clearly, this invention truly was grand enough!
"Made it, made it, this time I really made it!"
Having understood the real purpose of Mana Runes, Rocky felt his heart might jump out of his chest because this time he really had made a breakthrough!
Although he still knew very little about Mana Runes and had no idea how to draw them, don't forget, he had already obtained Winsel's research notes, and as long as he could learn everything from the notes once he got back, then he could truly master this grand invention!
So this time, he really had made a fortune, and indeed, he had made it big!
"Fantastic!"
Waving his fists vigorously, Rocky was extremely excited. He knew that given some time to fully master the technology of Mana Runes, both he and Thunderhawk City would undergo transformative changes!
"Stay calm, stay calm, I'm the City Lord, don't act like someone who hasn't seen the world..."
After the excitement had died down, Rocky forced himself to calm down and then looked towards the other chests in the secret room, quickly opening each one to find them filled with a variety of weapons and armor.
By now, he had understood why Wensel had left these things in the secret room. They were left for him to use as references while studying Mana Runes.
What a thoughtful old man.
After taking out the equipment marked with Mana Runes from the chests, Rocky packed them into his cloth bag, and then, carrying the bag, he returned to the laboratory and took everything that could be taken...
It wasn't that Rocky was greedy, but because he was too poor now. Not only him, but Thunderhawk City was also too poor, so it was necessary.
Although the technology of Mana Runes was great and had already fallen into his hands, remember, just learning how to draw Mana Runes would take quite some time, let alone producing real benefits could be an even longer wait.
Therefore, although Rocky's future was full of hope, at this moment, he was still a poor and destitute City Lord. That was the harsh reality.
In such circumstances, he couldn't overlook anything in the laboratory. Whatever could help him study Mana Runes he kept, and what couldn't be used was to be sold. Nothing could be wasted by just lying there.
So, after that, he started a frantic search in the laboratory, disregarding the image of a City Lord...
"There should be nothing left to take."
Wiping the sweat from his forehead with his hand, Rocky finally stopped and looked very satisfied.
After his raid, he had taken away everything that could be taken from the laboratory, and when he was sure there was nothing left to take, he carried the cloth bag in one hand and several tied-up chests in the other, leaving the laboratory with his full harvest.
Exiting the laboratory's main door and passing through the long tunnel, when the stone gate opened again, he finally returned to the forest above ground.
Back in the forest, Rocky was naturally in an excellent mood, given his enormous gains this time.
"Is something... missing?"
Although Rocky was in a good mood back in the forest, he felt vaguely that something wasn't right, as if something were missing...
"Could it be something I didn't take?"
"No... I checked several times..."
"Eyer!"
Furrowing his brow in thought, he suddenly realized what was missing. Eyer, whom he had left outside, was gone!
"Did this guy... run off by himself?"
Realizing Eyer was nowhere to be seen, Rocky looked around and then confirmed that Eyer really had run off.
However, Rocky didn't search too thoroughly because he had originally planned to banish Eyer to the land. In this situation, if Eyer had run off, let him be, as there was really no need to bother about such people.
So, he did not pay attention to the fleeing Eyer and simply began to slowly ascend, preparing to leave the forest.
But just at that moment, just as he had lifted off the ground, a sudden noise came from within the forest.
"Help! Help! Help!!"
The sudden cries for help immediately caused Rocky to turn his head, and then he saw someone limping from deeper within the forest towards him...
Eyer!
The person coming towards him was none other than Eyer!
As Rocky saw Eyer, Eyer also saw him and immediately shouted loudly, "My lord! Save me! Save me! It's..."
Eyer hadn't finished speaking when suddenly a large hand stretched out from the shadows behind him, grabbed him, and dragged him deeper into the forest in the next instant!
Everything had happened so suddenly that not only had Rocky not reacted, but even Eyer himself had not managed to scream.
But a moment later, realizing the danger, Rocky cursed inwardly and without another word quickly flew up into the air.
Demons!
The ones who had taken Eyer away had to be demons!!