Richard was continuously flipping through the scrolls: uninterested scrolls were dismissed after a glance; interesting ones got a few more looks, noting their key points; and those he found very intriguing were ponderously considered, their contents memorized in depth.
Richard was reading frantically, even more so than when he was in the Royal Library of the Black Holy Mountain Kingdom or the Jungle Hut Dark Forest Gathering Place. After all, the scrolls here contained the ultimate essence of knowledge once held by the Black Spirit Empire, and remembering even one additional word was a significant gain.
It was also a considerable challenge for Richard himself, for he was human. Although he could enhance his memory significantly through special training and techniques, it didn’t mean he could absorb information ceaselessly and tirelessly like a scanning machine.
This had nothing to do with intelligence; it was purely a biological limitation, a limitation of the human brain.
Within these limitations, Richard constantly strove to achieve the highest possible absorption rate. He continuously took different colored potions from his Space Iron Ring to increase his mental alertness.
One scroll after another was reviewed, one potion after another consumed.
Gradually, sweat appeared on Richard’s face and skin, and pressing a hand against his chest, he could clearly feel his heart beating significantly faster than usual.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
Richard was well aware that this was due to the potions enhancing his nerve excitement and increasing his metabolic rate—a person consuming too much caffeine in a short period would show similar symptoms. However, his reactions were even more intense, and the side effects larger; poor control could even lead to sudden death.
This was the price of pushing his body’s potential to its limits.
The body’s potential was not something one could exploit at will; it had to be carefully controlled, like walking a tightrope at great heights; one misstep could lead to disaster.
After consuming another potion, Richard felt uncontrollable sweating in his palms, his vision began to blur, his heart raced as if about to burst, and a ringing in his ears indicated that his body was nearing its limit.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
Richard breathed deeply, increasing the oxygen intake into his body, then took out a new potion from the Space Iron Ring. This time, it wasn’t one for enhancing mental alertness but for stabilizing his heart rate and metabolism.
Taking the potion, Richard also ingested some glucose water and saline to replenish what he had used up, feeling his spirit gradually descend from its peak, enduring the discomfort, he continued to flip through the scrolls.
After half a day of this routine, he casually opened a scroll by his hand and his eyes lit up upon seeing an incredibly intriguing title.
"’Detailed Explanation on the Manufacture and Use of the Destructive Gloves, Part One’!" Richard muttered to himself, his body tensing instinctively as he quickly flipped through other scrolls on nearby tables. As expected, they were titled "Detailed Explanation on the Manufacture and Use of the Destructive Gloves, Part Two," "Detailed Explanation on the Manufacture and Use of the Destructive Gloves, Part Three"... all the way to "Detailed Explanation on the Manufacture and Use of the Destructive Gloves, Part Six."
This was the knowledge he most wanted to acquire!
Without any hesitation, Richard began to read earnestly.
The Underground Palace was utterly silent as Richard squinted at the content of the scrolls, thought deeply, carefully speculated, and then firmly memorized it.
So it went, until after a long while, as Richard finished the last scroll, closed his eyes for a few seconds, then slowly opened them again, a look of realization on his face as he murmured, "So that’s how it is."
At this moment, he had completely understood the methods of crafting and using the Destructive Gloves. Although the deepest principles remained unclear, making modifications would be challenging, but just using the Destructive Gloves in battle presented no issues at all.
He now knew why the Destructive Gloves previously could only use a single finger’s function when combined, it simply didn’t work.
There were two reasons for this.
For one, the correct method of usage hadn’t been mastered: the Destructive Gloves were a National Treasure of the Black Spirit Empire, perfected after extensive research and complicated to use, requiring the manipulation of numerous Free Energy Elements or Mana Flows, making their operation far more difficult than ordinary First Circle Magic.
That meant, if the Destructive Gloves ended up with a Wizard Apprentice or a relatively weak First-level Wizard, they wouldn’t even be able to use them.
On the other hand, there wasn’t enough power: the Destructive Gloves were enormously powerful, and according to the description, using their full functionality could easily kill very powerful opponents. However, to use their full capabilities, one had to infuse an immense amount of Mana or Free Energy Elements.
Thinking about it, it was quite normal; just a single finger attack consumed a lot of power, and for Richard, if not for the support of the Energy Storage Short Wand, using it once would be a considerable burden. Using the full functionality of the Destructive Gloves was even more energy-consuming than using all five fingers, and without sufficient preparation, even half a use would be enough to drain a person completely.
Knowing this, Richard was very clear about just how powerful the Destructive Gloves were: they were almost legendary creations, akin to the difference between a Fire Gun and a sword when compared to other Magic Tools, truly deserving the title of a National Treasure!
Richard suddenly thought of something, and with a flick of his hand, two Destructive Gloves appeared in it.
The surface of the two Destructive Gloves was lead-gray, lacking the usual metallic luster, aged and ancient, as if unearthed from a ruin. Yet inside, they faintly exuded a disquieting aura, almost like sealed ferocious weapons.
These were precisely the two finest gloves that Richard had crafted earlier, one for each hand, a perfect pair.
Without hesitation, Richard put on the gloves and tested them. Controlling a small amount of Free Energy Elements as recorded in the proper method on the scrolls, he infused them into the Magic Chips in the gloves, feeling the activation of the two Destructive Gloves, enabling their full attack capabilities, which greatly reassured him.
Waiting for the Magic Fluctuations in the two gloves to slowly dissipate, he slightly raised his head, feeling the continuous, vague tremors of explosions coming from the north. Richard’s eyes narrowed as he spoke to himself, "The Destructive Gloves! If no trouble comes knocking, all is well, but if some trouble that doesn’t know any better comes my way, then... I don’t mind using these two gloves to test their real combat effectiveness!"