Chapter 239 Nidavi
Phineas placed Nidavi second to last not only because he didn't want to drink, but also because he had no needs among the dwarves; he only went to see the world and leave his coordinates.
Jotunheim, on the other hand, was different. Even without the frost giants' provocation, there were still ferocious frost behemoths there, meaning he could likely gain a lot of experience.
However, after thinking it over, Phineas accepted Thor's invitation. After all, it would be better to have Thor with him than to go alone.
Due to their different senses of time, Thor's "soon" meant Phineas had to wait another three days.
On the way to the Rainbow Bridge, Thor enthusiastically introduced Nidavi to Phineas.
"The forge in Nidavi draws energy from a neutron star and hasn't gone out for centuries. It's said that my hammer was forged there!"
"Oh!"
Phineas replied, while also pondering whether to commission the dwarves to forge something for him as well.
Among the items he brought to Asgard this time was a considerable amount of vibranium. Although he gave some to Asgard as a thank-you gift for the star map, he kept some for himself.
Taking advantage of his trip to Nidavellir, he decided to carry it with him in a bag, hoping the dwarves could help him assess the metal's value in the universe.
With Heimdall opening the Bifrost's teleportation portal, Phineas and Thor quickly arrived at Nidavellir's forge.
A burning neutron star surrounded by rings.
When the two arrived, a group of dwarves were already there to greet them. Thor greeted the dwarf standing at the front: "Ittri!"
"Thor!"
The dwarf named Ittri seemed to have a good relationship with Thor, walking over and laboriously crouching down to give Thor a barely audible hug.
Although dwarves are called dwarves, it's because of their body proportions; they have large heads and thick necks, but short lower bodies, especially their legs, which look disproportionate.
However, in terms of actual height and build, dwarves are actually more like giants; several Thors combined wouldn't be as tall as one.
"Let me introduce you, this is Phineas Hellscythe, our guest from Asgard. He wanted to see what the Nidavellir looked like, so I brought him along,"
Thor immediately introduced Phineas to Eitrich.
Although Phineas looked rather ordinary, out of respect for Thor, Eitrich still gave him a friendly nod.
Thor also introduced Itri to Phineas: "Itri, the Dwarf King, and also Nidavi's best weapon designer and blacksmith!"
"Haha!"
Hearing Thor's introduction, Itri laughed heartily twice: "I've already had fine wine prepared; you can't leave until you've had your fill!"
Hearing this, Phineas felt a little helpless. He secretly sensed the environment and found that using 'Golden Grand Evolution' here was almost as effective as on Vormir, which reassured him considerably.
Can't you cheat if you can't drink enough?!
The number of dwarves living in the forge was small, only three hundred and one, including the Dwarf King, but this was actually more than half of the dwarf race.
Dwarves loved crafting, so almost all dwarves aspired to become blacksmiths or weapon designers upon reaching adulthood; the forge was clearly their ideal holy land.
Therefore, very few dwarves chose other professions instead of working in Nidavi's forge.
Because of the dwarves' enormous size, the welcoming banquet for the two of them shocked Finney. He even needed two hands to hold the drinking cups.
Thor, though taller and stronger, wasn't outside the normal range either. Looking at Thor, who seemed to be carrying a small barrel while drinking with Etri, Finney felt a sense of awe.
On the way here, Finney had learned from Thor that strength alone wasn't enough to gain the dwarves' respect and friendship.
The dwarves revered weapon forging, and unless your strength referred to forging skills, even defeating the dwarf king wouldn't necessarily earn their respect.
The dwarves were among the most skilled forgers in the universe, and surpassing them in forging techniques was extremely difficult.
However, besides forging, the dwarves had another hobby: drinking. It was even said among the dwarves that while there might be dwarves who didn't love forging, there were no dwarves who didn't love drinking.
Therefore, drinking with the dwarves was the simplest way to gain their friendship. You didn't need to outdrink them; as long as you could drink happily, you were a friend of the dwarves.
Looking at the small, barrel-sized goblet in front of him, Phineas sighed softly. He felt that the reason the dwarves had such a good relationship with Asgard was not only because they needed protection, but
also, more importantly, because Asgard loved to drink. As the saying goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans do, and Phineas didn't want to stand out. Besides, he had the 'Golden Grand Evolution Technique' to cheat; if he really wanted to cheat, even all 301 dwarves combined wouldn't be enough for him to drink.
The atmosphere at the table was lively. Between drinks, Etri chatted with Phineas and Thor.
"I heard there was war in Vanaheim not long ago?"
Although Nidavellir was located in a remote area, it wasn't isolated from the world. Moreover, they had a good personal relationship with Asgard and were the first to receive news from Asgard.
"It's all over."
Thor took a big gulp of wine, wiped his mouth, and said, "It only took a month!"
Ittri looked at Thor with some surprise, then continued, "I heard there's a guy in the army called the White Butcher. He killed tens of thousands of people with a single move, and he also has a terrifying suit of armor?"
"Cough…cough cough!"
Hearing that chilling nickname, Finney, who was drinking, couldn't help but choke, causing Ittri to turn his head in surprise and look at him.
"Hahaha!"
Although Thor didn't understand why Finney was so averse to the nickname, he still explained to Ittri, "He is the White Butcher, but he doesn't like people calling him that!"
"It's you?"
Ittri looked at Finney in surprise. Since Thor had initially introduced Finney as a guest of Asgard, he hadn't thought of Finney as the person in question. After all, he never imagined that Asgard would send guests to the battlefield.
"Is your armor really that powerful?"
Itri wasn't interested in how many people Finney had defeated in one move; only weapons and equipment truly intrigued them. Therefore, he was curious about the rumored armor Finney wore.
"His armor is indeed quite strange. It can be summoned at will, and it can even transform into a sword!"
Before Finney could answer, a slightly drunk Thor chimed in. He had seen Finney wearing 'Possessed by Evil' before, so he recognized the sword's form.
Thor's words only fueled Itri's curiosity, and he couldn't help but ask Finney, "Could you let me see this armor?"
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(End of Chapter)