Chapter 64 - Brok and Sindri

As Ryu arrived at the door, he saw a dwarf wrapped in a brown fur coat that covered his whole body.

"I take it that's our aspiring blacksmith?" Sindri questioned as he gazed at Ryu. "Not aspiring, full-fledged. But I'm looking to expand my horizons. Especially after examining Kratos' axe. You used some weird stuff for it, and I'm too curious to not ask you about it," Ryu replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I insulted you. If you have any questions about our materials, I'll gladly answer them. Anyway, we should get going. Brok's making dinner," Sindri apologized quickly before taking some kind of rock from his pocket.

Sindri held the rock above his head and in response, a doorframe made out of other rocks seemingly came to life as it flew into place. "...That's cool," Ryu muttered as he crossed into the World Tree.

There was a conversation going on in the background, but Ryu didn't pay attention. He was focused on the surreal giant tree he was currently walking over. Upon examining it with Rikai, Ryu was amazed by the tree's properties.

It was harder than any material he knew, and it was incredibly resistant to all kinds of magic. 'Well, it does hold up nine realms, so I guess this makes sense,' Ryu said as he envisioned what creation he'd use the World Tree for.

"We're here!" Sindri announced as a new gateway formed, taking the group to a sort of clearing on the World Tree, where a mystical-looking house was built into a branch of the tree.

"Here we are! It isn't much, but it's safe from Odin," Sindri announced dramatically. "Is Odin really that much of a problem? Kratos can kill him without much difficulty if he wanted to. Especially now, after I healed his body from any old wounds that hindered him," Ryu spoke.

"You can do that? That's impressive!" Sindri exclaimed. "It's nothing much. So, about Odin," Ryu returned the conversation to Odin. "Oh, right. The problem with Odin is his forces. He's very strong alone, don't be mistaken, but his army is his main threat," Sindri explained.

"I see. Do you want me to kill them?" Ryu asked casually.

Before anyone could respond, the doors of the house were flung open violently as a blue-skinned dwarf entered it. "Who are the two brats?" Brok questioned in a rough voice as he examined Atreus and Ryu.

"The tall one is my son. The small one is a boy who'll be joining us," Kratos spoke simply. "That so? Did you adopt him or something?" Brok said as he got a closer look at Ryu. "No. He wants to learn from you and Sindri blacksmithing," Kratos responded, causing Brok to raise an eyebrow.

"You good enough? I don't want to waste my time," Brok inquired. In response, Ryu conjured the needle weapon he made before leaving his universe. Ryu channeled Chakra into the weapon, causing it to multiply countless times in an instant. After that, Ryu made the needle clones fly all around the room before letting them hit the house and teleporting between Flying Thunder God seals. After finishing his demonstration, he tossed the needle to Broke.

"Sturdy and well-made, though I don't recognize the materials and enchantments used on it. Eh, not bad," Brok said as he examined the needle. "So, did I pass?" Ryu questioned with a smile. "Bearly. Alright, what do you want to learn?" Brok replied while Kratos and Atreus went to eat.

"Well, I don't really need you to teach me, I just need your permission for something," Ryu explained, causing Brok to raise a brow. "The hell you mean? You got a way to read our minds or something?" Brok waved his hands around as he spoke. "Kinda," Ryu smirked. He wasn't going to use Rikai on Brok and Sindri without permission since he respected them as blacksmiths. He wasn't going to disrespect them like that.

"So you want the easy path? Hell no! You gotta put in the effort!" Brok argued. "Well, I could've just read your minds from the beginning without asking permission, and yet here I am so take that as a sign of my sincerity. And what I'm doing doesn't make it easy, it just allows me to learn all the information in a split second compared to the regular time. But it's plenty traumatic, don't worry," Ryu explained.

Seeing Brok unconvinced, Ryu took out his trump card. "You said you didn't recognize the materials and enchantments that were on the needle, right?" Ryu asked, and Brok nodded suspiciously. "Well, don't you want to learn? I can teach you my craft if you teach me yours," Ryu smirked as he saw Brok's eyes fill with temptation.

Ryu chuckled quietly as he saw Brok walk back and forth for a bit while muttering. "Fine, damn it. Read my mind or whatever, but you better show me some impressive shit afterward!" Brok exclaimed. "Great. What about you, Sindri?" Ryu questioned the other dwarf. "Sure, I'm fine with it," Sindri replied.

"Alright, let's do this," Ryu spoke as he activated Rikai. As Ryu processed the information he gained, he searched for anything regarding those impossible things he saw. 'The nature of things, huh? This opens a whole new world of possibilities!' Ryu thought. Crafting materials that embody impossible things would result in an impossible creation. Just one thing like a root of a mountain could make a normal iron sword into something that's capable of creating caverns with a single swing.

A sword that's able to cut anything, a spear that always finds its mark, a sword that can fight on its own, those things are possible with materials like this.

But now it was Ryu's turn to deliver on his word. Not only will he use his pre-existing techniques to create a magnificent weapon, but he'll also use what he just learned to make something truly awe-inspiring.