"Why make this kind of gadget? Couldn't you just make gauntlets or bracers?"
Eitri didn't understand what Ethan was trying to accomplish with this idea. Not attaching the Stones to a weapon was understandable—perhaps he had other preferred weapons and wanted to avoid conflicts. So he preferred to mount the Infinity Stones on other equipment.
But wouldn't it be better to just make gauntlets? You could wear them on your hands. Even if you didn't like gauntlets, bracers wouldn't affect mobility either.
"Because I hope you can help me forge a few special suits of armor, but I don't want to embed the Infinity Stones directly into them."
Eitri understood what Ethan meant. This person wanted to forge full sets of armor and likely wouldn't have extra space for gauntlets or bracers, which was why he wanted to make a tool that could attach the Infinity Stones to the armor's surface, ensuring he could still use them effectively while fully suited up.
"Ah, I see. That's not really difficult."
For the level of technology mastered by the dwarf kingdom, Ethan's request was simple. It was easy to make. Eitri could even create a prototype within half a day and adjust it afterward based on Ethan's testing feedback.
Eitri didn't ask Ethan for payment either. Coming to Nidavellir with Thor came with advantages—they were treated as Asgardians, and providing weapons and equipment for Asgard was precisely the dwarves' duty.
"The armor you mentioned earlier—do you have any specific requirements?"
Eitri thought Ethan wanted the dwarves to help forge a few sets of armor, just like with their past commissions. The client would provide requirements, the dwarves would design and draft blueprints, then create a prototype for review and make adjustments before producing the final version.
That was the standard process. As for the armor's appearance, most clients only requested general features, not a fully detailed design.
This time, Ethan was different. To help Eitri understand his requirements better, he directly used the power of the Reality Stone to project the Saint Cloths from his memory.
Although it was just a projection, the Reality Stone could perfectly recreate all the armor's details from Ethan's mind, which helped Eitri fully understand what Ethan was after.
Ethan didn't just materialize the armor's full appearance. He also presented both its worn and stowed forms, the specific components of each part, and even demonstrated the different abilities of the Saint Cloths.
Eitri felt a bit dizzy. Leaving aside the flashy appearance—those ornate patterns were just mildly troublesome—it was the special abilities that were a headache. Clearly, this wasn't just armor, but an integrated battle system combining offense and defense.
However, if such powerful equipment could actually be forged, it would be a great source of pride for the dwarves. The more Eitri studied it, the more excited he became. He had already begun thinking about how to tackle the design challenges and start forging these suits.
"Although I don't know how you came up with these things, I'm happy to help you forge them." Eitri already had a few ideas in mind, though whether they would succeed would depend on the trials ahead. "I just have one question: do these armors... absolutely have to look this shiny gold?"
"Uh... because these armors contain the power of stars, that's why they emit this kind of light..." Of course, the lore of the Gold Saint Cloths refers to the radiance of the sun, but the sun is a star, so calling it 'star power' wasn't wrong.
"Containing the energy of stars?"
From that, it was clear that some of the materials for these armors were fixed and wouldn't be easy to replace.
Generally speaking, after a long stable period, stars become red (or blue, white) giants and then end their life cycles with explosions. Depending on conditions like mass, there are three possible outcomes: black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarfs.
The core of Nidavellir was a neutron star. Mjolnir had been forged using the core of a white dwarf, mixed with special metals from Asgard.
A neutron star core was not easy to obtain. Although Nidavellir was built around one, they didn't have spare neutron star materials lying around. By contrast, they still had a small stock of white dwarf cores.
By combining those rare materials with other special metals and incorporating preset runes during forging, it was still possible to forge armor that met Ethan's requirements.
The two of them discussed for a while and finalized a rough plan.
To help forge the equipment more perfectly, Thor promised that Asgard would supply whatever materials were needed and would replenish what the dwarves consumed afterward. If Asgard didn't have those materials in stock, they would compensate with items of equal value or pay in currency.
After hearing Thor say that, Eitri had nothing more to worry about. He could now work at full capacity. In order to replicate the Saint Cloths' special abilities as accurately as possible, he requested that Ethan stay nearby so he could ask questions and verify details at any time.
Ethan, of course, had no objection. He even wanted to help with the forging—just assist, since he couldn't contribute to the actual process yet.
His goal was to learn the dwarves' forging techniques, especially how they handled mold making and why seemingly ordinary molds could produce such powerful equipment. If he could understand that, he could forge even better items in the future.
Eitri didn't care about Ethan's "secret studying." Maybe he didn't mind if Ethan learned, or maybe he believed Ethan couldn't learn it anyway. Either way, Ethan got his wish and participated in the forging process for the Gold Saint Cloths.
During this time, Ethan's companions were warmly hosted by the dwarves and toured all of Nidavellir. Tony was especially interested in the dwarf kingdom and would often come to observe the forging of the Gold Saint Cloths.
Sometimes he would even get hands-on, using various dwarf tools to tinker and build small things.
For example, the small device Ethan had mentioned earlier—the one that could hold an Infinity Stone and be used with any equipment—was picked up by Tony, who was researching nanotechnology. After Eitri produced the first prototype, Tony took it and started improving it.
It didn't take long before Tony came up with a new product.
"It looks like a diamond ring without the diamond, and it doesn't even have the part you wear on your finger..."
In simple terms, this thing was just a base, perfectly sized to hold the stone.
"Try placing your Space Stone on it."
Ethan didn't take out the Space Stone. Instead, he pulled out the Reality Stone he had been using lately. As the red stone was set into the base, the base suddenly activated, automatically adjusting the groove to lock the stone in place.
"And then?"
"You can put it anywhere on your body, and it'll automatically adapt to the situation."
Following Tony's instructions, he placed the stone and base on his wrist. The once-unassuming base immediately extended and transformed into a bracer, fitting snugly around his arm.
"Huh? Not bad."
According to Tony, this nano-base could adjust itself freely depending on the situation. It could become a bracer, wristband, ring, headband, or even a collar.
"What if I want to wear it on the outside of the Saint Cloth?"
"It'll automatically generate a metal layer that adheres to the Gold Saint Cloth. It'll even match the color, though it won't actually fuse with the armor."
Tony had already considered that. He understood Ethan's needs and wouldn't design a nano-device that permanently integrated into the Saint Cloth.
"What about the power source?"
"The Infinity Stone."
Tony had been studying Ethan's Infinity Stones for a long time. His own Arc Reactor had originated from Infinity Stone technology, and he had a solid understanding of the energy properties of the stones.
Now that he had also learned magic, his grasp of energy had deepened even more. With all that knowledge built up, he was able to create this seemingly simple piece of gear in a short time.
Ethan activated the stone and felt the energy flow. There was no delay, and the device showed no sign of being overwhelmed by the energy output.
"Perfect."
This was exactly the kind of device Ethan needed. He had originally thought he'd have to wait until the Gold Saint Cloths were completed before Eitri could make adjustments to the previous prototypes. He hadn't expected Tony to solve the problem in the meantime.
Bringing him along for a tour of the universe was absolutely the right decision. Tony, with his broadened horizons and advanced knowledge from other civilizations, was now going wild with creativity.
"You've been studying all of Nidavellir lately?"
"Yeah. A Dyson Sphere is just a theory back on Earth. This is the real deal."
Ethan looked at Tony, whose expression held a trace of fanaticism, and suddenly thought: This guy… could he be thinking of building a Dyson Sphere? When he asked, he got exactly the kind of answer you'd expect from Tony Stark.
"Why not?"
Tony didn't believe he was any less capable than these dwarves. If they could do it, why couldn't he?
Of course, he wasn't so arrogant as to ignore the difficulty. A massive artificial celestial structure like this wasn't easy to build. There were many problems to solve.
"And it's not practical to start with a neutron star core. Maybe I should find a white dwarf to practice with first..."
He already had it planned. Start with a white dwarf and refine the process. Once the technology was solid, he'd move on to building a Dyson Sphere with a neutron star core, just like Nidavellir.
The ultimate goal? Of course, a Dyson Sphere using a stable, active star as the core.
(To be continued.)