Seeing the Dwarf King's face, which was filled with overthinking, tense expression, and extremely serious, Rimuru almost couldn't help but burst out laughing.
This guy is really overthinking things; his face is full of anxiety, as if Nidavellir is about to be wiped out the next second.
Rimuru took short, quick steps and walked straight up to the Dwarf King, raising his hand and gently patting his thick iron thigh armor.
The calm voice, carrying a soothing tone, instantly broke the heavy atmosphere.
"Relax, relax, don't put unnecessary pressure on yourself. Your face is all scrunched up like a rock."
Rimuru looked up at the imposing dwarf king and slowly began to explain, his tone exceptionally confident.
" Ragnarok in Asgard is a destiny rooted in the world itself, a natural disaster inherent in the system."
"That's the karmic entanglement accumulated over a thousand years in the Asgard, a battlefield catastrophe destined to erupt; it's only a matter of time, and no one can stop it."
"But Nidavellir and Asgard are completely different; you don't have this destiny of certain destruction."
He paused, his tone becoming slightly more serious, and stated the key points clearly and directly.
"The crises you may encounter in the future are not natural disasters at all, but purely man-made disasters caused by outsiders."
"This kind of man-made disaster is not fate at all; it can be completely avoided in advance."
"That's why I kept telling you to remember this: if anything really goes wrong, don't try to be strong or tough it out. Just activate the device and hide in the virtual space, and everything will be fine."
After hearing these words, the Dwarf King's tense shoulders relaxed slightly, but his concerns did not completely disappear.
He looked down at the small figure in front of him. The other person was petite and looked soft and intimidating, yet could see through the different sources of crisis in the Nine Realms.
The dwarf king didn't ask any further questions or say any more pleasantries; he simply nodded solemnly.
This advice was weighty, and he had already firmly kept it in mind.
Seeing that the Dwarf King had completely listened, Rimuru relieved and stopped dwelling on the topic.
He has absolutely no desire to return to Asgard and join the chaos.
It's obvious that a lively banquet is being prepared in the Asgard palace to celebrate Veldora's passing.
Ever since Veldora displayed her power in the Asgard and intimidated all the Asgard deities, the gods have been incredibly enthusiastic, with a never-ending supply of wine and food at the banquet.
The banquet was genuinely fun and lively, but it was just too much of a continuous schedule every single day.
Drinking, eating at banquets, and joining in the festivities every day is getting a bit tiresome; if he stays any longer, he'll get fat.
Rather than staying in Asgard and being dragged around to toasts and banquets, it's better to return to Earth for peace and quiet.
Rimuru gently raised his eyes, taking one last look at this Nidavellir kingdom, a land of dazzling mineral deposits and numerous workshops.
After confirming that everything was safe and sound, he flipped his palm over, and a clear blue light slowly shone forth.
The Tesseract, also known as the Space Stone, floated quietly in his palm, its deep and mysterious blue light patterns flowing through it.
As Rimuru gently activated his magic, the Space Stone instantly erupted with a blinding blue light, and a straight blue beam of light pierced through the starry sky of Nidavellir.
A dazzling spatial energy enveloped Rimuru's small body, and as the light and shadow shifted, the surrounding space began to distort slightly.
The dwarf king, standing still, quietly raised his eyes, his gaze fixed firmly on the pillar of blue light.
He stood there, silently watching the figure within the pillar of light.
The next instant, the blue light suddenly intensified, making people squint slightly.
As the light faded slightly, the spot was empty, and Rimuru's figure had completely disappeared from Nidavellir's world.
The sound of the wind gently swept across the empty workshop platform, and the surroundings returned to their usual tranquility.
The Dwarf King raised his hand and took out the small, exquisite virtual space refuge device from his robes.
The cool metallic texture fits comfortably in the palm of your hand, and the faint warmth of magic still lingers between the patterns on the device—a mark left by Rimuru himself.
He slowly raised his gaze and looked around at the homeland he had protected for thousands of years.
His gaze swept over the towering forges, the busy dwarven artisans, the rare and precious ores that shimmered everywhere, and the entire peaceful and tranquil Nidavellir.
Everything before my eyes is prosperous, peaceful, and serene.
Rimuru's words, "an external man-made disaster," were like a tiny thorn, gently piercing his heart and lingering there.
He tried not to imagine the worst possible outcome, but his thoughts kept drifting uncontrollably into the distance.
Without the inevitable natural disasters, can Nidavellir truly enjoy a peaceful future?
Who is behind those unknown crises lurking in the shadows of the Milky Way?
At this moment, the dwarf king, who had seen countless storms, felt for the first time an overwhelming sense of uncertainty and unease about the future of his kingdom.
The blue teleportation beam slowly dissipated, and Nidavellir's icy starry wind swept across the exposed rocky platform.
The Dwarf King held a small, silver device in the palm of his hand; the thick metal texture still retained a faint trace of Rimuru's magical aura.
His thick eyebrows were furrowed tightly, and his usually calm and composed mind, which was usually reserved for forging divine weapons, was now in disarray.
Nidavellir boasts the most advanced forging techniques in the nine star systems, harbors countless secret treasures and divine weapons, and thrives by relying on its mineral veins, never facing a crisis of destruction.
But today, that soft, seemingly harmless little man cast a shadow over him.
He put away the device and tucked it into the inner layer of his close-fitting armor. This was the first time in his life that he had ever cherished an object that was not forged.
"Very well." The Dwarf King let out a deep breath, a hint of relief appearing in his cloudy eyes.
When faced with a life-or-death situation, he would never act recklessly; activating the device directly and ensuring the survival of all the dwarves would be of paramount importance.
Stopping his wild thoughts, the Dwarf King turned and strode towards the forging hall.
He planned to give orders to all the high-ranking dwarves in the tribe to familiarize themselves with how to activate this virtual space device, and at the same time, to mass-produce and adapt the same protective equipment, so that all the Nidavellir tribesmen would have a firm grasp on this life-saving passage.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the vast universe.
Earth.
A dazzling blue beam of light suddenly erupted in the sky above New York, and the energy ripples of the Space Stone gently spread outwards.
With a flash of light, the small blue figure landed steadily on the empty rooftop of the high-rise building, the slight Blackout brought on by the teleportation disappearing in an instant.
Rimuru shook his limp body, shaking off the residual spatial energy, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
"Phew~ I'm finally back."
The thought of the endless banquets in Asgard gave Rimuru a headache.
It's not that they're bad, it's just that they're too enthusiastic.
My small frame looked like a sandwich filling next to those tall, imposing Norse gods.
Veldora is definitely the center of attention right now. After all, he is an ancient dragon who has returned to the Asgard. With Odin deliberately praising him, all the gods of Asgard are surrounding him, toasting and exchanging pleasantries.
If I stay there, I'll inevitably be approached by all the gods, who will try to get my hands on drinks and flatter me.
As lively as it may be, spending every day at banquets is really exhausting.
It's better to stay quietly on Earth; even slacking off and doing nothing is more comfortable than socializing.
Rimuru looked down at the Tesseract in his hand; this trip to Nidavellir had come to a successful end.
The custom armor has been finalized and forged, and Nidavellir has been provided with a way out in the event of the apocalypse, thus firmly binding the Dwarves to his side.
Now, no matter how much chaos arises in the Asgard or the universe, he has a more reliable logistical support base.
"But then again..."
Rimuru high in the sky, looking down at the brightly lit New York City below, his amber eyes slightly darkening.
He deliberately didn't say much to the dwarf king just now.
They didn't tell the other Ragnarok was just an appetizer, nor did they go into detail about the subsequent cosmic war, Thanos' invasion, and the layered catastrophes of dimensional collapse.
It didn't even mention the tragic end that Nidavellir would face a devastating sneak attack, with countless dwarves dying and their homeland nearly destroyed.
Sometimes, revealing things beforehand can lead to unforeseen circumstances and disrupt all plans.
Rather than letting the Dwarves live in fear and anxiety every day, it's better to quietly prepare our trump cards for them and let them wait patiently for the storm to come.
"Anyway, I've already paved the way for your escape route."
"As long as you listen to me obediently, Nidavellir will definitely escape its fate of destruction and just survive to the end."
Having resolved one of his worries, he felt much lighter.
I made a promise with Black Widow to go on vacation to Hawaii, but we haven't gone yet. I've also been promoted to Demon Lord, so I can finally relax a bit.
The evening breeze swept across the rooftop, carrying the unique earthly scent of fireworks. Compared to the solemnity of the Asgard and the cold desolation of Nidavellir, this place was the most reassuring.