The silver pine tree is an entirely new material and previously unseen species. This kind of achievement made the sect promise to do everything they could to help Thor reach the nascent soul.
So if Thor doesn't care about the rat race to the top involving other disciples of the sect, it is because he has the right not to care.
Arthur had a little part to play in the project, but his contribution is minimal. He only improved on the previous version. The idea and execution were all done by Thor.
His help is why Thor decided to meet him. Thor doesn't meet just about anyone. He is too busy to meet with people. Only a golden core sect elder can meet him by force.
After talking about the silver pine tree for a while, Arthur got to the main purpose of his visit.
He asked, "Do you know a material that can isolate mana, insulate lightning, and is durable enough not to be destroyed by lightning?"
Thor whistled and said, "You're asking for a unicorn."
Arthur sighed and said, "I know."
Then he pointed at the tree and said, "You were able to create such a unicorn. So if there is anyone who can help me, it is you."
Thor chuckled. "I'm flattered, but you're asking for too much. There are many materials that can do one or two of the things you asked for, but there are not many that can do all of what you want."
Arthur grinned and said, "So there is indeed a solution."
Thor nodded. "There is. It will just cost you."
Arthur said proudly, "As long as the problem can be solved by money, it is not a problem."
Thor said, "That's good to hear."
Then he walked over a table littered with books. He began riffling through the books.
As he searched through the books, Arthur looked around. He saw that the whole second floor had been modified into a single room. This large room was then demarcated into various sections.
The small forest of silver trees was a section, and the furnace was another section. There were other sections, like the store for various metals. This section has ores of various kinds piled up in a small mountain.
There was also a smaller mountain of metal bars. This was the section of refined metals. This was the section closest to the section of books.
Thor was still searching for something. While searching, he said, "You don't need to buy what you need. You can make it yourself. But first, you need to identify what you need."
Eventually he found what he was looking for. It was an atlas of known metals. It was a book thick enough to kill someone with it. In fact, bones won't be spared if the book is used to bludgeon someone.
Thor held the atlas with one hand. Even though he looked thin and weak, he was able to throw the atlas over to Arthur without exerting himself.
He said, "Go through that and identify what you need."
Arthur took the book and was speechless. The first thing that surprised him was that the book was made from metal sheets, not paper. This made it ridiculously heavy.
The book was heavier than it looked. But it only surprised Arthur. It wasn't enough for him to complain. But he still complained because he had a bigger issue with the book.
He said to Thor, "Look at the size of this thing. How long will it take me to go through it?"
Thor slapped his head and said, "I forgot that you normal people have ordinary eyes and can't communicate with metals like I can."
Arthur's eyes twitched while Thor continued to brag. "Sometimes I forget the weakness of ordinary people. And to think I promised not to let power change me."
He pretended to lament by saying, "It seems I'm getting cocky and proud already. And it is just five years. Whatever shall I do to remain humble?"
Arthur suggested generously, "How about we go outside and I beat you to a pulp?"
Thor nodded seriously and said, "That could work. But I am currently busy. Besides, I don't really care that I am becoming too proud. I was just pretending earlier."
Arthur rolled his eyes and asked, "Don't you have an information crystal?"
Thor had one. But he made sure to grumble about ordinary people and their troubles before he went to get it.
It is true that he forgot that Arthur couldn't sense and speak with metals. So he made the mistake of giving Arthur the metal book instead of the information crystal.
But what happened after that was him purely bragging. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't care what they thought about him. The only people he would brag to were geniuses like him.
He bragged to Arthur because Arthur is known as the most powerful disciple of their set. There are other reasons, but that is the main one.
However, he is not going to stop at bragging. He is already working on a way to take that title away from Arthur. That's what he is currently busy with.
While Thor was rooting around a box for the information crystal, Arthur was examining the book.
He noticed that the writing on the metal pages was not written with ink. He wasn't surprised by that.
Other metals were used to write on the metal pages. This made the letters to be raised a little on the surface of the metal sheets. So he could read what was written in the book by touching the surface with his fingers.
He thought to himself, "It feels like braille."
Thor found the information crystal in a box in the information section of the large room. Then he threw it to Arthur.
Arthur looked through the information crystal while Thor returned to his work.
Thor was forging something on an anvil. There was a tall red metallic statue beside him.