Once he had eaten, Dominic rushed back to his room to put the finishing touches on the chest plate. He was using the Uncommon Plate Armour designs from the bookshelf outside, which looked more fashionable, but it was still quite plain and functional in design.
So, Dominic decided to add some scrollwork around the edges, stamped into the hot metal with a die and hammer.
It wouldn’t be as pretty and intricate as what the master armourers made by hand, and it would be repeated every arm length, but it was good enough to make the piece look like it belonged on a Noble, and the design of the chest plate was the three sectioned style which was currently coming into fashion, with a curled short gorget to prevent arrows from sliding up under the wearer’s hood.
But as he finished it, Dominic realized that he could make it extra fancy without much extra effort. There was plenty of white bronze left for plating, so he could make it shiny.
Then, he could enamel paint the inlay around the edges and call it done.
That took the better part of three more hours, but when it was finished, he had chest and bracers that matched, as well as freshly cleaned and slightly size altered chain mail. He had newly issued boots that were still undamaged and serviceable, so he didn’t worry about those, and focused on what he would do for the pieces he had.
Pops came in to check on him during the lunch break, and saw the suit of armour, all laid out on a stone table for inspection.
"That’s mighty fine. Have you decided on an enchantment?" He asked.
Dominic shook his head. "I was thinking of using a good Mana Core and hoping for the best. It’s pretty enough that nobody should give me a hard time about it."
"I have an idea. Why not carve a channelling circuit into the back of the plate? It will make your [Mage Armour] spell more effective, or whatever other spell you cast on the pieces. I see that you already followed the basics of the [Cogwork Plate] pattern’s circuitry on the standard design, so it should self latch as well.
Between the two, it should be enough to push it close to Rare Grade, or even over the threshold."
Dominic gave him a curious look. "Won’t that just cause issues for me? I mean, remember what happened with the sword. It would be embarrassing to have someone strip me of my armour at a formal event."
Pops laughed. "No more need to worry about that. A Royal Sorcerer isn’t much of a Noble, but they are technically a Noble, and trying to take your armour in public would just shame the one bullying you.
Besides, I heard that the Princess favours you. She was the one to put in the good word with the King that got you recommended for rifle duty starting the day after tomorrow.
Not that you weren’t going there anyhow, but a Royal recommendation is a strong sign of future advancements."
Then Pops picked up a chisel himself and began to carve the circuit into the back of the armour plate.
"Wait, you can make proper magitech items?" Dominic asked, shocked by the revelation.
"What do you think a Master Smith is?
You don’t get the title just by pounding your hammer.
You need to know more than any Journeyman, and then prove it. A bit of Magitech circuitry is nothing when you’ve been working the forge for half a century or more." Pops laughed.
The old Dwarf’s knowledge never failed to amaze Dominic. While the circuit was simple, it was functional, and would make it much easier to sustain a spell on the armour.
If Dominic cast the spell focused on the chest, and then let it spread to the rest of his body, it should save him at least a third of the effort of the casting, while making it easier to reinforce the spell after it took damage.
This time, he really might be able to take a hit.
Well, once he had put a few more levels into his Spell Book, that was.
The magitech artifact currently held all his spells, while his bracers would hold his enhancement items. Mana Recovery, Spell Power, Endurance, plus his Trade Skill Core. Minor Skill Gain Rate Increase could be moved to his necklace, where it was no longer visible, but still effective. No need to advertise that one.
That made two items per bracer, and the Blacksmith’s Trade Skill Core was easily transferred from his work bracer to the ornamental one.
He would need to put a few more levels into them when he had a chance, but increasing the levels of his spells would be a stealthier and more effective way to improve everything but his physical attack power.
Come to think of it, the only truly useful spell he had in combat was [Mage Armour]. The others were Minor Illusion, Alarm, and a spell to purify food and drink. While they were useful in certain situations, they didn’t really need the extra levels.
What he really needed was some additional combat magic. A few spell gems would be enough. Just a few more ways to fight, or to defend a group so that he could be considered a proper magical asset in the group.
That was probably not the approved way of thinking, though. While Dominic wanted the magic power to impress others, he was truly more valuable to the Kingdom in his role as a Weaponsmith. Keeping himself alive if he was attacked was more important than what sorts of magic he could use outside the forge.
Inside the forge was another story, and now that the basic magitech circuitry was completed, Dominic knew just what he needed to do to activate the items.
Pops watched as Dominic ground the best of the Mana Cores that he had, a level 20 Ogre Lord core from the previous battle, and carefully coated all the armour pieces he had laid out on the stone table.
Why Dominic hadn’t heated them to make the core dust integrate immediately was a mystery, until Dominic took a deep breath and bathed the whole stone table, armour and all, in dragon fire.
Dominic poured mana into the items as the flames raged, and stopped only when he could feel that they had completed their transformation.
{Plate of Effortless Defence} Rare Quality. Created at Level 20
{Crushing Chain Suit} Rare Quality. Created at Level 20
{Bracers of Draconic Might} Rare Quality. Created at Level 20
Pops smiled as he looked over the pile of shining armour on the slightly melted tabletop.
"Well, it looks like you will be the best dressed in the room for some time now. Congratulations on the new armour set."