That was the first day of what Dominic would later not so fondly refer to as hell week. The first week of his training to be a proper Royal Sorcerer, as the Tutor described it.
Compared to the etiquette and history lessons, the introduction to Arcane Engineering was positively sublime.
However, Miss Lucy did everything by the book and if Dominic should dare to skip steps or take shortcuts on simple devices, she would insist that he started over. The fact that it worked and that he already knew this much as a child was not relevant to her lesson plan.
She was pleasant enough about it, but very protective of her craft, the same way that the other Gunsmiths wouldn’t even consider a process like the one that he was using.
After a full week of the introductory basics, which Dominic moved through with ease, things were starting to look up, and the material was beginning to cover a few things that he didn’t already understand.
But that was when they ran into the first clash between Dominic’s understanding of magic and the Arcane Engineering textbook.
"Tutor Lucy, why does this activation circuit use a variable output resistor, when the effect is an on/off function?" He asked.
"These circuits, they exist to vary the output of the spell effect. Increasing the power in stages activates more of them, to a total of ten stages. But that’s not appropriate for a door lock. You only need one, as the state is either locked or unlocked, and the other nine are redundant."
Miss Lucy looked at the circuit that he was describing, and noticed that he was correct. But all Magitech locks were standardized. Only the most complex used a magical key and nine damaged circuits, so that only the correct key would open the door, even if it activated the mechanical lock.
But that was a lesson much later in the textbook.
The tutor pinched the bridge of her nose, and admitted to herself that the student knew much more than he logically should.
"It is a standardized design, so that any magitech lock can be upgraded with a magical key. The key is attuned to one of the circuits, and the others are damaged by the locksmith, so that only the proper key will work, even if someone duplicates the physical key shape.
It makes the lock exceedingly difficult to pick, and it is viewed as the pinnacle of magitech security. Only the most advanced of locksmiths can open them." She replied with a hint of pride in her tone.
Dominic looked at the magitech circuit and frowned.
"You have an alternate idea?" She asked, and then set a lock on the table, designed for a magical key.
Dominic looked it over for a second, and then grabbed a small etching pick from his smith’s tools. A quick slide and wiggle of the pick and then a burst of mana to the hasp of the lock, and it simply fell open.
"How?" The shocked tutor asked.
"A trained mage, or someone like myself, can apply mana to the other side of the circuit and bypass the process entirely, or simply flood it with mana until it activates. But if I close it again, it’s securely locked, as if nothing ever happened, no damage to the lock itself." Dominic replied, as he manipulated it in his hands, then showed her that it was locked again.
Lucy stared at the confused dragonkin with increasing unease. That was not how a magitech circuit was supposed to work.
It was only designed to accept mana from one point at the start. Without matching the magical signature, the circuit should have remained open, and the lock immobile. Flipping the switch from the other side of the circuit should not be possible.
"Do you routinely open magic locks, Apprentice Dominic?" She asked.
"Why would I need to? Nobody tries to lock me out of anything that I want to be in. There isn’t even a lock on the door to my suite, much less a magical one. We just have gossipping maids, which are way more reliable at finding and preventing intruders anyhow."
That made the Tutor smile fondly. Once upon a time, she had been one of those gossipping Palace Maids. Then she was chosen as a Concubine by a Viscount, and now she was an esteemed Royal Tutor, as well as a Journeyman Arcane Engineer.
"Alright, let us move on with the lesson." The tutor insisted.
Dominic decided that it was best to ignore redundant parts in the demonstration circuits. They were almost certainly designed by whoever had made the first blueprint, and then just faithfully copied by every artisan afterwards.
Arcane Engineering was the core of Magitech development, but the creation of new devices was not a fast process, and it was rare that a new device was produced which wasn’t a combination of multiple existing devices with minor modifications.
Even the magitech vehicles mostly all used the same set of circuits, if they weren’t powered by coal or liquid fuel boilers.
They were still going over the most basics of the basics, but Dominic had read ahead in the book, and soon she would be getting into the interesting sorts of Magitech devices.
He didn’t have the specialized Trade Skill Core that would impart him the knowledge that was needed to really master the craft, but from speaking with Pops, it was clear that some level of Magitech comprehension was included and necessary for the Blacksmiths to become a master.
If he could build on that, he could pick up the second specialty as part of his existing skill, and not need to destroy his hard work as a blacksmith and start over with a Magitech Engineer’s Trade Skill Core.
Once the tutors were finished their lessons for the day, Dominic spent a few hours assembling rifles to the usual standard, and then finished one more using the much higher level oil bath in his storage cube.
{Ogre Slaying Rifle} Uncommon Quality. Created at Level 20.
Twice the enhancement of the other rifles, thanks to the oil bath, but still Uncommon if he didn’t use Dragon Flame or an entire mana core to improve the work.