Dominic considered his options, and then looked over the blueprint that he had for the Mana Revolver.
The actual magitech circuit that made it reload with magical bullets was not incredibly complex. It took up the majority of the pistol, but as far as the actual circuit, it was mostly just six loops designed to put a magical charge on the cylinder and fire when the hammer hit the chamber.
Like the actual weapon, it was simple and efficient.
But Dominic realized that he didn’t have to waste a whole Mana Core on this. If he wasn’t dedicated to making it a Rare Grade weapon, he could inscribe the circuitry, and dunk them in the mana oil with a large measure of his own mana added.
The higher grade mana core dust could be recharged to a higher standard, and while that would take more time to recharge between uses, making pistols wasn’t a fast process to begin with.
He had under five hours before he would need to start getting ready for the event.
That should be enough time, if he could find the jigs to precisely create duplicates of the weapon parts.
Ah, there they were, tucked away in the main room’s storage closets.
Dominic grabbed all the jigs, including the barrel rifling core and the mould release agent. With everything ready, he made the imprints for two pistols on his casting sand table, and prepared the rough blanks.
Knowing that you were making a magical weapon allowed a lot of corner cutting, Dominic noticed. For example, he could smelt aluminum alloy, which was much faster and easier to prepare than steel, as well as being cheaper if he had to pay for the materials he was using.
If you weren’t using actual ammunition in the weapon, most of the drawbacks of the alternative metals no longer mattered.
So, as soon as the metal was workable, he began surfacing the pieces, and drilling every fitting. But he was still only at the rough finishing stage when the maids came to inform him that he needed to get ready for the event.
It seemed that the lowest Ranking were expected to be there first, and that meant him.
The older of the two maids who had come to assist him smiled at the flustered smith.
"You can finish after. The event is a late luncheon, it will only run for a few hours at the most. Now, hold out your hands. We will get them scrubbed and prepared as well as possible. Then shower, change, and we will lead you to the dining room." She explained.
Despite being whip-thin, somehow she still had a motherly air to her. So much that Dominic found himself obeying unquestioningly, just as he had when his own mother had given orders.
As promised, they were talented, and had grooming tools to get most of the soot from his hands. Then a quick shower with the Palace’s signature soaps and shampoos had him ready to put on his armour, and his new formal black robes.
"Is this right for the dress code?" Dominic asked as he came out of the shower, wearing his armour and black robes.
"Perfect. Don’t forget your gloves."
The dining room was on the other side of the Castle, near the public entrance, so that the Nobles in the city didn’t need to pass through more than a few rooms of the Castle. As a mandatory event, there were hundreds of people here, and the grand ballroom had been set up with long rows of tables.
"You just sit wherever the staff put you. It’s all arranged in advance by noble title and status, very rigidly structured." The maid whispered as they approached the door.
"Thanks." Dominic replied quietly, then followed a staff member to the spot he had been designated.
He was seated among a group of young noble merchants and officers, all of whom looked confused to see a sorcerer with his horns showing at the table.
"Good morning. I’m Dominic, Royal Sorcerer and Apprentice to the Royal Weaponsmith." He greeted them, just as the notes that came with the clothing list said he should.
"I’m Jack Cyraa, son of Baron Cyraa. I run a jeweller on high street. That’s Donald Cooper, Son of Baron Fall. He runs the steamsmith across from me." The man across from Dominic introduced himself and the man beside him.
The others nearby just grunted a greeting and returned to speaking with each other.
The Steamsmith smiled at Dominic. "I don’t suppose you have any advance notice of what we’re here for, do you? You do live in the Palace."
Dominic nodded. "I have a pretty good idea. But I don’t know the details yet."
He was about to continue when a large group of senior nobles came in together, and a uniformed Prince stepped to the stage.
"Everyone, please find your seats. I will make this as fast as possible so we can all eat." He announced.
Dominic realized that he didn’t recognize this Prince. Could it be the fourth Prince? Maybe the seventh? They all looked so similar that it was nearly impossible to tell them apart at a glance.
Oddly, he didn’t have that problem with the twin Princesses.
"Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I assure you that this is not a frivolous waste of your time. Today we are announcing two Royal measures.
First, the draft will be reinstituted, and every Landed Noble will be expected to field a certain number of militiamen for the war effort."
That didn’t surprise anyone. There was a war on, and you couldn’t fight a war without soldiers.
"Secondly, and the reason that this is a mandatory attendance event for those living in the Capital, we will be forming a new Regiment of Natural Children. Every volunteer member will be given special training with rifles, equipped with the latest magitech equipment, and assigned an officer’s Rank in the military.
With all commensurate benefits."
That got the attention of the Nobles. Even if they didn’t have any real interest in joining the army, they knew that there was a chance they would be drafted anyhow, or chosen by their parents to go to war on behalf of their holdings.
So, the chance to become a proper Officer, with magitech gear, which they would expect to be allowed to keep after the war, was a far superior option to joining the Militia.