The World Dragon's Heir

Dominic was too excited to sleep for long, and it was still hours until dawn when he woke up, fully intending to go check out the library in the front room.

Then, he realized that he had totally forgotten to clean his actual clothes after arriving in the Palace yesterday, and the only thing he had to wear that didn’t need to have more Goblin filth scrubbed from it was the Mage Robe he was wearing to dinner, which was completely unsuitable for work.

There might still be some clothing from the last few hours worth of drops, though. At least, he hoped there was. He hadn’t actually been paying much attention, just stuffing every magic item he could get his hands on into the cube.

Even if it was a poor quality magic shirt and pants, he could wear them until he had time to scrub his usual outfit.

But when he opened the Inventory Cube, Dominic got a real surprise. There was a large box in his inventory that definitely hadn’t been there before, marked with the Royal Family’s crest.

Carefully, he took it out, in case it was too heavy to hold, and set it on the floor.

Inside, the box was filled with leather and cloth. Two new sets of casual clothes suitable for the forge, emblazoned with the Royal Crest, marking him as an apprentice under their employment, plus a long leather coat for working around hot metal, and three elegant mage robes plus a cloak with no hood that would be suitable for dinners and other occasions around the Palace.

Why they didn’t think that he should be dressed in a suit was a mystery to Dominic, but he really didn’t know enough about Royal Etiquette to know if being a Sorcerer meant that he should be wearing Robes as formal wear.

It’s not like being part dragon was a profession. Or, if it was, Dominic had never figured out how to monetize it.

Every item had the same crest on it, so they must have been a formal uniform of sorts for the staff, but they were all beautifully made by the Royal Staff Tailors.

The rest of his clothes had been meticulously scrubbed clean and folded in a simple bag, even the drop items from the Goblins, which were always filthy when you got them, had been laundered.

Dominic was briefly outraged that someone had gone through his belongings. They didn’t appear to have taken any of his scrap parts or Mana Cores, though. So, Dominic made a mental note to apologize to whoever had to clean the rags that the Goblins dropped.

At the very least, he did have clothes to wear to work today.

Once he was showered and changed into his new uniform of black pants and a buttoned shirt that was definitely going to be annoying under his apron, Dominic headed for the library to see what he could find before Pops woke up and told him where to find food.

The library shelves were carefully organized by weapon types, with the scrolls sorted by item rarity within the shelf. The common items began around waist height to just over Dominic’s head, and then the Uncommon ones were at the very top of the shelves.

They should have a rare item scroll or two here somewhere, he was certain, but they were likely locked away in the Master’s room, and inaccessible to anyone who might happen to make it into the main area.

But, the Uncommon magical item plans were still plenty for Dominic. He had a total of three blueprints in his inventory at the moment, and only two of them were weapons. Plus, it was a revolver and a Gunsword, both of which were specialized weapons that most of the guardsmen didn’t use much.

If he was going to impress whoever was doing the intake, he needed something more practical.

So, he started with the most obvious. The Uncommon quality broadsword. That should be the mainstay of the Royal Guard, he assumed. Most of the guards used a broadsword and a spear as their primary weapons during the battle against the Goblins, so those would be his priorities today.

The details for making an Uncommon Grade blade were surprisingly easy. The blade itself was essentially the same as Pops had taught him to make any other blade, and then there was a single circuit that should be etched into the blade to draw mana to it and charge the magical crystal in the hilt.

That was it. Just a simple magitech circuit with a few branches to keep the edge strong and sharp, as well as integrating the socketed Enhancement Gem in the hilt.

The more he looked at it, the better he understood the circuit, and the more clearly Dominic understood that it was no different from making a light turn on from a battery, except that the battery in this case was wireless, and magical.

He had learned that as a child, and with years of repairing other people’s junk for spending cash, he understood far more than most about how the circuits needed to line up in order to function, and what some of the most obvious ones did.

Daydreaming about new magical weapons, and a glorious life recognized as a great Arcane Engineer, he began to draw out plans for new weapon designs in the notepad as his mind focused on understanding the magical pathways that made a Magitech Weapon function.

Dominic didn’t realize that he had gotten lost in his doodling, drawing in one of the fresh notebooks, trying to improve the design of the broadsword plan that he had found, until Pops woke up and greeted him.

"It looks like you’ve gotten ahead on your coursework already. What makes you think that will be a functional weapon?" He asked, indicating his drawing.

"Well, it’s the simple circuit from the uncommon magitech sword here. That’s nearly impossible to mess up. But that seemed a bit boring, so I added a layer of energy shielding, the same sort of solid energy barrier that is used for security doors.

In theory, it will extend from a short sword to a broadsword with a bit of mana. The inscriptions are still in place, and it’s a simple bit of magical circuitry, so I think it should still create an uncommon blade." Dominic explained, hoping that his idle ideas wouldn’t get him in trouble first thing in the morning.

"And how are you going to keep the energy field from breaking the first time it hits something?" He asked.

"Still working on that part. I know an armour recipe, and it’s got a magical rune and circuit in it to enhance durability. If I add that here and here on each section, it should activate with the blade extension and make it durable enough for actual use." he suggested, hopefully.

"Alright, after breakfast, we will go to the forge, and you will try out your plan, so you can see whether you are right or not." Pops agreed.

"Or, you could tell me now, and I could fix it before I get to the forge and make a fool of myself."

Pops laughed and shook his head. "No, you need to actually make your plans, or you won’t truly understand the practical matters of making a complex magitech weapon.

It’s all part of the learning process, Apprentice Dominic."