The next morning, they started on the mana collection orbs, the second half of the spell buff that would apply no matter what combat spells were eventually put on the shield.

Once those were done, they could make shields to mount them in and begin the work of altering the circuitry, so that the final product would be one cohesive magic item, and not a shield with three orbs added to the price.

That was the most important part.

If they didn’t all activate as one, then the lower level users would gain little to no benefit from the added complexity, and they would have wasted a huge amount of effort making shields for everyone.

Fortunately, this one was much easier to make, and Dominic could grow the necessary mana gem in only a few minutes, a rate far faster than either of the two mages in the room.

"Once we finish these, we can do a quick test to verify them, but it’s not a new design, so there shouldn’t be any issues. The problems will only come when we try to integrate them with the shields."

Dominic couldn’t fault that logic, and the orb both received and discharged mana without issues. So, it was time to actually make the shield that they were going to integrate them into.

But that meant they needed the final orbs so that everything could be tested at the same time instead of making multiple items.

"Why don’t I make the orbs, and you can make the shields to put them in? It won’t take me long to make orbs that I’m already familiar with, and I will provide you the blueprints so that you can make more of them later." The old mage suggested.

"That sounds like the most time efficient method to me. Alright, I will make the shields out of steel, and they’ll be ready by the time that you finish with the orbs. They’re not a simple item, but we only need two."

The old man wasn’t big on conversation when it didn’t directly relate to his work, so the two worked in silence for hours. Relative silence, that was.

"Great, one whistles while he works, and one talks to himself. Are there no paths to creative genius that lead to sanity?" Amie quietly complained as she waited for them.

"You’re doing it now too. I’m afraid that it’s too late for you. But it won’t get any quieter when we get home. I’ve been gone two days and didn’t tell my wife where I was going." Dominic joked.

Amie rolled her eyes. "Don’t worry, I sent someone to inform the Manor that you were busy with crafting new defensive items for the Royal Guards, so we won’t get yelled at or dragged out by armed Paladins before we finish."

The old man stroked his beard and nodded appreciatively. "This is the value of a good apprentice. They take care of the little details, so you don’t have to."

"True, she’s not only skilled, but proactively helpful. I don’t know why the other Sect members seem to be afraid of her," Dominic agreed.

"Probably because she holds too much of a grudge. It’s only safe to be around her if you’re her friend."

"You know, I’m right here, don’t you?" Amie growled.

"See? Very scary."

Even Amie couldn’t help but laugh a little, but the two men didn’t stop their work as they bantered back and forth.

"The shields are ready in their base form. Do you want to wait to do the upgrades to the plan after you’ve finished the [Flaming Blade] orbs, or do you want me to do them now?" Dominic asked.

"I’m almost finished. We can upgrade the shields pathways in a few minutes. It will be easier to do once we have the three orbs test fitted anyhow.

Since they’re a permanent addition, there is no need to use a universal connection ring inscription, we can just run the circuits directly to the output."

Dominic waited as the final orbs were completed, and then set all three in place on a shield before bringing out a fresh copper sheet to cut new circuits from.

"Oh, don’t bother with that. There is an easier way. We can just carve them in wax and then press clay into the grooves. A warm chisel makes the whole process painless, and the wax can be moulded to the shape that you need."

"See, this is the kind of practical experience that I came here for." Amie laughed.

The old mage nodded happily. "Exactly. You need to ask an old person or a lazy worker how to do things. They’ll tell you the best way to get it done."

He waved his hand to create wax tablets, and Amie sighed. "Don’t let him make you think the hand gesture is part of the spell, he’s just dramatic."

Dominic shrugged. "It’s fun to use a dramatic flourish to take items from storage as well. Everyone knows how it works, but it’s still better to do it with some style."

Amie took a long swig from a wineskin she had in her storage item. "See, this is what I was talking about. Crafters are all a little odd, and it only grows with practice.

But you’re holding up production, I want to see how this shield works when you’ve got everything assembled."

Dominic nodded, and began drawing the added circuits and runes to the wax.

The Elder watched as he worked, and then poured a bit of wax into a few runes and redrew them.

"This should work better, The meaning is a bit more clear, and we don’t want any complexity in how the orbs interact. I don’t doubt that it would work your way, but it’s better to be extra safe so that it won’t malfunction if another craftsman needs to repair it." He explained.

Dominic hadn’t considered that. Normally, everyone brought his rifles back to him for repair. Nobody else even tried to do the work.