The wax casting was quickly completed, and Dominic filled it with clay, to turn to copper for the additional layers.

There were six added layers in total, each leading to and from all three orbs with different patterns and descriptive runes attached.

Setting them in place wasn’t hard, nor was attaching the layers properly. The real issue was whether they had actually done the first step right, and that could only be discerned after they had everything else finished.

So, Dominic finished the assembly, then prepared to cast the entire thing in resin, so it wouldn’t be damaged by the inevitable impacts that a shield would be expected to take.

"Is there anything else? Or do we just wait for this to dry before enchanting the shield?" He asked as the last layer was securely covered.

"If you don’t need to move the shield for your work, you can do it now. If you do, then I will dry it with a bit of magic."

"It requires movement and heating, so we will need to cure everything before we start." Dominic agreed.

He would skip most of the heating process, only enough to get the core dust to adhere, as he was going to enchant this one the traditional way.

A level fifteen Minotaur Core would do the trick, and it should guarantee that the shield was Rare Grade, as long as Dominic poured a bit of extra mana into the process.

That was what they needed from the shields, as it would be good enough for their first test, and then he could mass produce them at lower or higher level.

A level twenty uncommon grade item was not going to be nearly as powerful as a level fifteen Rare grade item. Not in durability, bonuses, or even the actual spell power for the included attack spell.

The only time that it would really shine would be when used by a Paladin or other who already had equipment with a large amount of bonus spell damage that would add up to more than the base bonus from the five extra levels.

At lower levels, the base was so low that the extra levels were almost always worth it. But the higher you went, the smaller the advantage per level got.

At least as far as equipment was concerned.

The difference between the caster’s level and power and equipment level and power was a constant annoyance to Dominic, who could never remember how the two were supposed to balance.

The math didn’t work with him, as Dragonkin had more magical powers than humans did. As did most Sorcerers, unless the monster blood they had was from a very magic averse species.

Many species, like Trolls, were also immensely powerful, but their magic was specialized, which led to Sorcerers with less versatility, like their local healer.

"Alright, we can do this in here, and I will just limit the amount of heat that I use. Normally, I heat the item over the forge to get the core dust to stick properly, but we can do it at a lower temperature." Dominic explained.

"Oh, I have a kiln, for clay pieces." The old man explained.

"Seriously?" Amie asked.

"What? Pottery is a valid hobby."

Dominic just shrugged. "That will do just fine. We can put the shield over the kiln, let it heat up enough that the core dust sticks, and then I will do the enchantment. I should have asked Pops for a bit more knowledge in this area, but the runes are all written in the Dragon tongue, so we should be good for bonuses.

Affinity to the user matters, but Pops knows some specialty methods to guarantee good outcomes."

The old man smiled. "Well, we don’t expect you to be a Dwarves Master Smith. If you were, none of us could afford your best work. But I am certain that dragon kin crafting should be good enough to keep the Royal Guard happy."

Dominic let the kiln heat the shield enough that the mana steel was radiating heat through the room like an iron stove as he ground a Minotaur Core into dust, then sprinkled it liberally over the surface.

The full core would do more than two, as a level fifteen core was so large, compared to a level five or lower core, but Dominic decided to give it exactly half, just to be safe.

Then, with an influx of mana that filled the storage gem, then the mana steel of the item, he began the enchanting process.

Power poured into the shield as the core dust was absorbed, and the shield turned to the same flat black that the dark iron weapons of the Minotaurs were made of. Success.

{Shield of Avenging Might} Rare Grade, Level 15

The information that his Trade Skill Core told him about the newly created item was enough to know that it was just what they were after, but now they could take it off the heat and the experts could examine it.

They had to know for certain that the spells all worked as intended, and activated at level fifteen, as per the item, not the user’s knowledge. As long as that was the case, this design should be ready to start sending to the troops.

"You know, we’re going to need to assign some mages to make these orbs for us. If I do them all, I’ll only be able to turn out one or two shields a week." Dominic noted.

"You do need the practice making them, though." Amie replied.

"A most vexing paradox. The need to master a skill, versus the need for the item that will be made after you master the skill. Perhaps you can give the test item to your blushing bride?" The Elder suggested.

"I’m thinking that I will use a Yeti Core for the other test shield, to see if it turns a colour other than black. She normally wears shining armour, unless it’s an infiltration mission." Dominic explained.

"That is sound logic. The source of the core does determine much about the completed object, beyond the runes that are used."

Amie just shrugged. "If it doesn’t match, you can always paint it or something."