The World Dragon's Heir
Chapter 62: Lever Rifles

Chapter 62: Lever Rifles

Morgana handed over a rolled blueprint, and Dominic unrolled it against the wall, then pinned it in place.

It was a simple lever action rifle blueprint, firing lead balls of .30 calibre using a chamber that was primed with compressed air. The priming process would take dozens of strokes, but then it should be able to shoot through all ten balls before reloading.

It was far less efficient than the mana revolver, Dominic decided. But it had enchantments on it to add power and penetration to the projectiles. So, while it would be a nuisance after ten shots, those ten shots would count.

"You need six of these as soon as possible? I can get started on that right away if you’ve got the materials. I have the metal, and I can make a rifling jig.

But I don’t have the Mana Cores we will need for the creation. If you want this to be a Rare or even a strong Uncommon weapon, I will need them.

Preferably Ogre Cores, as they are the strongest targets we have faced."

Morgana nodded and placed twenty Ogre Cores on the bench at the front of the forge.

"That is what the Royal Guard collected yesterday. Make them count." She announced, then left the forge.

Dominic was about to go out and let Wiz and Bella know that he was busy, but the guards were already leading them away, and a pair of Royal Guard had been stationed outside his door.

Dominic didn’t miss the way that Princess Alexis winked at him as she left, clearly having planned his busy day, and the transfer of the valuable blueprint. Then he blushed as he recalled the questions that Advisor Morgana had asked him.

No, not thinking about that now.

He got right to work, making the three tubes for the rifle. One for the air pump, one for the ammunition, and one thicker for the barrel.

The receiver of the rifle was easier, then Dominic started on the trigger guard lever that would load the pellets and press them into a uniform oblong shape.

Instead of precision manufacturing, the projectiles would be pressed to the desired circumference at the time of use. That was a bit odd, but it did make sense if they were using regular ball crucibles to mass produce the munitions.

The first one took over two hours just to create the parts for, and another two to inscribe and assemble for testing.

All the parts functioned as intended, though it took most of his strength for the last few strokes to charge the compressed air chamber in the butt of the weapon.

The user would have to set the pressure regulator as they used the weapon, but Dominic placed it somewhere near the middle of its range and dry fired, nodding in satisfaction at the crack of compressed air being released.

Then, he ground the first Ogre core and sprinkled it over the weapon as he held it in the forge’s heat. One side, then the other, and the rifle turned shining bronze, though he had made it of cheap iron alloy.

{Creation Successful} Level 15 Ogre Hunting Rifle. Rare Quality. Increased projectile velocity and mass.

At first, Dominic thought that was a bit shabby for a Rare Rifle, especially one with such an exaggerated level thanks to the Ogre Core. But then he understood. It was an ’Ogre Hunting Rifle’, and Ogres were resistant to magic. A more deadly conventional projectile was precisely what you wanted for them.

This blueprint was even more valuable than he had expected, every bit as good as the steam rifles that the Noble Riflemen used, with their bulky pressurized backpacks.

It was just painfully slow to recharge.

A bit of rough work with a blade and sanding file created the wooden stock, and the first rifle was ready.

The second rifle took only two hours in total, and the third an hour and a half. That was as fast as Dominic could slap the rifles together.

It was getting late in the evening when he had the sixth rifle finished, but Dominic continued working as he ate.

Every one of these would be going to the Royal Guard, he had been informed. But there were ten of them in total, so a few more Rifles would be a good thing.

The design called for a Spell Gem Socket in the stock of the Rifle, so they would also give the user a spot for one more enhancement gem, presumably something like targeting, as the Rifle’s simple iron sights didn’t seem all that great to Dominic.

Well, he understood how they worked, in theory. But he’d never actually used a Rifle, so maybe they were more accurate than he had assumed by the sight’s limited adjustment. By midnight, five more were made, and Dominic was ready to collapse from exhaustion.

But not before putting the first one he had created into his Storage Cube for safekeeping.

The guards were bound to break at least one in the next battle, and that way he could trade it out while he did the repairs. Removing a socketed Spell Gem only took a moment, and it didn’t matter what it was socketed in, only who was trying to use it and that it was accessible.

Advisor Morgana arrived the next morning with Princess Alexis and the entire Royal Guard detachment.

"Smith, have you finished the order?" The Techno Witch demanded.

"Indeed I have. I even found you fifty kilos of shot for the rifles. It’s from the detachment’s reserves, but I can make more, we have plenty of lead."

Then Dominic held out the first rifle, which was the last he created. After the first, they had gotten a bit higher quality in workmanship, and the last was a true work of art, so it was the first sample he demonstrated to the Princess and her entourage.

"Rare Quality, fully loaded, all the expected buffs are in place. Excellent work, Blacksmith Dominic." Princess Alexis commended.

Dominic nodded and took out the other nine rifles. He leaned them against the wall of the forge carriage, and heard an appreciative whistle from above.

"I was wondering what you were up to all night long, for a second day in a row. That’s mighty impressive." The driver announced.