The OP Lich is a Returnee, Chapter 15 (Patreon)

Hey, guys, just letting you know, Book 1 is up on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094YR8JTD

However, since I'm not putting it in KU, the chapters will be staying up here.

Chapter 15 – Studio

Finally, after two weeks of working with Phantomline to develop the prototype mass production focuses and work on refining CADs, I was back in my studio. The work had been productive, of course. I learned new things about this world’s magic, and, with my help, the team at Phantomline had finally managed to create a prototype CAD that could filter out a magical creature’s natural magic, allowing them to use CADs like normal mages, though they still hadn’t found a way to get the brain scan to read me. At any rate the new CADs were set to be announced to the public next month.

More importantly, as I said, I was back in my studio, and ready to work with all my new workers. They’d all been training with the basic mana drills that I’d taught them, so they were ready for the real deal. Walking into the ‘workshop’, which was really a warehouse full of machines and tools to craft with, I could see that everyone was present, and ready for the next step.

“All right, everyone. Glad to see you all here. Now, when I hired each of you, I promised to teach you techniques that you’d never seen before. I’ve already given you the first piece, and I’m happy to see you’ve all been growing your mana pools. That’ll come in handy with what we’re going to be doing next.”

I took a breath, and then said, “Now, I have not taken any certifications in this world, obviously, but in the world that I was summoned to, I would rate as a master craftsman in each of your crafts, though some of the techniques I learned are foreign to this world, because they require mana. The staff you’ve all seen me use was made and enchanted by me. In fact, all of my equipment was made and enchanted by me.

“This is not me bragging, but a way to tell you why I am able to give you new insights into crafts you have rightly earned the title of Master in, which will allow you to produce masterworks that shatter your previous expectations. Each of you will be trained in the skills needed to enhance a piece’s ability to hold and channel mana, to imbue a work with mana in its creation, and the basics of enchanting. I do not expect all of you to master enchanting, as you have your fields, but I will work you all until you would qualify as journeymen in the other world.”

Dennis Kant, my master blacksmith, raised a hand to speak. Finding him for the studio was a real bonus for me, since he was the nephew of one of my classmates. I’d known that Isaak’s family had run a traditional blacksmithing shop that had been handed down through the generations, so I was surprised to see one of them walking away from the shop. But then, he was the youngest of the three brothers currently running the shop, so this was a way for him to strike out on his own, and make a name for himself. The ‘family business’ would still be there when he was ready, and would be stronger for what he could now bring to the table.

“What is it, Dennis?”

“Well, the requirements to be an apprentice, journeyman, or master are simple enough in this world, even if you go back to medieval times, but I was wondering what the qualifications were in the other world?”

I nodded, and said, “Great question. Becoming an apprentice in a craft was simple enough. You found someone to train you, and you practiced until they thought you had enough skills to be able to make something that could be sold. After that, you were a journeyman until you produced a masterpiece, something that the other masters in the field acknowledged as something of the highest quality.

“Going from apprentice to master could take anywhere from ten to fifteen thousand hours of training, depending on how talented you were in the field. That’s five to seven years of eight-hour days, five days a week, training your skills. Now, obviously not everyone has the talent or drive to become a master, but for those who could, that’s generally how it goes.

“I am, as you all know, a Lich, an undead creature. This means I do not need as much sleep, as my body doesn’t tire. So, what would take someone five to seven years to accomplish, I was able to do in one to two, training nearly twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. And I was in the other world for forty years.

“The first ten years, I spent conquering Athelia, and cementing my control over the nation, while training my magic. The next eight years, I spent learning crafts, so that I could outfit myself with whatever I needed, in a pinch. Then, there was two years of building alliances, before I came to the Demon Lord’s attention. After that? Twenty years of war, as I pushed the Demon Lord’s forces back, step by step, but I still found time to keep my skills sharp.”

Dennis nodded, and I looked at the rest of the room. “Any more questions? Remember, we’re all masters, here, so don’t be shy.” When there were no more questions, I smiled, and said, “All right, so let’s get to the first step towards enchanting, and that is Imbuing.”

There was a collective sense of everyone moving to the edge of their seats. After all, this is what they were here for. It was why they were here, instead of running their own shops. They wanted to be on the cutting edge of something new, and this was something this world had never seen before.

“Imbuing an item is nothing more or less than infusing mana into the item during its creation. It sounds simple, but it takes practice to keep an even flow of mana while you are going through all the other actions of crafting. You have to keep the flow steady, even while you are measuring the strokes of your hammer, if you’re forging, and so on.”

There were nods of recognition. They were all masters, after all, so they knew how hard it could be to try and concentrate on something else while working, and not have the end product suffer. But time and practice could make that second nature.

“Now, why imbue an item?” I picked up a cast iron fire poker that I had brought in just for this demonstration. It was a solid piece, rigid and inflexible. Bending it into a circle like it was string made everyone take note.

“Simply put, imbuing strengthens items. A sword that has been imbued will hold an edge longer, and be harder to chip. An imbued vase will be harder to shatter. Leather armor that has been imbued will be harder to pierce. A staff that has been imbued can be swung with great strength, and not break.

“Because, as you know, one who has grown their mana pool, and infused their bodies with mana to strengthen it, will be stronger than a normal person. At its most basic level, imbuing allows a craftsman to make objects that will better hold up to rough use by individuals who have increased abilities. If this poker had been imbued during its making, I would have had trouble bending it. Depending on the strength of the one imbuing it, I might not even have been able to manage it at all.”

I set the poker down, and said, “Imbuing also has the ability to synergize with enchantments, when they are put on. An imbued piece will take less effort to enchant, and the enchantment may have a slightly better effect. But we won’t go into enchanting until later, when you’re ready for it.

“Now, imbuing is a simple process. While you’re crafting, I want you to focus on your mana, as I’ve showed you, letting it circulate through you. And then, as you’re forming your piece, I want you to focus on letting a portion of that mana flow through your hands, or your breath, if you’re blowing glass, into the piece.

“You’re going to fail, the first few times. Either your intent or flow will be too weak, or you’ll try too hard, and end up overloading the piece, or you’ll miss the pacing, and not have enough mana to finish the imbuing. Too weak an imbuement or running out of mana and the worst that can happen is that you ruin a piece, but overloading it can be explosive. None of you are strong enough for an overload to be a real danger to anyone other than yourself, thankfully, but since I’d rather none of you died, you’ll all be wearing protective gear.”

Again, more nods, as people accepted that this was a reasonable precaution. And none of them were offended when I told them that they were going to fail the first few times. Every one of them had been a novice once, after all.

“So, I’ve brought in some basic materials for each of you to work with, and I’d like you to start crafting something, and try to imbue it. I’d recommend something simple, like a bracelet or dagger, so you can give more focus to the imbuement process. I speak from experience that it is not easy to get the hang of at first.”

I grinned at them. “I would offer to show you the process, but this is like when I taught you to fill your mana pools. A description only goes so far, and without a special talent to see the flows of mana, you have to rely on feel. So, don’t worry about screwing up, these first few times. But, as an incentive, the first piece each of you manages to successfully imbue, I will enchant for you.”

That was a nice little carrot on the end of the stick for each of them, so I waved my hand to let them get to work. I wasn’t going to be idle, of course. That was no way to run a studio, after all. No, I was going to start on the first commission we’d gotten.

Customer: Melissa Roberts (Agent)

Customer Details: Ms. Roberts is representing the British royal family as an agent. Intended recipient is the current monarch.

Request: Protective talisman or charm.

Additional Requirements: The royal family is always concerned with security. They are looking for a defensive item, which can be worn either openly or discretely, with a variety of outfits of differing formality. At minimum, the item needs to protect from gunshots, other projectiles, and explosives.

I looked over the information that Miyano, the office manager, had taken down. It was a simple enough request. Oh, there was other information, including the budget, and other such things, but that didn’t matter for my crafting, at the moment.

The current monarch was the King, but he had only daughters. I could just go with something masculine, and then sell another item when the kids grew up, but I wanted to do something that would work equally well, for both men and women. This wasn’t just because it could be used more, but because it would enhance the challenge. Something that could be worn by both men and women, in various levels of formal (and not-so-formal) wear, was not easy.

Even just designing it to be worn under clothes wasn’t a solution, since formal gowns for women often had varying degrees of cleavage and back shown, depending on the style of the time, and just how formal the situation called for. So, it needed to blend in, regardless of the outfit worn.

Or did it? There were items that could disguise themselves, using a glamour to make themselves invisible, or changing to match the item they were worn with. Sure, the items associated with them were usually related to spies and espionage, but they existed, which made this easier. I could have a single item, that the user could change the image of to suit their needs.

With that in mind, the next question was what kind of item it would be. A hat or headband of some kind would be out of the question. Sure, it could be made to shift to fit different hairstyles, but there were plenty of times when formal wear would not work with something in the hair.

I was leaning towards an amulet or necklace. They could be made easily enough, and they fit a wide array of outfits, for both men and women, especially if you could change them according to the wearer’s tastes. And even for the situations where they couldn’t be worn openly, if it was flat enough, it could rest under the wearer’s shirt, and still be fine.

Yes, an amulet would do nicely. Now, I just had to make it.