The OP Lich is a Returnee, Book 5 Prologue

Oh yes, it is time for some more trade chat.

Prologue – Trade Chat

(Magical World Disharmony Server, General Chat)

UsualSuspect, manoutoftime, muon, MewTwo, Avariel, Chummer, Golddigger, CrazyCelt, Blaze, DoYouEvenLyft?, MarcoPolo, MightMakesRight, MacD, Inquisitor, OrangeQueen, Lizard, RedFox, SemiSolidSnake, BabyShark, Not_the_Face!, Scholar, Salty, Anonymous3, Anonymous4, Anonymous7, Anonymous9, TheLichQueen, WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot, DigDug, Backlog, DarkAvariel, Knocker, GrimDark, BloodForTheBloodGod, BackDat@55Up and DarkAngel are in the chat.

muon: Anyways, that’s when the noodles came, and I had to leave.

MewTwo: Thank you for that pointless tale. For something less stupid, I just got my Shield Bracelet from Phantomline!

RedFox: How in the hell did you manage that? The backlog is supposed to be months long!

MewTwo: I work with the Seattle PD’s MCU. We managed to get a few of them for testing purposes.

MacD: Well, spill! How are they?

MewTwo: Interesting. As others have said, you need more initial punch to make the shield, but it is easier to handle the strain, and will stay up as long as you keep putting mana into it, as opposed to you needing to refresh a shield spell from a CAD.

BabyShark: Does that refresh really matter?

MewTwo: If you’re in the middle of a fight, it can. Lots of distractions in a fight. Easy to forget how much time you have on a shield spell, and if you get a spray of bullets or spells just as you’re about to refresh, you might screw it up on accident, which can be bad.

Grimdark: Indeed. A moment’s distraction can be the difference between life and death.

MewTwo: Interestingly enough, the Shield Bracelets aren’t ‘locked’, like a CAD is. You have to adjust a CAD to fit the individual user, right? Well, the bracelets aren’t like that. I could use it, then toss it to my buddy going on shift, and he’d be able to use it just fine.

MacD: What? But how?

TheLichQueen: Because foci are, by their nature, able to be used by anyone with the appropriate magical talent. Some may be locked behind a certain level of mastery in order to use them, because of the complexity of their enchantments, but anyone who has that level of skill would be able to use it.

BabyShark: So, anyone could use that amulet you made for the King of England?

TheLichQueen: Of course not. I specifically made that one to be bound to certain individuals, a common addon for high-level enchantments that could be dangerous in the wrong hands.

Not_the_Face!: Hey, LQ! I saw the video of those lectures you did. Why didn’t you go into any details? They were all like overviews, instead of actual instructions.

TheLichQueen: You expected me to boil forty years of magical learning into five hour-long lectures, and provide detailed explanation and methodologies? Really?

Not_the_Face!: Well, um…

TheLichQueen: To answer your question, the reason I didn’t go into details was because the lectures were about concepts, not mechanics. I wanted people to start thinking about concepts outside their world views. Because when they start thinking that way, they’ll apply those concepts to their own ideological framework.

Scholar: So, you want us to take the ideas presented by the magic of the other world, and apply them to Thaumaturgy?

TheLichQueen: Exactly. That will provide far more benefits than me simply teaching Thaumaturges to be Mages.

Blaze: So, are you going to teach people how to be Mages?

TheLichQueen: I am not against the idea. Though any apprentices I took on would need to learn on the ‘night shift’, as it were, since I am devoting the days to training my artisans to make enchantments.

Avariel: Ah, because you’re undead, you don’t need to sleep, right?

TheLichQueen: Exactly. Which is also why I’ve had time to start reading Thaumaturgy textbooks, and doing a few experiments.

Scholar: But why?

TheLichQueen: A couple reasons. The first is pride. In the other world I was recognized as the leading master of magic on the continent, save only for dragons and other immortal beings, in each of the four main paths of magic. The only path I did not walk down was that of the divine. Now that I’ve returned, and things have settled somewhat, I find myself wanting to delve into the divine, as well as master Thaumaturgy, to prove my mastery of all magic.

Blaze: Oh, wow.

TheLichQueen: The second reason is more practical. There are things that Thaumaturges can do that are more difficult with a Mage’s arts. Arcanists, Witches, and Sorcerers have their strengths and weaknesses, and learning multiple arts allows you to both cover weaknesses with strengths, and combine strengths to reach greater heights. If I take the strengths of a Thaumaturge and combine them with the strengths of a Mage, what heights might I reach? And what further heights if I combine those with the powers of a Priest?

Scholar: So, if you took on students, then you’d be teaching them like that?

TheLichQueen: Not students, apprentices.

Knocker: What’s the difference?

TheLichQueen: Students implies a classroom, a school, and that there are many of them to each teacher. An apprentice is typically one or two to each master, and is learning ‘on the job’.

Chummer: I get it. You see that setup still in the trades. My uncle is a master electrician, you see. You lose out on volume, and there’s less standardization than classroom learning, but there’s a general rise in quality, as a rule. Obviously, there are exceptions, and licensing requirements have put some standardization on them, but that’s how it works for the most part.

TheLichQueen: Precisely. I expect any apprentices I take on to devote at least twenty years to learning at my side. Maybe less, if they prove to be particular prodigies, but twenty years is generally the minimum for those not blessed with a Summoned Hero’s enhanced learning ability.

Scholar: Just how much faster do you learn?

TheLichQueen: Let me put it to you this way. In the other world, to reach the heights of magic I did would normally take someone at least eighty years, and I did it in forty. Not only that, but I also learned weapon skills and martial arts, including martial magics, in a variety of forms, mastered several trades as well as enchanting, and waged a war in that same span. There is a reason why the Hero Summoning was used, rather than training an army to match what a Hero could do.

Scholar: And I thought I was taking on a lot going for a double major in Thaumaturgy and Chemistry!

TheLichQueen: Continue your studies, Scholar, and, if you do well enough, I may introduce you to the study of Alchemy, which will intrigue and baffle you in equal measure. If it doesn’t kill you.

Scholar: Excuse me, I need to get back to studying!

Scholar has left the chat.

Blaze: You’re really very scary, you know that?