The Liberomancer [Isekai Progression LitRPG]

It was a bit sad to see the Elephant Frog vanish when the six hours were up, after which I could only summon it again in eighteen hours. From what I had heard, it was unclear whether or not summoning spells summoned the same exact summon whenever they were used. It didn't seem like summons retained memories of their prior summonings, but this was a bit hard to test given the fact that they shared knowledge with their summoners.

Having it around was almost like having Cheddar - almost, I guess. It was a way of having a pet for a while that I didn't need to get attached to or worry about leaving behind when I got back home.

The Spirit Festival took place over the next two days, with there being a large bonfire lit on the first day. Much of the day was spent in gathering the large bundles of hay and other materials for the same - several bonfires were lit throughout the village, though the biggest was in front of Suki Tang's house.

As night came and the bonfires were lit, stories were swapped, mainly for the children's sake, on what the Spirit Festival was even about.

Long ago, back when humanity was still hiding away in caves or trembling under the paws of stronger creatures, fighting for survival everyday, spirits roamed the land freely.

Upon the foot of a certain mountain, the spirits would mingle, swapping stories and the like.

The spirits were magic incarnate, a form of magic that humans, even today, could not completely understand. They were timeless creatures, beings without end, and so, needless to say they got bored with their near-endless lives. They would while their time away passing stories among each other, and for some reason despite their near limitless lifespans this never got old. They would end up retreading the same stories over and over again and forgetting some of the others, and this seemed to entertain them well enough.

Until one day, the Spirit of Light spotted someone.

"Over there - behind the bushes, someone's watching us," the Spirit of Light said.

The Spirit of Earth immediately went to check, and there was a startled yell as something came out of bushes.

"Who is that?" the Spirit of Air said.

"It's a human," the Spirit of Darkness intoned. "Very small though - likely a pup. And I think this one is female."

"What were you doing in the bushes?" the Spirit of Light asked.

"I… I just liked listening to your stories," the girl said.

"What is that in your hands?" the Spirit of Light asked.

"It looks like animal skin," the Spirit of Fire said. "But what are those dark markings upon it?"

"It's… paper," the girl said. "And I was writing down the stories you told me."

"What is writing?" the Spirit of Light asked.

"It's… so you don't forget things," the girl said. She went to speak further, but then her stomach growled.

"What's that noise?" the Spirit of Air asked. The spirits were all crowded around this oddity, the girl, and couldn't help but rapidly ask questions one after the other. They had seen humans before, of course, but rarely interacted with them.

"I'm hungry… I got lost and wandered around for a few days… I don't know where I am…" the girl said.

"Don't worry," the Spirit of the Earth said. "Behind those trees over there are berries which you can eat."

"But we wanted to know one thing first," the Spirit of Light said. "What did you 'write' on that paper?"

The girl first went to have something to eat, and after she returned, she described what had been written down. It was the story they had been telling each other before she had interrupted.

"If we have this thing called writing," the Spirit of Air said. "We can always know what stories we told, even if we forget them. Will you write them down for us, child?"

"Yes," the girl said.

"In such a case, we will leave for now," the Spirit of Fire said.

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"Wait!" the girl cried out in protest. "There are many monsters here, how can I deal with them? They won't come near you spirits, but once you leave, they'll definitely attack!"

The spirits deliberated for some time. They did not want to leave the girl alone - but there was also little they could do. They did not wish to be bound in one place for eternity. By nature they were as free as any living creature could be and greatly valued that freedom.

The Spirit of Water needed to be free to roam the rivers and lakes.

The Spirit of Earth would wander wheresoever there was soil.

The Spirit of Air was the most reluctant to be tied to one place, as it was in its nature to be as free as the roaring wind itself.

The Spirit of Light existed wherever the sun shone.

The Spirit of Fire existed wherever flames were fanned.

As for the Spirit of Darkness…

The Spirit of Darkness decided to give the girl an offer. "Child, all you need to do is give me your heart. I reside in the hearts of men, but I cannot completely take residence in them unless they let me in willingly. If you completely give up your heart unto me, I can stay with you always, and I will lend you my strength and protect you."

The young girl did not trust the Spirit of Darkness, and shook her head. "No, can you spirits lend me your magic instead?"

"Magic is for the spirits and magical beasts, not for humans," the Spirit of Darkness said. Although the Darkness outright rejected the girl's offer, the others were more considerate.

"What will you give us in exchange for magic?" the Spirit of Earth asked.

"My writing!" she replied.

"So be it," the Spirit of Light said, approaching the girl. "Know that as you write, may your words bring forth true power."

And so, with the spirit's help, the melding of words that described the world, and natural untamed magic came together much like blue and yellow combining to make green to create the world's first grimoire.

The other spirits followed suit, granting their powers to the girl. Save for one.

The Spirit of Darkness was the only one who had not agreed with the others to lend this young girl his power. "Child, until you give me your entire heart willingly, I will not lend you my strength."

But, the girl found that the strength of the other spirits was more than enough. She began to write more and more, and with their help, she hunted animals thrice her size. With their help, she was able to escape any predators that tailed her. With their help, she was able to survive even in the harsh environments of the world at the time.

She never forgot her deal with the spirits however, and whenever she saw a roaring bonfire in the distance, she knew it was a signal from the spirits, calling for her to repay their favor to them.

The young girl eventually came to be called Serragnin.

And so the story ended.

I had to say that even with a story that short and with my limited knowledge of the world, I could still find several issues with the narrative and was able to spot several plot holes.

I had heard two forms of stories regarding Serragnin's origins - one in which she was always this divine being who came down from the heavens when humanity was in need of her aid; and another in which she had started out as a human girl, invented Liberomancy, and then gained her divine powers.

People swapped stories about her all the time, and you could sometimes see these two different origin stories in the exact same epic and people pretended as if there was no contradiction lying there whatsoever.

My sights turned to the bonfire - this was clearly some sort of tribute to the spirits. I had never seen a spirit for myself, and they were so rare that a good portion of people I had talked to believed that they didn't actually exist outside of stories anymore. But they were said to be able to manipulate magic directly without the need for grimoires, much as many magical beasts had magical properties of their own.

Humans and most other intelligent races, of course, did not have this luxury. All they had were thirty spell slots for each Rank, nothing more.

No spirits came to visit us that night, though the bonfire burned until dawn.

As the embers slowly died out as the sun began its ascent, the voices and the festivities brought back memories of a different time.

It was nighttime, but it wasn't the Spirit Festival.

It was the Fourth of July.

Cheddar always wanted to tag along with us, even though the fireworks frightened him. However, that time, we hadn't been able to go anywhere.

This was because, during middle school, I had shattered my right ankle while I had been a bit too ambitious while hiking, and was stuck at home.

I remembered being completely miserable during that time, as I couldn't go to the park where we would usually go to see the fireworks. Instead, I had to make do with watching them from my bedroom window.

It wasn't just that I was miserable at the time, it was that I now realized just how much I had also been completely miserable to be around, taking out my frustration on everyone else.

And yet, they had all been so patient with me. Cheddar was just happy to be around me, whether we went to the park or not. My father was making barbeque out in the backyard along with my mother, and they were doing everything to make me as comfortable as possible. To try to make me happy despite my broken ankle.

I had been such an ungrateful brat, I realized. I was so angry at the time that I was stuck at home instead of being able to go out with some of my friends that I hadn't appreciated how much my parents had done for me.

I had even treated Cheddar terribly during that time, shooing him away when I found his antics to be too annoying. Cheddar, who had always been there for me! And who probably couldn't even understand why I had been irritated with him in that moment.

I had hated every minute of it at the time, and had been so engrossed in my own disappointment thinking of what had been 'taken' from me at the moment that I had been able to see just how much I still had left. Caring parents, and the best friend a boy could ask for.

During that time, I couldn't wait for it to all be over, counting each day until I could finally walk again.

Now, I would give anything to be back in that moment, I thought, as I wiped away my tears somewhere in the shadows where hopefully no one could see them.