The Liberomancer [Isekai Progression LitRPG]

As I held the piece of paper in my hand, I had to try hard not to laugh. I didn't want Zeke thinking that I was making fun of him but… his idea seemed somewhat preposterous. Like it had come straight out of a children's fairy tale. "So… this is like a treasure map?"

Zeke sighed. "I know, I know, it sounds unlikely, and more likely than not the map leads to something else, like a religious site or a tomb. But, I always dreamed of one day being able to go there, or to lead an expedition to see where this map lead to. Of course, I can't do that." He let out a weary smile. "I deluded myself into thinking I might do so once I retired, but now that I know more of what my father's job entails and what it really means to be governor, I know that I will never get time to do something like that - not unless I abandoned my responsibilities completely. And I cannot do that. But, if you want to go towards that area anyway, and you wish to explore this world for an answer to your worries… I'll give you this, and if you ever come back to Arconia, how about you tell me what it lead to?"

I took a look at the original map. "This isn't in an a language I know…" That was a big hole in my 'the Ruler of the Astral Winds was from Earth theory': the fact that if it were so, people would recognize the language I had written my grimoires in, unless he knew a language other than English. However, I had seen some grimoires from Hansini when the Book Fair had come to town, and none of the writing systems matched anything that I could think I'd seen back on Earth.

Still, even if such wasn't the case, Hansini was one of the biggest hubs of Liberomancy in the entire world - it could be said to be second only to Serragnia.

My first choice of destination was not Serragnia for a number of reasons, chief among them being that it was much further away than Hansini.

"Alright, I can agree to your terms," I said, carefully taking the pieces of paper he offered me. "If I end up finding something cool, maybe I'll send a message through the Liberomancer's Guild to tell you what it is."

The Liberomancer's Guild of every country were independent of each other - but they oftentimes communicated with each other. Maybe not with other guild branches a massive distance away, but definitely to those who were situated next to each other. In that way, like a game of telephone, you could pass on a message through the various institutes, and although it would be slow, it would still be faster than walking back to Arconia unless I somehow found a way to teleport.

With that said - if I actually found a horde of Rank Four and especially Rank Five grimoires, I would do my best to keep my mouth shut about what I had found.

Liberomancers relied on cooperating with each others, yes, but they were also simultaneously competitors. The benefits of cooperation were constantly weighed against the risks that a competitor would later use what you shared with them against you - at Rank One and for a good part at Rank Two cooperation was greatly favored over competition.

It changed drastically at Rank Three given how much more powerful Rank Three grimoires were - and Rank Four grimoires were so closely guarded that you could never find one on the open market.

If a Rank Five grimoire existed, or was rumored to exist in a place, I had no doubt that multiple countries would readily declare war on each other just to seize it. Yes, people were bound by rules and regulations - but that was only until the benefits of breaking those rules and regulations outweighed the negative effects. And a Rank Five grimoire would doubtlessly be such a treasure. If it got out that I had one, there would be many people, most of them Liberomancers, who would not hesitate to kill me to get their hands on such a grimoire.

The Ruler of the Astral Winds had been forced to hide most of his misdeeds or do them secretly when he had been Rank Four - but could do whatever he wanted when he was Rank Five. Why was that? Because Rank Five was just that much stronger than Rank Four, to the point where he was said to be practically invincible! Only a demonic Rank Four grimoire had been able to defeat him, and seeing how much more powerful [Crimson Lance] was then an ordinary Rank One grimoire I could only imagine how powerful that Rank Four demonic spell might've been.

"I thank you for that," Zeke said, now returning to his usual business-minded self. The excitement that initially adorned his face was now gone.

I had felt sorry for Drake, but I couldn't help but also feel a twinge of sympathy for Zeke right now. There were clearly other things he wanted to do in life, but being the elder sibling, he must have been under a lot of pressure to perform, not only for his sake, but also to set an example for his younger brother. And he must have set aside many of his desires, like exploring this area, for that sake.

"When will you leave?" Zeke asked.

"In a few weeks," I told him.

He shook my hand. "I don't know if we'll be able to meet again before you leave, but if we can't - I wish you luck on your journey, Master Liberomancer."

I chuckled. "Am I still entitled to call myself that?"

"Oh, don't worry," Zeke said. "Neither me nor my father have any desire to contest that title of yours. As far as I'm concerned, you made something new - that this world hasn't seen before, and that is good enough to get that title. I finished that grimoire you had made by the way, soon, they might call me the Spider King of Arconia."

I couldn't help but smile - in a way, much like seeing those Elephant Frogs being used during the siege, it was nice to see what kind of lasting legacy I was leaving in this world. Back on Earth, I had been nothing more than average. Here though I was something akin to lower nobility - I had already managed to make somewhat of a difference, even if that change was rather miniscule in the grand scheme of things. I couldn't do much to change society as a whole in the way that I would've liked, but my contributions had likely saved the lives of at least a hundred people in the city.

It felt good to feel important, but not nearly enough to deter me from finding a way home. And as it was, even if I could enact societal change on a far-reaching scale, I knew that I lacked the requisite knowledge and experience to be able to make do so and that I would more likely than not just mess things up. What worked on Earth might very well not work here in Arconia, after all.

"Were you able to make a translation?" I asked him.

Although Charlotte's Web was written in English, it was still possible for Zeke to speak the translation he knew out loud for someone to transcribe or just to try to write it himself.

The problem was that might not necessarily work. Certain things did not translate well between languages, and the more complex the work, the higher the likelihood that the translation might fail to make a successful grimoire. There was even the possibility that it might work but give an entirely different skill or spell because the translation was that far removed from the original.

On top of which, certain things like poems which relied heavily on wordplay were practically impossible to make faithful translations of that would work as grimoires. So were things that involved technical terms from my world - how would one translate things like 'quantum physics' or 'electrons' into a language of this world accurately?

Charlotte's Web was not exactly that complicated, but it was Rank Three, which greatly diminished the chance of that kind of thing working out.

"I haven't tried yet - most people would not even consider it worth attempting," he admitted. "But if I can, we could potentially make other copies for our people to use in the future. Despite the massive cost involved and the extremely low probability of success, it still might be worth it for the potential payoff."

If there was another dryad attack, this grimoire would without a doubt form a great pillar of defense. Not to mention [Summon Tyrant Arachnea] was a useful spell in and of itself even without the combo.

We spoke of some smaller matters before wishing each other luck.

As I exited, I remembered that there was still one last thing I needed to take care of - if I didn't, I couldn't feel like I'd left things unfinished here in Arconia. My conscience just wouldn't rest easy if I did not do so.

"Granny Qi…" I said one day, when I felt like the time was right. Or was the timing really right? She was just having breakfast so I also thought that maybe I should put it off for now…

...when was the time right for something like this though? I was going to be leaving soon, and I also knew that if I kept kicking the can down the road I'd never get it over with - it was best just to peel off the band-aid right now.

"Yes?"

"I uh, have something I'd like to tell you before I leave…" I began.

I had already told three people the truth of where I came from: Lance, Drake, and Zeke. It didn't feel right to not tell Granny Qi as well.

The only thing was that this felt harder than those other three - I had been living under her roof for quite a long time. How was I going to justify why I had hidden so much from her?

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Secrecy had made sense initially, but I had kept things from her for a very long time. There were multiple points of time where I felt it would've been appropriate to come clean to her.

"…it's about where I actually come from. I'm sorry, I wasn't honest with you earlier, but I wanted you to know before I left," I began. She stopped drinking her tea, put her cup down, and folded her hands on the table.

I had her full attention now.

And so I told her about Earth - how it was like and how I'd gotten here. How I was looking for a way back, and that I hadn't found one as of yet. That the reason I was leaving Arconia was to see if I could find a possible way back to Earth. There were some things I had to omit as I wasn't even sure how to properly explain them like details from my world that she likely wouldn't understand such as computers, but I had a long time to ruminate over what to tell her and I felt that it was digestible enough even to someone like her.

Once I was done, I waited, wondering how she was going to react. She had listened while maintaining a flawless poker face throughout, though I felt like her eyes could bore holes into my head given the intensity with which she was looking at me.

"...so that's it," she said and finished the remaining dregs of her tea before going to go wash her cup.

...

What?!

"Um, is that is?" I asked. "I thought you'd have more of a reaction…"

"Oh, I knew you were hiding something for a very long time," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "I'm actually just glad it didn't involve some kind of crime. I had the craziest theories before, though it looks like the truth is stranger than fiction, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" I said. "So... you believe me?" Not even Drake had believed me at first, initially thinking that it was some kind of elaborate joke.

"Of course I do, it makes sense regarding everything that happened, and above all..." she said, "...I trust you."

And that was it - she never felt the need to bring it up again.

With that said, I don't think that she fully realized the whole implication of what I'd just told her. I was rather sure that unlike Lance, she did in fact believe me. But it seemed that she had decided long ago that whatever my reason for being here was; that it didn't matter.

She did, however, acknowledge one thing - that my parents must have been worried sick about me. "If you were my son, I would've been beside myself if you vanished without a trace. And for you, to be stranded so far away from them in a foreign land..."

Her eyes would occasionally become misty at those words. "Don't worry," I reassured her, even though I was not too sure of what I said next. "I'll find a way back somehow."

It was a bittersweet feeling - now she finally understood the gravity of my predicament, but at the same time, only when I was about to pack up and leave.

Maybe I should've told her this earlier? My heart certainly would've felt lighter if I'd had gotten it off my chest before this point, though, it was only from hindsight that I could've known that she wouldn't have reacted badly to what I'd told her.

The rest of my days were spent in trying to arrange for supplies which was harder than I'd initially assumed. How much food did I need to take with me? And what about other things like oil and the like? I'd never traveled anywhere that required anything more than a single suitcase before, and I felt like I was overpacking certain things given the fact that I was relatively sure that I could resupply somewhere down the line - and at the same time I was sure that I was definitely missing something essential but would only realize that until it was too late. Like that time I had once left a smartphone back in a hotel after a vacation with my parents and only remembered when our plane was already in the air.

The city began to be less congested as people became more willing to venture out and to see if things could be done to rebuild. Zeke had asked me to go out with a scouting party one day just to see how things were outside the city and what it would take to rebuild. Long story short, my summary was basically 'things are pretty bad and will likely cost a fortune to rebuild' and I was sure that he could already figure that out without my help. Since I was going out to specifically see how the surrounding area was rather than escorting people to Granny Qi's village, the destruction was far more noticeable even though things had to have improved since that time I went out.

At the very least, the stench was improving. With the siege ongoing, the city had begun to smell like a sewer given how overcrowded it was. I hadn't noticed it that much initially as long as I had been in the city as it was a gradual worsening odor, but when I had left for Granny Qi's village and come back the fresh air outside had made the contrast far more apparent when I returned. This time though I could finally smell the tinge of the sea in the air again after coming back.

Maybe Zeke was hoping that journeying out might convince me to stay a while longer, but I just couldn't. The people here needed help, yes, but there was a limit to how much I could try and stop by to assist other people on my journey. There would without a doubt come a time when I would stumble upon a problem that might take forever to solve, and I would just have to move on if I wanted to get back home. As cruel as it might sound, I would likely just have to say 'not my monkeys, not my circus' at that point.

The day of reckoning soon arrived - the day when I was set to leave Arconia.

Out of one last moment of desperation, I made my way to the same place where I had spawned in this city, as if saying: "Hey - I'm leaving the city for good, so if you want to show me a path back home, you better do so right now!"

But nothing happened, and so, I could only go through with my decision to leave.

My plan was this - I would first make my way to the capital, get some things done there like buying grimoires and the like as well as meeting the king, after which I would make my way to the University of Hitutsa.

There, I would try to find more information if I could about anyone who may have come from Earth, as well as getting a grimoire that would help me fly.

Afterwards, my plan was to eventually make my way to Hansini. There were actually two large merchant caravans that passed through Hitutsa - my best bet would be to hitch a ride with one of them. I might even end up possibly coming back to Arconia then in a few months if I caught one which was moving down back south here.

At Hansini, I wanted to explore more grimoires, and I guess that now I would also try to see if I could find that treasure which Zeke had wanted to find.

There might even be some clues hinting that the Ruler of the Astral Winds was from Earth and possibly a way to go back if he had made any progress on doing so.

If Hansini turned out to be another dead end, that would then leave Serragnia as the other most likely place that might have answers.

And if even that had nothing…

I shook my head. No, I couldn't let myself wallow in despair - I had found myself in this world somehow, hadn't I? Logically there must be a way back as well!

Two people accompanied me right up to the gates of the city to send me off as I was leaving.

One of them was Drake and the other was Granny Qi.

"Good luck, brother," Drake said, shaking my hand. "I would have loved to come with you actually - it sounds very exciting, what you're doing." I would've liked that - I was leaving everything and everyone I knew in this world behind, and the knowledge that Drake was watching my back during my travels would've been quite reassuring. "But, I have my duties here."

"I know," I said. "Tell your brother that I haven't forgotten the little present he gave me - I'll see if I can find something."

"Oh? What present? You mean that map - ah, I didn't know he was serious about that," Drake said. "But yes, if you find some buried treasure, do let us know! And one day, once you come back, we'll go and drink the night away - the three of us!"

"I look forward to it!"

I then turned to Granny Qi.

Tears were gently streaming down her face - the only other time I had seen her cry was when she had been reminiscing about her husband near that waterfall that flowed backwards. "Thank you for everything - if I, if I find a way back home, and I know it's a reliable one and will stay open long enough, I'll come back to visit you one last time before leaving."

Even while I said that, I couldn't help but feel bad as I didn't really believe that would be a possibility. I think she knew that as well, but didn't call me out on it.

If I found a way back home - it would likely be a temporary gate like the one that I brought me here, and even if it wasn't, how could I be sure it would stay open long enough for me to make the journey back to Arconia and then go back to the portal in question? In nearly every single situation that I could think of, I'd have to take the opportunity to go back without hesitation. "And if I can't come back - rest assured that I made my way back home," I told her. It was better she think that than assume I'd ended up as worm chow on the side of a road if I never saw her again.

"Do you have enough for the journey?" she asked, wiping away her tears. "Food, water, medicine, anything that you're forgetting…?"

"I think I have everything," I said, while hugging her in a tearful embrace.

"Oh right, on that note," Drake said, interrupting us. "You do have the paperwork explaining where you got the demonic grimoire from, right? You don't want any other incidents in the capital…"

"Yeah, it's all here," I said to him. I took a deep breath. "Both of you, thank you, and hey - we all just might meet again."

"I look forward to it!" Drake said. Granny Qi didn't say anything, but nodded as a gentle smile blossomed on her face.

It was odd - I had a lot of bad memories of this city. I had arrived here with nothing and had been homeless for quite a while as I lived on the streets before finding Granny Qi, I had been fired from my job unjustifiably after working what would be considered abnormally long hours on Earth at said job, and to top it all off also had to fight in a siege and nearly died during the fighting.

And yet, I couldn't help but feel something trying to keep me from leaving. As if my boots were suddenly filled with lead and that each step away from the city took a herculean effort.

There were lots of negative things about Arconia, yes, but in that moment, it was like they had all vanished as swiftly as the morning dew.

Granny Qi, getting to see her village, that unique waterfall, my coworkers back at Lauren's shop, the Book Fair… I couldn't say that everything that had happened to me in Arconia had been a negative experience, now then could I? And while the city had been extremely cold to me initially, it now felt so warm and inviting.

Without a doubt, I'd miss it.

But then again, it wasn't like this was necessarily goodbye forever, was it?

And ultimately I couldn't stay here forever - I was sure that there was an answer to how I could go back home - and if by chance someone from Earth did happen to show up in Arconia looking for me, Drake and Zeke would try to send a message to me.

Given how much time had passed though, that seemed highly unlikely. If that gate back home was going to open up again, I'd assumed it would've done so by now.

The only real thing that I felt was left as unfinished business in Arconia was the issue of that girl - that girl during the Book Fair who had looked like she recognized the language I wrote in before buying two of my grimoires before vanishing.

But, she had most likely left with the merchant caravan, and so there was practically no hope of finding her now. Maybe I'd see her if I joined the merchant caravan that would be headed back to Arconia once I got to Hitutsa?

Even if that wasn't the case, I figured that if she really did recognize what I'd written, she must've learned the language from somewhere. She looked like she came from far away, and so, so long as I traveled far enough I would eventually stumble upon where she'd learnt it from. And there, I might find what I was looking for.

I turned around to give Granny Qi and Drake one last wave before the guards closed the gates to the city, blocking the two of them from my view.

"Don't bother looking back, brother - if your destiny lies outside the city, you'll find it!" Drake said.

"Take care..." Granny Qi said softly.

And so, it was not without a heavy heart, but I did indeed take the first steps on my new journey as I turned around.

Despite what Drake said, however, I couldn't help but look back one more time.