[Create Flame] was next to useless in a fight, however, you wouldn’t have thought that from his reaction.

The man let go of me immediately - and his demeanor had gone from one of cocky self-assurance to outright fear and horror faster than a traffic light would change colors.

His friends at the table were no longer cheering; but their faces mirrored his now-terrified expression.

“I uh,” the man began, gulping. Even in his partially inebriated state, he seemed to have realized he had picked a fight with the wrong person. “Ah, sorry, so sorry for my behavior sir, here - as an apology-” he grabbed the denarius I had put on his table and handed it back to me. He then lowered his head. “So sorry sir, I didn’t know you were a Liberomancer. I mean, why would one as esteemed as yourself come to such a place? I uh, if you would be so kind-”

“It’s nothing,” I told him. “Water under the bridge.” He relaxed somewhat and went back to drinking with his friends as I hastily made my way out before I could get into anymore trouble.

That was a close one! If I had still been my homeless self when I had first arrived in this world I would’ve ended up getting a beating for sure!

But, those men were not Liberomancers.

And if you were not one, why would you pick a fight with a Liberomancer? Why antagonize someone who could potentially turn you inside-out with just a thought?

Back in America, if you picked a fight with someone, you didn’t know whether they were packing heat or not. Here, if you didn’t know how strong someone else was, who could say whether or not you might end up on the receiving end of [Nine Heaven’s Tribulation’s Five Elemental Emperor’s Divine Ultimate Lance of One Billion Strikes]? Even the mere implication that someone could do something like that was enough to stop most people in their tracks.

True, the bar I was in was rather low-quality, but I had chosen it specifically so I wouldn’t have to waste too much of my hard-earned coin, and hoping that I could hear a story I wouldn’t have been able to elsewhere. I didn’t realize it was that run-down, however, as that man seemed to imply to the point that no one of means would ever go in there.

Of course, if things had come to blows, I would not have really been able to do anything. Perhaps [Shock Stun] would do something, but most Rank One spells were more of ‘utility’ spells than anything else. It was only starting at Rank Two that anything that could actually be somewhat useful in combat would be available.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Still, I guess they probably assumed that even if I wasn’t that powerful, that I would likely have strong Liberomancer allies who would avenge me if anything happened to me. I didn’t think anyone at Lauren’s shop would’ve bothered to hunt those people down for my sake, and it wasn’t like I was affiliated with any human Liberomancy organizations, but I could see how someone might reasonably assume so.

This world was mainly built upon Liberomancy, and as such, Liberomancers stood at the top of the social and economic pyramid wherever they were.

Laws favored Liberomancers, but at the same time, it wasn’t like Liberomancers could do whatever they wanted. For one, the real Liberomancer favoritism only started at Rank Three, so for a simple Rank One such as myself, I wouldn’t be getting much preferential treatment. Secondly, a Liberomancer actively oppressing non-Liberomancers would be seen as ‘punching down.’

The legal system wouldn’t even need to be involved to punish such people- they would be ostracized by the majority of the Liberomancer community if their behavior was seen as objectionable enough. And societal isolation was a death sentence to a Liberomancer’s career - you could only go so far on your own. If people refused to buy your grimoires, and also refused to sell you any, good luck on ever advancing.

Of course, for the more egregious offenses, the courts would step in, societal pressure notwithstanding. But for something as small as knocking over someone’s drink, it would not escalate further. Even if it did, I had offered to repay the man for it, he had been the one who had refused and said all was well, so I was fairly confident nothing would come of it.

Still, I made a note to never return to that bar ever again. I had no problem going into slightly seedier places, as not only were they cheap, but you could hear stories you might not hear elsewhere. But if it came at the risk of finding someone thinking that the space between my shoulder blades would make a nice scabbard, it was best to avoid them.

Just like back on Earth, most of Arconia was safe so long as you stayed out of certain areas. I was usually good at figuring out what those were, even if I had never been in the city before and no one had told me what they were. But, just like one of the tourists back home who might’ve taken the wrong turn, I could be wrong at times, like just now. I was just glad it didn’t have any serious repercussions.

I suppose the only good thing that came out of the following weeks was that I got better at cooking.

“This is the best fish stew I’ve ever had,” Granny Qi told me one evening. I took a sip myself - I couldn’t say that she was wrong.

Skills and spells also took practice to use them - and I was practicing using the [Poissonnier] skill in a way quite often, and so I was able to bring out its effects to the maximum.

It was good to know that I had a backup career as a chef lined up in case this whole Liberomancy thing failed. And who knows - if I made my way back home, and I could still use my powers there, I could even impress my parents. As for Cheddar, he used to love whatever I made regardless.

I didn’t even need to make anything - he would’ve been so happy just to see me back home again.