All in Charisma (A LitRPG/Isekai Adventure)

As Justin began his tale, the firelight cast a golden hue over their faces in their corner of the Moonlit Alehouse. The laughter and chatter around them seemed distant, drowned by the weight of the revelations and confessions he knew would soon pass his lips.

He began hesitantly. "I'm not...from here, I guess you could say."

"Not from Aranthia, you mean?" Lila said. "Yeah, we figured. So what? I'm from Daeloria myself, all the way past the Umber Range."

"You don't understand. I'm from another world entirely. Not from Eyrth."

Both of them frowned at him, confused. Eldrin broke the silence. "What do you mean, lad? There are other worlds, of course. Some say they host life; some don't. But I don't think that's what you mean."

"I'm from an alternate universe. I'm not sure if that concept exists here. A world without magic, classes, and levels. A world that's completely mundane."

He saw he was just confusing them more. As he suspected, this was all they knew. An entirely alternate universe where magic and levels were baked into the quantum fabric of reality. Justin didn't know how else to explain it to them.

"What's your world called?" Lila asked.

"Earth."

"That sounds quite similar to our world," Eldrin observed. "A coincidence?"

"I think this world is a part of mine," Justin said. "A smaller part. Except there is no escape. Then again, I could be wrong about that."

"No escape?" Eldrin said, laughing nervously. "You make this world seem like a prison!"

Justin realized that it could be the truth of things, at least from his reckoning, but didn't say as much.

"All I know is I was in my mom's basement, playing video games, and then a tornado came out of nowhere and swept me up. It threw me somewhere over the metaphorical rainbow, and somehow, I found myself here, right in front of that Prismatic Core."

Several heads at a nearby table turned at that. Eldrin looked in their direction, giving a winning smile. "He's drunk."

Justin realized he had been far too loud. "Sorry. Sometimes, I forget where I am."

"That's all right, lad. Listen. I'm not quite sure what has happened to you. I'm not willing to rule out magical means of memory erasing. It's been known to happen. There are certain rare potions that will do it."

"No, that's not right," Justin said. "If that's the case, how can I know anything about this other world? I mean, I'm talking about things that are so detailed that I couldn't possibly make them up."

"Things like what?" Lila asked.

"Where to even start with that? Over four billion years of history on our planet alone, of which humans have only been around for a small part. Countless empires have risen and fallen. Triumphs and tragedies. Mozart, Beethoven. Hell, Michael Jackson, Rihanna, and Bieber! Not to mention all the rest!" He looked at them helplessly. "Radiohead?"

"Who is this...Bieber?" Lila asked. "He seems a mighty lord of great renown."

"Oh, you wouldn't believe it! He's a proper bard, all right. Though this world is different, everything is recognizable as something that can be found in my world. It's like...someone from my world designed this place. I just don't know how I got swept up in it. I'm thinking that maybe I died and got sent here, or maybe all tornadoes have portals. Who can say? Maybe L. Frank Baum was onto something."

"Or maybe on something," Eldrin said with a smirk. "Whoever he is."

Both of them were looking at him as if he were crazy. Justin knew this had been a mistake. "Just forget it."

"I'll humor you," Eldrin said. "What was your class in your world?"

"There are no classes," Justin said again. It seemed hard for them to accept that fact. "I guess you could say I was a NEET."

"A NEET?" Eldrin asked. "Strange name for a class."

Justin shook his head. "It's not a class. It's short for not in education, employment, or training. Back in my old world, I didn't exactly have an...admirable life." He glanced up, assessing their expressions before he continued. "A NEET is someone who has just...given up. They do nothing and add nothing of value to society. That's what I did. I just sat in the basement of my mother's house. Sometimes, I wouldn't go outside for weeks. My only social interaction came from other members of my guild."

"Being part of a guild is good," Eldrin said approvingly. "It's important to forge connections with others to get ahead."

Justin frowned as he realized he and Eldrin were talking about two different things. "Maybe."

"I don't see how you can just do nothing," Lila asked, alarmed. "Were you sick, maybe? Did you not have to hunt? Or sell things to survive?"

"Well, to say I did absolutely nothing is a lie. I spent most of my time playing video games."

"What are these 'video games' you speak of?" Eldrin asked, somewhat stumbling over the unfamiliar term. "Like dice or cards?"

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"I don't know how to describe it. It's like a virtual world, I suppose. I spent all my time there because the real one seemed to have nothing for me."

Lila's eyes softened, a sympathetic smile gracing her face, even if it was clear she didn't understand the meaning of his words. "Justin, everyone has a past. It doesn't dictate who you are now."

He shrugged. "But it feels like it does sometimes. I was...a loser, Lila. I had no real friends. I was always made fun of, to where if someone actually was nice to me, I thought it was a trick. I have some stories there, but it would just depress me to tell them."

Eldrin leaned forward. "And these...video games, as you call them...became something of a refuge for you, given the misery of your life?"

That was a rather blunt way to put it. "Yes, exactly. I could be someone there, someone important, someone who mattered. But when the screen turned off, there was nothing. Just my face staring back at me from the black screen. And a silence so deep that it echoed inside my soul."

Lila reached across the table, her hand finding Justin's. "That sounds lonely, Justin. A kind of loneliness that shouldn't exist."

Justin's face twisted. The raw honesty of Lila's words struck deep. "It was."

It took everything he had not to cry. He couldn't let himself do that.

Eldrin's voice took on a nurturing tone, one that seemed to bring warmth and light to the cold corners of Justin's memories. "You said you lived with your mother. Did she not notice? Help you find another path?"

A bitter laugh escaped Justin. "I think she gave up on me. I could never meet her expectations. I mean, I don't blame her. Connor was always the golden child."

"Connor?" Lila asked. "Who is that?"

"My older brother. He was everything she wanted. Perfect. As long as she had him, she could stand me. And for my part, I loved him, too. He was the only one who seemed to see the real me. We would game together sometimes." Justin lowered his face. "But he died in a car accident when I was eighteen."

"A car accident?"

"A vehicle that moves fast in my world," Justin explained. "After that, my failures just reminded her of what she lost. Many times, I've had the sense that she wished it had been me."

There was a long, dark silence. Justin couldn't believe he had said so much. And he couldn't believe that they had the patience to listen to him.

"Whatever your past," Eldrin said, "you're one of us, Justin. Though we've only known each other for a few days, we have the bond of adventurers, no matter where our travels take us. When one member of the pack falls behind, it's for the others to make sure he can keep up."

"That's...not something I've ever experienced. I guess...I guess I never really had the chance to be anything else. Long story short, I've always been different, and maybe my parents didn't know what to do with that. They didn't guide me, didn't show me how to live in the real world. My dad passed away when I was ten. My mom...well, let's just say the light went out of her life not once, but twice. I don't blame her for what she was like."

"Well, no one knows everything," Eldrin said. "Every one of us is figuring this life thing out. By the Nether, you think I have it figured out? I've got my own demons. Like Lila, I'm running too."

"From what?" Justin asked, curious.

Eldrin shook his head. "I'd rather not talk about that. But fair's fair, though, right? I can tell you something about it, at least. Enough to give you an idea."

Justin and Lila waited quietly for Eldrin to continue.

"Like I've already hinted, I wasn't always a Ranger. I come from a...different life. One with responsibilities I didn't ask for and wasn't ready to bear. My family—they had expectations. Expectations I failed to meet."

"What kind of expectations?" Justin asked, but Eldrin shook his head.

"It doesn't matter now," he said. "I thought I could escape them, carve out a life of my own, free of obligations. For a while, I did. But the gods...they have a way of reminding you that freedom often comes at a cost."

Lila frowned. "What happened?"

Eldrin hesitated. "There was...a time when people depended on me. When I should have stayed, fought for them. But I didn't. I ran. I thought I could start over, leave it all behind. But no matter how far you run, some ghosts refuse to let go."

Justin's brow furrowed. "You mean you left them to—"

"I mean I failed," Eldrin cut in sharply, his eyes snapping to Justin's. "And that failure haunts me every day."

The words hung heavy in the air. Lila opened her mouth to speak but seemed to think better of it. Instead, she studied Eldrin.

"Maybe you didn't fail," she said gently. "Maybe you just...weren't ready. We can only carry what we're strong enough to bear."

Eldrin snorted, a bitter sound. "You make it sound so simple. But it's not."

They sat in silence for a moment. The crackling of the fire was the only sound between them.

"What would you do now?" Justin asked. "If you had the chance to...I don't know, fix it?"

Eldrin stared into the flames. "I don't know. Sometimes I think it's too late. This was years ago. That the damage is done, and all I can do is live with it. Other times..." He shook his head. "Other times, I think maybe there's still a way. A way to make things right. But that would mean facing everything I ran from. And I'm not sure I have the strength for that."

Justin nodded slowly, sensing that Eldrin had said all he was willing to say.

Lila's voice was soft but firm. "You're stronger than you think, Eldrin. Sometimes, the hardest part isn't facing others. It's forgiving yourself."

Eldrin's lips twitched into a faint, humorless smile. "Wise words, Lila. We'll see if they hold true."

Eldrin's story wasn't finished; Justin was sure of that. Whether he elected to say more remained to be seen.

Eventually, the weight of the night's revelations settled upon them, a gentle reminder that the world still spun, and time never stopped to mourn the lost years. Eldrin stood up, stretching his muscles.

"Let's break our fast tomorrow," he said. "With the sun, our spirits will be enlivened. There is always another day, right?"

It sounded somewhat hollow, but then again, Justin figured that maybe that was life. Sometimes, you couldn't escape the consequences of bad decisions, and just had to lie to yourself to keep going. He felt that in his core.

They parted ways, and Justin and Lila headed to their room. As they walked, Justin could feel nothing but a distinct lack of belief that this was real, that when he went to bed, he would wake up back in his old life.

It hadn't happened yet, but perhaps someday it would.

It had to, right?

Inside the room, the subdued light from a single lantern flickered. That lantern illuminated the bath Lila had ordered, a detail that Justin had completely forgotten about. It was still warm, its curling steam inviting.

Given the somber end to the evening, whatever mood there had been between him and Lila—that was, if he hadn't been misinterpreting things—had been completely killed.

But she surprised him by touching his arm. "You okay? That was some heavy stuff."

"It was," Justin agreed. "I hope Eldrin's okay. He seems so friendly. It's hard to believe he's ever done anything that bad."

Lila gave a sad smile. "Those who wear the brightest smiles often carry the heaviest sorrows."

Justin paused, considering her words. "That's...pretty profound. And kind of depressing."

"I'm a Bard. What do you expect?"

But before anything more could be said, there was a bump at the window. Justin was wondering if he had imagined the disturbance when another bump, more insistent, hit the windowpane again.

Lila went over, peering down. "Someone's down there."

Justin joined her, peering into the darkness of the alley below.

With a start, he realized he recognized the person down there.

And from the stern expression on that someone's face, something was terribly wrong.