All in Charisma (A LitRPG/Isekai Adventure)

Upon waking, Justin braced himself for whatever chaos the Jester had in store for him today.

[Good morning, my delightfully unpredictable friend! Jester's Roulette has activated for today!]

[Jester's Gamble activated! You have gained +6 to your Coordination attribute for the day.]

[Random Enchantment: Opposite Day! All weapon effects are now delightfully reversed! Won't this be fun?]

Justin groaned as he read the details. His Cane of the Drake now dealt fire damage instead of ice, and rather than its generous buffs to Charisma and Power, it now imposed harsh penalties: -6 to Charisma and -2 to Power. However, it did gain a 10% chance to incinerate enemies instantly, with no apparent limit.

His Cane of Valoria had transformed entirely as well. Instead of granting him Gentleman's Rebuff, it now offered something called "Ruffian's Whack," which could stun an enemy for three seconds and dealt increased damage.

"Another wasted day," Justin muttered, though he had to admit that the guaranteed stun effect might prove useful if trouble arose.

He switched to the Cane of Valoria, reasoning that the attribute decreases were manageable.

[Oh, you're no fun at all! But don't worry. Tomorrow will bring fresh surprises!]

The Jester's manic laughter echoed in his mind as Justin got dressed, wondering if this cursed cane would ever grant him a genuinely useful enchantment.

After breakfast, he heard the steady clatter of wheels on cobblestone as Master Aliendro's cart rounded the corner into the alley. Justin watched from the front window as the elderly Enchanter directed his apprentice in unloading what appeared to be a more complex piece of equipment than he had anticipated.

The aether distillery was roughly the size of a large barrel, constructed from polished brass and dark wood, with an intricate network of glass tubes, gauges, and crystalline chambers that caught the morning light. Despite being ten years old, it had clearly been well maintained.

"Impressive piece of equipment," Alistair observed, joining Justin at the window.

"Let's hope it works as well as it looks," Justin replied.

Justin noted the Master Enchanter, Level 26, someone who had clearly practiced for decades. Aliendro was a methodical man in his sixties. His apprentice, a nervous young woman in her late twenties, handled the equipment with evident reverence.

After proper introductions, they began the installation process. Master Aliendro stood next to Justin and Rinna as they supervised.

"The key to proper distillation," Aliendro explained as they maneuvered the device into the workshop, "is maintaining consistent temperature and pressure throughout the process. This model may be older, but it's built to last. The brass conducts heat evenly, and these crystal chambers"—he tapped a series of hexagonal containers—"filter impurities from the raw aether. Just make sure to vent them properly. In the deep places of the world, all sorts of nasty things can attach to the crystal formations, but they dissipate quickly once they are in the air."

The installation took nearly two hours. Aliendro connected the distillery to the workshop's ventilation system, calibrated the pressure gauges, and ran several test cycles using small fragments of common quartz to ensure everything functioned properly.

"She's ready," he announced finally, wiping his hands on a leather cloth. "Remember, never exceed the maximum temperature marking on this gauge, and always allow at least ten minutes between distillation cycles. Push too hard, and you'll damage the crystalline matrices."

Justin counted out fifteen gold crowns, grateful for the thorough setup. "We appreciate the professional installation."

"Think nothing of it. A distillery is only as good as its operator, and proper setup prevents most common problems." Aliendro gathered his tools. "If you encounter any difficulties in the first week, send word, and I'll return to troubleshoot."

After the Enchanters departed, Justin turned to Lila. "Ready to see what we can produce with our crystal supply?"

"I've been looking forward to this," she replied, reaching into her pack.

They pulled out their carefully hoarded collection of aether crystals—twelve in total, accumulated during their various adventures. The quality varied considerably: three were flawless specimens that practically hummed with contained energy, while others displayed minor inclusions or surface imperfections that would affect their purity.

Rinna watched wide-eyed as they laid the crystals on the stone worktable next to the distillery.

"Where did you get these?" she asked, her amazement evident as she examined the collection. "These are incredible! The clarity on this one..." She held up one of the flawless specimens, watching the light refract through its faceted surface. "This is better quality than most Enchanters see in a year!"

Lila glanced at Justin before answering diplomatically. "We've had some interesting adventures since arriving in Belmora. These were... acquired along the way."

"If you can source crystals like these regularly," Rinna continued, her excitement building, "we could create thousands of enchanted items. These pure ones could be used to create platinum-tier gear! Or we could sell them directly and not have to worry about money for a year or more."

Justin felt a familiar pang of frustration. With access to the gate network, he and Lila could easily travel to the Aurora Caverns or other crystal-rich locations and return with enough raw materials to supply their operation indefinitely. But High Priest Kaive had explicitly forbidden the use of the gates except in dire emergencies, and Alistair would be duty-bound to report any violations.

"This is what we have for now," Justin said carefully. "We need to make it count."

Before the conversation could continue, a knock at the back courtyard door announced Ardabel Kilgan's arrival for Lila's first consulting session.

"Perfect timing," Lila said, clearly eager to begin her education.

She went to fetch him, and the gray-bearded Alchemist crossed the threshold into the workshop.

"Mr. Kilgan, welcome back," Justin said.

"The pleasure is mine, Mr. Talemaker." His eyes roamed over the new enchanting setup. "Wonderful! I see you intend to enter the enchanting game as well?"

"In a manner of speaking," Lila replied. "Shall we begin?"

"Of course," Kilgan said. "Let's start with a boring but very important subject: the fundamentals of inventory management..."

As Lila and Kilgan settled into their lesson, Rinna and Ilsa prepared to venture out in search of medallions for the summoning charms.

"We'll need bronze for the basic models, silver-plated for the premium versions, and gold-plated for the employee emergency chits," Justin reminded them. "The plating doesn't need to be thick; it's more about the symbolic resonance than the actual precious metal content."

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"How many should we acquire?" Ilsa asked, consulting her ledger.

"Start with fifty pairs of bronze, twenty pairs of silver, and eight pairs of gold," Justin suggested. "We can always buy more once we test the market demand. Try to get the same design, if possible, but at this point, it's not strictly necessary. As long as they can be enchanted."

"We've got it, Mr. Talemaker," Rinna said. "We'll be back soon."

The morning continued with bustling activity as the furniture delivery arrived precisely on schedule. Mr. Laribar supervised two burly assistants unloading an impressive array of pieces: sturdy wooden tables, comfortable chairs, storage cabinets, shelving units, and various organizational fixtures.

"Your negotiator drives a hard bargain," Laribar commented to Justin as they signed the delivery receipt and paid. "But fair's fair—the quality matches the price we agreed upon."

Justin, Alistair, Rita, and Tammy spent the next two hours arranging furniture throughout the building. The front showroom gained display shelves and a proper register. The back storage hall received organizational cabinets and sorting tables. Upstairs, the residential quarters transformed from bare rooms into comfortable living spaces.

By early afternoon, when Rinna and Ilsa returned from their shopping expedition, the headquarters had been completely transformed.

"We found exactly what we needed," Rinna announced, producing several small cloth bags. "Bronze medallions for fifteen coppers each, silver-plated for fifty coppers, and gold-plated for two silvers. The owner assured us the plating was pure enough to be magically conductive."

Justin inspected them. They were circular, small enough to fit in the palm of one's hand, and came already corded. The fact that they could be worn around the neck was even better. In a sense, that meant the store would always be with the customer. It was quick. Seamless.

Revolutionary, at least for this world.

"That's perfect," Justin replied, counting out fifty silver pieces. "This should cover it."

"All right, we'll be back soon. This is probably more coin than needed. Should we go ahead and buy more medallions with the leftovers? Say, three bronze pairs for every silver?"

"That works for now."

"All right. Be back soon."

As they left, Justin took a moment to tour their fully equipped facility, marveling at the transformation. Downstairs, every surface was organized and spotless. Cabinets lined the walls with neat labels indicating their contents. Extra shelving provided space for inventory expansion. The workshop hummed with productive energy as Lila and Kilgan worked on some basic brews.

Upstairs, the residential improvements were equally impressive. Each team member now had their own bed, a personal storage cabinet, a mirror, and adequate space for privacy. Even if most of them had to share, it was still the norm for this world. The bathroom had been upgraded with a substantial copper tub, though filling it would require daily water deliveries from a municipal cart. The plumbing from the courtyard below was operational but only carried cold water. Thankfully, enchanted heating stones would provide warmth without the constant expense of firewood. They would just need to be periodically replaced.

"This actually feels like a proper business headquarters," Alistair observed with satisfaction.

"And a decent place to live," Tammy added.

As the afternoon progressed, Rinna and Ilsa returned. Rinna eagerly began creating her first summoning charm. She selected a pair of bronze medallions and one of their lower-quality crystals, approaching the distillery with obvious excitement.

"Watch closely," she said, placing the crystal into the device's primary chamber. "The distillation process extracts pure aether essence while filtering out impurities."

The distillery hummed to life, its various gauges registering temperature and pressure as the crystal dissolved into brilliant blue energy. After several minutes, a small bottle filled with what appeared to be sapphire-colored liquid that moved like contained fog emerged.

"Perfect consistency," Rinna murmured, examining the extract. "Now for the enchantment itself."

She had acquired a set of basic enchanting tools during her morning expedition: a precision brush made from phoenix feathers, an enchanter's scryer's lens for magnifying fine details and facilitating interface interaction, and various bottles of conductive inks and solvents.

Using the brush, she began painting intricate Thaumic scripts onto the surface of the first medallion. The symbols were barely visible to the naked eye, requiring the scryer's lens for proper precision.

"Each stroke has to be perfect," Rinna said. "A single error would mean starting over with a new medallion."

Justin was practically holding his breath, not wanting to interrupt her.

"The script defines the enchantment's parameters," she continued. "Range, activation method, duration. Every variable must be precisely specified. Thankfully, I think I've figured it out over the past couple of days. We'll see."

After ten minutes of careful work, she set down the brush and spoke a brief incantation, the words flowing in a way that was impossible for him to comprehend—Thaumic, he assumed. The painted symbols flared briefly with golden light before settling into a subtle glow that gradually faded.

"Now for the test," Rinna said, holding one medallion in her closed palm for exactly three seconds.

Across the table, the paired medallion began glowing with a soft blue light.

"Remarkable!" Justin exclaimed. "How's the range?"

"Five miles, as promised. The cost is remarkably low since we're using our own crystal supply, but if we need to purchase crystals commercially..." She shook her head. "The expenses would increase dramatically."

"How many summoning charms can we produce with our current crystals?"

Rinna examined their collection carefully, assessing each crystal's quality and estimated yield. "Difficult to calculate precisely, but conservatively? Around a thousand total, including the special gold ones for employees and silver ones for premium customers."

Justin felt a surge of satisfaction. A thousand charms would meet their needs for months, possibly longer.

"The silver ones will be more aether-intensive," Rinna continued, "but I can extend their range to ten miles and include location tracking glyphs. In practice, this means they'll integrate with your Dynamic Map. Couriers can see exactly where deliveries need to go."

"Ingenious," Justin said. "I suppose that means my map now belongs to the company, but that's fine. What about the gold employee versions?"

"While a fifty-mile range would be prohibitively expensive, a twenty-mile range is achievable. This coverage includes all of Belmora and most outlying settlements. As I gain levels and experience, I'll be able to craft more powerful versions if necessary."

Justin watched Rinna work on her second bronze charm, noting the joy in her expression. She was clearly in her element, combining technical precision with creative problem-solving.

"Focus on the bronze ones first," Justin suggested. "Gain experience and refine your technique, then move on to silver and gold."

"I estimate two to three days for the full initial production run," Rinna replied, already reaching for another medallion. "I want to establish consistent quality before moving to the more complex versions."

Justin nodded approvingly and then moved to check on Lila's progress with Master Kilgan.

"The key to sustainable business," Kilgan was explaining, "is understanding your essential inventory. Customers will always need basic healing potions, cures for common ailments, elemental resistance draughts, temperature regulation for inclement weather, pain relief, and energy restoration elixirs. These six categories should never be out of stock."

"What about pricing?" Lila asked, taking notes in a small journal.

"Determine your cost of goods—ingredients, time, overhead—then add at least a fifty percent margin for basic items. It's tempting to charge too little; I've made that mistake plenty of times. You end up cultivating the wrong kind of customer. The cheap customers are the ones who complain the most, trust me. The best price is the highest you can charge without laughing."

"Hmm," she said. "Interesting."

"As for premium or specialty potions, like those created with your Songbrewer skills, they can command much higher prices, especially if there's strong demand or limited availability. Ask the Adventurer's and Mercenary Guilds what they wish they had, and make it."

Justin cleared his throat. "Master Kilgan, what about serving the local varkiss community? Are there any special considerations?"

Kilgan paused thoughtfully. "I'll admit, I have limited experience with varkiss customers. Their physiology requires some unique formulations I've never bothered to master. Let me consult some specialized texts tonight and return tomorrow with better guidance."

"We'd appreciate that," Justin said. "Serving all community members is important to our business model."

As evening approached, Justin took a final survey of their transformed headquarters. Rinna worked contentedly at her enchanting station, surrounded by partially completed medallions and a glowing bottle of aether essence. Lila studied ingredient samples under Kilgan's guidance, absorbing decades of accumulated knowledge. Ilsa had mastered the enchanted ledger system and was meticulously recording every transaction and expense.

They were remarkably close to operational status. All the major components were falling into place: production capabilities, inventory systems, delivery mechanisms, and market knowledge.

Within days, they would be ready to launch Summon & Supply as a functioning business.

"Tomorrow we start the final preparations," Justin announced. "By week's end, we'll be taking our first orders."

The excitement in the room was palpable. After days of planning, negotiating, and setup, they were finally approaching the moment when theory would become reality.

It was equal parts exhilarating and terrifying. Justin felt a moment of doubt. What if he was crazy? What if people didn't understand the concept? What if competitors copied or even sabotaged him? Here, there were fewer rules, and gang and guild politics would present immediate challenges.

He supposed his Prudent Foresight would have gone off a long time ago, indicating that there was merit to this business idea.

They just had to execute and deal with any obstacles that arose.

It was time to see if their revolutionary business model could succeed on the streets of Belmora.