Online Game: I Started with Max Charisma and Caught the Goddess's Eye

The room fell completely silent.

Bloody Knight Anwar stared coldly at Luca, while Luca met his gaze with calm, gentle eyes.

For several long minutes, neither of them spoke. The air between them felt thick, as though every breath carried hidden intent.

Then, suddenly, Anwar laughed—low and sharp, breaking the tension.

“I knew I wasn’t wrong about you,” he said with a hint of admiration. “You not only possess great strength, but you also have an exceptional state of mind. I don’t think this place can allow your potential to truly shine. You should go and meet the Crimson King. Only at his side will you be able to display your talents to their fullest.”

Luca’s heart surged with excitement.

He had finally achieved what he came here for.

But outwardly, he showed no sign of it. He maintained a composed expression, even adding a touch of hesitation to his face.

“My abilities… are they really that strong?” he asked softly. “I feel like there are a few people here in the Black Forest camp whose strength is on par with mine.”

“No need to worry!” Anwar said decisively. “If I say you’re strong enough, then you’re strong enough.”

He gave a curt nod and continued, “You’ve already chosen your weapon, haven’t you? That pitch-black greatsword is called Midnight Judgment. Take it and come with me.”

Anwar clearly had no intention of wasting any more time.

He turned and strode out, motioning for Luca to follow.

Naturally, Luca had no choice but to go along.

Once they had left the armory, Anwar stopped and gave his next instruction.

“Go back and rest for a while. I still have other matters to handle. Although I’ve already decided to let you meet the Crimson King, the necessary procedures still need to be followed. I also have to inform the others in the camp of this decision.”

Luca nodded silently.

He knew he had to continue playing his part—pretending to be cautious, unsure, even a little uneasy.

“Don’t worry too much,” Anwar said, his tone softening slightly. “Have confidence in your abilities. And if you really don’t feel secure, I’ll have Lucas accompany you.”

At those words, a faint smile finally appeared on Luca’s face.

“That’s wonderful,” he said with apparent relief. “I’ve known Lucas for quite some time. I’m sure he’ll be a great help to me on the journey.”

“I’m glad you’re satisfied. Also, make sure you tell Lucas about this decision, so he can start preparing in advance. If there’s nothing else, you may go.”

Bloody Knight Anwar dismissed Luca with a wave of his hand, his tone leaving no room for discussion.

Luca left quietly.

All the way back to his quarters, he kept a faintly troubled look on his face—a carefully crafted expression of unease.

Anyone who saw him could tell that he was deep in thought.

Many soldiers passed him along the way, each one glancing curiously at him, wondering what could possibly weigh so heavily on his mind.

But none of them dared to ask.

They had all witnessed Luca’s strength firsthand.

Within the Black Forest camp, everyone now respected him.

No one felt qualified—or brave enough—to disturb him.

When Luca finally reached his quarters, he found Lucas waiting anxiously outside the door.

The moment he saw Luca, Lucas hurried over, his eyes filled with concern.

“You finished the mission, didn’t you? Wait—don’t tell me you didn’t finish it! Did Lord Bloody Knight punish you?! Say something already!”

His voice was sharp with worry.

Lucas had always believed that, although the mission was difficult, Luca’s strength was more than enough to handle it.

At first, he had been confident Luca would succeed.

But now, seeing that conflicted expression on Luca’s face, doubt and fear struck him—he thought Luca must have failed and been punished by Anwar himself.

Even though he had once been suspicious of Luca, that didn’t change the fact that Luca was the teammate he had personally chosen.

And now, with all their other squad members dead, the bond between the two of them was the closest thing to family left.

Luca shook his head slowly.

“I completed the mission. Lord Bloody Knight even gave me a reward for it.”

“Then why do you look so worried?” Lucas asked, frowning. “For a second, I thought you’d failed and gotten punished.”

Luca hesitated, lowering his voice.

“Actually… it’s the reward that worries me,” he said. Then he stopped abruptly and glanced around the area, scanning for anyone nearby.

“It’s not convenient to talk about it here. Let’s go inside—we’ll talk there.”

Lucas gave a quick nod.

“All right. But you’d better tell me everything once we’re inside,” he said firmly. “I’m your captain now, and there’s only you and me left in our squad. We’ve got to stay united, no matter what.”

They entered the quarters, and once they reached the first-floor hall, Lucas closed the door tightly behind them.

He turned to Luca immediately, his expression serious.

“Now—tell me what’s going on.”

Luca nodded slightly.

“This is what happened,” Luca began. “After completing the mission, I met with Lord Bloody Knight. Then he…”

Luca recounted every detail of that meeting.

He no longer needed to worry about accidentally revealing information related to the Goddess of the Night—after all, since Bloody Knight Anwar had personally approved Lucas to accompany him to meet the Crimson King, that could only mean one thing: Lucas, too, must have some knowledge of the Goddess of the Night.

When Luca finished speaking, Lucas’s expression grew complicated—his eyes clouded, his lips pressed into a thin line.

“What’s wrong?” Luca asked directly, seizing the moment. “Is there a problem? Do you also think meeting the Crimson King is going to be dangerous?”

Lucas lowered his head, lost in thought. He didn’t even seem to hear the question.

When Luca asked again, Lucas snapped out of it, answering in a hurry.

“Dangerous? No, of course not! Being granted an audience with the Crimson King is a great honor!” he said quickly. “I was just… too happy to process what you said, that’s all.”

As he spoke, he forced a bright expression onto his face, trying to look genuinely pleased.

But to Luca, that “joy” looked painfully unnatural—strained, forced, almost rehearsed.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll go get some rest,” Luca said evenly. “You should start preparing for the journey as well. Lord Bloody Knight specifically told me to remind you of that.”

Without waiting for a reply, Luca turned and walked upstairs to his room.

Down in the hall, Lucas remained standing where he was, brow furrowed, deep in thought once again.

“I can’t shake the feeling that Lucas is hiding something,” Luca murmured once he was back in his room. “Maybe we’ve underestimated him all along.”

Sophia’s voice sounded immediately in his mind, calm and thoughtful.

“I feel the same. When I mentioned the Goddess of the Night, Lucas didn’t look the least bit surprised. But when I told him he’d be accompanying you to meet the Crimson King, he suddenly grew uneasy.

It’s all very strange. And Bloody Knight Anwar’s attitude toward him is odd as well. It seems everyone around us is far more complicated than they appear.”

Luca nodded slightly, his tone gentle as he replied, “You’re right. Though it’s unsettling, I’ve grown used to it. Ever since I first entered the Eternal World, the people around me have always been… complicated.”

Even now, despite concealing his true identity, nothing about that had changed.

“Don’t overthink it,” Sophia said softly, her voice carrying a hint of reassurance. “As long as we can meet the Crimson King, we can continue advancing our plan.”

Luca closed his eyes and nodded slightly in agreement.

He didn’t want to speak anymore—he was simply too exhausted.

The mission he had just completed had drained nearly all of his strength, both physically and mentally.

What he needed most now was rest—to recover his energy as quickly as possible.

He fell asleep almost instantly and didn’t wake again until the next morning.

It wasn’t the sunlight that woke him, but the noise outside his window—the chatter of soldiers, the clatter of armor, the distant sound of drills echoing through the camp.

Blinking in the bright light, Luca sat up and looked toward the window, slightly dazed.

“What time is it?” he murmured. “Has an entire day already passed? Why didn’t anyone wake me up?”

“It is the next day,” Sophia’s calm voice answered in his mind. “Lucas came by last night and knocked on the door, but you were in such a deep sleep he couldn’t wake you, so he left.”

Luca froze for a moment, then quickly jumped out of bed.

He dressed in a hurry and stepped out of his room.

When he reached the first-floor hall, he saw Lucas there, surrounded by neatly packed luggage.

“You’re finally awake,” Lucas said with a small laugh. “Looks like that mission really took a toll on you. But that’s understandable—the difficulty of your assignment was far higher than most.”

As Luca stood there catching up with reality, Lucas walked out from the doorway on the right side of the hall, his tone brisk and efficient.

“I’ve already packed most of our belongings. You just need to grab your personal things. Lord Bloody Knight has issued us both identification passes.

With those in hand, we’ll have no trouble traveling straight to the All-Beings Empire’s third-largest city—Dragonbone City, the largest territory currently under the Crimson King’s control.”

As he spoke, Lucas studied Luca carefully, his gaze lingering for a moment.

“You still don’t look fully recovered. You could sleep another whole day if you wanted. Lord Bloody Knight only instructed us to depart before tomorrow evening.”

Luca shook his head.

“I don’t need that much more rest,” he said quietly. “But I do need some time to organize my personal things. Let’s leave at noon today, then?”

“No problem at all!” Lucas replied cheerfully. “That’ll give us time to enjoy one last meal here at the Black Forest camp. You’re practically a celebrity now—thanks to you, we’ll probably be treated to a feast before we go.”

A faint smile appeared on Lucas’s face as he spoke, his tone light and teasing.

Luca, of course, was fully aware that he had become something of a celebrity within the Black Forest camp.

But he didn’t consider that a good thing at all.

After all, he was living under a concealed identity right now—too much attention could very easily lead to his true identity being exposed.

So he hurried to cut the conversation short.

“I understand,” he said quickly. “I’ll pack my personal things right away. Let’s finish lunch and leave immediately afterward!”