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

After Luca and Lucas’s small, battered boat passed through a stretch of turbulent water, it glided into a wide section of the river.

“You’re going to be amazed in a moment!”

Lucas lay on his side with a grin, looking at Luca as he spoke.

Luca, however, remained unmoved.

A few minutes later, the river broadened further, and in the distance, a colossal shadow began to take shape. Because of the morning fog, Luca couldn’t yet make out what it was.

When their small boat drifted a few hundred meters closer, the mist began to clear—finally revealing the massive figure in full. Luca’s expression changed at once; astonishment filled his face.

Before him stood an enormous city, the most striking feature of which was the gigantic dragon skull towering above everything else. Following the line of that skull downward, a complete skeleton extended deep into the heart of Dragon Bone City. The dragon’s wings had become the city’s east and west walls, while its legs had formed the north and south boundaries.

Only then did Luca truly understand why this place was called Dragon Bone City.

The entire city was built upon the skeleton of a dragon—one of unimaginable size.

Whether in the Eternal World or the real one, Luca had never seen a dragon so immense. When it had been alive, this creature must have been powerful enough to rule the entire continent.

“I wasn’t exaggerating, was I? You’re amazed, right? Everyone who sees this city for the first time feels the same way!”

Lucas smiled as he spoke. There was no mockery in his tone—because he, too, had once been just as awestruck.

“Why does such a massive dragon skeleton even exist? Just how terrifying must this dragon have been when it was alive?”

Luca stared toward the skull as he asked.

“No one knows the answer,” Lucas replied calmly, his gaze following Luca’s. “From what I’ve heard, that skeleton has been here for thousands of years—long before Dragon Bone City was even founded. In fact, I believe it was already here before the establishment of the All-Beings Empire.”

Hearing that, Luca slowly emerged from his initial shock. After a moment of silence, he asked,

“When will we be able to enter Dragon Bone City? And when will we be granted an audience with Lord Crimson King?”

“Don’t be in such a hurry,” Lucas said calmly. “We’ll enter through the side gate first. We won’t be given any trouble there—Lord Bloody Knight Anwar should have already sent word ahead.”

As Luca and Lucas continued their quiet exchange, their small boat drifted along with the current and entered a water fortress on the side of Dragon Bone City.

There, a squad of soldiers blocked their way.

The one leading them was clad in deep crimson armor, his breastplate emblazoned with a sigil resembling the mark of the Goddess of the Night.

However, Luca immediately recognized that this emblem did not represent the goddess—it was the insignia of those who served directly under the Crimson King himself.

“You two must be Cole and Lucas?”

The soldier in the ornate armor asked in a low, commanding voice.

Lucas quickly nodded. “Yes, that’s us.”

“Good. Then seize them—both of them!”

The crimson-armored soldier drew his greatsword in one swift motion, and the soldiers behind him surrounded the two at once.

“Wait—wait! What are you doing? There must be some kind of mistake!”

Lucas exclaimed in panic.

Luca, on the other hand, instinctively stepped back and braced himself for combat.

Whatever the reason behind this sudden hostility, his first priority was clear—to be ready to defend himself.

“There’s no mistake,” the armored soldier replied coldly. “Lord Bloody Knight Anwar believes that the two of you have already betrayed him in secret. That’s why he deliberately sent you away from the Black Forest camp.

If you choose to resist, that will only confirm your guilt. So I suggest you drop your weapons and come quietly.”

Lucas’s face tightened—he was clearly torn, unsure whether to trust the man in front of him or fight back.

Just as hesitation froze him in place, Luca suddenly spoke from behind.

“In that case,” he said evenly, “we’ll do as you say.”

He stepped forward and handed over his weapon to the crimson-armored soldier.

After a brief pause, Lucas reluctantly followed suit.

“Excellent,” the soldier said with a curt nod. “Then come with us.”

And so, the two of them were escorted by the squad of soldiers straight into a prison deep within Dragon Bone City.

They received no explanation whatsoever—only silence—before being thrown into the lowest level of the prison: the water dungeon.

Although they weren’t bound by chains, the dungeon walls were so smooth that there was nowhere to sit or rest. The only option left to them was to remain waist-deep in the cold, murky water.

“There must be some kind of mistake!” Lucas muttered under his breath as he paced through the shallow water, his steps splashing loudly against the stone walls. “Lord Bloody Knight Anwar’s message must have been altered—someone must have deliberately tampered with it!”

The sound of water sloshing echoed through the chamber, grating on Luca’s nerves.

“If you’re going to talk, then just talk,” he snapped irritably. “But stop pacing around! Our situation is already bad enough—you’re only making it worse.”

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Lucas shot back. “I didn’t even want to hand over our weapons. While I was still thinking, you just went ahead and gave yours up! Now we don’t even have the means to fight back.”

Luca let out a cold, disdainful laugh.

“Fight back? Are you insane?” he said sharply. “This is Dragon Bone City we’re in. The Crimson King himself resides here. If we’d so much as drawn a blade against those soldiers, he would have intervened personally within moments.”

With that, Luca fell silent again.

Lucas froze for a second—then realization dawned on him.

“You’re right,” he murmured. “This could be part of the test. It’s a good thing you acted quickly and kept your head. But what should we do now? Staying in this water too long will do serious damage to our bodies.”

He hurried closer to Luca, whispering anxiously.

Luca only shook his head in silence.

He was fairly certain that what they had just experienced was a test from the Crimson King—but he had no idea what would come next.

Under normal circumstances, after passing such a test, the Crimson King should have sent someone of higher rank to deliver the next stage—or at least to announce that they had succeeded.

Yet several long hours had passed, and no one had come.

Only the squeaks of water rats and the faint ripples of unseen insects beneath the surface kept them company in the dark, damp cell.

Meanwhile, high above on the western wall of Dragon Bone City, the Crimson King stood upon one of the dragon’s massive wing bones, gazing silently into the distance.

Behind him stood the same man in heavy, ornate armor—the one who had earlier escorted Luca and Lucas away.

“My lord,” the armored man spoke softly, “what do you intend to do with those two? They didn’t resist at all, so I believe they can be trusted.”

He wasn’t sure what the Crimson King was thinking, so his words were cautious, merely a tentative suggestion.

The Crimson King slowly turned his head to glance at him.

“You truly believe the two of them are trustworthy?” His voice was calm but carried an unmistakable weight. “And that belief comes only from Anwar’s letter—and your first impression of them?”

“Yes,” the soldier replied, nodding slightly. “But I should clarify—Anwar’s letter didn’t influence me that much. He’s sent recommendations before, and most of them turned out to be disappointing.

What really convinced me was my first impression of them. Lucas is… rather foolish, and his strength is mediocre. I dismissed him almost immediately.

But that man named Cole—he’s different. I could tell at a glance that he’s honest, someone genuinely trustworthy. From the very first moment I saw him, I felt an inexplicable sense of confidence in him.

He’s much stronger than Lucas, but he didn’t choose to fight back. In fact, he was the first one to comply with our orders without hesitation.”

Indeed, Luca’s full charm attribute was working to its greatest effect.

Anyone who bore no prejudice toward him would, upon seeing him for the first time, instinctively feel that he was dependable and sincere. Even those who had previously distrusted him would quickly come to believe they had misunderstood him—that Luca wasn’t the kind of man they had imagined.

The Crimson King listened in silence, his expression growing more conflicted.

In truth, he had already begun to lose faith in Bloody Knight Anwar.

Though he still allowed Anwar to oversee the Black Forest Camp, it was merely part of a larger test. He knew well that agents of the Dragon King were stationed near that area—and he had even planted spies close to Anwar himself.

If Anwar were to betray him and side with the Dragon King, the Crimson King would know instantly and act without hesitation.

But if Anwar remained loyal, he would continue to command the camp as before.

The Crimson King’s caution stemmed from one simple reason—Anwar had been among his first followers, his most trusted aide.

Everyone in his ranks knew that Anwar was his confidant. If he were to discard such a loyal man too easily, it would send a dangerous message—that he was cold, ruthless, and ungrateful.

And in these troubled times, when his position was already precarious, the Crimson King could not afford to lose the loyalty of those who still stood by him.

After a long silence, he finally gave a slow nod.

“In that case,” he said quietly, “I will meet with those two myself.”