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

Daskhollow Gorge was now shrouded in a thick, suffocating darkness.

At the very heart of the shadows, a cold, merciless eye was slowly taking form.

That chilling eye belonged to the Silent Dark Shadow, now newly ascended.

Having gained immense chaotic power and the unique gift bestowed by the Chaos Ocean, the Silent Dark Shadow had at last become the God of Calamity and Fear.

The cold, unfeeling eye symbolized the very source of terror and disaster, while the surrounding shadows radiated a curse that spread endlessly outward.

At this moment, the Silent Dark Shadow was focused solely on stabilizing its newfound divine state as quickly as possible.

It could already sense Zenobia’s hostility.

Although it had become the God of Calamity and Fear, it still wasn’t confident it could defeat Zenobia in its current condition.

It decided the wisest course of action was to find a hiding place—one that was both well-concealed and rich in chaotic energy.

Such places were rare.

After careful thought, it finally chose a valley roughly 150 kilometers from the Imperial Capital.

There, residual chaotic power from the last monster horde still lingered in great strength, and the location was remote enough to remain hidden.

While the valley wasn’t far from the Imperial Capital, the threats facing the city came from other directions entirely.

That meant no one would have reason to investigate such an unremarkable spot.

Having made its decision, the Silent Dark Shadow vanished in an instant.

The chaotic energy around Daskhollow Gorge began to weaken.

Deep within the Daskhollow Base, Nova—gravely wounded—finally regained consciousness.

The moment the Silent Dark Shadow had ascended to godhood, the violent wave of chaotic energy had struck her hard, leaving her severely injured.

Now awake, Nova quickly scanned her surroundings.

Her sharp senses immediately detected that the chaotic energy was far weaker than before—meaning the Silent Dark Shadow had left.

“I honestly don’t know whether I should be celebrating,”

she murmured to herself with a bitter smile.

The creature’s departure meant she was safe, at least for the time being.

For now, she didn’t have to worry about being killed—

and that was, in itself, something worth celebrating.

But at the same time, it also meant the Silent Dark Shadow had achieved its goal—a chaos deity now walked the real world.

No matter what, its presence would pose a tremendous threat to every major power in existence.

And the upper management of Zenith Technology Company would most certainly hold her accountable.

Struggling to her feet from the rubble, Nova decided not to dwell on it for now.

As the highest-ranking officer at Daskhollow Base, it was her duty to restore the base’s operations.

After a period of frantic work, the Daskhollow Base was finally limping back into functionality.

Then, from the deepest communication hub of the base, a garbled signal began to come through.

Nova hurried to the comms room.

On the massive screen inside, she saw the upper echelons of Zenith Technology Company.

Each wore a mask, but Nova could tell from their bearing that the one closest to her—wearing a red mask—was her direct superior.

“You’re Nova, the person in charge of Daskhollow Base, correct?”

The question came coldly from someone wearing a jester’s mask.

Nova quickly nodded.

“Yes, that’s me. I am the head of Daskhollow Base.”

The moment she finished speaking, a woman in a pure white mask spoke up.

“What exactly happened? According to intel gathered by headquarters, Daskhollow Base came under intense attack.

We tried multiple times to establish contact with your base, but every attempt failed.

And not long ago, we detected a surge of chaotic energy from your location.

The technical division’s analysis suggests that this fluctuation signified the birth of a powerful chaos deity.

As the person in charge, you are obligated to give us a detailed explanation of exactly what transpired.”

When the woman in white finished, every gaze in the room locked onto Nova.

Nova recounted everything that had happened in detail. She concealed nothing—

because she knew the higher-ups had the means to learn almost all of it anyway.

If she deliberately hid anything, they would only be gravely disappointed in her.

“So, you’re saying that it was your mistake that allowed the Silent Dark Shadow to successfully ascend?”

Her direct superior, the one in the red mask, asked coldly when she was done.

Nova understood perfectly well—her superior was speaking first to give her a chance to defend herself.

If one of the other executives had been the first to question her, her situation would already be dire.

“I did make some mistakes during my response,” Nova admitted, “but I don’t believe they were of critical significance.”

“The Silent Dark Shadow’s success was entirely due to its own immense power.

Compared to it, my strength is insignificant, and the weapons available at Daskhollow Base could never have offered me much help.

So my defeat in battle was almost inevitable.”

Nova didn’t consider this an excuse.

She truly believed she had no way of withstanding the Silent Dark Shadow’s assault.

When she finished speaking, the upper management of Zenith Technology Company remained silent.

Every pair of eyes was locked on her.

The oppressive stillness made Nova’s anxiety spike—

she had no idea what these people were thinking.

Just as she was hesitating over whether to speak again, the door to the meeting room on the other side of the screen suddenly opened.

A figure in standard protective gear entered, walked up to the man in the jester mask, and leaned close to whisper a long string of words into his ear.

“There’s been a new development,” the jester-masked man said quickly after listening. “I don’t think we should waste more time on the matter of Daskhollow Base. Let’s make our final decision right now.”

His speech was rapid, as though he was eager to turn his attention to something even more pressing.

“I believe Nova’s failure cannot be blamed entirely on her,” the jester-masked man said, turning to look at her.

Relief washed over Nova at those words—

but then, just as suddenly, he changed tack.

“However, the fact remains that Nova did fail, and we can’t simply overlook that.

I think we should give her a chance to atone through merit.

If she achieves a significant success in her next mission, then naturally we will not hold her accountable for this failure.

But if she fails again, then we will hold her responsible for both failures at once.

What do you think? Anyone object?”

He swept his gaze across the meeting room.

Not a single person voiced disagreement.

“Excellent. Commissioner Nova, your next task is to locate Councilor Devitt as quickly as possible.

If he’s hostile toward you, tell him we have no intention of making trouble for him—we genuinely wish to cooperate.

The situation is now completely different from before.

He needs our help, and we also want his.”

When the man in the jester mask finished speaking, the transmission was cut off immediately.

Nova let out a long breath.

“It seems things aren’t as bad as they could be. At least for now, I can still count on the support of the higher-ups,”

she murmured to herself with a faint smile.

She was just about to leave the communications room and head to other sections of Daskhollow Base when the massive screen lit up again.

This time, her direct superior—the one wearing the red mask—appeared alone.

“Do you have further instructions?”

Nova asked, her voice tinged with surprise.

“You don’t need to invest too much effort into finding Councilor Devitt,”

her superior said at once, delivering a statement that left her utterly stunned.

“But—”

“No buts! This is a direct order from me, and you will follow it.”

Her superior’s tone was unyielding.

Faced with this, Nova felt a sharp spike of panic for the first time.

“What happened? Why are your orders completely different from those of the other executives? You were part of that meeting just now, weren’t you?”

she asked, her voice trembling.

“I don’t need you to remind me! The situation has indeed changed. You are not to share my instructions with anyone else—just carry them out yourself.”

Before she could say another word, her superior abruptly terminated the transmission.

Nova’s face went pale.

She was genuinely shaken.

She had just seen the upper echelon of Zenith Technology Company gathered together—

which meant there were unusual developments within the organization.

Now, with her direct superior issuing orders completely at odds with those of the rest, it was clear that a deep fracture had formed within Zenith Technology Company’s leadership.

If infighting broke out among the higher-ups, she might no longer be able to rely on their help at all.

It took her a long while to calm herself.

The situation was deeply unpredictable, but she knew she had to act immediately.

After a moment of hesitation, she decided to discuss the matter with others.

Since the Silent Dark Shadow had already left, she could head straight to Refuge 102 without issue.

Even if she couldn’t find Luca, she could at least have a proper discussion with Donlow.

For now, they were still allies—and allies could still help each other.

Moreover, the intelligence provided by Luca and Morning Star might allow Nova to make some informed guesses.

The reason behind the upper management’s abnormal behavior at Zenith Technology Company was something Luca and Morning Star might very well know.