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

Taking the key to the treasure vault from Andrew’s hand, Luca didn’t hesitate for a moment. He headed straight to the vault to investigate the clay jar connected to the Goddess of the Night.

When he stepped into the treasure vault alone, he could clearly feel that the atmosphere was somehow different from before.

Although he was certain that he wouldn’t encounter any danger here, there was an inexplicable sense—almost like something unseen was watching him.

“Do you sense anything unusual?”

Luca whispered softly to Sophia.

Although his Perception ability was far stronger than Sophia’s, they were, after all, inside the Eternal World. Sophia was a native of the Eternal World, which made Luca believe that she should be even more sensitive to subtle changes here than he was.

“What’s wrong? Did you sense any danger?”

Instead of answering, Sophia responded with a question of her own.

“I don’t sense danger,” Luca replied quickly, “but the atmosphere feels… strange. I keep getting this feeling that countless eyes are fixed on me.”

As he spoke, he kept cautiously observing his surroundings, every sense heightened and alert.

The eerie sensation clung to him, refusing to dissipate, and with each passing second, the pressure on him mounted.

“Maybe you’re just too tense,” Sophia offered calmly. “I don’t sense any danger at all. Besides, the items stored in this vault are nowhere near as dangerous as the Dragon-Slayer Greatsword.”

Her tone was clear and firm, deliberately meant to reassure him and ease his growing anxiety.

When a person becomes overly nervous, they can’t possibly perform at their best.

Luca gave a silent nod, expressionless, though he also realized she was probably right—he was being too wound up.

Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself and walked directly up to the transparent display case holding the clay jar.

The jar looked exactly the same as before, unchanged in any way.

Aside from the faint decorative patterns still visible around the neck of the jar, there was nothing else noteworthy about it.

Luca fixed his gaze on those patterns, staring at them intently, as if trying to decipher a hidden secret buried within.

He tried to sense the power hidden within the patterns on the jar.

Even though his mind was highly focused, and he had poured all his strength into enhancing his Perception ability, he still couldn’t feel any trace of power emanating from the designs.

“There’s still no useful clue! The patterns on the jar are nothing more than ordinary decorations.”

Luca’s voice carried a tinge of frustration.

“It looks like our only option is to seek out the Crimson King to learn more about the Dark Goddess, Nyx.”

At that moment, Luca’s mood sank. He had originally believed that the jar before him would hold a crucial lead.

“I don’t think it’s a big deal,” Sophia replied lightly, her tone calm and unconcerned. “From the start, we weren’t counting on anyone or anything besides the Crimson King to provide us with information about the Dark Goddess.”

To her, this hardly even qualified as a setback. After all, no matter how simple a task may seem, it’s impossible to complete it without encountering obstacles along the way.

And if they had managed to find an important clue about the Goddess of the Night this easily in the treasure vault, they would have had to seriously question whether it was a trap.

Though Luca understood and agreed with Sophia’s reasoning, he still couldn’t bring himself to give up so easily.

“Maybe I’ve been approaching this the wrong way!” He locked his gaze on the patterns etched into the jar. “I should take the jar out!”

The moment the words left his lips, he reached into the display case and lifted the jar into his hands.

The instant his skin made contact with its surface, everything around him changed.

Suddenly, he found himself engulfed in absolute darkness.

There was no trace of light, not even the faintest glimmer. No sound reached his ears—not a whisper, not even the steady rhythm of his own heartbeat.

The entire world was swallowed by an oppressive void of silence and shadow.

In that fleeting moment, Luca knew—he could feel—that he had come into contact with the power of the Goddess of the Night.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He had to seize it, had to use this moment to establish a deeper connection with her.

But just as he steeled himself, the absolute darkness and silence abruptly vanished.

In the blink of an eye, he was back inside the treasure vault.

“What the hell just happened?! I could’ve sworn I felt the Goddess of the Night’s power!”

Frustration crept into his voice as he glanced around the room, muttering to himself in confusion.

After confirming that nothing around him had changed, he turned his gaze back to the clay jar.

The jar looked exactly the same as before, unchanged in every way.

This only deepened Luca’s confusion.

“The patterns on this jar must contain the power of the Goddess of the Night! But the moment I touched that power, it instantly vanished. That’s… extremely abnormal!”

He frowned, pondering for a while before speaking quickly, his tone tense and urgent.

Sophia, however, didn’t respond.

Luca’s sudden reaction had left her completely bewildered. She had no idea what she should say. From her perspective, it looked as though Luca had fallen into some sort of frenzied state the moment he touched the jar.

“The Goddess of the Night must be trapped!” Luca declared gravely, his voice solemn and unwavering. “That’s the only explanation that makes sense.”

He firmly believed that what he had felt earlier wasn’t the goddess’s raw power itself but rather her gaze—a fleeting projection of her will.

And if that was true, it meant that the Goddess of the Night was currently imprisoned.

He had to find a way to rescue her from her predicament.

And to achieve that, he first needed to earn the complete trust of the Crimson King as quickly as possible.

“We don’t have any reason to waste more time here! Lucas said we’d set out tomorrow morning, but I think leaving then will already be too late!”

Without another word, Luca left the treasure vault at once.

Moments later, he burst into Andrew’s office.

Under Andrew’s slightly stunned gaze, Luca spoke rapidly:

“I think Lucas and I need to depart immediately! Waiting until tomorrow morning will be too late. I came here to say goodbye.”

Before Andrew could react, Luca spun on his heel and strode out of the room.

Andrew was left speechless, stunned by Luca’s sudden urgency.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that Luca was being far too hasty.

But by the time he regained his composure, Luca had already left the Adventurers’ Guild headquarters.

“What on earth is going on?! Why is he suddenly in such a rush? Could Riverside City be facing some immense danger—even something Luca can’t handle?”

Andrew’s mind was flooded with wild speculations.

But no matter what he thought, there was no changing Luca’s resolve.

Barely twenty minutes later, Luca arrived at Lucas’s residence in Riverside City.

He knocked firmly on the door.

A moment later, Lucas appeared, his expression drowsy and his eyes half-lidded from sleep.

When he saw that it was Luca standing there, he frowned slightly, his tone carrying a hint of complaint.

“Do you have some urgent matter to discuss? If it’s nothing critical, can’t it wait until tomorrow morning? We can deal with everything then and set off right after.”

“I do have an urgent matter!” Luca replied with a voice full of determination. “I think we should depart immediately.”

“Why the sudden rush?”

Lucas’s sleepiness began to fade as he took in Luca’s tense expression.

Luca’s reaction startled him—after all, he knew that Luca’s strength far surpassed his own.

For someone like Luca to be this anxious, it could only mean one thing: he must have foreseen some kind of danger.

If that was the case, Lucas had to figure out exactly what danger Luca had perceived.

“Lord Crimson King is currently at a huge disadvantage,” Luca said firmly, his voice unwavering. “As one of his subordinates, shouldn’t you be more concerned? I only just joined Lord Crimson King’s army, and even I’m already worried enough.”

Lucas stared at him, speechless for a moment, utterly exasperated by that explanation.

“There’s no need to start professing your loyalty right now, is there? Even if you do, Lord Crimson King isn’t here to witness it.”

His voice carried a trace of irritation.

“Listen, things aren’t as bad as you think. Yes, Lord Crimson King is at a disadvantage, but he’s not the type to be defeated so easily. One night isn’t going to change the outcome of this war.”

Having said his piece, Lucas turned around, clearly intending to go back to bed.

But Luca reached out and grabbed him firmly by the arm.

“One night can change a lot of things! I still believe we need to leave immediately. If you refuse, then I’ll withdraw from this mission altogether.”

Luca’s tone had grown even more resolute than before, leaving no room for negotiation.

Lucas froze, staring at him in shock, his expression filled with disbelief.

“I really don’t understand why you’re doing this,” he admitted, shaking his head slowly. “But since you’ve put it that way, I guess I don’t have any other choice.”

He let out a deep sigh before finally conceding.

“I’ll summon the soldiers I recruited earlier and get them ready right away. Give me about an hour, and we’ll be able to set off. One hour—you can wait at least that long, can’t you?”

In the end, Lucas had no choice but to compromise.

After all, Luca was the greatest gain Lucas had achieved from this entire recruitment mission.

If Luca chose to withdraw now, it would be as good as Lucas having completely failed his task.

And if the Crimson King were to find out that someone as powerful as Luca had refused to join his army because of Lucas’s actions, the punishment awaiting Lucas would undoubtedly be severe.

Luca’s expression finally eased a little.

He nodded and said calmly, “An hour is certainly something I can wait for.”

In less than an hour, all the soldiers Lucas had recruited were assembled.

However, their condition was far from ideal.

After all, it was the middle of the night. Being dragged out of their beds from deep sleep naturally left everyone groggy and sluggish.

“The battle has already entered a critical stage,” Lucas addressed the gathered soldiers in a tone that brooked no argument. “We cannot afford to waste even a single moment. Therefore, I’ve decided that we will leave Riverside City immediately and head straight to Lord Crimson King’s military encampment!”