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

Amidst the ruins of Lakeside City, Melania and Silas carefully advanced, escorting the sealed Senator Devitt.

Melania led the way, constantly scanning her surroundings while searching for the fastest path to reach Luca. Silas brought up the rear, his eyes never straying from the imprisoned Devitt.

Though both had been persuaded by Devitt’s words earlier, neither had let down their guard.

They were fully aware that, at any given moment, Devitt might attempt to escape during their journey.

“At the pace you two are moving, Luca will have been dead for a long time by the time you finally reach him,” Devitt said coldly.

The mocking tone in his voice stirred anger in both Melania and Silas.

Melania came to a halt and turned to glare at the man imprisoned within the seal.

“You’d better shut your mouth. We may not be able to kill you, but we can certainly apply pressure from the outside and make sure you feel pain.”

With that, Melania channeled her energy into the seal.

In an instant, a blue glow radiated from it, and within, Devitt felt as though his body were being pierced by countless steel needles.

A string of filthy curses came from inside the seal, but Melania and Silas ignored them completely.

After a while, Devitt fell silent. He realized he had gone too far taunting the two people escorting him.

If he truly wanted to escape the seal, he would need to wait for a more favorable opportunity.

Roughly fifteen minutes passed before the group finally arrived at the ruins of the stadium—the site where Luca and Zenobia’s final battle had begun.

The entire area was saturated with an aura of intense, violent energy.

Both Melania and Silas could feel the immense threat pulsing from the ruins.

As the two stood there, frowning at the devastation, Devitt’s cold, steady voice drifted out once more.

“Now do you believe me? The lingering power in these ruins alone is already terrifying. The danger Luca’s facing is beyond anything you can imagine.”

This time, he didn’t employ any tricks or manipulative rhetoric.

And perhaps because of that, his plain and measured tone struck a chord in Melania and Silas.

They realized they needed to quicken their pace.

Melania glanced back at Silas. They nodded to each other without a word.

Then, without hesitation, they picked up speed, heading straight toward where Luca was. The sealed Devitt was dragged along behind them.

As they ran, neither of them noticed that Senator Devitt had begun absorbing the surrounding chaotic energy.

“Yes… just like that! This is exactly what you should have done from the very beginning! For both your sake and mine, your current approach is the most beneficial,” Devitt said coldly.

Ten minutes later, he had absorbed enough chaotic energy.

He no longer needed to keep up the act.

With the overwhelming power surging through him, Senator Devitt’s body rapidly transformed into a towering treant formed from countless writhing vines.

The seal shattered instantly.

The collapse of the seal triggered a violent shockwave.

Melania and Silas were both blasted backwards, crashing hard into the debris, their faces filled with utter shock as they turned toward Devitt.

Still in his treant form, Devitt sneered.

“You two are far too naïve. You never should have believed a single word I said from the start.”

Before he could finish his sentence, Silas swiftly pulled a box from his pocket—one that radiated with an eerie black glow.

The moment the box was opened, a powerful force burst out of it and launched itself directly at Devitt.

But Devitt reacted quickly. He had no intention of fighting.

Instead, he disintegrated his treant body entirely, allowing the mass of vines to burrow rapidly underground.

In an instant, he was gone.

Melania and Silas, who had prepared for a fierce battle, stood frozen, expressions filled with disappointment.

“We blew it,” Silas murmured.

Melania said nothing. She was already thinking about how she would explain this disaster to Luca, Drumph, and the others.

Just then, a violent surge of energy erupted nearby.

A massive amount of chaotic energy suddenly vanished.

At the same time, a humanoid figure of light flickered into existence in the very center of Lakeside City’s core zone.

The unexpected transformation stunned both Melania and Silas.

But more importantly, they immediately realized—that figure had appeared exactly where Luca was.

“I think our top priority right now is to regroup with Luca,” Silas said quietly to Melania.

Melania nodded firmly.

Without another word, the two of them sprinted toward the enormous humanoid silhouette at full speed.

At the very center of Lakeside City’s core zone, the enormous humanoid silhouette enveloped Luca and everyone around him in total darkness.

Drumph, Donlow, and the others were tense, their expressions drawn and wary.

They scanned their surroundings carefully, on high alert.

Though they had full confidence in Luca—they believed he would succeed in fully absorbing the chaotic energy—the current situation still felt deeply unsettling.

Under their vigilant gazes, the towering humanoid form slowly began to shrink.

Eventually, the silhouette completely collapsed inward, merging entirely into Luca’s body.

Luca rose slowly, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

“I’ve done it,” he said calmly. “I’ve absorbed all of the chaotic energy. The power I now possess far surpasses Zenobia’s.”

He opened his eyes, smiling as he addressed the group.

In an instant, the tension and worry vanished from their faces, replaced by genuine, unrestrained joy.

“That’s amazing! I knew you could do it!”

Donlow rushed straight toward him and flung herself into his arms.

The move caught Luca a little off guard.

After all, Drumph and the others were standing right there—and his relationship with Donlow didn’t exactly justify this level of intimacy.

At that moment, Sophia’s voice echoed once again in Luca’s mind.

“She’s clearly crazy about you. Aren’t you going to say something? Come on, even Drumph is standing right there—you owe someone an explanation, don’t you think?”

There was a subtle edge of mockery in her tone.

Sophia was, understandably, more than a little annoyed.

She had long been dissatisfied with Luca’s inability to make a definitive choice between herself, Susie, and Donlow.

Luca, of course, picked up on the subtext in Sophia’s words.

But the truth was, he was in a difficult position.

His bond with Susie went back to childhood—they had grown up together, and their families were extremely close.

If he were to reject Susie outright, she might have a complete emotional breakdown, and things could spiral out of control fast.

Donlow presented a similar dilemma.

She was a key figure within Morning Star, and if Luca wanted to maintain cooperation with the organization, he couldn’t afford to offend her too deeply.

A direct rejection could easily sever his alliance with Morning Star altogether.

And so, Luca could only keep juggling the delicate balance between the three women, caught in the ever-tightening web of his own diplomacy.

“Of course I was able to pull it off—and the credit isn’t mine alone. Everyone here lent me a tremendous amount of support.”

As Luca spoke, he reached up to gently ruffle Donlow’s hair, hoping to ease her excitement while tactfully signaling that plenty of eyes were still on them.

Donlow seemed to grasp the hint. She stepped back a few paces, nodded, and lowered her gaze. Had anyone seen her face just then, they would have noticed the deep flush spreading across her cheeks.

“The crisis in Lakeside City should be completely resolved now, yes? We should head back to the refuge at once,” Drumph announced, clearing his throat to draw everyone’s attention.

No one objected. Though the city’s greatest threat was gone, remaining here any longer posed needless risks. Besides, Luca—now empowered—had to prepare for the Awakening Trial. The second Awakening instance was about to open, and everything that had happened so far was merely the prelude to the profession-change ritual.

“You’re right. Let’s leave immediately,” Luca replied with a relaxed smile.

Just as the group was about to depart, Melania and Silas finally arrived. Drumph’s expression tightened the moment he saw them. He still remembered the orders he’d given: they were to guard the sealed Senator Devitt someplace safe.

That thought made Drumph scrutinize them more closely—and he realized the sealed Devitt was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s the monster we had locked up? Why weren’t you watching him? And why are you here instead?” Drumph fired off three sharp questions in quick succession.

Melania and Silas grew even more uneasy. Under Drumph’s piercing stare, they recounted everything that had happened.

When they finished, Drumph’s anger flared anew.

“Are the two of you really this foolish? If you’d simply followed my orders, none of this would’ve happened! Your bonuses for this quarter are canceled—both of you will report back to headquarters for retraining!”

Drumph shouted furiously at the two standing before him, his voice sharp with anger.

Luca, meanwhile, remained quietly off to the side.

Although he also believed that Melania and Silas had mishandled the situation, he didn’t blame them.

In his eyes, Senator Devitt was an exceptionally cunning individual—someone who could easily deceive anyone lacking sufficient strength or mental fortitude.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!