Online Game: I Started with Max Charisma and Caught the Goddess's Eye-Chapter 408: Whispering Forest

As the sun rose, Luca stepped out of his room.

After a full night of rest, his mind felt sharp and refreshed.

Moreover, the cursed energy that clung to his body had been significantly weakened.

"Aren't you going to inform the others about your departure?"

Sophia asked.

"No need. I left a note in my room.

If I tell them my plan directly, they'll come up with a dozen reasons to stop me.

And if that happens, it'll be even harder for me to get away."

Luca answered quickly.

"You're fully prepared, then?"

"Yes. Let's head out now."

After leaving the house, Luca activated his shadow magic runes.

While cloaked in invisibility, he departed from Shelter 102.

Beyond what he had just told Sophia, there was another, even more critical reason for his secrecy—

he was afraid that his movements would be tracked by hostile forces.

There was a high chance that the councilor from the Via Empire was working with Zenith Technology Company.

And there were plenty of Zenith personnel in the area surrounding the shelter.

Not to mention—there was a Daskhollow Base located not far from here.

Luca believed he absolutely couldn't allow anyone from Zenith to know what he was planning.

Everything went smoothly.

Ten minutes later, Luca had already cleared the perimeter of the shelter.

"Oakville Town is at our 7 o'clock. We should reach it in about thirty minutes."

He relayed the information to Sophia.

"Understood. I'll keep watch for any threats using Perception.

You just focus on moving forward,"

Sophia replied, fully aware of what Luca was trying to avoid.

Thanks to their close coordination, it took them only twenty-six minutes to reach the outskirts of Oakville Town.

Two kilometers from the town's edge, Luca came to a halt.

From where he stood, he could see a massive tree rising into the sky.

The entire town of Oakville was blanketed beneath this ancient giant.

From within the tree's tangled roots and branches, strange sounds echoed continuously.

It was clear—those noises were coming from monsters.

"What should we do next? Are you seriously planning to charge in?

There are a lot of monsters inside that tree,"

Sophia said, her Perception picking up a large number of hostile presences.

She was already beginning to regret not doing more to stop Luca earlier.

"Of course we're not charging in.

I'll cloak myself and approach the heart of the tree unseen."

As he spoke, Luca once again activated his shadow magic runes.

While invisible, he could be sure that the weaker monsters wouldn't detect his presence.

When he reached the outer wall of Oakville Town,

he was finally detected—by a monster as powerful as level 60.

It was a massive, mutated mantis.

Luca didn't bother engaging the creature in combat.

Instead, he immediately cast Dreamweaving Mist, plunging the mutant mantis into a deep sleep.

Without hesitation, he dashed toward the very center of the ancient tree's trunk.

With his max-level Perception, he had already sensed the node at the tree's core.

He was determined to reach it before any more monsters could detect his presence.

As long as he could enter the node and absorb all the power within it,

none of the monsters inside Oakville's giant tree would pose any threat to him.

After all, their strength also originated from the node.

"I'll cast frost spells to slow the monsters down,"

Sophia said, having caught on to Luca's plan.

She continued launching frost spells, providing support as he advanced.

In the end, Luca ignored the hordes of monsters and made it to the center of the tree's trunk.

The massive trunk was hollow on the inside.

At its core stood a portal radiating green light—

continuously channeling the energy of the Eternal World into the real one.

"This node leads to the Whispering Forest!

I can already sense the forest's unique energy signatures!"

Sophia said, her voice filled with excitement.

"You seem very familiar with Whispering Forest.

Will that area really help us?"

Luca asked quickly.

He knew they didn't have much time to talk.

They had to finalize a plan for what they would do once they entered the node.

While the two of them spoke, monsters were closing in rapidly from all directions.

"Absolutely! Whispering Forest lies in the southern regions of the Via Empire.

That forest is saturated with unusually powerful primal power.

There, you'll find enough strength to complete your second awakening—your profession change!"

Sophia replied, clearly thrilled.

"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go—now!"

By this point, Luca had already been surrounded.

The nearest monster was charging at him, roaring furiously.

Just before it could reach him, Luca dove straight into the node.

The green portal flared violently the moment he passed through.

A surge of raw primal power burst outward from the gate.

All the monsters were instantly blown back by the force.

By the time the monsters approached again, the portal had already stabilized,

and Luca was long gone—vanished without a trace.

As he passed through the portal,

Luca once again caught a glimpse of the twisted forms of the Ancient Gods.

He was absolutely certain now:

every time he came into contact with primal power,

the Ancient Gods' interest in him deepened.

It was entirely possible that the Ancient Gods were conspiring in the shadows, plotting something sinister.

But all of that was beyond his power to stop.

Right now, the only thing he could do was focus on completing his second awakening—his profession change—as soon as possible.

The gaze of the Ancient Gods made Luca extremely uncomfortable,

and it also began to distort his Perception of time.

He wasn't sure how long it had passed

before he suddenly realized he was now standing in the middle of a lush, tropical rainforest.

The green portal shimmered behind him.

"How are you feeling?"

He quickly asked Sophia.

But Sophia didn't answer immediately.

That alone made him start to worry.

"Don't tell me… Did crossing the portal make Sophia's condition worse?

Maybe I should've cast some extra protection spells before we entered…"

He muttered in self-reproach.

"This isn't your fault,"

Sophia's voice finally came through.

"I think it's on me. I knew we were arriving in Whispering Forest—

I should've prepared myself better."

Sophia spoke weakly.

Her condition had clearly taken a turn for the worse.

"What exactly happened? Tell me everything—right now.

Our next steps will only be more dangerous from here on out,

and I need to be fully informed."

While speaking to Sophia,

Luca remained alert, watching his surroundings with caution.

He could hear a variety of strange sounds echoing through the rainforest. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Most of them, however, seemed to be coming from ordinary creatures—

he hadn't Perceived any monsters nearby.

But that didn't necessarily mean the area was safe.

Still, it did suggest one thing:

he had a window of time to speak with Sophia without immediate danger.

"Primal power and chaotic energy are completely opposed to one another.

I've had a very close connection with Zenobia,

so if I'm hit by primal power without any form of preparation,

my condition is going to deteriorate quickly."

Sophia explained her situation.

"But you don't need to worry.

I can stabilize myself.

Just give me about thirty minutes—

I should be back to normal by then."

Luca slowly nodded.

"That's good.

We likely won't encounter any enemies within the next half hour.

We need to use this time wisely—

to carefully search through the forest."

The reason he was confident they would be safe for thirty minutes

was because he had just scanned the surrounding thirty-kilometer radius.

There were no monsters detected in the area.

"Don't get too relaxed.

Whispering Forest holds many secrets.

I remember reading a story in a book on magical history—

a powerful high-tier mage once came to this forest,

searching for relics left behind by the Ancient Gods."

Sophia began recounting the tale she had read.

"She knew how dangerous the forest was,

so before setting out, she gathered her apprentices together.

She told them—if she didn't return within a week,

they were to seek out other high-tier mages to come rescue her."

"For a mage of her level,

that kind of preparation sounds more than reasonable,"

Luca commented.

"Yes, and so her students didn't worry too much—at first.

But when a week passed and their teacher still hadn't returned,

they began to panic.

They went searching for other high-tier mages."

"And let me guess," Luca said, "those mages went into the forest too—

and none of them came back?"

"That's not what happened,"

Sophia corrected him.

"All of the high-tier mages refused to enter Whispering Forest.

They even warned the weaker mages to stay as far away as possible."

By the end of the story, Sophia's voice had taken on a hint of fear.

"Seems like the high-tier mages made the right call,"

Luca said with a faint smile.

"So I hope you'll take seriously the threats we might run into."

Sophia's tone grew a little more serious.

"I understand. I'll stay alert for anything that might come up.

Let's follow this river and keep moving forward."

Luca began walking along a narrow stream, heading northeast.

He planned to search that area first,

because he had Perceived that there was something unusual in that direction.

To him, as long as they didn't encounter enemies in the next thirty minutes,

there was nothing to worry about.

If danger came after that window,

he and Sophia would be ready to handle it calmly.

As they walked through Whispering Forest,

both of them could hear a constant barrage of strange and chaotic sounds all around them.

To make sure they didn't miss any signs of danger,

they moved at a slow pace.

Their plan was to carefully identify and analyze every single sound they heard.