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

Before long, the group arrived at the temporary meeting room set up in the camp.

Inside, many people were already waiting, but one individual stood out—the fat man. He was dressed in luxurious noble attire, his enormous belly spilling over the chair, which groaned under the strain of his weight.

Originally, this hefty man was sighing in despair, but when he saw Luna and the others enter, his eyes lit up immediately.

He clumsily shifted his large frame and waddled toward them, tears streaming down his face as he sobbed, "Oh, Luna, thank the gods you're here! These past few days, I've been scared out of my wits! I haven't eaten or slept... I've lost so much weight!"

Everyone's lips twitched at the exaggerated statement.

It was hard to believe this unreliable-looking man was actually the lord in charge.

This was Pierce Shana, the other lord responsible for dealing with the Pure River Town crisis. He governed Serpent City, a town near Southwind City, and Pure River Town was part of his territory.

Pierce was also a member of the prominent Shana family from Southwind City.

That last name...

Luca recalled a young girl named Kassna from Red Maple Academy who shared the same family name.

But he found it difficult to see any resemblance between her and this rotund man.

Must be a coincidence...

He thought as he shook his head, focusing on listening to the conversation between Luna and Pierce.

As the discussion unfolded, Luca began to piece together what had happened in Pure River Town.

A week ago, a few villagers were bitten by crazed refugees. Within days, their bodies began to rot, and they died soon after.

At first, the townsfolk thought it was some strange plague, nothing too unusual.

After all, in a world of transcendents, even diseases like cancer could be cured.

But then, something bizarre happened.

The number of infected in Pure River Town exploded in just a few days, growing to over a hundred. And worse, the healers brought in to treat the sick found that the illness was completely untreatable—they couldn't even figure out what was causing it.

The most terrifying part? Those who had died from the plague didn't stay dead. After a short time, their rotting corpses clawed their way out of the ground, transformed into monstrous creatures, and began attacking the living.

Anyone bitten or scratched by these creatures would become infected, dying within three days and rising again as mindless monsters.

In just a few days, the situation spiraled out of control, leaving Pure River Town devastated. With no other options, the town's mayor finally mustered the courage to report the disaster to Serpent City.

But by the time Pierce's forces arrived, it was too late—there were no survivors left in Pure River Town. The town was overrun with grotesque monsters, and the mayor had disappeared without a trace.

Pierce immediately recognized the gravity of the situation and reported it to Southwind City that very night. Concurrently, he mobilized the strongmen and soldiers of Serpent City to suppress the monsters in Pure River Town.

Initially, the operation proceeded smoothly.

The combined efforts of hundreds of professionals swiftly cleared the town of its grotesque creatures.

However, a more terrifying development soon emerged.

Some of Pierce's soldiers began to show signs of infection.

It is important to note that these were not ordinary individuals; they were all seasoned professionals.

This indicated that the plague was not only transmissible to civilians but also to professionals, and those infected experienced significant increases in strength, becoming far more formidable than the monsters transformed from ordinary people.

Faced with this escalating crisis, Pierce was overwhelmed and once again reported the dire circumstances to Southwind City.

Consequently, the task level of the Pure River Town incident was repeatedly elevated.

Even Marquis Bronte had to take the matter seriously, issuing urgent orders to seal off the area to prevent the plague from spreading and causing greater panic and loss.

At the same time, he dispatched Luna to lead a team to address the situation in Pure River Town promptly.

Given the town's proximity to Southwind City, any mishandling could lead to widespread fear throughout the Southern Territory.

It was no wonder that Pierce appeared so distressed.

An incident of this magnitude within his jurisdiction could severely impact his future prospects.

After listening to the account, Luca's eyes gleamed with interest.

A plague capable of infecting professionals, coupled with rapidly evolving monsters...

It seemed reminiscent of events from his previous life.

"Order all troops to assemble!" Upon understanding the situation, Luna wasted no time in issuing commands. The matter could not be delayed further; immediate action was essential to prevent the emergence of more dangerous creatures.

"I will see to it at once!" Pierce responded, his face flushed with determination.

The sooner the situation was resolved, the lesser the impact on his reputation and authority.

Under Luna's directives, the temporary camp sprang into action. Over a thousand mid-tier professionals armed themselves and marched toward Pure River Town.

Due to the enigmatic nature of the town's monsters, Luna initially intended for Luca to accompany her.

However, Luca declined.

He needed to investigate on his own to confirm his suspicions, which made it inconvenient to move with the others.

Seeing this, Luna didn't say much.

Although Luca hadn't shown the full extent of his abilities, Luna understood what clearing 20 floors of the Trial Tower signified.

Even if Luca was young and potentially lacking in combat experience, she was confident he could take care of himself.

As Luca headed toward Pure River Town alone, Curtis sneered.

"You're walking straight into hell when there's a path to heaven." He licked his lips and quietly followed behind.

As the group of over a thousand professionals entered the town, they were met with a gruesome sight.

Some with weaker stomachs couldn't hold it in and vomited on the spot.

What was once a bustling town had turned into a nightmarish hellscape.

The once-clean streets were stained with dried black blood, and chunks of flesh and organs were carelessly discarded in the corners. The stench of rotting corpses assaulted their noses, almost too much to bear. hosted-on-NovelFire

Dozens upon dozens of black, rotting, and deformed creatures wandered aimlessly throughout the town. Their bloodshot eyes were filled with a murderous, frenzied bloodlust. There had to be at least a thousand of them, covering the streets, rooftops, sewers, and houses—monsters everywhere, a dark mass overwhelming the entire town!

"Roar!!" As soon as the creatures spotted Luna and the others, they let out furious howls, their eyes glowing with a murderous red light as they charged toward the group on all fours.

They were fast, far too fast, and their sheer numbers made even some seasoned professionals feel weak in the knees.

Luna's eyes flashed with a sharp, sword-like gleam. The noble sword at her waist was slowly unsheathed, and in an instant, she was enveloped in a brilliant white sword aura.

Meanwhile, on Luca's side, he encountered a smaller group of the deformed black creatures.

But only about a dozen or so.

As they rushed toward him, Luca's expression remained calm, unbothered.

With a flash of light, the Wind and Thunder Spell Spear appeared in his hand, crackling with lightning.

Swoosh! A shadow shot toward him!

One of the monsters was suddenly at Luca's side, its sharp claws slashing directly at his throat.

Its putrid stench of decay filling the air.

Luca remained composed, his body unmoving as his wrist turned, swinging the spear with a burst of wind and thunder.

With a howl of force, the creature was sent flying over ten meters through the air.

Smashing against a wall with a sickening thud, reduced to a splatter of black sludge.

[Ding! You have slain "lv22 Abyssal Crawler (Common)," gaining 13,000 experience!]

Luca's eyes flickered as he glanced at the kill notification.

Abyssal Crawlers were specialized creatures that only existed in the Abyssal Demon Realm.

While abyssal energy could corrupt and cloud a person's mind, amplifying their desires, it didn't turn people into monsters.

To understand why these people had transformed into such creatures, Luca needed to investigate the node himself.

"Let's hope it's a big fish…" Luca murmured to himself before vanishing from where he stood.

By the time the swarm of monsters reacted, Luca had already reappeared on a rooftop, his movements swift and silent.

Behind him, a barrage of ice arrows began to materialize, forming rapidly until they filled the sky, casting an icy chill over the entire street.

It was so cold!

With a glance at the Abyssal Crawlers below.

Luca unleashed his attack. The ice arrows descended like rain.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Black blood splattered everywhere as the monsters were torn apart. One by one, kill notifications popped up before Luca's eyes.

In an instant, dozens of the creatures had been wiped out.

Luca briefly glanced at the notifications before dismissing them. At his current level, it took hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of experience points to level up. This wave of monsters barely made a dent.

Without lingering, he vanished from the rooftop, his figure flashing as he made his way toward the center of the town.

Pure River Town wasn't just crawling with Abyssal Crawlers; there were also other grotesque abominations roaming the streets—six-legged humanoid spiders, one-eyed cyclopses, and disembodied heads with mouths full of jagged teeth.

The moment these creatures spotted Luca, they shrieked and charged at him.

Luca's eyes turned cold. His Wind and Thunder Spell Spear gleamed with green runes.

Thick, spiked vines burst from the ground, immediately entangling and crushing the more sluggish monsters. The more agile ones barely dodged the vines' initial strike.

But the vines were relentless.

They twisted mid-air, like serpents, coiling around the remaining creatures. Moments later, the sound of bones snapping filled the street, followed by the gurgling flow of dark, foul blood spilling onto the ground from the crushing vines.

As the monsters were dispatched, experience points surged into Luca's body.

It wasn't long before a golden glow enveloped him.

[Ding! Your level has increased to 31. You have gained 30 free attribute points!]

Luca allocated all the points to his spirit stat, bringing it up to 3,100.

While the monsters here weren't high-level, there were enough of them that, if he kept going, he could probably reach level 33 by the end of the day.

Just as he thought this, his brows furrowed.

A powerful gust of wind rushed toward him from behind.

Someone's attacking!

Luca's eyes flashed coldly, reacting instantly.

Silver light shimmered beneath his feet, and his body vanished in the blink of an eye.

Air Step!

A blood-red giant python-shaped attack whizzed past where Luca had just stood, piercing through a two-story building behind him.

Boom!

The building exploded in a cloud of dust and debris as the terrifying blood energy burst inside, shaking the earth with its destructive force.

Amid the flying rubble, the building collapsed in an instant.

Luca reappeared on the street below.

His gaze lifting to the figure wrapped in a shroud of blood energy standing atop the roof.

His eyes turned icy cold.

It was Curtis, who had somehow caught up to him.

Curtis's body was surrounded by a thick, menacing aura of blood energy. His mid-tier peak strength was fully unleashed.

Brandishing a massive blood-red blade, Curtis grinned maniacally and taunted, "Kid, how do you want to die?"