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

In the final preparation period, both Zovland and Drumph had chosen their candidates for the dangerous mission.

Zovland had directly selected Evelyn, the most powerful member of Eastern Territory Morning Star, known as the "Star Mage."

Evelyn was a level 65 Arcane Mage, and she possessed the hidden class 'Star Emissary.'

She had once, during an extremely dangerous mission, single-handedly eliminated twelve monsters with her own strength.

Evelyn's staff was also an extremely rare weapon.

As for Drumph, his choice was naturally Fuzzsir.

Although he had hesitated between Fuzzsir and Donlow for a while, in the end, he decided not to send Donlow.

This mission was too dangerous.

Donlow's strength wasn't sufficient to handle this particularly perilous task.

Fuzzsir's injuries had already been fully healed.

As the strongest member of Northern Territory Morning Star, he was the obvious choice for this most dangerous mission.

To ensure that Fuzzsir wouldn't slow down Luca, Drumph even took the time to have a conversation with him.

"Your injuries should be completely healed by now, right? You are the strongest among us in Northern Territory Morning Star. So, I want you to team up with Luca for this mission."

Drumph straightforwardly expressed his intentions.

Fuzzsir, upon hearing the news, immediately voiced his complaints.

"Boss! I may be strong, but you shouldn't be pushing all the dangerous tasks onto me!"

"I'm choosing you because I trust you to handle this mission. And once the mission is complete, I'll reward you generously."

"What good is a generous reward if I end up in a situation where I earn money but have no life left to spend it?"

"Don't worry too much. After all, you'll be going with Luca. His strength should be enough to earn your approval, right?"

"His strength is certainly impressive, but that doesn't mean he'll look out for me when things get dangerous."

Fuzzsir was reluctant to take on the dangerous mission.

However, he knew that his excuses had no real chance of success.

After a lengthy period of persuasion, Drumph's patience was completely worn thin.

"Stop wasting time! I've chosen you for the mission, and you're going. Just do it!"

"You're the boss, so I have no choice but to follow your orders," Fuzzsir finally agreed under Drumph's forceful insistence.

On the morning of the mission's start, everyone gathered at the Morning Star headquarters to discuss the details of the operation.

In addition to the four people who would be carrying out the mission, Logan, Drumph, and Zovland were also present.

The first to speak, of course, was Luca.

After all, he was the one leading the mission, and he was the only one who knew the specific details of what lay within the Passage.

"We're going to explore the area deep within the Passage, an area filled with chaotic energy. This region is bound to have a lot of monsters, so we must bring powerful weapons," he began by introducing the area they were going to explore, then continued with the specifics of the operation.

"I will take the lead, and you just need to follow behind me. If we encounter danger, I will take responsibility for protecting you. The task of gathering intelligence will, of course, fall to the two Morning Star members."

Once he finished outlining his plan, Luca directly asked,

"Does anyone have any questions? If you have any concerns, bring them up now. If not, we'll head to the entrance of the Passage."

"I have a question," Evelyn, dressed in a white robe and with a serious expression, spoke up first.

"According to the information we've gathered, there are two areas deep within the Passage. One is filled with powerful chaotic energy, and the other contains unknown energy. Why aren't we exploring the other area?"

"I believe the other area is too dangerous, and I can't ensure my own safety there. If you want to explore it, you can go ahead, but I won't," Luca quickly replied.

His answer left Evelyn speechless.

Zovland took this opportunity to coldly add, "If you think the other area is too dangerous, I can send more people with you."

"Numbers don't matter at all!" Luca didn't even look at Zovland, his gaze fixed on Drumph. "When we encounter unknown dangers, we will most likely have to fight alone. So, each person's strength is what matters most."

His words were met with agreement from everyone present.

Even Evelyn, Zovland's subordinate, slowly nodded her head.

However, upon catching the expression on Zovland's face out of the corner of her eye, she quickly tried to hide it.

"Does anyone else have any questions?" Logan, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

After the disturbance caused by Zovland, no one dared to ask any more questions.

Even if they had doubts, they kept them to themselves.

At this point, asking a question would surely be seen as siding with Zovland.

"Since no one has any questions, let's head out. I won't be seeing you off; let Drumph and Zovland handle that," Logan said before leaving.

Drumph and Zovland escorted the group to the entrance of the Passage.

When they arrived, the situation at the entrance had changed somewhat from the last time Luca had been there.

Three lines of barriers had been set up around the Passage.

Each barrier was guarded by many Morning Star members.

To pass through these barriers, a Morning Star pass was required.

After getting past the multiple blockades, the group finally arrived at the entrance of the Passage.

Nova couldn't help but remark, "I hope this mission is successful this time. I really don't want to make a pointless trip again."

"This time, the mission will definitely succeed, as long as no one in our team holds us back," Fuzzsir said as he glanced at Evelyn standing next to him.

Evelyn didn't respond; she just gave a cold snort.

"Alright, since we've arrived here, there's no need for me to go in. You can start the mission now!"

Drumph said to the group.

Zovland, standing next to him, remained silent, watching with a cold gaze.

Under the watchful eyes of Drumph and Zovland, Luca and the others stepped into the Passage.

The moment they entered, everyone felt a powerful force surrounding them.

Except for Luca, no one else realized it was primal power.

Evelyn, entering the Passage for the first time, felt a slight discomfort.

However, she quickly adjusted herself.

She didn't want to hold the group back, nor did she want to lose face for Zovland.

Although Zovland had already lost much of his dignity, if any member of Eastern Territory Morning Star made Zovland unhappy, Zovland would certainly punish them.

"Don't be too nervous! This is completely normal!"

Luca, walking at the front, turned back and said to the others.

The group felt a little more at ease.

The first half of the Passage was free of danger.

The group spent less than half an hour before reaching a fork in the road.

At the fork, they found the body of Major Andrew.

Evelyn was the first to recognize him.

"That's Major Andrew. I recognize his gear. I can't believe he died here!" Evelyn said, her tone tinged with surprise.

Eastern Territory Morning Star had spent several days searching for Major Andrew, only to find out that he had already died inside the Passage.

"How did he get in? The entrance is heavily guarded," Fuzzsir asked, slightly puzzled.

Although Eastern Territory Morning Star's losses pleased him, the fact that Major Andrew had died here likely meant that the dangers within the Passage had increased significantly compared to before.

Nova and Luca remained silent.

Nova was frowning, deep in thought.

Luca knew the whole truth but couldn't speak of it, so he simply pretended to be very confused.

"Major Andrew was able to hide himself. He must have used this ability to bypass the guards at the entrance," Evelyn quickly explained.

Although she hadn't worked closely with Major Andrew, they were both members of Eastern Territory Morning Star, and there was some level of familiarity between them.

"But I don't know why he came here," Evelyn added, then turned her gaze to Luca. "Should we continue forward, or do we need to reconsider the entire plan?"

"No need to reconsider!" Luca said firmly. "The Passage might have changed, but our preparations this time are more than enough."

"I agree with him," Nova quickly added.

Fuzzsir naturally agreed with Luca's stance.

With everyone else on board, Evelyn had no further objections.

The group moved past Major Andrew's body and continued forward.

Under Luca's guidance, they entered the area filled with chaotic energy.

The moment they stepped into this area, they suddenly heard a voice.

"Luca, how dare you enter my domain! This time, I will make you pay a heavy price!"

The vengeful voice of Zenobia echoed in their ears.

Everyone turned their gaze toward Luca.

Luca, at that moment, felt a bit awkward.

He hadn't expected the area he stepped into to be one that Zenobia completely controlled.

"This seems to be an area controlled by an old rival of mine, but don't worry. I'll make sure you're all safe," Luca said, turning around with a smile as he reassured the group.

The others were skeptical, but they had already come this far, and there was no turning back now.