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

Luca's mouth twitched slightly.

What on earth was going on? How did this situation escalate to talking about pregnancy?

He brushed off Sini's accusations with a few perfunctory replies, pushed open his bedroom door, and walked out. He wanted to see just who was causing him all this trouble.

He strode quickly to the living room and looked up to see a petite figure sitting on the sofa.

She was small in stature, wearing a loose blue wool sweater.

With glasses perched on her nose, tousled hair, and a cup in her hands, she seemed a bit uneasy. Her face was youthful, giving the impression of a middle school student.

The moment she noticed Luca approaching, she scrambled to her feet and greeted him nervously, "Hello, Mr. Luca."

"You are…?" Luca frowned, scrutinizing her. She looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't immediately place where he'd seen her before.

"Hmm?" Sini shot Luca a fierce glare, feeling a surge of frustration and regret—how had she raised such a shameless son?

Luca's mouth twitched again. The problem was that he genuinely didn't recognize this person!

At this point, the girl hurriedly explained, "Mr. Luca, I—I came specifically to thank you. Thank you for saving me a few days ago. I didn't mean to cause you any trouble. I'm really sorry."

As she spoke, a faint blush spread across her face, accompanied by a look of guilt.

Sini's voice had always been loud, so Malina had heard every word from the bedroom, especially those like "girlfriend" and "pregnancy." She felt so embarrassed that she wanted to dig a hole and bury herself. Who would've thought this mix-up would lead to such an awkward misunderstanding?

"So it was you!" Luca finally recalled. A few days ago, when he went to buy a gaming pod, he had indeed saved a young girl from a group of thugs cornering her in an alley.

At that time, the girl had been hiding in the shadows and wearing a hood, so he hadn't gotten a clear look at her face.

Now it seemed like she had specifically come to find him and express her gratitude.

Realizing the truth, Sini also understood that she had truly misunderstood her son. She immediately felt a bit awkward.

Trying to act casual, she quietly put down the broom in her hand and cleared her throat. "Oh, so you're here to say thank you? I thought… ahem."

Malina's cheeks flushed even deeper, and she lowered her head, too embarrassed to make eye contact.

"See? I told you I was innocent! This is all Susie's fault!" Luca muttered indignantly. If Susie hadn't come complaining, there wouldn't have been such a misunderstanding in the first place.

"You're not much better yourself! Anyway, you two chat for now—I'll go get some fruit," Sini said, flashing Malina an apologetic smile before shooting a warning glare at Luca. After all, she knew better than anyone else what kind of person her son was.

Luca wanted to retort, but after opening his mouth, he wisely chose to hold his tongue.

After Sini left, Luca sat down on the sofa and looked at the girl standing in front of him, who appeared somewhat shy and timid. He glanced at her thoughtfully before narrowing his eyes and saying, "You went through all this trouble to find me. I doubt it's just to say thank you, right?"

Celephais, despite being a city with a population of several hundred thousand, was still large enough that it would have taken considerable effort for this girl to locate him. If she was here simply to express her gratitude, Luca wasn't buying it.

Moreover, the reason he said this was because he sensed a familiar aura emanating from Malina…

Malina hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly. "There is something else…"

She paused, seemingly gathering her courage, and looked up at Luca with a tense expression. With some anxiety in her voice, she asked, "Has Mr. Luca noticed any… unusual changes in his body recently?"

The moment he heard this, Luca's previously relaxed demeanor vanished, and his nerves instantly tightened!

He had confided about his bodily changes to his father, Donald, because of their close family bond.

But under no circumstances could this secret be known to outsiders. Who knew what kind of trouble it could bring?

Though his mind raced, Luca's expression remained calm. He replied, "Sorry, I don't understand what you're talking about."

While speaking, Luca's eyes subtly shifted to the fruit knife on the coffee table.

If this girl made even the slightest wrong move, he was ready to strike and eliminate the threat immediately.

Malina didn't respond verbally but instead glanced at the cup on the coffee table.

She took a deep breath, her brows furrowing in concentration.

A single breath passed.

Under Luca's watchful gaze.

The still surface of the water in the cup suddenly began to ripple with faint waves.

The ripples grew more intense, and soon, a small droplet of water floated up, suspended in mid-air.

Seeing this, Luca's eyes narrowed even further.

This girl had somehow received feedback from the game, and it seemed like she had even acquired abilities from it.

It appeared that the convergence of the virtual and real worlds was happening much faster than he had anticipated…

Before long, beads of sweat appeared on Malina's forehead.

As her focus wavered, the water droplet fell back into the cup with a soft plop.

Luca crossed his legs, tilting his head as he observed the exhausted Malina. He spoke with a hint of coldness, "I don't know what your agenda is. You've shown me your little trick—it was quite impressive. If that's all, I'd like to ask you to leave now."

Malina wiped the sweat from her brow, looking a bit flustered. "Mr. Luca, I mean no harm. I've witnessed your strength, and I know you possess abilities far beyond those of ordinary people. I just—"

Luca cut her off sharply, "I think you're mistaken. I simply learned some martial arts from my father growing up—nothing more than that. There's no so-called Transcendent power."

With that, Luca stood up, making it clear he was ready to see her out. Whatever this girl's purpose was, he had no intention of getting involved with her any further.

Malina spoke urgently, "Mr. Luca, I really mean no harm. It's just that ever since that day, I've noticed my perception abilities have significantly heightened. At night, I can hear the faintest sounds, and once, when I was washing my face, I even managed to alter the flow of water. I just want to understand what's happening to me."

"I… I'm also a fan of yours. We've met in the game before. My in-game ID is 'ShadowCat.'"

Her tone was frantic and desperate.

For an ordinary person who suddenly acquired supernatural abilities, the initial excitement quickly faded, leaving only anxiety and fear.

She believed that Luca was the only one who could explain the changes happening to her, so she had gone to great lengths to track him down.

But the Luca standing before her was different from the idol she had imagined...

Luca was genuinely taken aback by her words.

He hadn't expected that the forum user who made that post was actually this young girl.

Seeing Luca's displeasure, Malina panicked even more and repeated nervously, "I… I'm really your fan. We met in the game before. My ID is 'ShadowCat.'"

"Hmm?" This time, Luca was truly surprised.

He hadn't expected the person behind that forum post to be this young girl.

And it left him feeling a bit speechless.

He had gone through great lengths to hide his appearance, so how did these women manage to recognize him so easily?

Did they all have superpowers or something?

Noticing that Malina was on the verge of tears, he sighed and said, "I have experienced similar changes to what you've described. Just keep this matter to yourself and don't tell anyone else. Also, try not to overthink it."

"From what I've observed, it's likely that we're not the only ones affected. The source of these changes could be related to Eternal Game. Just keep a low profile and conceal your identity. For now, you don't need to worry too much about your safety."

After saying this, Luca didn't wait for Malina's response. He quickly ushered her out of the door and said calmly, "One last piece of advice: go back and start stocking up on food and supplies."

Bang!

The door slammed shut, leaving Malina standing outside, stunned and motionless for a long time.

After kicking Malina out, Luca immediately called Ada.

Malina's visit had sounded an alarm in his mind. If this girl could recognize him, there was no guarantee that others wouldn't be able to as well. Moreover, he had noticed that the changes in his body were accelerating, and the speed at which the game was manifesting in reality was clearly increasing. He needed to prepare as soon as possible.

The call connected quickly, and a cool, calm voice came through the line.

"What is it? More equipment to sell?" Ada asked.

Luca typically only contacted her when he wanted to sell equipment, so she cut straight to the point. "Yes, I'm looking to sell a batch of Silver-grade equipment soon. Are you interested?" Luca replied, nodding even though she couldn't see him.

Now that Luca had reached Gold Grade, the equipment he would acquire going forward would be of higher tiers. He called Ada not only to offload his older Silver-grade equipment in exchange for funds to support Donald's purchases of supplies and weapons.

But also to give the Blues Family a heads-up to prepare more funds. He knew that he would be needing a lot more money soon.

Ada was taken aback. "You're selling Silver-grade equipment? Does that mean you've already—"

Luca cut her off. "If you want them, just name your price."

Ada quickly responded, "We're willing to offer a million for each piece of Silver-grade equipment! We'll take as many as you have!"

With Eternal Game growing more popular by the day, there was no shortage of demand for such gear.

The Blues Family had made quite a profit simply by reselling the Bronze Iron equipment Luca had previously sold them.

If they could get their hands on Silver-grade gear, they would undoubtedly earn even more. Refusing such an opportunity was out of the question.

"Prepare the money," Luca said calmly. "I'll be selling a considerable amount of equipment in the near future."

After that, he hung up the phone.

It didn't take long for the funds to be transferred over—a hefty 10 million in total!

According to Ada, this was the Blues Family's deposit.

Luca chuckled. "That woman sure knows how to do business."

Ada must have sensed that he was strapped for cash recently, so she took this opportunity to curry favor.

People from these prominent families were never simple.

Luca shook his head, transferred the remaining payment for the villa, and then sent 3 million to Donald's account.

Donald had been busy acquiring illegal weapons and renovating the villa. The previous 1 million had almost been used up, and this new sum would sustain the operation for a while longer.

Luca then called Donald and briefed him on the situation, explaining that things might get worse soon. He urged his father to expedite preparations, saying they should use money to resolve problems directly without hesitation.

Donald didn't even ask any questions. He just replied with a calm "Got it" and hung up.

Luca had confidence in his father's capabilities. All he needed to do was focus on making money—Donald could handle the rest.

Once everything on this side was settled, Luca re-entered the game.

The familiar blue notification popped up in front of him.

[Welcome, player "Luca", to Eternal World!]

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in his loft at Red Maple Academy.

With potential changes in the real world looming, Luca didn't want to waste any time.

He got up, left the loft, and inquired about the whereabouts of the blacksmith, Luke. After gathering the information, he left Red Maple Academy and boarded a carriage headed for the Outer District.

As the carriage gradually disappeared down the street…

A plain-looking middle-aged man standing on the street outside the academy narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing within them.