Online Game: I Started with Max Charisma and Caught the Goddess's Eye-Chapter 407: Oakville Town

Inside the medical wing of Shelter 102, Luca slowly opened his eyes with great effort.

Even now, he could still feel the intense pain radiating from the wounds all over his body.

Realizing he was in a secure zone, he chose to check in with Sophia first.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! You should be worrying about yourself instead."

Sophia's voice was faint and weak, but at least she wasn't in any immediate danger.

From Sophia's perspective, Luca's condition was extremely serious.

Although he had barely regained consciousness, the curse attack from Councilor Devitt had inflicted irreparable damage to his body.

"I'm alright too. I just need some time to rest."

No sooner had Luca spoken than the door to the medical room swung open.

Susie rushed in ahead of everyone else.

Her eyes were red with tears as she hurried to Luca's side, checking him over from head to toe.

"You're finally awake! Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

Her voice trembled as she threw herself into Luca's arms, on the verge of tears.

Luca looked at her gently. With great effort, he lifted his hand and stroked her hair.

"Of course I know how much you care about me. I'm really alright. Just need some rest, and I'll be back to full strength soon."

"I believe your judgment may be a bit… optimistic."

Before Luca could say another word, the most reputable doctor in the shelter spoke up, directly contradicting him.

"While your consciousness has returned, the wounds on your body are healing extremely slowly.

In fact, I would go so far as to say they're not healing at all."

The doctor's cold and clinical statement filled both Susie and Sophia with renewed anxiety.

Luca's parents—who had remained standing quietly outside the doorway—gasped in fear and covered their mouths.

Everyone in the room was shaken by the doctor's conclusion.

"I know my body better than anyone else. I believe my assessment is the correct one,"

Luca replied coldly, locking eyes with the doctor.

"If that's how you feel, I have nothing more to say,"

the doctor answered, checking Luca's medical equipment one last time.

"As I said, from my professional perspective, your wounds show no signs of healing.

If you believe you're fine, you are fully within your rights to discharge yourself."

Both Luca and the doctor understood what the other was really saying.

So Luca sat up in bed without hesitation.

He looked at Susie with a smile and said,

"I'm ready to be discharged. Let's go home."

Susie hesitated slightly. She glanced at the doctor, then slowly asked,

"Are you sure you don't need to stay here a little longer?"

"I'm sure."

Luca replied as he jumped down from the bed without hesitation.

His movements were quick and agile.

That alone convinced everyone in the room that his physical condition had mostly recovered.

A smile finally returned to Susie's face.

"Alright then! I'll take you home now. I've already finished decorating our place—

I'm certain you're going to love the style I picked."

Her words made Luca feel slightly awkward.

He had never actually planned on living with Susie.

"Your place," Sophia repeated,

"So… it seems you're about to move in together."

There was a faint trace of sarcasm in her voice.

Luca didn't quite know how to respond at first.

After a moment of awkward silence, he could only try to deflect:

"You misunderstood. What Susie meant was the villa we're staying in.

There are a lot of rooms—we won't be sharing the same space."

"Is that so? I'm not so sure I believe that."

Sophia wasn't ready to let it go.

"Come see for yourself, then!"

Luca replied, still visibly flustered.

Sophia didn't speak for the rest of the walk.

Not until Susie, Luca, and the others arrived at the house did she finally speak up again, this time with a hint of admiration.

"As expected from someone who knows you well…

The style she chose really is exactly what you like."

Sophia knew Luca too well.

Just one glance at the decor told her it matched his tastes perfectly.

This time, Luca didn't try to deny it.

"Well? Isn't this your favorite kind of design?"

Susie turned around in front of the villa, her eyes bright as she looked at Luca.

"It is—this really is my favorite style."

"I knew I got it right!

I even discussed it with my parents when decorating.

They didn't like the design, but clearly, they don't know you the way I do."

With that, Susie eagerly opened the door and rushed inside the villa.

"What are you standing around for? Come in and take a look!

We'll be living here for a while, after all!"

Susie was visibly excited as she led Luca into the house.

And at that moment, Luca only felt more and more embarrassed.

Susie had referred to Luca's parents as her own—

which clearly meant she already saw herself as Luca's wife.

"Do you have anything left to explain?"

Sophia asked coldly.

"That's just what she thinks."

Luca once again chose to deny it.

"But you didn't correct her. That means you accepted it too."

"I just didn't get a chance to say anything, that's all!"

Luca and Sophia began arguing again.

Both of them had complicated feelings,

and their conversation was more about probing each other's true intentions than actually debating the facts.

"Hurry up and come upstairs! Our room is on the second floor!"

Just then, Susie's voice echoed from above.

She was leaning over the handrail, shouting down to Luca.

Luca nodded, "I'll be right there!"

And so, Susie gave Luca a full tour of the entire villa.

There were indeed many rooms in the house,

but from the beginning, Susie had planned for Luca to stay in the same room as her.

And she had a perfectly reasonable explanation.

She believed that was the only way to take proper care of him.

However, Luca ultimately chose to decline.

He argued that he needed peace and quiet in order to recover.

In the end, they reached a compromise:

they wouldn't share a room,

but their rooms would be right next to each other.

That way, if anything happened to Luca, Susie could rush over immediately to help.

"It's getting late. You must be tired too. We should each get some rest."

Luca suggested, glancing at the darkening sky.

Susie looked slightly disappointed.

"But the sun's just gone down! I was planning to make you a big dinner.

And we still need to spend time with Mom and Dad!"

She had already filled Luca's evening schedule from start to finish.

Luca suddenly spoke with a serious tone.

"I know you mean well.

But don't forget—we're still in the middle of an apocalypse.

I need to rest as soon as possible.

For all we know, our shelter could be under monster attack again by tomorrow."

That left Susie with nothing to say.

Her expression shifted to one of quiet hurt. She lowered her voice.

"Alright then… Go get your rest.

I'll take care of Mom and Dad."

With that, she turned and walked away.

Luca watched her retreating figure,

his face shadowed by a conflicted expression.

"She's such a good person... Can you really bring yourself to turn her away?"

Sophia's voice echoed again in his mind.

This time, Luca didn't give any response.

He simply returned to his room in silence.

Everything in the room—from the furniture to the small decorations—was just as he remembered it.

The familiar surroundings brought a strange sense of comfort.

Lying on the soft bed, he spoke:

"Tomorrow, we have to move on to the second node."

"Is your body really in any condition to act so soon?"

"We don't have much time left. The sudden appearance of a councilor from the Via Empire…

It means that many within the Eternal World already know the secret of this world I'm in."

Luca furrowed his brow, his tone cold.

"More people from the Eternal World will come into the real world.

I have to complete my second awakening—my profession change—as soon as possible.

Only then will I have the strength to fight back."

His voice was heavy with determination.

Sophia had wanted to continue persuading him to rest,

but in the end, she chose to support his decision.

"Very well. The closest node to us is in Oakville Town.

That node is surrounded by a massive number of mutated plants.

If we pass through it, we'll most likely arrive in one of the forest regions of the Eternal World."

"Oakville Town?"

Luca repeated the name.

"It sounds familiar… I feel like I've heard it somewhere before."

He frowned and thought for a moment.

Then it hit him—he remembered where he had seen that name.

"When I was investigating Daskhollow Canyon,

I came across the name Oakville Town in Morning Star's classified archives.

There have always been monsters entrenched there.

Even after multiple clean-up operations by Morning Star,

they were never able to fully eliminate the threat."

"That means the node in Oakville Town is highly active,"

Sophia said quickly.

"If all goes well, we might be able to draw tremendous power from it."

A smile finally appeared on Luca's face.

"You're right. If everything goes smoothly,

I might be able to complete the second awakening and profession change within two weeks."

With that, he closed his eyes.

He needed to fall asleep as soon as possible.

Only in rest could he gather the mental strength required for tomorrow's mission.

Sophia still felt a lingering sense of worry,

but since the plan had already been set,

she had no choice but to follow through with it.

And so, she too slipped into sleep.

In the dreamworld, both Luca and Sophia could recover at a greatly accelerated rate.

At the same time, Luca was able to use his unique dream-related abilities to weaken the curses afflicting his body.