Online Game: I Started with Max Charisma and Caught the Goddess's Eye - Chapter 485 485: The Adventurers’ Guild

In the end, Andrew reluctantly agreed to Luca’s plan.

He led Luca straight to his home in the All-Beings Empire, within Evil Mountain Prefecture, in a city called Riverside.

Riverside City was not too far from the exit of the Wasteland of Bones. After all, Evil Mountain Prefecture itself had been named after the colossal mountain range along the Wasteland’s border—Evil Mountain.

On the road to Riverside, Andrew repeatedly warned Luca about the dangers he needed to keep in mind.

“The Empire is mired in massive conflict right now, so don’t reveal your true strength in front of just anyone. If you show your power too easily, they’ll drag you off and force you into the army.

“When we get to Riverside, I’ll be heading to the Adventurers’ Guild. If you want to come along, you can. I don’t know exactly what your goals are, but I figure you’re looking to gather more information.”

Luca listened patiently to Andrew’s words.

In truth, he wasn’t worried about being conscripted. To join one side’s army would simply mean making contact with that faction. By demonstrating his strength, he would quickly find a way to meet the Four Kings themselves.

Still, to avoid unforeseen complications, he decided to first visit the Adventurers’ Guild to gather as much intelligence as possible. Perhaps there, he might uncover traces of Silent Dark Shadow, Zenobia, or even Senator Devitt.

When his own connection point had exploded, it had hurled him into the Wasteland of Bones. Naturally, the others could have been cast into equally remote and desolate regions. And no organization knew more about such uncharted places than the Adventurers’ Guild.

That evening, Andrew and Luca finally arrived in Riverside City.

The soldiers at the gate recognized Andrew, so they didn’t press him with many questions, letting him and Luca pass freely into the city.

Following the small river that cut through the streets, the two of them reached Andrew’s home in less than half an hour.

It was a cozy villa, exuding warmth and comfort.

“Looks like you really know how to live,” Luca remarked with a note of surprise.

In his mind, adventurers weren’t usually the type to care much about domestic comforts.

Andrew grinned proudly.

“I’m not like the others. I believe having a warm home is a great aid to exploration. A comfortable, welcoming house helps me recover quickly after every journey.”

Andrew spoke as he led Luca into his home.

“The guest rooms are upstairs. Pick whichever you like. Tonight, we’ll rest well, and tomorrow morning I’ll take you to the Adventurers’ Guild.”

While unstrapping his gear, Andrew glanced back at Luca.

“There’s no need to rush,” Luca replied calmly. “It doesn’t have to be tomorrow. Just follow your original plans—I don’t want to interfere with your life too much.”

Part of him truly felt Andrew had already given him immense help; pushing further into Andrew’s private life would be overstepping. But there was another reason too—if Andrew began acting too strangely, it might draw the attention of the various factions within the All-Beings Empire, which would be dangerous for them both.

“Normally, I should go to the Guild first thing tomorrow. I’ve been missing for far too long—everyone there must be terribly worried. I need to let them know I’m still alive, so they won’t keep fearing the worst.”

Having said this, Andrew finished unloading his equipment, yawned deeply, and went off to his bedroom.

Luca, meanwhile, went upstairs to the guest room.

That night, Andrew slept soundly, his loud snores echoing throughout the villa.

Luca, however, never truly rested. He spent the hours turning over his next steps in his mind. Sophia offered him suggestion after suggestion, but none of them were of much real use—after all, she was unfamiliar with the ways of the All-Beings Empire.

“Forget it for now,” Luca murmured to himself. “Once we reach the Adventurers’ Guild tomorrow, I’ll figure things out.”

Resolving to take things one step at a time, he finally closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.

At dawn the next day, Andrew led Luca toward the headquarters of the Adventurers’ Guild in the center of Riverside City.

The moment they reached the Guild’s front entrance, three adventurers in eccentric outfits suddenly burst out. They rushed forward and surrounded Andrew at once.

“Where on earth have you been all this time? I thought you’d died out there on some reckless expedition!” cried a middle-aged man in a yellow hood and pale-blue miner’s garb, his voice thick with concern.

“That’s right—we’ve been worried sick about you!” added a young woman in light-green adventurer’s gear, her eyes filled with relief. “I even started regretting that I was the one who encouraged you to explore the Wasteland of Bones in the first place.”

“It’s good that you’ve come back. With you here, the Adventurers’ Guild won’t fall apart. And who’s that behind you? A new adventurer you’ve brought in?”

An elderly man in a white robe looked past Andrew toward Luca, asking with faint puzzlement.

Faced with the trio’s barrage of warm questions, Andrew could only answer them one by one.

“I did run into some danger in the Wasteland of Bones, but I was lucky—lucky enough to make it out alive. As for him, he’s a new apprentice I’ve taken on. He’ll study under me for a while, and once he has enough skill to venture on his own, he’ll go his separate way. You don’t need to pay him too much mind—he’s just an ordinary adventuring enthusiast.”

Andrew’s explanation finally put the three of them at ease.

“A lot has happened in the Guild lately, and there are plenty of documents that need your signature. You’d better get to work. I’ll inform the other members that you’ve made it back safely,” one of them said.

With that, the three adventurers each departed to their own tasks.

Andrew turned back to Luca and said,

“Those three are my friends. The four of us founded the Adventurers’ Guild together. Since I invested the most, they can’t do without me.”

“The one with the money does carry the most weight! I didn’t expect you to be this wealthy,” Luca remarked with genuine surprise.

He had already suspected, back at Andrew’s home, that Andrew wasn’t poor. But he had never imagined Andrew had enough resources to fund the creation of an entire Adventurers’ Guild. From the sheer scale of its headquarters, it was obvious the Guild’s operations required a tremendous amount of money.

“I’m not that rich, really. My family was once among the great noble houses of the Empire. Though we’ve declined over the last few centuries, the inheritance left behind was still vast. What I have is only a small share of that family fortune,” Andrew explained simply.

Then he led Luca into his office.

“I know why you’ve come here—you’re looking to uncover more information, aren’t you?” Andrew said, gesturing toward the file cabinet across from his desk.

“All the intelligence gathered recently by the Guild is stored there. Whatever you’re searching for, look through it. If what you want isn’t there, then I’m afraid there’s nothing more I can do for you.”

With that, Andrew turned his attention to his own work.

Luca, naturally, went straight to the cabinet and began leafing through the files inside.

Inside the file cabinet was indeed a vast collection of intelligence reports gathered from all over.

Members of the Adventurers’ Guild scattered across different regions constantly sent in accounts of what they had seen and heard, and all of it was compiled here.

Among this tangle of reports, Luca’s sharp eyes quickly picked out three pieces of critical intelligence.

The first concerned a curse outbreak that had occurred half a month ago in the southern desert of the Kingdom of Clinton.

According to the details, the outbreak was closely tied to chaotic energy. Moreover, countless victims bore marks around their bodies as if constricted by vines.

This was almost certainly the work of Senator Devitt.

“I didn’t expect him to end up in the Kingdom of Clinton… He must have unleashed the curse because he’d been driven into a dead end,” Luca muttered under his breath.

Devitt, after all, belonged to the Via Empire. With the Via Empire locked in war against the Kingdom of Clinton, Devitt had undoubtedly found himself in dire straits.

The second piece of intelligence reported that the Whispering Forest had once again erupted with a powerful wave of chaotic energy.

Most believed that such a surge could only have been triggered by an intense clash between two godlike beings.

“Could it be that Silent Dark Shadow and Zenobia ended up in the same place?” Luca thought in astonishment.

If his guess was correct, then for the moment, he needn’t worry about threats from any of those three—Devitt, Silent Dark Shadow, or Zenobia. They were already trapped in their own crises.

That meant Luca could use this window of time to carefully plan his own moves within the All-Beings Empire.

After quickly reviewing the rest of the intelligence, Luca sat frowning in thought.

Just then, an urgent knock resounded at the door.

“Andrew! There’s a general outside who claims to know you. He wishes to meet with you.”

At the sound of those words, Luca and Andrew instinctively turned to look at one another.

Andrew spoke quickly:

“Stay here in the office. Don’t come out. I’ll go see what this is about.”

With that, he left immediately.

Luca remained inside, alert and ready, ears straining to catch what was happening beyond the door.

Though he trusted that Andrew wouldn’t betray him, he had to prepare for the worst. If Andrew chose to side with the general, then Luca might have no choice but to fight his way out in a brutal battle.

Soon, the sound of laughter drifted in from outside.

Andrew and the general seemed to be chatting casually.

As time passed, Luca gradually began to relax.

“My worries were unnecessary after all. I should have trusted my first judgment—Andrew truly is someone worthy of trust,” Luca murmured softly to himself.