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

Chapter 163: Chapter 163: Serpent-shaped Radar! The Mother-and-Child Ghost Tree! Ghost Tree Seeds!

With the aid of Daylight Wind Shadows.

Luca quickly shook off the pursuit of the vines.

However, he immediately faced a rather awkward problem.

He was lost.

Under the shroud of this gray mist, his sense of direction was already somewhat disoriented.

After running blindly for a while, he didn't even know where he was now.

Luca glanced around at his surroundings.

It was all mist and the ruins of a grand hall, nothing different from what he had seen earlier.

He felt utterly confused.

He hadn't fallen prey to a monster, but instead had gotten stuck in this fog.

"Haha, you're really something…" came the mocking voice of Jormungandr from his ear.

"You really want a beating, don't you? Think of something fast," Luca retorted, irritated.

Just a moment ago, when the Solar Divine Spear appeared, she had hidden in the contract space, pretending to be dead, not daring to make a sound.

And now, she was mocking him.

"Your human perception really is laughable, you can't even detect something as simple as death energy, which is blocking your mental powers," Jormungandr continued to mock, before leisurely emerging from the storage space.

A dreamy purple light flashed.

Wearing a black gothic dress, Jormungandr appeared in front of Luca. She still looked like her usual loli self, and aside from being a little paler than before, there was hardly any difference.

"It's such a nostalgic smell…" she inhaled deeply, as though savoring the haze, her face filled with contentment, as if she wasn't breathing air, but freedom itself.

Luca couldn't help but roll his eyes. Just as he was about to sarcastically comment.

He suddenly realized that Jormungandr's body seemed more solid than before.

"Wait, does this stuff nourish your soul?" he asked, surprised.

"Of course, otherwise, why would I come out here?" Jormungandr explained with a smile. "Although the divine power here has almost completely dissipated, there's still some residual energy left. For me, this place is a sanctuary for restoring my strength."

Hearing this, Luca wasn't in a rush to leave.

If Jormungandr's strength were to recover, he would have a much stronger ally.

"So, where do we go from here?" His perception was completely blocked, leaving him as blind as a bat. From here on, he'd have to rely on this snake to guide him.

"Let me see." Jormungandr closed her eyes, and the purple Dreamweaving power emanated from her body.

Her black skirt fluttered as she slowly floated into the air.

Luca could clearly sense a tremendous mental force breaking through the mist, expanding outward from her like a center of gravity.

In less than a minute, Jormungandr opened her eyes and raised a small finger, pointing toward a direction in the mist. "There's something interesting over there. Let's go take a look."

Luca was surprised. "What is it?"

"You'll find out when you get there. Don't worry, you won't regret it," Jormungandr shrugged nonchalantly.

Luca didn't question her. After all, if anything happened to him, it wouldn't end well for Jormungandr either.

A cyan light glowed from his body as Daylight Wind Shadows activated. His speed surged dramatically, and he quickly sped toward the direction Jormungandr indicated.

But it wasn't long before Luca began to feel something was off.

The number of monsters here was clearly much higher than before.

Fierce-looking monsters, disturbed by Luca's presence, scrambled out of the ruins of the broken palace, using both hands and feet.

Crimson eyes began to glow in the mist, and without a word, they charged straight at Luca.

"If you made me run for nothing, you'll see how I deal with you later," Luca wasn't in a rush or worried; he still had time to threaten Jormungandr.

Jormungandr pouted in displeasure. This bastard only ever bullied her.

As the monsters closed in, Luca judged that it was almost time.

His gaze flickered, and the Magic Crystal Spear in his hand radiated a cold aura.

A gust of icy wind swept past him.

As his magical power surged, the wind around him picked up speed, and the temperature began to drop. Soon, snowflakes started to fall.

With a deep breath, a massive white tornado, towering dozens of meters high, suddenly materialized, engulfing all the monsters within it.

High-tier Magic Rune – Blizzard!

The temperature plummeted sharply. Led by the fierce winds, the seemingly delicate snowflakes turned into sharp blades, cutting deep into the monsters' bodies, leaving terrifying wounds. It was like a meat grinder.

-103,000, -96,000, -97,000...

Blood rained down as damage numbers shot up in rapid succession.

In just moments, a stream of kill notifications appeared before Luca.

[Ding! Congratulations, you have killed the level 48 Corpse Eater (Normal), earning 139,000 experience!]

[Ding! Congratulations, you have killed the level 53 Infernal Wolf (Rare), earning 565,000 experience!]

[Ding! Congratulations, you have killed the level 55 Ghost Raven (Rare), earning 644,000 experience!]

...

A flood of experience surged into Luca's body.

His experience was climbing as though riding a rocket.

These monsters were all at least Platinum Grade, with some even reaching Diamond level.

It wasn't long before multiple upgrade notifications flashed around him.

[Ding! Your level has reached 41, earning 60 free attribute points!]

Luca poured all of the attribute points into his Mental attribute, and his mental power was now close to breaking 7,000.

The monsters kept coming.

Their numbers had already surpassed several dozen.

But none of them could halt Luca's progress.

With the magic runes in his hand flashing repeatedly, Luca threw out high-tier and mid-tier skills without hesitation.

He was quickly closing in on the location Jormungandr had perceived.

It had to be said, the monsters here were indeed numerous. In just this short amount of time, Luca had already encountered three waves of monsters, all of them at least Platinum-level.

Although there were no experience rewards for killing monsters of higher levels, there was also no penalty.

At the current rate, Luca's leveling speed was terrifying. At this pace, if he stayed here for a day, he could probably reach level 50.

Unfortunately, the Divine Ruins trial had a time limit—no more than twelve hours. And no one had ever lasted that long. The monsters here were all of an incredibly high level, far beyond what an average adventurer could handle.

After breaking through several monster encirclements, Luca quickly reached his destination.

"So, this is the 'surprise' you were talking about?" He looked up at the massive, withered tree in front of him, its branches completely leafless. He frowned. Was this bastard seriously trying to mess with him?

"I thought you knew everything, yet you've never even seen a Mother-and-Child Ghost Tree?" Jormungandr didn't miss a single opportunity to mock Luca. She placed her hands on her hips, looking smug. "This is a rare treasure. Even in the Abyssal Demon Realm, it's hard to come by. If you dig up the roots, you can gain at least 800 attribute points!"

"800 points? Is that for real?" Luca was surprised. He approached with a skeptical attitude, preparing to test it out.

But just as he got closer, the withered tree suddenly began to shake.

The trunk split open, revealing an eye. A sharp branch shot out like a spear, aimed directly at Luca.

Luca had already sensed that something was off about this tree, so he didn't lower his guard. Calmly, he dodged the attack, his hand glowing with red magic runes. The fire element surged, and the temperature around him suddenly became intense.

Meteoric Fire!

A crimson glow illuminated the sky, and fiery meteors, like cannonballs, rained down upon the withered tree.

Boom!! The moment the meteors hit, the flames erupted violently.

The heat wave swept through, and the blazing fire engulfed the entire withered tree.

The tree shook violently, letting out a sharp, ear-piercing wail that made Luca's eardrums throb painfully.

-114,000! -123,000! -125,000!...

A series of damage numbers soared. Within just moments, the Mother-and-Child Ghost Tree's health was almost completely depleted.

Luca didn't waste any time. He closed in, and the Magic Crystal Spear in his hand gleamed with a metallic shine, stabbing out like lightning.

Thrust! The spear pierced the ghost tree. Instead of the usual wood-like resistance, it felt more like stabbing through flesh. Luca even saw fresh, red blood oozing from the wound—a bizarre sight.

Fortunately, the creature's strength wasn't very high. Under Luca's relentless assault, it didn't last long before being killed.

[Ding! Congratulations, you have killed the level 63 Mother-and-Child Ghost Tree (Leader), earning 1,589,000 experience!]

The kill notification appeared, and the massive influx of experience caused Luca's body to glow with a golden light once again.

[Ding! Your level has reached level 42, earning 60 free attribute points!]

Unfortunately, there was no equipment drop.

Following Jormungandr's guidance, Luca approached the location of the Mother-and-Child Ghost Tree, using the Magic Crystal Spear to pry it open. Beneath it, he unearthed a translucent, palm-sized seed.

[Ghost Tree Seed: High-tier material, a seed nurtured by the Mother-and-Child Ghost Tree. When used, it grants 500 points to both Mental and Physical attributes. Can only be used once.]

"So this is what it is," Luca muttered, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

It wasn't until he saw the Ghost Tree Seed that he remembered what it was. Every Mother-and-Child Ghost Tree bore one of these seeds, which contained the life energy accumulated by the tree.

Whether used in alchemy or consumed directly, this seed would significantly enhance a player's strength, making it an incredibly rare and valuable item in later generations.

"Told you I wasn't lying," Jormungandr said with her arms crossed, her chin raised smugly.

As one of the Demon Lords of the Abyssal Demon Realm, she knew the characteristics of nearly every monster.

"You're like a living radar!" Luca praised.

Then, with Jormungandr looking on in confusion, Luca surrounded the Ghost Tree Seed with his witchcraft power.

And began to refine it.

Luca's refining speed was incredibly fast.

The ethereal blue witchcraft energy swiftly extracted the power from the seed.

Continuously strengthening his body.

[Ding! You have used the Ghost Tree Seed, gaining 400 points in both Mental and Physical attributes!]

As the seed withered completely, a system prompt appeared before Luca.

He opened his stats panel and checked the results.

After refining the Ghost Tree Seed, his Mental attribute had increased to 6,900, and his Physical attribute had risen to 4,000—equivalent to an increase of five or six levels in total attributes.

Indeed, spending money to boost power was the fastest way!

Luca thought to himself, then decided not to linger. He turned back the way he had come.

He was ready to obtain the inheritance that the other player had acquired.

On the way, he had already spotted the temple mentioned in the guide.