The three sages exchanged glances before faint smiles appeared on their faces. The atmosphere inside the room gradually became lighter after the earlier serious discussion. Arthur leaned back slightly in his chair and looked directly at Victor with calm eyes.

"Very well. We can discuss the other matters later," Arthur said. "For now, you need to become much stronger if you truly wish to enter their empire. Tell me what you need."

Victor did not hesitate for long. He had already planned everything carefully in his mind during the journey back to the shop and in this three days. Since he now had access to enormous resources, there was no reason to hold himself back.

"President, I need three elite spells belonging to different elements," Victor replied calmly. "For the light element, give me a healing spell. For the metal element, I want a spell related to magnetism that can influence other metallic attributes as well. For darkness, I need something that allows me to merge with darkness itself."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"And I also want one legendary lightning spell. Besides that, I need four physique cores. That should be enough for now. The money I am about to receive should cover everything, right?"

Arthur nodded without surprise. It was obvious that Victor had already thought deeply about his future combat style.

"Yes. Altogether, it should cost around one billion dollars," Arthur answered. "Compared to what you are about to receive, that amount is insignificant. You will be getting nearly one trillion dollars."

Victor’s eyes widened slightly. Even though he knew his achievements were extraordinary, hearing such a number still felt absurd.

"That much?" he muttered before shaking his head lightly. "Then thank you. I think my condition has already recovered completely. I want to enter some dungeons soon."

Before Arthur could respond, Diana immediately frowned. She clearly disliked the idea of Victor throwing himself back into danger so quickly after everything that had happened. However, Arthur raised his hand slightly before speaking again.

"Before that, would you like to meet your future team members?" Arthur asked. "I am also considering sending you to the northern battlefield of the Moon Empire."

Victor became interested immediately.

"The northern battlefield?" he asked.

Arthur nodded slowly.

"Wild monsters frequently appear there," he explained. "White Dungeons also emerge from time to time. There are also many green dungeons as well. The stationed soldiers rarely have the opportunity to clear them because they must maintain peak condition for constant combat duty. Most of them can only enter dungeons once a week."

Diana was about to object immediately. Victor had only awakened recently and his growth speed already bordered on insanity. Sending him directly to one of the most dangerous battlefields in the world sounded reckless even to her.

However, Victor answered before she could speak.

"Alright," he said without hesitation.

Diana glanced at him silently after hearing his answer, but in the end, she did not say anything.

Arthur suddenly became serious again. The slight relaxation in his expression disappeared completely.

"There is another secret," he said quietly.

Victor immediately noticed the shift in atmosphere. Even Elyndros and Diana looked more solemn than before.

"What secret?" Victor asked.

Arthur folded his hands together before speaking slowly.

"We control several ancient ruins hidden across the Federation," he said. "Those ruins belong to civilizations that existed long before ours."

Victor listened silently.

"According to the information we recovered," Arthur continued, "there were at least three civilizations before humanity’s current era. Every single one of them surpassed our science and technology by an unimaginable margin."

Even Victor became slightly shocked hearing that.

Arthur’s expression darkened further.

"They possessed warriors called martial warriors," he said. "Their strength was comparable to elite awakeners. Some records even suggest that they were stronger. However, the truly terrifying part is their weapons. Certain ancient weapon systems were capable of killing sages."

Victor’s face immediately became serious.

"When you say martial warriors," he asked carefully, "did they use some kind of breathing technique to become powerful?"

The reaction of the three sages was immediate. Arthur, Elyndros, and even Diana stared at him with widened eyes.

"How do you know that?" Arthur asked sharply.

Victor’s heart skipped for a moment, but his expression remained calm.

"I probably read something similar in old fantasy novels," he lied smoothly.

In reality, he was connecting the information to cultivation stories from his previous life. The similarities sounded far too obvious to ignore. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Victor leaned forward slightly.

"Can you show me one of those breathing methods?" he asked with visible excitement.

Arthur shook his head almost immediately.

"Do not become too excited," he replied. "We attempted to comprehend those techniques many times in the past, but none of us succeeded. Every attempt resulted in backlash from the System itself."

Victor frowned slightly after hearing that.

"What about non awakened humans?" he asked. "They are not directly connected to the System. Could they learn those techniques?"

This time Elyndros answered instead.

"Some people tried exactly that," Elyndros said calmly. "However, the moment they approached success, the System interfered and restricted them as well."

Victor fell silent for several seconds after hearing the answer. The more he learned about the System, the more mysterious and oppressive it seemed.

"Even so, I still want to see one of those techniques eventually," Victor said. "And when can I officially head toward the battlefield?"

"You can leave in ten days," Arthur answered. "Your resources will arrive before then."

The three sages slowly stood up, signaling that the meeting was over.

Diana looked directly into Victor’s eyes before leaving.

"Do not do anything reckless that could harm you," she said quietly.

Victor simply nodded.

After they left, the room finally became silent again. Victor sat alone for several moments before a grin slowly appeared on his face. Excitement surged through him uncontrollably.

If martial warriors truly existed, then his physical limitations might eventually be solved completely. The body strengthening spell was effective, but the progress was painfully slow. Victor did not possess enough patience to wait decades for gradual improvement.

"System," Victor called inwardly, "now that I have reached the Novice Realm, how many times can I use the Chaos Element?"

The familiar mechanical voice answered immediately.

[At your maximum condition, you will be capable of casting it five times per day. Currently, even using it twice would place immense strain on your body.]

Instead of disappointment, Victor felt satisfied. Compared to before, this was already massive progress.

"That is more than enough for now," he thought happily.

Without wasting further time, Victor changed into casual clothing and prepared to leave. He wanted to test the Chaos Element inside a dungeon while waiting for Arthur to send the requested spells and physique cores.

Soon, he boarded a taxi and headed toward the Federation Hall to upgrade his hunter rank officially.

When he arrived and stepped out of the taxi, several nearby people immediately recognized him.

"Look, His Highness is here!"

"Oh my God, he looks even more handsome in casual clothes!"

"I want to hug him at least once!"

Groups of girls instantly became excited after spotting him. Victor’s expression stiffened immediately when he noticed the rapidly gathering crowd.

Without hesitation, he escaped at full speed.

A few minutes later, he entered the Federation Hall and quickly searched for the person in charge of rank upgrades. The employee behind the desk became visibly shocked the moment he recognized Victor.

The man hurriedly stood up in panic, but Victor immediately gestured for silence.

"Please keep things quiet," Victor whispered.

The employee nodded rapidly.

"Your Highness, please give me your hunter card," the man said respectfully. "I will process the upgrade immediately."

The employee himself was an Adept rank warrior who had survived the battlefield thanks to Victor’s actions earlier. Unsurprisingly, he had already become one of Victor’s admirers.

Within only five minutes, Victor’s hunter rank changed officially from F Rank to E Rank. The employee did not even ask for combat proof.

"Thank you," Victor said before leaving through the back entrance.

Soon, he entered another taxi and headed toward a dungeon known as Orc Forest.

The dungeon possessed twenty floors. Ordinary monsters inside were at the Novice Rank, while the final boss possessed Adept Rank strength.

Dungeon entry restrictions were extremely strict. Apprentice Rank awakeners could only enter E Rank dungeons. Novice Rank awakeners could enter both E and D Rank dungeons. Adept Rank awakeners could enter D and C Rank dungeons, and the pattern continued upward similarly.

Victor had already informed Elyndros beforehand. Because of that, the guards guarding the dungeon gate personally sealed the area for everyone else.

The other hunters did not complain after learning the reason.

Instead, hundreds of people gathered outside simply to see Victor in person. Some opportunistic individuals even opened temporary stalls nearby. Within a short time, a small marketplace formed around the dungeon entrance.

When Victor arrived, he stared at the enormous crowd in disbelief.

"What is happening here?" he asked blankly.

The next moment, everyone bowed simultaneously.

"Greetings, Your Highness! It is an honor to meet you!"

Victor felt the corner of his mouth twitch violently.

Without saying another word, he immediately rushed toward the dungeon gate and entered at full speed.

Only after arriving inside did he finally release a relieved sigh.

Unfortunately, that relief lasted less than two seconds.

A massive orc suddenly roared and swung a gigantic axe directly toward his head.