Victor smiled faintly afterward.

That reaction was exactly what he had expected from her.

Every single time he forced himself beyond his limits while using high level magic, the aftermath always left his body heavily damaged. Diana remembered those incidents far too clearly. There had been moments when his mana circuits nearly collapsed entirely. Even now, recalling those scenes caused unease to rise within her chest.

Victor slowly stepped closer once again.

Then he gently placed both hands upon her shoulders.

Diana’s body instantly stiffened.

The sudden closeness made her heart skip violently. She could even feel the warmth radiating from him through her uniform. Her breathing became slightly unstable as she lifted her gaze toward him.

Victor lowered his voice while maintaining calm confidence.

"You do not need to worry."

His eyes softened afterward.

"I will be careful not to harm myself recklessly."

Then a faint smile appeared across his face again.

"I need a Sage Rank spell."

His steady gaze never left hers.

"And you are the only person I trust enough to create something like this for me."

Diana’s face immediately turned bright red.

The distance between them was already dangerous enough. Hearing those words directly from him only made her thoughts become increasingly chaotic. Even the mana flowing through her body briefly became unstable from nervousness.

She quickly turned her face away.

"T that is only because nobody else is capable enough," she muttered weakly.

Victor nearly laughed after hearing her response.

Diana instantly realized what she had accidentally implied. Her embarrassment deepened even further afterward. She immediately forced herself to regain composure before Victor could continue teasing her.

"Fine."

Her expression gradually became serious once more.

"But only if you promise that you will not recklessly destroy your body while using it."

Victor nodded immediately.

"I promise."

Diana crossed her arms thoughtfully before entering deep contemplation.

"There are many ancient Sage Rank spells stored inside the Federation archives."

Her scholarly side slowly resurfaced.

"Perhaps similar avatar type constructs already exist within other elemental systems."

She raised her gaze toward him again.

"If compatible foundations already exist, I can modify them for your use."

A dangerous light slowly appeared within her ocean blue eyes afterward.

"And if nothing suitable exists..."

Mana fluctuations quietly spread around her body.

"I will create one myself."

Victor smiled softly after hearing those words.

"That is the girl I love."

He instinctively began reaching toward her cheek, intending to pinch it playfully.

However, Diana instantly jumped backward like a startled kitten.

"Shameless!"

Her face became completely red again.

Then she immediately turned around and hurried toward the office door before Victor could continue teasing her any further. Only seconds later, the door slammed shut loudly behind her.

Silence returned to the office.

Victor quietly stared at the closed door for several moments.

Then he softly laughed to himself.

The warmth inside his eyes gradually disappeared afterward.

His expression slowly became cold once more.

The black hooded figures.

The artificial mutations.

None of those things were remotely normal.

Victor slowly walked toward the office window before silently staring toward the distant wilderness beyond the military base. The endless dark forest stretched toward the horizon like a sleeping monster waiting to awaken.

A storm was coming.

And he intended to prepare for everything before it arrived.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"While Diana creates the spell, I need to break through into the Elite Realm. Otherwise, I will not be capable of using the Mythical Rank spell."

The thought alone made his expression darken slightly.

Unlike ordinary mages, his path toward advancement was absurdly difficult. His physique required terrifying level of power. The stronger his foundation became, the more monstrous the requirements for future breakthroughs turned.

Victor quietly clenched his fist.

"I need one billion points."

Even he felt frustration while thinking about that number.

Afterward, he opened the system interface before checking his current balance.

[Points: 1,000,000]

Victor stared silently at the screen.

One entire beast tide had only rewarded him with one million points.

That meant he would need the equivalent of one thousand large scale beast tides just to gather enough resources for the next stage of advancement.

Even for him, that number was ridiculous.

Victor’s eyes gradually turned cold.

"I’ll hunt monsters in the wilderness."

However, unlike before, he was no longer reckless enough to act carelessly without preparation.

The enemies hiding behind the shadows had already begun targeting him openly. If he continued moving around using his current identity, those assassins would continuously interfere with his plans.

Victor immediately took out his communicator before contacting Arthur.

The communication connected only moments later.

"Victor, I already heard what happened over there. Do you want me to head toward the battlefield personally?" Arthur asked seriously.

Victor calmly shook his head.

"President, I need one billion points."

Arthur immediately became silent.

Victor continued calmly.

"So I have decided to hunt monsters throughout the wilderness."

A faint killing intent slowly emerged within his voice afterward.

"Create another identity for me within the Federation."

Arthur immediately understood his intentions.

Victor intended to exist as two different people simultaneously.

"I want to separate my movements completely," Victor continued calmly. "Otherwise those assassin bastards will create endless trouble for me."

Arthur remained silent for several seconds.

"Are you certain about this?" he finally asked.

Then his tone became slightly complicated.

"Did you tell Diana?"

Victor leaned quietly against the office wall.

"No need. She is already busy with something else."

His gaze drifted toward the distant wilderness once more.

"Create a second identity that remains within the battlefield."

Arthur instantly understood.

A fake version of Victor would remain publicly visible while the real Victor disappeared into the wilderness.

Victor’s voice remained calm afterward.

"I want a completely different persona."

His eyes slowly sharpened.

"I will become a swordsman."

Arthur inhaled slowly from the other side of the communicator.

Victor had always been known publicly as an overwhelming mage. If another terrifying powerhouse suddenly appeared using swordsmanship instead of magic, almost nobody would connect the two identities together.

"Prepare a Legendary Rank sword that is not connected to the system," Victor continued.

"I also need black full body armor."

Arthur finally nodded.

"Very well."

His tone became serious afterward.

"Your doppelganger identity will be prepared immediately."

Then he added calmly,

"The armor, sword, documents, and complete background information will also be ready soon."

Victor nodded slightly.

"Thank you."

The communication ended afterward.

Two days later.

Another Victor officially appeared within the battlefield base.

He publicly announced that he would enter closed door cultivation for an extended period while recovering from his injuries after the beast tide battle. Numerous officers personally witnessed him entering the isolated training area prepared for him.

Naturally, none of them realized the truth.

The person inside that room was merely a carefully prepared substitute.

Meanwhile, far away from the military base, spatial fluctuations quietly spread within an abandoned region near the wilderness border.

Victor silently stepped out from a teleportation formation.

However, his appearance had changed completely.

A dark full body armor concealed his entire figure from head to toe. His face remained hidden beneath a black metallic mask while a long dark cloak moved quietly behind him under the cold wind.

Inside his hand rested a dark sword.

Unlike usual weapons, this blade was not connected to any dungeon system equipment. It possessed no recognizable aura that others could trace back toward his original identity.

Victor slowly raised the sword before observing its reflection beneath the moonlight.

Cold and sharp.

Exactly what he needed.

The wilderness stretched endlessly before him like an ancient forbidden land filled with countless monsters waiting in darkness.

Victor quietly stared toward that endless forest.

From this moment onward, he would disappear from the Federation’s public sight.