I Can Only Cultivate In A Game

The tall one with thin jittery fingers and a few tattoos along his arms, had already activated a couple of [Elemental Manipulation: Acid Spray] and [Gravity Lash] spells from his system.

The other, who was shorter, stockier, and cloaked in a stealth-enhancing garment was clearly an assassin class.

The assassin launched forward and disappeared mid-step with a flicker

[Phase Step]

Victor didn't even blink.

A moment later, the assassin reappeared directly behind him and slashed downward... only to cut through nothing but air.

WHOOSH!

Victor had already moved.

Like a gust of wind, he appeared behind the assassin in a blur... thanks to [Wind Dash] with his right leg raised.

Before the assassin could realize what wss happening, his leg came down the assassis's back with enough force to crack the marble floor.

"GAAAAH!"

The poor guy slammed into the ground with a loud thud and groaned.

The Mage panicked. "Oh no, no no—" He rapidly activated [Chain Lightning], launching it across the plaza.

Victor twisted to the side, evading it with artistically like someone skipping through rain.

Then he vanished again from the Mage's sight.

The Mage's eyes darted back and forth at the dozen afterimages surrounding him.

"W-Wait—" he began.

Too late.

Victor emerged right above him and lightly tapped the mage's shoulder with a frosty palm.

FWOOSH!

[Frost Bloom Palm] activated instantly, encasing part of the mage's shoulder in a web of icy qi.

However, qi didn't work the same way magic did so the frost bloom didn't affect his mana but it did slow down the mage's movement.

In the next instant, Victor backhanded him with his other palm, sending him flying into the nearby wall.

THUD!

Both thieves groaned in pain as Victor finally let out a breath and adjusted his collar.

He glanced around to make sure there were no more tricks. Then he walked toward the mage and pulled up his status panel.

"Credit logs," Victor said flatly. "Now."

The mage groaned while breathing heavily. "You... you don't understand..."

Victor arched an eyebrow. "Oh I understand. You're going to transfer back everything you took from that poor dude or I will bash both your skulls in."

The assassin who was still lying face-first on the floor suddenly gasped out as he recognised the face before him. "Victor Revenant?!"

The mage eyes widened upon hearing that; "Number 2 in the whole damn academy? It really is him..."

Both of them instantly felt extremely stupid for attacking someone like this. Their loss was already guaranteed from the moment they bumped into him.

"You're just now realizing?" Victor rolled his eyes. "And you call yourselves thieves."

The two froze.

Even injured, the panic that overtook them was instant. The Mage, who'd tried to act tough earlier, started trembling. "Oh no... oh no... please don't report us, please!"

"Y-Yeah, we didn't know it was you!" the assassin choked. "W-We wouldn't have attacked if we knew!"

Victor sighed and crossed his arms. "I should drag both of you straight to the Discipline Hall."

They both knelt in panic.

"Please, please, Victor... just listen. I'm Jarek. He's Navo," said the mage, pointing to the assassin.

Jarek gulped and continued, "We weren't trying to scam anyone. We usually only target fellow C-ranks, and even then... just the ones acting arrogant."

"Arrogant?" Victor tilted his head.

"No—no, not like that," Jarek waved his hands frantically. "Look, being E-rank in the academy sucks. We barely get 10,000 credits monthly. That's nothing. Meals alone cost a fortune. If we wanna buy potions or scrolls or anything to improve, we're always broke."

Navo added, "Most of the time we can't even do missions fast enough to earn more because everyone hogs the good ones. So we're stuck with bottom-tier scraps."

Victor stayed quiet.

Jarek's voice cracked. "I can't count the number of nights we sleep in the common hall without eating. Or the times I've gone without repairing my weapon because I had to choose between that or food."

"And my family back at home aren't well to do," Navo whispered. "They stay at the outer districts. They're counting on me to become a great mana defense officer so I can finally get them out of poverty... please, I can't get expelled... we didn't mean to hurt anyone."

Tears brimmed in the corners of their eyes as they pleaded.

Victor looked down at the both of them. He rubbed his temple, clearly annoyed but also conflicted.

"I get it," he finally said. "Life's unfair. Especially in this place. But do you really think taking from others who are also trying to survive is the answer?"

Jarek bowed his head. "No... but we didn't know what else to do."

"Then let me give you a piece of advice," Victor crouched to eye level while speaking. "The only way you crawl out of the pit you're in... is by grinding harder than everyone else. Whether it's training till your bones give out or doing menial jobs in the academy. Doesn't matter. Every bit adds up. You either earn respect the hard way, or you'll keep getting beat down like this."

The two boys nodded fervently, still sniffling.

Victor sighed again before tapping the watch on his wrist. "Transfer 50,000 credits each to: Jarek Moren and Navo Rist."

A pair of dings echoed as their notifications buzzed.

Both of them stared at him in stunned silence.

"You... you're giving us money?" Jarek asked.

Victor shrugged. "Don't make me regret it."

Navo burst into tears. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Victor stood, brushing off his robe. "Don't thank me. Get your act together. You get caught again doing shady stuff, and I will personally drag your butts to the Discipline Hall."

"Yes, sir! We swear!"

Victor waved a hand as he turned to leave. "Now get lost before someone else sees you groveling."

The two of them scurried off, half-crying and half-bowing as they vanished into the distance.

Victor chuckled to himself.

"Number two and I'm still out here playing charity worker," he muttered. "This academy better print me a statue soon."

And with that, he strolled off, hands behind his head, casually humming the theme song from one of his favorite childhood dramas.

...

...

Two weeks passed in what felt like a blink.

Victor's days were an intense blur of focus, cycling between real-life training and long sessions in Ascendant Realms. His cultivation had surged. He was now 70% into the Nascent Soul Realm, standing at the threshold of yet another breakthrough.

But now it was time to pause all that.

The week for Batch N and Batch O's Outland Excursion had finally arrived.

Within the towering glass-dome of the Awakened Academy's transportation bay, hundreds of first-year students assembled.

They all looked eager and nervous as they whispered with excitement.

Most of them were D, E, or F-ranked. With the exception of two.

Victor Revenant and Elyra Vorn.

Victor stood silently amidst the murmuring crowd, clad in his academy silver combat outfit.

The emblem of his special rank was woven into the chest. His white and purple wristband was a symbol of his affiliation with the academy and its ranking system glowed faintly under the bay's lights.

His half white- half dark hair shifted lightly with the gentle breeze produced by the hovering crafts.

He hadn't seen Elyra since the Warrior Legacy Weapon Competition, where he'd defeated her. That memory still hung awkwardly in the air between them, unspoken but present.

Now, she stood across the platform with her vibrant green skin radiant with mana flow.

Her bald head shimmered slightly under the transportation bay lights and even without speaking, she carried the kind of pressure that made the first-years avert their eyes.

Victor caught her gaze.

There was no tension, no animosity... just mutual recognition. A spark of understanding between the only S-ranked beasts in the room while they were getting briefed on what the Outland Excursion was going to entail.

After the briefing, she wordlessly approached him.

She bumped shoulders with him in passing, leaned in close, and whispered something into his ear.

The words were soft and almost intimate but Victor's expression didn't change. He blinked once, and before he could respond, she walked off toward a different transportation capsule.

One of the nearby F-ranked students whispered to another, "What did she just say to him?"

"Who knows... maybe they're secretly romantically affiliated..."

Victor casually scratched his head without saying a word and then sighed.

He decided to focus on the task ahead.

The loading dock crew, made up of instructors and academy stewards, began barking orders.

"First years of Batch N and O! Each capsule can carry five! Keep your formation, don't try to swap—any violations will result in expedition disqualification!"

Stewards with mana-sensing devices scanned each student's bracelet, confirming their identity and assigned team.

The silver capsules which resembled a hybrid of bullet trains and spacecraft, lined up neatly while hovering several feet off the ground.

Glowing blue runes etched across their hulls shimmered with energy as internal systems powered up.

The canopy atop each capsule was transparent, offering a full 360-degree view.

Within it, the seats wrapped around a central column, looking all exotic and better than the aesthetic of a private jet.

Victor was assigned to Capsule 09-B, alongside four other first-years. Three boys and one girl who were all D-rankers.

The moment they saw Victor walking toward them, the group straightened up instinctively.

"O-Oi, is that—"

"That's Victor Revenant... the one who defeated Elyra... the S-rank!"

"He's gonna be in our capsule?!"