I Can Only Cultivate In A Game

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?!"

Victor stepped in, offered a polite nod, and took the seat closest to the rear. The other four scrambled in, trying not to look too obvious in their reverence.

The hatch sealed with a hiss, and the internal purring of the mana engine kicked in.

Zzzhum...

Outside, the academy dome shifted.

A certain part of its curvature opened in a spiraling motion.

A faint blue layer shimmered over the entire area like a protective shell. Beyond that barrier… was the sea.

The entire dome began to rotate, repositioning their departure platforms.

Then came the announcement.

"Outland Excursion, Phase Seven: K-22 SECTOR ENGAGED."

And just like that, their capsule shot forward, through the hole, leaving the safety of the academy behind.

As they exited the Academy city like surroundings, a soft whooomph resounded. Their capsule dove, like a torpedo with purpose.

Within seconds, they were plunging into the deep ocean trench surrounding the southeastern side of this unknown continent.

Darkness enveloped them briefly.

Then came the glow.

Massive magical aquatic beasts floated in the distance. These creatures several meters long, glowing with bio-luminescent lines and ethereal mana traces. Coral formations stood tall like skyscrapers of a submerged city, and sea currents pulsed with flowing elemental energy.

Victor watched it all in silence.

'So this is the path to K-22... We didn't even come into contact with any magical sea species on our way to the academy three months back...'

"Whoa..." one of the students muttered. "This is like a damn movie..."

Victor cracked a small smile but didn't reply.

The capsule continued plunging deeper, unaffected by pressure thanks to its powerful mana shields. It weaved through tight coral veins, zipped past crystal-covered cliffs, and even dodged an enormous sea serpent slithering along the ocean floor.

They weren't alone. Dozens of other capsules trailed through the water, each glowing with a unique rune set, signifying their teams and routes.

K-22 was known to be close to a large water body. It wasn't an island but it was pretty close.

The route shifted often due to mana currents, and sector breaches from otherworldly beasts weren't uncommon according to what Victor had heard.

After nearly an hour of descent and traversal, the capsule suddenly slowed.

They surfaced again into the skies and a harsh looking terrain panned out before them as their capsules slowly descended.

K-22's terrain was part submerged world, part floating landmass.

The capsules began to land gently on a massive glowing pad etched into the grounds.

A bunch of Awakened in mana defense outfits could be seen moving about the surroundings like this was a normal Tuesday while some waited close to the landing pad.

Victor exhaled as his capsule came to a soft stop.

Its purring engines slowly powering down with a low whine. Through the crystal-paneled window, he could already see the hellish terrain that stretched across the horizon. Sector K-22.

The ground looked like it had been charred by the fury of a thousand volcanoes.

Spiky rocks jutted from the earth like the spines of a beast, and trails of molten cracks still glowed beneath the blackened surface, remnants of the time when this region belonged to the Drakenars.

Lava still seeped from far-off chasms, bubbling like something was still alive down there.

"Yep," Victor muttered to himself as he slung his travel pack over his shoulder, "definitely like the mines."

As their hatch opened, warm air hit them first, followed by the pungent scent of sulfur and raw elemental mana.

The instructors were already barking orders, separating Batch N and Batch O into large groups of five hundred, each headed by two Awakened Academy instructors.

Their voices were sharp and firm, commanding attention despite the environmental noise.

Victor spotted Instructor Gai Fen, the short but terrifying bald instructor with eyes that looked like they had seen the fall of civilizations and still had critiques about how it could've been done better. The man was holding a mana map and pacing in front of a group of students who didn't dare breathe too loudly.

"We'll be here for a week," Instructor Gai Fen announced. "And unless you want to become the next barbecue special for the Drakenars, you'll stay within the boundaries we mark for you."

He jabbed a gloved finger toward the far-off hills where blackened stone arches curled upward like dragon ribs.

"That's the restricted zone. Behind it is unclaimed territory—wild, unpredictable, and possibly still home to Drakenar scum who refused to retreat during the reclamation. You are not to go there."

Victor raised a brow. "Gee, sounds like the perfect place for a school trip."

Victor recalled when Selene mentioned back at the academy that those lands are where weak Drakenars still roam and that the mana defense force couldn't be bothered to take care of the rest of them since they were outside the K-22 sector.

Victor felt it was due to the fact that they turned this place into an expedition zone.

'I guess it wouldn't be much of an outside expedition if all sense of danger is gone...'

Victor recalled how Selene claimed to have sneaked into the restricted area and shook his head.

'Sounds like something I'd do back then but it wouldn't smart. There's no point to it...'

The instructors began designating camping zones, sight seeing sections, and observation sectors within Sector K-22.

Victor's group set up camp near a broken-down mana fortress that had been turned into a monument. Its charred stone walls that were still riddled with weapon marks, and scorched banners from long-fallen units fluttered weakly in the heated breeze.

Victor found a spot near the outer edge of the designated camping zone and began laying out his gear which consisted of a sleep mat, food rations, canned drinks and a highly suspicious jar labeled "Emergency Snacks. Don't Open. (Seriously.)"

He dropped onto the mat with a groan. "First time in three months I'm not waking up at 4:30 to the sound of bone drills and mana roosters."

He turned to the side and gazed out at the scorched landscape.

It was the first time since joining the Awakened Academy that he'd stepped out beyond the protective domes besides the day of their journey to the Academy.

Nevertheless, it couldn't compare to this because they only got to see the outside world for like a few minutes. Now, they were actually on the outside... standing on it, breathing its air...

The atmosphere was different.

The sky was tinted a smoky orange, casting an eerie hue across the wasteland. The air was heavier. To most of the students who were mana-sensitive, it felt chaotic, like the world was constantly trembling with some ancient wrath.

Victor couldn't sense mana, not as a Qi user, but he could feel it in the way his skin prickled.

His breath felt a bit heavier, and every step seemed to echo louder than normal. He looked around and noticed some of the other students meditating, clearly trying to acclimate.

"The surroundings is like mana soup," one muttered. "It's so thick, walking feels like swimming through stew."

Victor smirked. "I'd suggest some mana seasoning, maybe some blessed garlic and a pinch of anti-Drakenar powder."

A few students snickered. Even when he was trying to rest, Victor's presence had become known.

Not just for his strength but for his ability to ease tension in the most awkward places.

Nightfall arrived slowly.

The temperature didn't drop like normal places... instead, it rose.

Fireflies here glowed bright orange and left little trails of heated embers in the air. Victor had just finished brewing a light restorative tea when someone dropped beside him with a thud.

It was Felix, a C ranked student who had been in the capsule with Victor earlier.

"Can't sleep?" Victor asked.

Felix shook his head and gestured toward the lava stream nearby. "I heard they buried an elite Drakenar commander in that flow. Burned alive. They say his bones still radiate hatred."

Victor stared at him. "…you know, I was just about to lie down. Thanks for that image, horror bard."

Felix proceeded to crack a smile.

---

At sunrise, Instructor Rukia, a beautiful but stern woman with hair like braided red and a scar across her brow, assembled everyone.

"We begin our educational expedition today," she stated. "This land holds the bones of ten thousand Awakened. You will treat it with respect."

She unfurled a long scroll, which displayed the various zones within K-22: The Ember Ridge, Drakenar Crucible, Molten Teeth Spire, and the Charblack Caverns.

"We'll be moving to these landmarks day by day. Your mission is to study, record, and understand the remnants of the war. You may come across dormant artifacts. Do not touch them unless you are prepared to face the consequences."

One student raised a hand. "What kind of consequences?"

She looked him dead in the eye. "Death."

The student slowly lowered his hand with an expression of horror.

Victor whispered, "That escalated faster than my cravings for spicy noodles."

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