I Can Only Cultivate In A Game

Victor's voice broke the quiet.

"Is that why you wanted a rematch?"

He reminded her of what she whispered in his ear on the day they were leaving the academy to come here.

"My defeat at your hands... I couldn't accept that… not because of pride but because it is paramount that I win." She tilted her head and looked to the distance. "If not, I would have failed my father."

Victor's gazed at her with a look of understanding. "No problem... You will get your rematch when we get back to the academy."

She paused and glanced at Victor again before muttering; "Thank you."

Victor blinked awkwardly as another beat of silence enveloped thek.

Then Victor asked with a slightly timid tone; "What was he like? Your father."

Elyra turned her head. Her gaze settled on the legacy sword strapped to Victor's back. She stared at it for a moment, like she could see her father's spirit in its reflection.

Then she turned forward and exhaled slowly. "Powerful enough to be gentle."

Victor felt that. It hit something deep.

She continued, "He was the kind of man who could crush a boulder with one hand… and then use that same hand to lift a baby Sylrith caterpillar into a flower nest without disturbing the petals."

Victor's eyes widened. "I don't even know what a Sylrith caterpillar is but I feel like that's impressive."

Elyra voice grew warmer as she smiled. "He once climbed a five-hundred-foot tree with me on his back. Said we were going to 'touch the clouds'. When we got to the top, he told me a story about the time he punched a magical snake the size of a cargo train so hard it turned into spaghetti."

Victor snorted. "Wait—what?"

"Spaghetti. I swear. That's what he told me. Even added that it was the best pasta he ever had."

Victor burst into laughter.

The corner of Elyra's lips tugged upward again. "He always told his war stories with a twist like that. I don't know if he made them up or not, but… they made me feel safe. Like the world wasn't so bad if he was in it."

She looked down for a moment, and her voice softened again. "Then one day… he was gone."

Victor stared at her for a few seconds before nodding while rubbing the back of his neck. "My dad wasn't an awakened. Just a regular man. A miner. You know… hard hat, pickaxe, grimy overalls… the works."

Elyra nodded attentively with her legs crossed.

"But he was the strongest man I ever knew," Victor's voice was filled with pride as he reminisced. "Led his team through some of the most dangerous caverns, always made sure everyone got out before him. Real 'no man left behind' type."

"He sounds noble."

"He was." Victor's gaze turned nostalgic. "We were never rich, but he always made sure I had what I needed… even when I didn't deserve it. Like… this one time, I wanted this new game. Crazy expensive. No discounts. He said no at first, obviously. But then on my birthday, he gives it to me in a shoebox. Wrapped it like it was some kind of sacred treasure."

Elyra's face shone a smile that no student had ever seen. "Let me guess… you cried?"

Victor scoffed. "What? No. I'm a man. I sniffled aggressively."

She let out a soft chuckle.

Victor tilted his head. "You just laughed. Like… actually laughed."

Elyra blinked in surprise. "Huh. So I did."

Victor grinned. "Quick, someone check the skies. I think hell's freezing over."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't push it."

Victor leaned back against the bark of the shed and sighed. "There was this one time he tried to help me with a school science project. We were building a little volcano model, right? Classic stuff."

Elyra nodded.

"But this guy decided that baking soda and vinegar weren't dramatic enough. He somehow rigged up a pressurized mini tank to make the 'eruption' more realistic."

Elyra blinked. "...What?"

"I swear. We brought it to school and when I triggered the volcano, it didn't erupt—it detonated. Blew the model to smithereens. It painted the school ceiling red. Principal thought it was a terrorist attack."

Elyra actually burst out laughing. It was loud and unfiltered, like a rare, cracking chime in the dead of night. Her eyes even watered slightly.

Victor smirked. "Yup. Got suspended. But man… that was one of the best days of my life. He just looked at me and went, 'Next time, we add sound effects.'"

They both laughed together, and for a few minutes, the war, the pain, the pressure of being elite students at the Awakened Academy… it all melted away.

Elyra wiped her eyes slightly. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For reminding me that the past doesn't always have to hurt. Sometimes… it can make us laugh."

Victor nodded before responding with a quiet tone. "Yeah."

Silence fell again but this time it wasn't awkward or painful. Instead it was soft and comfortable. Like the air between them was no longer tense with unspoken things.

~ Two Days Later ~

Victor lounged on the edge of the artificial fountain in the middle of Sector K‑22's market square with a skewered sizzling meat bun in one hand and an oversized smoothie in the other.

> "Ah, freedom tastes like triple-charred buffalo skewers and regrets," he muttered while grinning as he licked the spicy glaze off his fingers.

For the last few days, Victor had toured the entirety of Sector K‑22 along with the other Batch N and O students.

The place wasn't just a sector, it was like a compact fortified city, with walls reinforced with mana-conducting alloys and layered shield generators. Though it wasn't as luxurious as thr usual domed cities, it was still impressive for what many called a "low-grade zone."

That didn't stop most students from struggling to afford basic amenities though.

Their credit allocations were poor due to their F and D rankings, and that made luxuries like gear upgrades, boosters, or combat enhancers completely out of reach for most.

There were stuff present at Sector K-22 that couldn't be found in the Academy. This was due to the fact that full fledged mana defense officers were stationed here and needed to have the highest quality items available.

Victor had up to one million credits in his account due to his rise to S‑rank status.

So he bought whatever he wanted.

> "Victor, why are you buying a crystal‑infused toothbrush that sings battle hymns?"

"Souvenir."

"And what about the thermal mug that keeps drinks hot for 72 hours?"

"Souvenir."

"You just bought an AI auto‑reflex training dummy—"

"It...moved like my dad. Nostalgia."

Elyra Vorn was always there now. Following him, side-eyeing every random purchase, and giving her signature dry sighs every time he tapped Confirm on another ridiculous order.

But he didn't mind her anymore. She didn't talk too much, she didn't cling annoyingly, and sometimes she made funny faces when she saw things that confused her. Like the time he bought a sparkling pink cloak with dragon-wing embroidery.

> "That's hideous."

"That's art," Victor voiced while twirling dramatically in it. "You wouldn't understand couture."

Today happened to be the fifth day since their arrival, and drill day was upon them.

Over three hundred students from both batches were gathered inside Combat Field Seven, a massive underground training dome equipped with artificially constructed terrains, regulated mana temperature zones, and of course—captive low-tier Drakenars.

These weren't the wild, high‑threat Drakeners Victor had fought before. These were monitored and restrained. The kind of beasts that looked intimidating but were nothing more than entry-level field threats.

Still, the students were pumped.

Most had never fought a real Drakenar before.

A booming voice rang out over the loudspeakers.

> "This is Instructor Gorran. Today's exercise will test your practical group application of your awakened skills. You will be placed in teams of six and face wave-based mutated Drakenar simulations. Remember—they might be weak, but these things are not plush toys. One moment of carelessness, and it's game over."

Victor yawned from his perch on a balcony overlooking the field. He didn't need to participate. As an S‑rank and top-tier cadet, he could choose not to participate so he decided not to.

He was worried that he would go overboard while battling with these low leveled Drakeners and end up wreaking unparalleled destruction due to his unchecked raged.

He was trying his possible best to stay in control instead of succumbing to his immense feeling of hate for that particular species.

His role today was observer and backup—just in case things went sideways.

He watched the students stretch, hype each other up, and prep their basic armaments. Some students were already activating minor body-enhancement vests. One girl had vines wrapping around her arms, another had blue shimmer runes glowing over her collarbone.

Elyra stood among them with her greenish-skin glinting faintly as she activated her Mana Skin Coating.

She held out a curved saber forged with wind-inscribed glyphs.

Unlike Victor, she had decided to participate. Apparently, she didn't want to go rusty.

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