I Can Only Cultivate In A Game

"I will," Victor assured him. "I have to log out now. I'll return later."

"Understood," Tarkos replied before sitting cross-legged again and entering a meditative trance.

Victor carefully sat down on the small bed and proceeded to Log out.

<[ Logging Out Of Ascendant Realms... ]>

His eyes opened back in the darkness of his dormitory beneath the covers as the faint droning sound of the helmet faded.

Victor kept the helmet aside and got out of the sheets before glancing briefly at the digital clock on his bedside table.

12:03 AM.

He sighed softly in relief, knowing he had a couple of hours to sleep after going days without a single wink of rest.

He knew that four hours of rest was hardly enough, but it would have to do.

...

...

(( Twelve Hours Later ))

Victor sat in the middle row of the large lecture hall with his eyes half-closed and his mind wandering as the instructor went on and on about advanced warrior techniques.

The room was illuminated by blue-white fluorescent lights embedded in the ceiling panels, giving the futuristic lecture hall a clinical feel. Screens hovered around the instructor, displaying diagrams of mana circulation, swordsmanship techniques, and advanced tactical combat maneuvers.

Victor wasn't particularly engaged today... when was he ever was?

The major benefits he got from the academy was gear, free accommodation/feeding, freedom since he'd be able to leave dome cities whenever he pleased as a student, training areas to test out skills he gained from Ascendant Realms.

For the combat aspect, he didn't use mana so a lot of the teachings were pretty much useless to him. It was only useful with helping him apply his cultivation techniques in ways that would make him look like a Mana user.

If there were no benefits to being a part of the academy, he wouldn't even consider being here at all.

One couldn't become a mana defense officer without graduating from here after all.

His thoughts drifted to Lingyun Town and how he planned to infiltrate the annexed Bai-Qin family. Just as he was zoning out entirely, the automated door slid open abruptly, drawing everyone's attention away from the lecture.

A squat middle-aged woman dressed in the typical dark-green uniform of the academy's custodial staff stepped into the room with a pair of glasses on her face.

She scowled lightly as her gaze settled squarely on Victor. It was the same woman who given Victor his cleaning duty the previous day.

She turned to the instructor and whispered something in his ear. In moments both their eyes shifted towards Victor who felt uneasy upon noticing their gazes of scrutiny.

"Victor Revenant, please step out for a moment," Mrs Smith stated firmly.

The instructor gave a nod. "Mr. Revenant, please comply."

Victor sighed deeply, stood, and walked down the tiered seating toward the exit, feeling dozens of curious eyes following him as he went. Once outside, the door slid shut with a soft hiss.

Mrs Smith wasted no time in expressing her displeasure. "You missed one of your assigned areas yesterday," she stated gruffly, glaring at Victor through narrowed eyes.

Victor blinked in confusion for a moment. He had hurried through his chores yesterday to return quickly to Ascendant Realms and hadn't double-checked thoroughly. "Ah, damn," Victor mumbled while rubbing his temples in frustration. "Sorry about that, Ma'am. It was an oversight on my part."

Mrs Smith raised an eyebrow as her expression softened slightly at Victor's acknowledgment, but she maintained a serious tone. "An oversight or not, the Vice Chancellor has approved additional punishment. You'll need to complete the missed area immediately and two extra sections afterward."

Victor groaned inwardly. He had already mentally planned to return quickly to Lingyun Town to further his infiltration, the moment lectures ended but that would now be delayed. "Alright," he replied wearily with a tone of resignation. "Where's the cleaning gear?"

Mrs Smith nodded approvingly at Victor's acceptance of responsibility, indicating a floating platform down the hall containing various advanced mana-powered cleaning devices.

Victor grabbed the equipment but he managed to keep his cool, remembering that it was his own fault he had rushed yesterday.

Mrs Smith pointed him toward the location he missed, a corridor connecting the lecture wings to the specialized training areas. "Get started. You can return to your lectures if you finish on time," she voiced out before walking away.

Victor made his way through the wide, brightly lit hallways as the smooth, reflective tiles beneath his feet echoed with each step. He began cleaning swiftly, using his Qi subtly to manipulate the mana-powered tools to move faster and more efficiently.

Dust vanished, surfaces gleamed, and the corridor was quickly restored to spotless perfection.

With the missed corridor complete, Victor moved towards the next designated area, passing through an open-air walkway that overlooked several specialized training grounds.

He glanced down and saw mages practicing elemental spells in one area... In another area, summoners were interacting with newly summoned beasts...

Victor paused briefly to watch the square space ringed with statues of mythical beasts and into the open archways where the Summoners practised.

A half-dozen first year summoners clustered around an elaborate summoning circle etched into the yard's flagstones: silver-runed concentrated rings.

Inside the circle floated miniature wisps of mana, hovering like jellyfish.

A red-haired youth in the crimson robes, grimaced as he strained to draw in arcane energy.

At his feet slithered a shimmering pair of serpents twice as thick as a man's waist.

These were his Pact Beasts.

However, it would seem that he was summoning a new beast which appeared in the ghostly form of a hawk.

It barely seemed within his control.

Victor watched with his arms folded loosely, as the youth's eyes watered while mana crackling dangerously at his fingertips.

The instructor who was a blue haired woman in indigo robes, raised a gloved palm. "Focus on the base principle," she called. "Breathe in mana, don't expend it all at once." The youth took a shuddering breath and muttered the incantation again; the serpents steadied, the hawk's bones hardened, and the student sagged with relief.

Victor was about to resume his journey when he saw a familiar silhouette standing a little apart from the others: Amara.

She was draped in the academy's summoner robes and floating by her side was her signature Pact Beast: a multiple tailed fox of glowing crystalline fur.

He remembered the creature when it had been only the size of a large palm but now, it was at least as tall as a young man with four tails swirling behind it like celestial ribbons.

Amara raised her arms and launched into her incantation.

Her eyes narrowed in concentration as her delicate fingers weaving a complex series of hand seals. Mana glowed around her palms, gathering like captive storm clouds.

Victor and watched briefly.

The instructor knelt at the edge of the circle. "Amara," she warned with a sombre tone. "if your next attempt fails, you'll be unable to try next level summoning again for a full year." If you're not on M*VLEM*PYR, you're viewing a copy.

Amara's fox floated behind her with its tails twitching with mental affinity.

It emitted a glow that boosted Amara's mana reserves but if this was the only requirement necessary to summon a Level Five magical beast, almost everyone would have easily attained success.

The surroundings had fallen quiet as every other summoner turned to watch her.

She inhaled and focused but at this moment, she felt a lingering gaze and turned.

Her eyes immediately flicked to where Victor stood in the corridor beyond the open arch.

Their eyes caught for a heartbeat.

He wore his usually attentive expression but surprisingly he didn't turn away when their eyes met.

Nonetheless, she hadn't expected him to be here...

'Victor... he's watching me...' at this moment, her mind traveled back to a conversation they had months ago before they even awakened.

She had confessed she wanted respect for more than her appearance, to be valued for talent and skill, not just charm.

And how Victor had understood that she wanted to be seen as more than just Amara the hot girl.

Now, her awakening and the academy had given her that chance... the person whose words had struck a cord in her was also watching... she couldn't fail this.

A flicker of warmth flushed her cheeks as she looked away.

She lifted her chin with a determined look, squared her shoulders and resumed her stance.

The Summoner's Focus crystal at her waist pulsed once. With every fiber of her will, she reached into the weft of mana, drawing power upward through her feet, along her spine, and into her outstretched arms.

Her voice chanted in low and melodic waves, weaving syllables of power through the murmurs of the assembled onlookers.

The fox coalesced its own mana, sending it into her master.

Silver runes glowed around the circle and in the next instant, she slashed the air with her palm.

A brilliant column of pure energy shot from the ground, shattering the runic circle's seals in a cascade of sparks.

The yard shook as if awakening from centuries of slumber.

Mana chains that glowed like melted starlight, snapped open overhead and a roar tore across the sky.

Through the widening fissure in reality descended a creature that dwarfed the yard itself...

It was a dragon-tortoise hybrid with shell etched with runes of azure fire, claws like obsidian scythes, and a head crowned with curling horns.

Its body alone was the size of five adult elephants stacked end to end.

The air quivered with its arrival.

"A... A... She summoned a level ten magical beast!!!"