I Can Only Cultivate In A Game-Chapter 184: Yinfrost City

Rhane tossed him a pair of iron weights which landed with a bone-jarring thud.

"Yes sir..." Victor muttered while strapping them on.

As he began his laps, sweat poured within the first few steps. The weights were no joke since they were four times his usual amount.

His calves and each breath felt like fire. Somewhere along the second lap, Rylan jogged beside him, light on his feet as always despite the weight.

"Late today, Victor?"

"Assignment," Victor puffed. "General Studies. Didn't sleep in two days."

Rylan blinked. "Oh, that? I finished it a week ago. You should've asked me. I'd have let you copy."

Victor stumbled mid-step. "You—what?! Damn you, Kairo!"

Rylan laughed and patted his shoulder. "Should've asked."

After morning routine, completely drenched in sweat and dragging his legs, Victor made it to the lecture halls. The first class of the day? General Studies.

Fantastic.

He dropped into his usual seat among familiar faces. Danny, Selene, Aria, Reed, Kai, and Rylan were all present.

"You stink more than usual," Aria said without a hint of shame.

"Morning to you too, princess," Victor mumbled, still catching his breath.

He leaned closer to the group. "Did you guys finish the assignment?"

"Of course," Selene said with a pop of her lollipop.

"Easiest thing ever," Reed chimed.

"Ate up a weekend but worth it," Kai added.

Victor wanted to cry.

"I didn't have to break my back over maps and ancient tomes," he muttered. "Could've just asked you guys."

"There's virtue in suffering," Rylan offered while patting him again.

"I'll throw that virtue into the Void," Victor replied.

Instructor Kaelani Vos entered in her usual gliding grace. The hall fell silent.

"Assignments, please."

Digital folders opened in the air, flashing student names. Victor submitted his with a shaky sigh.

Minutes later, a large red line glided across the air.

"Unfortunately," Kaelani said, "more than half of you failed."

Victor blinked. Then grinned.

He leaned toward Danny. "Guess all those days without sleep weren't for nothing. Take that suckers!"

Danny groaned.

Victor made a show of smirking. Until he realized every eye was now boring into him.

"What? I didn't say anything that loud."

Kaelani raised a hand, and the room darkened. A glowing map unfolded, filling the front of the hall. The latest world map.

"These," she gestured to zones marked in red, "are the Uncharted Wilds. Mr. Revenant's deductions were the most detailed and accurate."

Victor sat straighter. "Oouu nothing like being referenced..."

Kaelani went on to explain the formation of Zones A to K, their unknown dangers, and why even top-tier awakened avoided them.

"Perhaps," her gaze lingered on the map, "one day, the next generation will conquer these zones. But not yet."

After General Studies, Victor joined the other Warriors at the training cliffs. Their task: climb the hundred-step gravitational staircase and swing their swords twice after each step. Gravity intensified every ten steps.

They had been on this for over a week already so Victor had already gotten the hang of it.

VWhen it was his turn, he moved with swiftly without pausing for even a second.

Step. Swing. Step. Swing.

30 steps. 40. 50. Gasps rose around him.

Aria gritted her teeth at 80 and stopped. Kai managed 70. Reed gave in at 62.

Kairo was the first to reach 100. Claps rang out after he completed it.

Victor was sweating profusely at the 90th step but still pushed forward while clenching his jaw.

After a few more minutes, he reached the hundredth step.

He swung twice. Silence followed.

Then applause.

Victor didn't smile. He only nodded and stepped down. He was the second to complete the drill.

As he walked away, a pair of eyes followed him from the crowd.

One of the first year warriors— with a scar cutting through his left brow watched Victor like a predator.

However, Victor didn't notice.

...

...

Victor sat through his final lecture for the day, a practical course on sword momentum redirection that had left most of the warrior students panting and drenched in sweat.

As usual, he handled it well enough to get a few nods from the instructor, but he didn't feel particularly exceptional today. The events of the morning still lingered in his mind, from General Studies.

When he finally made it back to his dorm, the first thing he noticed was Kairo's absence. Again.

He had likely gone off for personal training again—something he did almost obsessively.

"He really trains every day without fail," Victor muttered while rubbing his neck.

Sometimes Victor couldn't help but feel like he wasn't doing enough. While others pushed themselves in training lounges or took on duels in the open courts, he spent most of his nights diving into Ascendant Realms.

But then again… that was his own form of training. Since, it was the source of his power.

Still, the thought lingered. He figured he could balance both.

"I'll start visiting the Academy library at least twice a week," he muttered to himself.

Not just for assignments, but to really understand the world he was fighting for.

Victor took this as his cue to finally dive back into Ascendant Realms.

It had been days in the real world, which meant a possible couple of weeks or more had passed in-game. Tarkos should've made it to Yinfrost City by now. Victor had already steeled himself for surprises—but what he didn't expect was to spawn in total darkness.

"Huh?" he grunted.

He tried to move, but his limbs barely had space to stretch. His knees were bent awkwardly. The walls pressed in from all sides. It felt like he'd been stuffed into a container... a very tight one.

"Tarkos!?" Victor shouted. No response.

He began hammering his fists on the cramped walls, then tried using his legs. The space echoed dully. The air was stuffy, and the heat from his body seemed to have built up in the enclosed area.

"Alright, screw this," Victor grumbled.

He began channeling his qi, preparing to blast his way out, when suddenly a section of the ceiling popped open and light poured in.

"Took you long enough," a dry voice muttered.

Victor fell out of the compartment and landed with a thud on a soft mattress laid on the floor.

The first thing he saw was a tall man with pale skin, long black hair tied back into a low tail, and cold green eyes. He wore a tight, slate-colored robe lined with jade seams and carried himself with a disciplined bearing.

"Who the hell are you?" Victor asked while catching his breath.

"An associate of Tarkos. He asked me to keep your body safe until you returned."

Victor looked around. The room they were in was dimly lit by hanging lanterns that radiated a soft blue flame.

Scrolls lined the walls, and the window slats were sealed with a jade-like material. There was a constant, muffled ~whoooshh~ outside, almost like wind whistling through frost.

"Welcome to Yinfrost City," the man said.

Victor began dusting himself off after standing.

That was when he realized something was different. He looked down at himself and noticed he was dressed in a dark green robe with pale blue patterns running across the sleeves and hem.

"What the—?"

"Those are Jaded Robes," the man explained. "Any male who enters Yinfrost City without them will begin to freeze within minutes unless they practice the Jade Serpent Sect's cultivation method."

Victor blinked. "So… this place really is as wild as Tarkos said."

"Wilder," the man said. "You're welcome."

Victor opened his mouth to ask more questions, but the man simply gestured for him to follow and led him to a larger chamber. This one had multiple maps spread out on a wide stone table and looked like a war room.

"Tarkos told me you'd be back soon. But he also said not to leave this place until he returns. You draw too much attention."

"Gee, thanks," Victor muttered.

Left with no choice, he wandered a little around the chamber, ate a bit of bread and dried meat, and waited.

Hours passed. The sky dimmed outside the sealed windows as the frost-like mist in the surroundings grew thicker by the moment. At last, the heavy main door swung open.

Tarkos stepped inside while brushing snowflakes off his cloak.

"You're finally back," Victor said.

Tarkos looked him over and grinned. "Still alive, I see. Good."

The man who had been tending to Victor instantly straightened and lowered his head in a respectful bow.

"Young Master Tarkos," he greeted solemnly.

Tarkos waved a hand casually. "At ease, Yuren. I trust you didn't let anything happen to him while I was gone?"

"Of course not. He woke up just a few hours ago. I briefed him as you instructed."

Victor stared at the two of them with a lifted brow. "Young Master?" he repeated aloud. "Tarkos, since when do people bow to you and call you titles like that?"

Tarkos gave a slight smirk. "You never asked."

"Eh whatever... Where the hell have you been?"