I Can Only Cultivate In A Game-Chapter 38: City Wide Lockdown

Victor shrugged. "Anything shaped like a weapon."

The students chuckled, but Miss Adler sighed and grabbed a sturdy wooden ruler from her desk before tossing it to him.

Victor caught it smoothly and exhaled.

'Alright, here goes nothing.'

He gripped the ruler like a sword, and as soon as he focused—Qi surged into the object, enveloping it in a soft glow.

The class watched in stunned silence.

Danny whispered, "Dude, is he seriously—"

Then, Victor moved.

Taking a step forward and posing like a martial artist, he swung the ruler in an arc—

"Shadow Crescent Strike!"

The moment he slashed, a weakened, shadowy crescent of energy burst forward from the ruler, slicing through the air.

The ruler instantly shattered in his hands.

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The crescent energy traveled forward and struck the classroom wall.

A loud BOOM echoed through the room as a deep gash appeared in the wall and cracks began spreading outward from the impact.

The entire classroom shook.

Victor winced. "Uh... oops?"

Wallace stared at the damage and took a couple of notes on his tab.

Miss Adler looked like she was about to have a stroke.

Danny, Jake, and Max had their jaws on the floor.

The students who had doubted Victor?

They were now 100% convinced.

Wallace slowly put his tablet away. "...Impressive."

He turned toward the class. "All of you who have awakened, make sure you attend next week's screening. The tests will determine if you qualify for further training."

As soon as the evaluator left, Danny grabbed Victor's shoulders.

"Dude. What the hell was that?!"

Victor smirked. "What? You didn't think I'd just not have any skills, right?"

Max still looked shocked. "You... you actually looked like a Warrior."

As the school day continued, Victor couldn't help but think—

Maybe this whole Warrior thing... might actually work.

For now, at least.

...

...

The mining site in the Molten Wastes was buzzing with energy.

For days, the workers had been tirelessly extracting and enclosing mana crystals from the deep veins within the mines. The ground was rich with resources, and with the barrier extension in place, security had been tighter than ever.

And now—they were almost done.

Today would be the final day.

The last mine, a massive cavern stretching deep underground, was on the verge of being completely sealed off.

The workers were ecstatic.

"We're Almost Done!"

"Can you believe it?" one miner laughed while wiping sweat from his forehead. "After this, we're finally heading home."

"Yeah," another chuckled before stretching his arms. "Back to real food, real beds. No more breathing in molten dust all day."

Mr. Revenant stood nearby, supervising the final operations. He watched as a group of men secured the last crates of mana crystals, preparing them for transport.

"Good work, everyone," he called out. "Let's finish strong."

There were cheers all around.

Near the deepest part of the mine, a lone worker was breaking down the last bit of crystalline formation near the end of the shaft. His breathing was heavy as his pickaxe chipped away at the few remaining deposits.

"Almost there..." he muttered to himself.

But as he drove his pickaxe one last time into the ground—

CRACK.

The earth beneath him trembled.

And before he could react—

The ground gave way.

A loud rumbling filled the mine as the worker plummeted through a collapsing section of the cave floor.

"Ahhh!"

---

"HEY! ARE YOU OKAY?!"

Shouts erupted as nearby workers rushed over, peering down into the newly-formed hole.

Dust and debris clouded the air, making it hard to see anything below.

Mr. Revenant pushed past the crowd with a tone of urgency. "Hey! Can you hear me?!"

A moment passed before a shaky voice called back up.

"Y-Yeah! I'm alright! That was one hell of a drop!"

A few men sighed in relief.

"Man, don't scare us like that!"

The fallen worker coughed and waved his torchlight around to get a better look at where he had landed. The cavern beneath the mine was vast—too vast.

"...Whoa."

His eyes slowly adjusted to the dim glow of strange red crystals embedded in the walls as he turned.

The air down here felt... different.

It was too still. Too quiet.

Then—

Something shifted in the shadows.

The worker frowned while slowly turning his torchlight toward the darkness beyond the cavern.

That's when he saw them.

Dozens of glowing red eyes staring back at him.

His breath caught in his throat.

The eyes didn't blink.

They moved.

Something was down here.

And then—they pounced.

A loud, bloodcurdling scream tore through the mine.

"AAAARRRGGHH!"

---

(( Back in New Avalon City ))

Victor was sitting in class, half-asleep, while Miss Adler droned on about something he wasn't paying attention to.

He was exhausted.

Even though he got three hours of sleep, he still felt drained from his late-night grind in Ascendant Realms.

Danny nudged him. "Dude, you look dead."

Victor yawned. "Feel dead."

Jake smirked. "You do this to yourself, man."

Victor sighed. "Yeah, yeah—"

And then—

A loud alarm blared across the school.

BWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH.

The entire school shook as the emergency sirens echoed through New Avalon City.

Students looked up in confusion and some covered their ears as the deafening wail continued.

Miss Adler's eyes widened. "Everyone, stay calm!"

Victor jolted awake.

"What the hell...?"

Danny frowned while glancing toward the windows. "That's the citywide emergency alarm."

Jake swallowed. "Something serious must've happened."

Then—

A message appeared on the holo-screen at the front of the class.

---

[ ALERT – MANA DEFENSE WARNING ]

All students are to remain in their classrooms until further notice.

An emergency situation has been detected near the city's barrier expansion zone.

Protection protocols are being initiated. City wide lockdown has been activated.

---

The room fell into uneasy silence.

Max shifted uncomfortably. "Wait... isn't that where your dad is working?"

Victor's stomach twisted.

His father.

He was at the mining site near the expanded barrier.

And something had just gone horribly wrong.

Victor jumped to his feet. "What the hell is happening out there...?"