I Can Only Cultivate In A Game

Without hesitation, Victor dashed forward again with wind trailing behind his steps. His body blurred as he shot across the sidewalk with a speed of more than one hundred feet per second.

This was the fastest he had ever moved...

The bus tore through a line of shrubs, headed toward a crowded enclosure beyond the building.

Victor leapt onto a nearby car, vaulted off its roof, and landed on top of the moving vehicle.

The metal made a low creaking sound as it floated lower briefly before continuing to trail forward uncontrollably.

Inside, the driver was slumped over the wheel—clearly unconscious.

Victor drew back his fist, coated it in qi, and slammed it into the dashboard through the windshield. The console sparked. His other hand grabbed the steering bar and jerked it hard, using the vehicle's momentum to redirect it toward a narrow alley.

He flipped forward and spun in mid air before landing ahead of the bus.

Qi enveloped him as he thrust his palm forward while the bus rammed into him, causing him to slide backwards.

His feet dug into the ground as the bus kept pushing him forward nonstop, closing in on a wall in the distance.

Victor groaned and activated his wind arts, emitting a burst of wind from his palm which was placed directly on the bus.

It began to slow down and finally came to a stop right before they could collide with the wall.

Victor heels kissed the wall gently as he let out steady breaths of relief.

The crowd that had gathered stared in stunned silence before erupting in cheers and shocked gasps.

Victor moved to the side; "Guess I'll call that cardio."

...

Soon the sound of emergency sirens filled the street as hover vehicles descended around the scene. The authorities had finally arrived.

Victor stood near the still-smoking wreckage of the hover minibus with his clothes slightly scuffed and his black and white hair rustled by the soft wind.

He was helping a woman out of the minibus, her arm draped over his shoulder as medics rushed to take her in.

"You alright, ma'am?" he asked.

She nodded weakly. "Thank you... thank you so much."

As she was ushered toward one of the medic pods, Victor turned to see a crowd of bystanders holding up their smart lenses, phones, and visual drones. His face was everywhere—being recorded from every angle.

The authorities moved in, cordoning off the area while paramedics worked swiftly to treat the few who had sustained minor injuries.

The driver had apparently gotten a heart attack while driving and originally the bus would go into auto drive mode but his face had smashed into the controls and accidentally deactivated that.

This caused the hover minibus to lose control.

One of the officers gave Victor a firm nod, the kind of silent salute reserved for unsung heroes.

Victor returned it quietly before walking away, reuniting with Danny, Max, and Jake who had been watching from the sidelines.

They didn't say anything at first. Max just clapped a hand on Victor's shoulder with a wide grin. "Dude. You just saved a bus full of people."

"That was insane," Danny added. "Like, full-blown hero mode... I would have done something too but I can't move that fast bro..."

Jake looked both amazed and amused. "You better hope that footage doesn't break the internet."

"Footage?" Victor questioned with a look of confusion.

"Yess... I recorded everything..." Jake stated.

"Damn... show me!" Victor immediately turned excited.

"Let's go somewhere else first... this place is starting to get rowdy..."

They decided to leave before the questions from reporters started flying and found a quiet, secluded spot near a grassy bluff behind an old shopping district.

The sun was beginning to dip low, casting a golden hue across the sky. They lounged on old benches and patches of stone, chatting and enjoying the stillness.

A nearby outdoor screen flickered to life with the evening news.

"--latest on the Mana Defense Corps expansion toward Sector 7," the anchorwoman announced. "All divisions are set to be deployed by the 5th of next month."

The screen cut to a few clips of armored Awakened officers marching in formation before returning to the studio.

"And in other news, the countdown to Awakened Academy's resumption continues. With less than two weeks left, students and instructors alike are preparing for what many are calling the most important semester yet."

Victor leaned back and stretched, but his attention was quickly grabbed again.

"And now, to a surprising moment of bravery caught on camera just earlier today. A young Awakened teen saved an entire hover minibus and a group of children after the vehicle malfunctioned on Westbrook Street. Witnesses say he intercepted the vehicle and redirected it before any lives were lost."

The boys immediately leaned forward.

The footage rolled: Victor's figure appeared onscreen, with his clothes flapping in the wind as he hurled himself between the hover minibus and the children.

A collective gasp rose from a few pedestrians nearby watching the same broadcast.

"That's you!" Danny shouted.

Jake laughed. "Looks like I wasn't the only one recording... But I have better shots and the whole footage from the start!"

He pulled out his phone and showed Victor the raw footage from their perspective.

It was clean, steady, and dramatic as hell. You could see Victor pushing the vehicle, saving the kids, then chasing the bus into the building.

Max grinned. "Dude, this is definitely going viral. Like, viral viral."

"Don't jinx it," Victor chuckled.

They wasted no time. Victor uploaded the video to his channel under the title: "Young Awakened Saves Hover Bus and Kids from Disaster!"

"Now," Jake said, "we wait."

Meanwhile...

Far across the city, nestled within the boundaries of Eastwood Heights, a massive luxury estate stood proudly among metallic oaks and private mana fountains.

Deep underground, within a high-tech training chamber laced with mana veins, Evelyn Lancaster was unleashing hell.

She dashed between moving drones, hurling spell after spell. Arcane circles burst beneath her feet as she muttered incantations under her breath.

"Ignis Flare!"

A wave of fire surged forward, consuming a combat drone.

"Frost Spiral!"