I Can Only Cultivate In A Game

[ ALERT: A Bounty Has Been Placed On You ]

Victor's pupils constricted. "They really went through the trouble of placing a Bounty on me?"

He didn't even know how to feel since this was a first. He immediately thought of the two inner court disciples.

'Did they do this because they were unsatisfied with the verdict of the elders?' He wondered internally.

However the next couple of notifications put him in further confusion.

[ Source: Unnamed Faction ]

[ Reward: 150,000 Spirit Stones – Alive / 100,000 Spirit Stones – Severely Injured / 20,000 Spirit Stones – Dead ]

"So it's not them? Or did they put someone else up to the task?" Either ways, Victor knew this wasn't something he could ignore even though it was bad timing.

He stared at the numbers. Those rewards would tempt all manner of rogue cultivators, mercenaries and even other players.

But Victor didn't flinch. Instead, his expression hardened.

"So this is how it is."

He clenched his fist.

"Let them come."

<[ New Objective Issued: Uncover Information On The Cultivators That Placed The Bounty ]>

Victor smiled faintly. Even if this objective wasn't issued, he already had intentions of doing this.

But, it would have to wait.

[ Logging Out Of Ascendant Realms ]

The familiar sensation of disconnection washed over Victor as his consciousness returned to the real world.

Victor opened his eyes slowly.

He was still lying beneath his blanket in the dim dorm room of the Awakened Academy. The artificial night sky remained soft and quiet through the window slats. A quick glance at the glowing display on the wall confirmed the time: 3:04 AM.

Kairo's bed was still empty.

Victor frowned slightly. That was odd. Kairo had been gone since before nightfall. He usually returned by now, even if it was late. Still, Victor wasn't Kairo's keeper.

He shrugged it off for the time being and quietly moved to stash his VR helmet and gaming device back inside the false panel of his drawer.

With the device hidden, Victor sat on the edge of his bed and pulled his duffel bag closer. He unzipped the side pocket and fished out his black smartphone, along with his compact digital camera.

The phone powered on immediately. The moment he connected to the Academy's high-speed network—the same one he'd rigged his game to piggyback on—notifications started flooding in.

Dozens of them.

His eyes widened.

[Comment: "Bro, where you at?! We need new vids!"]

[Comment: "That mid-air flip to shield the kids? Insane."]

[Comment: "I hope he didn't get suspended or something... Last vid was 6 days ago."]

Victor scrolled through his channel analytics, surprised by what he saw. His last video was still climbing in popularity, now nearing 8.9 million views. With all the previous uploads factored in, his overall channel revenue had passed 1.4 million credits.

He blinked.

"Damn."

It wasn't just surprising—it was life-changing. And it was all routed to his surface-world account. His mother had access to that account now. Every time the funds he gave her ran low, she could draw from it.

It gave him peace of mind.

Still, there was a disturbing sensation. His subscribers wanted more.

Six days of silence felt like an eternity in the digital world. He could already see the dip in the daily engagement. While most commenters were supportive, some were beginning to drift, assuming he'd either gone underground or had to disappear because of Academy rules.

Which... wasn't entirely untrue.

He leaned back against the wall with his phone still in hand.

"There's gotta be a way to keep the channel alive while I'm stuck here."

His eyes fell on the camera.

And then it hit him.

Something no other Awakened content creator had done before came to mind.

He reached for a snack from his drawer—some biscuits and a packet of mana-supplemented jerky—and settled into the chair by the window. The glow of the phone screen lit up his face in the dark as he opened the comment threads again.

He already had the idea forming. He just needed to plan the format.

He'd record logs.

Not of the Academy's secrets—that'd get him kicked or worse. But personal vlogs. Reactions. Day-in-the-life breakdowns from inside the academy... vaguely disguised.

He could post them as animated reenactments. Edit and stylize the footage. Keep the content consistent without giving anything away.

It was brilliant.

Eventually, he yawned.

He placed his phone and camera back in their hiding spot, stood up, and stretched. The last thing he wanted was to doze off mid-drill tomorrow morning.

He fell onto his bed and drifted off.

---

The sharp buzzing of the wall-mounted alarm jolted him awake.

4:45 AM.

Victor grunted, sat up, and rubbed his face. A splash of water in the dorm sink revived him. He dried off quickly and put on the dark combat uniform from the previous day.

The fabric had reformed and auto-cleaned itself slightly from the residual mana charge built into its weave.

By the time he stepped out into the corridor, the artificial sky had started to brighten. Shades of glowing blue simulated the approach of dawn. Around him, students emerged from their dorms in staggered groups, all heading to their assigned camps.

Victor took a deep breath.

Camp 11. Day Two.

Today was rock climbing.

He remembered Instructor Vex Rhane's words the day before: "You'll cry by Friday."

As Victor arrived at the edge of the Camp 11 training zone, the sight that met him confirmed it.

A series of incredibly tall cliffs had risen from the earth, each carved with rough stone formations, slippery mana-infused surfaces, and shifting handholds.

Rope lines were placed only halfway up. The rest had to be scaled using physical strength, reflex, and sheer willpower.

Nearly 400 first-year awakened students stood before a monstrous cliff wall unlike anything Victor had ever seen.

The structure loomed skyward but height wasn't the most intimidating part.

No, it was the fact that the rock face was alive.

Chunks of mana-reactive stone jutted from the surface in chaotic patterns. Blue veins of throbbing light ran across it like lightning frozen in time.

Some handholds flickered and disappeared at intervals, while others shifted every few minutes, altering the climbing route entirely. Embedded across the cliff were mana glyphs—runes designed to discharge kinetic bursts or bursts of water, wind, or low-intensity fire if triggered incorrectly.

At the base, a wide slab glowed with golden script: "Endure the Climb, Ascend with Strength."

Victor joined the others as they lined up. Everyone was wearing their weight gear again, this time calibrated to their performance from yesterday. His felt heavier than before.

A sharp whistle split the air as Instructor Vex Rhane strode onto a high platform overlooking the crowd with arms crossed over his barrel chest.

"Rock climbing," his voice boomed loudly, "but not the kind your mommy taught you at the jungle gym. This wall is alive. It adapts. It punishes the hesitant. If you stop moving for more than ten seconds, you fall."