I Can Only Cultivate In A Game

Victor approached with caution. "You the local gardener?"

The old man didn't look up. "I planted every flower here before the flames came. And I watched each one die."

Victor frowned. "So you've been here the whole time?"

He paused briefly... "Since the city was burned to the ground. Since we were all betrayed. Since the anchor was born from the hatred of the fallen."

Victor stepped closer. "Then help me destroy it."

The spirit's eyes glowed brighter, reflecting centuries of pain. "And what would you do if it showed you every agony we endured? Would you still strike it down?"

"Without hesitation," Victor said. "I'm not your savior. But I don't like seeing people shackled—living or dead."

The ghost's smile was small but real. He stood slowly and pointed to the center of the garden where a monument stood—

"That is where it began," the gardener stated.

Victor looked at the statue. For a second, he swore he heard a sob come from it.

Something swirled in the air—resentment, grief, desperation.

He stepped forward and placed his palm on the stone.

[System Notification]

[ —Anchor Resonance Detected. ]

—Emotional Echo Stabilizing…

A flash blinded him, and suddenly he wasn't in the garden anymore. He stood amidst a burning city. Screams filled the air. The smell of ash and charred flesh assaulted his nose.

Children ran.

However, no matter how much everyone fled... they couldn't escape their demise.

Victor stood panting before the statue.

He had seen flashes of the anchor and where it might be located.

Victor wiped his face. "Time to end this."

It turned out that the anchor was buried beneath the old well in the center of the village. Covered in thorned roots and ancient chains.

Victor sighed while unsheathing his sword. "Of course it's under a damn well."

After slicing through the roots and blasting the stone apart with a condensed burst of Wind Qi, he found it: a core shard with a swirling vortex of trapped light.

Notifications popped up again.

‒ [ANCHOR FOUND: Would you like to attempt Spirit Severance? Warning: Requires substantial spiritual resistance.]

Victor frowned. He wasn't sure he had "substantial spiritual resistance," but… "Do it."

Pain flooded his mind like acid. Visions, screams, decades of ghostly rage and grief slammed into him, nearly knocking him unconscious. He roared and poured every ounce of Void Qi he had into the shard.

It turned out the anchor was buried beneath the old well in the center of the village. Covered in thorned roots and ancient chains.

Victor sighed while unsheathing his sword. "Of course it's under a damn well."

After slicing through the roots and blasting the stone apart with a condensed burst of Void Qi, he found it: a core shard with a swirling vortex of trapped light. The system popped up again.

‒ [ANCHOR FOUND: Would you like to attempt Spirit Severance? Warning: Requires substantial spiritual resistance.]

Victor frowned. He wasn't sure he had "substantial spiritual resistance," but… "Do it."

Pain flooded his mind like acid. Visions, screams, decades of ghostly rage and grief slammed into him, nearly knocking him unconscious.

He roared but poured every ounce of Qi he had into the shard.

It cracked.

Then shattered.

The moment it did, a blinding light erupted across the Windlands.

One by one, ghostly figures appeared—men, women, children, warriors, merchants—all weeping, smiling, reaching upward.

The noble woman reappeared before Victor, kneeling in gratitude.

"You've freed us," she whispered, "after over a millennia… May the wind always guide you."

[QUEST COMPLETE: The Silence of Windlands] ‒ [

Rewards Obtained:] • Spiritforged Band (Accessory – boosts resistance to spiritual-based attacks) • 3,500 EXP • Soulroot Elixir x2 • Spirit Map Fragment (Locked objective: unlockable in three in-game months) • +100,000 Wisps Of Qi • +15% Dragon Breathing Arts Mastery

As the last of the spirits vanished into the air like dew under sunlight, one lingered briefly beside Victor.

"Go East…" it said, before fading into the wind.

Victor stared after it. "East, huh?"

He looked up at the sun and took a breath. "That better be the direction of Blueflame City."

Meanwhile, back near the outer boundaries of the ancient groves…

Tarkos stood in silence with his arms folded across his chest as Elder Mo crouched beside a peculiar set of flattened grass patterns.

"This is the third time we've gotten a report from that same establishment owner," Mo muttered. "And the descriptions match the same figure."

Tarkos growled. "But we've yet to actually see this person. They come and go like a damned whisper."

"We don't need to catch them today," Elder Mo said calmly. "We just need to prepare. Tonight, we'll wait. Quietly. No distractions."

"Fine," Tarkos agreed, then paused. "You really think this person is responsible for Fang Chen's disappearance?"

"I don't think," Elder Mo replied. "I know."

The two cultivators turned toward the route that led to the ancient groves. For the first time since Victor vanished, there was a shared sense between them—clarity, direction, and a plan.

Back in the wilderness…

Victor had already started heading east.

He didn't know if this was the right direction but he didn't have much of a choice, the world of Ascendant Realms was super large.

(( Another Day Later ))

Victor let out a long breath as he leaned back against the mossy stone he had claimed as a temporary seat.

He had found a location within a cave since he could no longer remain in game. He had already been here for too long.

His system window flickered once more with the confirmation he had expected.

> [Logging out...]

[State: In Transit – Avatar will remain active in current coordinates.]

[You have exited Ascendant Realms]

His surroundings faded into white light before his senses gently snapped back to reality.

The game's fatigue was gone, but his body in the real world was still tired as hell.

"Ugh... I need sleep and maybe ten burgers," Victor muttered.

He stretched his limbs and lazily rolled off the bed.

His academy wristband pinged almost immediately. It was lit with notification after notification.

"Oh, come on—"

> Danny: "BRO?? Did you die or get kidnapped?? You vanished since Friday." Selene: "We're reporting you missing. Should we call the feds?" Danny: "I'm serious. Selene's packing a taser." Selene: "I was joking... Unless."

Victor blinked twice, then chuckled and quickly tapped a reply.

> Victor: "I'm alive, calm down. Dinner?"

Not two minutes passed before his screen lit up again.

> Danny: "YES. If you ghost us again, I'm shaving your eyebrows." Selene: "Pick the feedhub or we're dragging you to vegan ramen."

Victor groaned. "The threats never stop with these two."

---

The trio met up at Feedhub07, a trendy student-favorite eatery filled with half-fried food and fully terrible music.

Danny arrived first in a hoodie with a glowing skull on it, practically radiating "I play rogue mains."

Selene showed up in a crisp black jacket and a look that said if anyone breathes wrong, I'll incinerate you with my eyes.

Victor walked in last, slightly disheveled, wearing casuals and yawning.

Danny gasped dramatically. "Look who crawled out of the nether realm! It's Victor the Vanished!"

Selene folded her arms. "You better have a good excuse. We thought you got abducted by cultists."

Victor scratched his head. "I was... busy. Life stuff."

"LIFE stuff?" Danny raised a brow. "You sounded like a war veteran in that text."

Selene leaned forward. "Be honest. You pulled an all-weekend personal training, didn't you?"

Victor just smiled and said, "No comment."

Danny pointed at him. "GUILTY!"

A waitress arrived with menus, and Victor didn't even look. "I'll have five burgers, two fries, and a large milkshake."

Selene stared at him. "You planning to summon a demon with your cholesterol?"

Victor nodded solemnly. "I already did. His name is Regret."

After dinner and a lot of laughter—including Danny choking on a chicken wing because Victor made a joke about a spell called "Wind-Style: FARTulence Release"—Victor finally returned to his dorm.

He leaned against the door with a tired smile. "Okay. Now I need serious sleep."

Inside, Kairo was still up, reading something on his desk holo-screen.

"You're back," Kairo said with a glance. "Didn't realise you already left your bed."

Victor tossed his shoes off and flopped onto his bed. "I did. But I need to sleep. The Legacy Weapons Competition starts tomorrow."

Kairo gave him a side glance and shook his head. "Good luck. Don't die of excess sleep."

Victor raised a hand lazily. "Appreciate the emotional support."

...

...

Victor stood before his mirror early Monday morning, fully dressed in the Academy's formal combat uniform.

The uniform consisted of an obsidian black bodysuit with dark steel lining across the joints and torso, engraved with subtle sigils of protection. His Academy crest glittered faintly on his chest.

Strapped across his back was his sword.

The blade itself was dark silver with a black edge and nearly four feet long. It looked like a regular warrior issued blade but nevertheless still extremely sharp.

Victor tied his wristband securely and stared at his reflection. "Let's win this."