I Can Only Cultivate In A Game-Chapter 172: Underlying Grudge
The Berserker who was sent blasting backwards earlier, retrieved a nearby boulder the size of two grown men's torso and swam over.
Victor's eyes widened as he tried to raise his arms but was unable to, due to them being bound.
The boulder dropped and slammed onto his chest, sending him crashing toward the very bottom.
His lungs screamed.
He struggled and pulled against the bindings while trashing violently underneath the weight of the boulder.
The chains groaned slightly but held firm.
He could hear the blood pumping in his ears as his vision started to blur.
The icy waters of the Academy training lake pressed in on all sides as the world above reduced to a blur of distorted light and silence while he was anchored to the very bottom.
Victor's limbs were restrained by glowing chains wrapped around his wrists and ankles, tethered to stones on the riverbed. Air was leaving his lungs in desperate bubbles, and the weight on his chest made movement almost impossible.
He kept thrashing and kicking to no avail.
He was going to drown.
'No—not like this.'
Victor gritted his teeth and began to activate his Void Emperor Bloodline.
His veins emitted a low violet light as arrow-like marks glowed faintly across his skin which had turn whiter.
Spatial energy rippled through his body, warping the water around him.
He tried to activate his Shadow Blink technique—but it refused to activate.
He realized the truth in that moment: the resistance of water and the sheer density around him made it impossible to puncture an invisible rift large enough for his body to get through.
He couldn't use shadow blink on himself underwater.
His mind raced.
'Think, think...'
His eyes suddenly widened in realisation....
The chains.
They were smaller. Lighter. Separate from his body.
He wrapped the glowing chains in his qi, compressing his will around them and focusing. A faint ripple distorted around them, a warping of energy that surged outward.
In the next instant, the chains vanished, teleporting above the water and out of range.
Victor was free.
He pressed against the boulder while grunting from the strain. His muscles trembled as he shoved the boulder with all his might.
The boulder tilted and slowly shifted.
With one last push, he wriggled free and kicked upward with every bit of strength he had.
His head broke through the surface.
The moment air hit his lungs, he gasped, coughed and retched while his limbs flailed until he grabbed hold of the edge of the training platform.
He hauled himself up.
Students turned to look. Some ignored him. Others looked confused.
Victor staggered to his feet and looked around.
The attackers were long gone.
He spotted Instructor Vex Rhane not far off, barking orders to a group of first-years.
"Instructor!" Victor called out with a breathless voice.
Rhane turned. "You good, Revenant? You look like a drowned squirrel."
Victor pointed to the lake. "Two students tried to drown me. Chained me up and dropped a boulder on me. I nearly died."
Rhane frowned while approaching. "You know how ridiculous that sounds? Under my watch?"
"I'm not lying. They were a Berserker and a Mage. Probably first-years. I punched one, but they got me down quick."
Rhane crossed his arms, clearly unconvinced. "No one here reported anything. And there are no disturbances in the detection array. You sure you didn't pass out from overexertion and dream it?"
Victor stared at him.
He obviously didn't believe him and it was pointless to keep trying.
He clenched his fists and walked off.
---
(( A Day Ago - Different Location ))
In a secluded location behind FeedHub-6, Derek stood with two other first-years. They wore cocky grins and slouched postures, sporting Academy uniforms in disarray. One had a metal jaw implant. The other had a tattoo that flickered with low-grade runes.
"You just gonna keep letting that guy walk around like nothing happened?" the metal-jaw student scoffed.
"He kissed your girl, and what did you do? Shoved him once, and then let the Academy handle it?"
"Yeah," the other snorted. "If that were my girl, I'd have turned his jaw into glass powder."
Derek clenched his fists. "I already fought him once. Amara said to stay away from it."
"And look where that got you. Everyone thinks you're a pushover. You're letting him breathe too easy."
Derek's gritted his teeth. He hated how right it sounded.
"We'll handle it for you," the metal-jaw one offered. "We'll pass the word around. Victor's about to have the worst week of his life."
Derek nodded once.
"Good. Make sure he gets the message."
---
Back to the Present
Victor sat alone again.
The lecture hall buzzed with whispers and activity, but he was an island amidst it all. The tables around him remained empty. Eyes flicked in his direction and quickly turned away.
He wasn't a pariah because of the rumors anymore.
Now he was a target.
He could only hope to put all this behind him very quickly or he'd have to deal with it in his own way.
He jotted down notes from the current lecture on Hybrid Affinity Reactions, but the words blurred. All he could think of was the bottom of the lake.
And the laughter of the two who left him there.
He took a deep breath.
He had faced a couple of near death scenarios before but this was a first of its kind. Completely unexpected unlike the others he confidently walked into.
He'd have to watch his back.
Victor exited the class early with his eyes lowered and shoulders tense. As he walked the corridors, whispers followed him like shadows.
It was slowly becoming unbearable. But there was no running from this—only forward.
...
...
In the days that followed, Victor found himself subjected to an unrelenting campaign of harassment. The same two students who had tried to drown him were back again, but they weren't alone.
A few others had joined their antics. A small group of first-year students were always lurking around corners, bumping him in corridors, sneaking things into his training gear, and setting up traps to humiliate him publicly.
