I Can Only Cultivate In A Game-Chapter 143: First Day Lectures

"Want to try that move on me instead, tough guy?"

The Berserker's bravado instantly vanished.

"Keep running!" Vex barked. "Or I'll make you restart from the beginning with triple weights! That goes for all of you!"

No one dared argue. The group scattered and returned to the course.

Victor and Rylan lingered near the mage, encouraging him with small comments and slowing their pace so he wouldn't fall behind.

Rylan gave him a pat on the back. "You're doing better than most. This course is brutal for magic types."

Victor nodded. "Second lap's the hardest. But you've already made it halfway. Just keep pushing."

With their help, the boy finally crossed the first lap's marker and began his second.

Eventually, the course ended. The mage managed to finish his second lap—far behind the others, but finished nonetheless.

The instructor's voice rang out again;

"This is just the beginning. Tomorrow is rock climbing. If you thought today was rough, you'll be crying by the time we hit Friday. Remember this pain—embrace it. One day, it'll be the reason you survive."

As the Awakened students began to leave while groaning, the mage turned to Victor and Ryan.

"Thanks... I really mean it."

"No problem. We've all been there," Rylan said before turning to Victor. "I gotta prep for my next class. I'll catch you later."

They exchanged room numbers, then parted ways.

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

Victor took off the weights and almost stumbled from the sudden lightness in his limbs. He stretched while relishing the freedom in his movements, before heading back to the dorms.

His room was empty when he returned. Kairo was probably still out training.

Victor showered quickly, scrubbing away the sweat and dust, then slipped into a the normal version of the white-trimmed Awakened Academy uniform. The time was almost 7 a.m.

His first lecture of the day was General Studies, a required course for all first-years.

The largest lecture hall in the Academy spanned the size of a stadium. Tiered seating lined the massive circular room, and students poured in from every entrance, chattering, yawning, or already seated and reviewing notes.

Victor sat midway up and scanned the crowd. Over 7,000 first-year students packed the space.

At precisely 7:00 a.m., the lights dimmed, and the front screen lit up.

A tall woman in her mid-forties walked onto the stage. She wore smooth robes fused with armored lining, and her black locs were tied into a large bun with golden pins. Her presence alone made the hall go silent.

She tapped the screen of the tab in her grasp and her name flashed behind her.

~ Instructor Kaelani Vos ~

"Welcome to General Studies," she voiced out with a calm tone. "The subject in which you will learn the truths your governments never told you."

A quiet rustle went through the students.

"History, geopolitics, awakened theory, world collapse analysis, beastology, species studies, dimensional knowledge—all are pieces of what we call General Studies. Today, we start with history."

The lights dimmed more as a massive 3D holographic projection appeared above the center of the hall. It showed Earth. Then the sky over the Pacific tearing open in a great rift of violet-blue flame.

"Thirty-nine years ago," Kaelani said, "our world ended."

The rift expanded, and monstrous shadows fell from it like meteors. Some had wings. Some moved like hurricanes. Others struck the sea and created tsunamis that swallowed whole islands.

"It began with the Awakening Storm that brought mana into our world. The sky opened over the Pacific, and through it came the three species you now know: the Drakenar, Sylrith, and Umbryx. But they weren't the only ones."

Another projection formed.

Slender, glowing and beautiful humanoid silhouettes appeared.

"There was a fourth species," she voiced with a slightly heavy tone.

Whispers filled the room.

"But the others did not want them here. So the Drakenar, Sylrith, and Umbryx colluded to collapse the portal before their rivals could pass through. They feared them."

The projection shifted again to show the humanoid species hunting down these glowing beings.

"Only a few of the fourth race made it through. They were hunted. Slaughtered. Their very existence erased."

Kaelani turned to face the audience.

"That was when we understood the truth: we cannot coexist with these invaders. They may look intelligent, speak as we do, even form diplomatic fronts—but make no mistake. They are apex predators. And humanity, at the time, was prey."

The next projection showed cities burning. Beasts rampaging. Soldiers dying by the tens of thousands.

"Over 300 million humans died in the first year alone. Our strongest weapons did nothing. Governments collapsed. Nations fractured."

She paused.

"Until Awakeners appeared."

Another projection now. Humans surrounded by glowing sigils. People standing alone against armies of beasts and holding them back.

"The Awakened were the only thing that changed the course. We became the line between annihilation and survival. And you—"

She looked out over the seven thousand students.

"—are the next generation to hold that line."

The hall was silent. No one dared speak.

"What you'll learn here, you cannot speak of out there. Not to your families. Not to strangers. The truth must be preserved, and carefully revealed. You will uncover more as time passes. But for now—know this: the war is far from over."

The screen darkened. The lecture ended.

Victor leaned back slowly in his seat.

He'd heard fragments of the truth growing up, but never this. Never all of it.

As students slowly filed out of the hall, Victor checked his schedule and noticed that his next two lectures were warrior class-specific.

The second was theory-heavy, focusing on battle formations and mana enhancement techniques.

Victor learned that battle formations helped a lot especially since the awakeners were always outnumbered in battles.

Just on the first day, he was already learning a lot.

However, the third lecture of the day was practical.

Victor stretched his arms as he stepped onto the gravel-covered training field behind Lecture Hall 9.

The third and final class of the day was about to begin.

Unlike the prior theory-based lecture, this one was practical—and that meant sweat.

The instructor who was a tall broad-shouldered man with a stern face and short copper hair, stood at the front of the field, dressed in a trimmed black and red combat uniform.

His twin swords were sheathed across his back.

Instructor Garran Thorne, renowned for his sharp tongue and sharper strikes, faced the assembled first-year warriors.

Victor stood near Kai, Aria, Reed, and Kairo as Garran surveyed the group.

"Draw your weapons," Garran said bluntly.

There was a flurry of movement as blades were unsheathed.

"Today's focus is not about flair or brute force," Garran began while pacing. "It's about control. About form. About not dying like an idiot."