I Can Only Cultivate In A Game-Chapter 351: We Have Reached The Surface

Victor slashed casually, not using his full strength, and a ripple of spatial distortion cut across the room, cleaving through ice pillars cleanly.

He pivoted, forming a spiraling sphere of Void Qi in his grasp.

He stepped and the world blurred as he teleported a short distance, reappearing with his sword already mid-swing.

He mostly tested how much he could use his bloodline currently.

If this thing really adapts... then the first exchange has to be devastating enough to cripple it before it learns.

He practiced for hours, refining each strike, each movement, each burst of void energy until his breathing grew heavy.

Victor sheathed his blade.

"I’m ready," he whispered.

Meanwhile, Rhozan was elswhere gathering warriors.

...

...

The great cavern hall of the Kahr’uun echoed with as figures in blue-etched skin with some possessing four arms and eyes that shimmered like frost-bound stars, gathered around.

Their breath misted in the freezing air, even though this environment was natural to them. Each warrior body was adorned with traditional rune-scars as they stood with pride of one who have survived countless battles.

Rhozan, raised one of his four hands. The murmur of anticipation died instantly. Compulsory silence fell over the surrounding like a weighted cloak.

"My fellow kin," Rhozan declared in his deep, resonant voice, "the great Iruhun has agreed to lead us to confront the Corrupted One. Those chosen must be ready to face death itself."

The warriors struck their fists over their chests causing a harsh beat to echo through the surroundings.

Victor stood beside Rhozan with his arms crossed and his white hair flowing like drifting snow. His eyes bore deep, abyssal void-black irises that made even the bravest of the Kahr’uun hesitant to meet his gaze for more than a heartbeat.

He could feel the intensity of their anticipation. All hundred of them gathered here today, believe he was fated to deliver their salvation.

Rhozan gestured toward them. "One hundred warriors, Iruhun. The finest. They—"

Victor raised his hand.

"That’s too many."

A ripple of shock passed through the crowd. Rhozan blinked. "Too... many?"

Victor nodded. "If I have to fight that thing while also protecting all of you—we’ll all die. I’m not dragging a hundred bodies into the jaws of an unkillable monster."

Murmurs broke out among the warriors; some stepped forward defiantly.

"We can fight!" one growled.

"We are not fragile!" another snapped.

"The Iruhun underestimates the Kahr’uun!"

Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly. He didn’t like the rising ire but he understood it. They were a proud people, born of frost, and honed by suffering under an enemy that couldn’t die.

Still, he shook his head.

"No," he said quietly. "The lesser the better."

The surroundings fell silent. They didn’t understand the full weight of those words. They couldn’t. But Rhozan’s expression softened with a faint glimmer of empathy.

"They are prepared to die, Iruhun," Rhozan voiced while stepping forward. "They all know the cost. We all would follow you into oblivion if that is what it takes. If we fall, so be it. Our songs will become eternal."

"That’s exactly the problem," Victor muttered. "I’m not letting anyone die on my watch. For you, it might be nothing to lay down your lives but for me, it means a lot."

He raised two fingers. "Cut it down to ten. No more."

The Kahr’uun erupted in protests.

"We are warriors!"

"We can serve!"

"Let us fight beside the Iruhun!"

The ground shook with the force of their voices. Blue marks along their skin glowed brighter as their emotion surged. A lesser man might have been intimidated.

Victor simply exhaled and whispered, "Void Emperor’s Domain."

<[ Void Emperor Domain Activated ]>

Silent and invisible pressure rippled outward, crushing the atmosphere flat.

The Warriors staggered half a step, not harmed, but suddenly aware that moving their bodies suddenly seemed like an impossible task.

They held their breath, remembering who stood before them here today was no ordinary person.

Although they were only displaying their passion to get rid of the enemy that had plagued them for a long time, and didn’t intend to cause a ruckus, this confirmed that the one they called Iruhun was no doubt incredibly powerful.

When the domain faded, silence remained.

Rhozan bowed his head deeply. "Very well. Ten will go."

Despite the reluctance, the warriors accepted it. Rhozan began choosing. He selected those whose mana patterns burned the brightest.

Warriors with many years of combat experience were highlighted. Each stepped forward, presenting their weapons and bowing before Victor.

A spear with runic frost veins.

A multi-bladed glaive shimmering with cold fire.

A pair of mage-warriors whose palms crackled with raw ice mana.

A shieldbearer carrying a translucent slab of frozen-crystal.

All of them radiated deadly power.

"We will fight for you, Iruhun," they said in unison.

Victor nodded once. "Show me what you can do."

The demonstrations began.

One warrior stepped forward, planting his foot. Mana rippled through the ground and surged up in spiky ice spires sharp enough to skewer metal.

Another exhaled a gust that flash-froze the air itself, creating a glittering wall of solidified cold. Two warriors combined their energy and a swirling blizzard orb erupted from their hands, spiraling with terrifying accuracy toward a distant pillar and tearing straight through it.

The pillar exploded into a million icy fragments.

Victor raised an eyebrow, impressed.

"Definitely strong enough," he admitted.

The warriors puffed their chests proudly.

Rhozan approached next, gathering mana around him. He conjured a spear of solid frost that radiated killing intent and hurled it with enough force to warp the air.

The spear detonated into sub-zero mist upon impact, freezing the a icy structure the size of an entire building completely.

Victor whistled softly.

"...Yeah. You’re all terrifying. Fine."

The ten chosen preened with pride.

Victor turned to Rhozan. "Good. Now that we’re done choosing, it is time to go."

"I am coming."

Victor blinked. "...No, you’re not. Stay here with your people. You’re their leader, remember?"

"I must insist on this one, great Iruhun," Rhozan said firmly, crossing his four arms over his chest. "Our kin must see their leader walking into the frost. If we perish, it must be with dignity. If we return, it must be with honor."

Victor dragged a hand down his face. "Bro, you’re literally the one person who should NOT be leaving."

"My decision stands."

"You’re stubborn."

"And you are the Iruhun," Rhozan countered, unfazed. "Your strength will keep me alive. That should ease your fears."

Victor scowled at him. "...That’s not how that works. But whatever. Do what you want."

Rhozan smiled triumphantly.

Victor muttered under his breath, "I swear, every time, someone wants to die under my banner..."

With the group formed, the journey began. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

They moved through tunnels Victor had never seen during his fall into the underground city. Narrow passageways carved by generations of Kahr’uun.

Ancient ice lifts controlled by runic levers. Hidden passageways sealed with frost-lock barriers that only responded to Kahr’uun mana signatures.

Several times, Rhozan traced glowing symbols across the walls and massive circles of interlocking runes appeared, buzzing softly. The warriors stepped through them, emerging hundreds of feet higher in spirals of cold light.

Victor stepped through one experimentally.

Space warped.

His Void Emperor senses buzzed.

He reappeared instantly on a high ledge overlooking the lower caverns.

"...Neat," he muttered.

Rhozan grinned. "Our ancestors wove these circles in anticipation of our exodus. Only our people can use them. And now, you."

"Lucky me."

As they ascended, the temperature increased a little. Victor recalled that it was colder underground here, than even up above.

If it wasn’t for Gojo, there was no doubt that he would have never made it here.

They still had nearly two thousand feet to ascended.

In the next couple of minutes, they had already gone through half a dozen magic circles while passing through labyrinth of frozen tunnels.

The Kahr’uun led easily while lighting the darkness up with their magic.

Victor followed silently, barely saying more than a few words.

Although, they were passing a different route compared to how he came down, he could sense that they wouldn’t be too distant from the lake when they arrived above surface.

...

...

After another twenty minutes of ascension, they seemed to have arrived at a place where there was no room to ascend anymore.

All that could be seen above were icy rocks of different sizes protruding outwards. There was not even a single crack of space in between any of them.

"Are we using another magic circle here?" Victor inquired.

Rhozan shook his head before responding; "We have reached the surface."

"Erm... not to burst your bubble but, I don’t see any sunlight. Pretty sure the surface is supposed to have an open sky," Victor stated while looking around.

Rhozan proceeded to tap his magical staff onto the ground and chant a few words.

In the next instant, a glow surrounding the part of his staff sticking to the icy grounds and spread to form a symbol.

Grrrrhhhhh~

The entire region began quaking intensely as the icy rocks above split, rescinding into the walls on the side to display an open sky.