I Can Only Cultivate In A Game-Chapter 386: Top 100

"He got into the red gate before it fully collapsed," Vayla said. "But not alone."

Cecilia’s heart thundered.

"With my superior commander," Vayla finished quietly. "Aiz."

The name was unfamiliar to Cecilia but she realized what this might mean.

Vayla lifted her staff slightly. "I can no longer detect life force from the bead link."

Her eyes lowered.

"Which means Aiz is dead."

A brief silence settled between them, despite the noise of explosions and destructions in the background.

"Perhaps the young human survived," Vayla added. "Perhaps he did not. If the gate did not lead back to the others..."

She looked at Cecilia.

"That is all I know."

For a fraction of a second—

Just a fraction—

Cecilia Thorn froze.

Then—

She felt an explosion of hope. She had abandoned all her important missions and warnings from the Mana Defense Corp to chase what they called a ghost.

Despite repeatedly trying to end the expedition to find Victor saying it was taking valuable time and resources, she refused to let them abandon it.

Now there was hope again...

If Victor had entered the gate...

Even though he didn’t return with the other students... it meant, he hadn’t failed to escape.

He had been transported elsewhere.

Alive.

Mana burst forth from her as the air around her began to distort terrifyingly.

Vayla’s eyes widened.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Cecilia gaze burnt brighter than the lava below as she slowly lifted her head.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

Vayla frowned. "For what—"

"For the information."

The world suddenly stopped as every Drakenar on the battlefield froze in place, mid-swing, mid-spell and mid-roar.

Mana Defense officers, even Cecilia’s own comrades, halted as well, suspended like statues carved from fire and ash.

Time itself had been locked.

Vayla’s breath hitched as her body refused to move.

Her magic was silenced.

Cecilia vanished without a sound.

One instant she hovered in the air, the next, she was directly in front of Vayla.

Up close, Cecilia Thorn was terrifying.

Her eyes glowed with layered sigils as Mana flowed around her like a controlled storm, held back by sheer mastery rather than restraint.

She reached out and her hand wrapped around Vayla’s throat...

Effortlessly.

Vayla gasped with her eyes widening as her feet lifted from the top of thw broken structure.

"This war," Cecilia said softly, "was never your greatest mistake."

She leaned closer.

"Touching my people was."

She whispered a chant.

Runes bloomed in the air, interlocking in multiple layers.

A magical construct formed instantly around Vayla’s body, snapping into place like a cage forged from light and authority. Her staff fell from her grasp, clattering uselessly against the ground.

"You’re coming with us," Cecilia said calmly.

Vayla tried to resist but she couldn’t.

The construct tightened.

Cecilia raised one hand and space folded.

In the same instant, Cecilia Thorn—and every Mana Defense officer present—vanished.

Time resumed, lurching the battlefield back into motion violently.

Drakenars staggered in confusion as reality was restored. They looked around in panic.

Their sorceress was gone.

Their enemy... also gone.

All of a sudden, the sky cracked.

A massive shadow eclipsed the burning clouds.

The Drakenars looked up and their crimson eyes widened in terror.

A collosal blazing meteorite wrapped in descending fire, tore through the sky.

Before they could make a move, the meteor slammed into the heart of the Drakenar region.

The explosion was world-ending.

A blinding flash engulfed everything within a two-kilometer radius. Shockwaves vaporized structures, annihilated legions, and crushed the land into molten ruin. Lava surged skyward as the ground collapsed inward, creating a massive crater that glowed like an open wound on the planet’s surface.

The Drakenar stronghold was completely erased causing ash to rain for miles.

■■■

■■■

Deep beneath the unknown waters of the planet, far beyond sunlight and surface storms, the Awakened Academy thrived in quiet defiance of the ocean above.

A vast transparent dome stretched across the seafloor, reinforced by layered mana barriers and technology. Outside the dome, colossal shadows of abyssal creatures drifted past like slow-moving constellations. Inside, however, it was a different world entirely.

An artificial sky was displayed overhead with soft blue gradients, drifting clouds and a simulated sun that rose and set on a perfect schedule. Streets paved with mana-infused alloy curved outward in elegant arcs, forming districts filled with training halls, residential towers, research facilities, and marketplaces. It wasn’t merely an academy.

It was a city.

And today, it was alive.

Lanterns floated through the air like glowing jellyfish, trailing ribbons of light. Holographic fireworks bloomed against the artificial sky, exploding into patterns of dragons, phoenixes, and constellations of ancient awakened heroes.

Music echoed through the streets and modern beats blended with ceremonial rhythms from cultures that predated the mana age.

It was the New Year.

A new month.

A new cycle.

And for the first-year students of the Awakened Academy, that meant one thing above all else.

Rankings.

"Move—move—don’t block the screen!"

"I swear if I dropped again I’m quitting duels entirely!"

"No way, no way, no way—refresh it again!"

Thousands of first-year students flooded the central plaza with their eyes locked on the massive glowing ranking board suspended above the square like a monument. It wasn’t just a screen... it was a projection forged from mana and data, tall as a building and radiant like a badge of honor.

Only one hundred names appeared on it.

Out of over seven thousand first-year awakened.

Making the top hundred wasn’t just impressive.

It was legendary.

As the board finished updating, a hush fell over the crowd.

Names scrolled into place.

Ranks solidified.

And as always—

The very top drew the most attention.

Rank 1 glowed brightly.

Rank 2 shimmered just beneath it.

A name appeared.

Victor Revenant — Rank 2

The plaza fell into a strange, conflicted silence.

"He’s... still there."

"They haven’t removed him."

"Of course they wouldn’t."

"He saved over five hundred students..."

"Do you think he’s even alive?"

No one answered that last question.

No one could.

Victor Revenant had been missing for five months.

No body...

No confirmation...

No trace...

And yet, his name remained.

The Awakened Academy had made its stance clear long ago.

Until proven otherwise, Victor Revenant was alive.

And until his rank was rightfully challenged, it would not be stripped away.

Above him stood Rank 1, Veyla.

Below him—Rank 3, 4, 5.

The Top Five were unchanged.

All S-Rankers.

Elyra’s name gleamed proudly among them with her position unshaken. The others were familiar as well and terrifyingly talented... monsters even among awakened.

But today, the crowd wasn’t focused on the top five.

They were staring further down.

At the lower half of the board.

"Wait... hold on..."

"Is that—?"

"No way."

"That’s Danny."

At Rank 93, glowing faintly but unmistakably, was a name that sent ripples through the gathered students.

Danny Henshaw — Rank 93

Shock spread like wildfire.

"He’s A rank now??"

"He was ranked in the six hundreds at the start of the year!"

"Eight months... only eight months!"

"That kind of jump is insane!"

Danny stood a short distance away from the board with his hands in his pockets and shoulders broad beneath his academy jacket.

He said nothing.

But his presence spoke volumes.

He had grown.

Not just in rank.

Danny now stood at nearly six-foot-seven with hardened muscles and a steadily grounded. The softness he once had was gone... replaced by something forged through relentless training and loss.

He had now emitted a strange intense that made people stare as he walked past.

Whispers followed him.

"What the hell has he been eating?"

"Did you see his mana pressure?"

"He feels different..."

Danny didn’t slow down.

Because he wasn’t the only one.

More names from a familiar circle lit up the board.

Reed — Rank 98

A quiet gasp.

Kai — Rank 52

Aria — Rank 42

Eyes widened.

"That’s insane..."

"She jumped that high?"

"But the one who really—"

The crowd’s gaze shifted upward and just outside the top ten... was...

Selene — Rank 11

Selene had always been a talented assassin... everyone knew that. She had hovered within the top two hundred since the academy began.

But Top 20 was a different realm entirely.

Rank 11 placed her just outside the elite of the elite.

A position many never reached in their entire academy career.

And Selene?

She hadn’t celebrated.

She stood near the edge of the plaza with her arms crossed and her eyes fixed not on her own name—but on another.

Rank 2.

Victor Revenant.

She looked away only when the noise became too loud with variety of emotions flickering across her face.

The New Year festivities continued around them with laughter and music filling the air, but beneath it all ran an undercurrent of something heavier.

’It’s a new year... and I can’t even wish him...’ she bit the lollipop in her mouth so hard that the moment it shattered, her teeth sank into her lower lip and blood oozed down.

She ignored the injury and kept walking away.

Later that day, with lectures suspended for the holiday, students were granted access to the public communication lines... a privilege reserved for special occasions.

Danny stood in line briefly before stepping into a booth.

The screen lit up.

A familiar face appeared.

"Danny!" Max exclaimed, nearly dropping his phone. "Bro—what the hell? You look like you swallowed a gym!"