I Can Only Cultivate In A Game-Chapter 86: Viral?

"Let's just say I was leveling up…"

Amara scoffed. "More like no-lifing."

"Same thing," Victor shrugged.

The group spent the next half hour chatting about random things—school, life, the latest Awakened Academy news.

Then, a new notification popped up on his phone.

Selene: Yo, you free? Let's go out together sometime.

Victor stared at the message.

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on freeweɓnøvel.com.

She had asked him the same thing before, but he had never responded. Now that he was finally back in the real world, should he actually agree?

His friends noticed his silence.

"Victor?" Jake called out. "You good?"

Victor snapped back. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Just got a message."

"Oooooh," Max smirked. "Is it from a girl?"

Victor rolled his eyes. "Maybe."

Danny laughed. "Bro, don't tell me you're finally going on a date."

"Shut up," Victor muttered while staring at Selene's text.

Was he actually about to agree to go out with her?

...

...

Victor woke up the next morning with an odd sense of anticipation. He sat up, stretched, and then reached for his phone.

He had just recalled the video he posted days ago.

Maybe I went viral overnight…

He tapped open the video-sharing platform and checked the view count. His excitement was quickly doused when he saw the numbers:

17,124 views

Victor groaned. "Seriously? That's it?"

He had hyped himself up, hoping that the video would have blown up since he hadn't checked for over three days. Instead, it was barely breaking traction. He scrolled through the comments, and while they were mostly positive, there wasn't enough engagement for brands to notice him.

-"Yo, this dude is insane! That wind slice was cool!"

-"Man, I wish I had awakened… life is unfair."

-"Bro needs to do something crazier if he wants to get noticed!"

-"Yeah bro needs to stick his d*ck in a portal and suck it."

-"You are so down bad user1029929!"

"Not bad, but I've seen better awakeners on the net."

Victor sighed before tossing his phone onto the bed. "Not good enough."

He knew he needed to step it up.

---

About an hour later, Danny, Max, and Jake showed up at his place.

"Alright, you saw the numbers, right?" Danny asked.

Victor nodded. "Yeah, pathetic."

"Then we gotta do something crazier today," Max grinned.

Jake rubbed his chin. "What's the plan?"

"We do more crazy shit," Victor said while cracking his knuckles. "This time, we make sure people actually notice."

The four of them set out, carrying their camera equipment, and started filming Victor performing wild stunts with his abilities.

Victor cleanly sliced through a thick block of wood with his wind blade but acted like he made use of his palm to avoid suspicions.

Then, he scaled walls, vaulted over railings, and even jumped off a rooftop, using his Wind Shifting Arts to slow his descent at the last second.

At one point, they accidentally trespassed onto a restricted area, and a security guard chased them down.

Victor laughed while grabbing Jake and running at full speed, blurring past obstacles. Meanwhile, Danny hoisted Max onto his back—a hilarious sight considering Max was much bigger— and fled after Victor.

As they fled, Jake screamed, "Victor, put me down!"

Victor cackled. "You wanna get caught?!"

Max who was being carried by Danny, panted, "I feel… so… disrespected…"

Danny laughed. "Shut up, bro, I'm out of breath cos of your fat ass!"

They barely escaped and stopped at an alleyway where they all collapsed, wheezing from laughter.

---

After spending hours recording, the sun was starting to set.

"That should be enough footage for today," Victor voiced with a slightly satisfied look.

They went over the clips, reviewing the shots.

"Dude, that rooftop jump was sick," Max pointed out.

"The security guard chase is gonna go viral for sure," Jake grinned.

Victor smirked. "If this doesn't blow up, I don't know what will."

After a few more discussions about what to do next, they decided to call it a day.

---

That night, Victor locked himself in his room, drinking energy drinks while painstakingly editing the videos.

He added dramatic effects to the wind blade slice.

He spliced in slow-motion shots of his parkour stunts.

He edited the security chase footage to make it even funnier.

By the time he was done, it was already past 3 AM. His eyes were heavy, but the moment he uploaded the videos, he felt satisfaction.

"This better work…" he muttered before passing out on his desk.

---

When morning arrived, Victor was woken up by loud knocking.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

"Victor! Open up, you lazy bastard!" Danny's voice rang out.

Victor groaned while dragging himself up and opening the door.

Only Danny and Max stood there.

"Where's Jake?" Victor asked.

Max snorted. "Dude's at his University interview today."

Victor raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah, right. What was it called again?"

"Velcrest Academy of Advanced Studies," Danny said. "Some elite college that only accepts students trying to be researchers or something."

Victor chuckled. "And we're gonna pull up and taunt him, aren't we?"

Danny smirked. "Obviously."

Max flexed. "It's our moral obligation as his friends."

"Alright, but first…" Victor grabbed his phone and checked the videos.

His heart pounded.

Did they finally go viral?

Victor checked the statistics of the latest video and shook his head.

"The last video didn't go viral," Victor sighed.

It had more views than the previous but it wasn't even half a hundred thousand views.

Danny smirked while adjusting the camera. "Then we just gotta do something crazier."

With only two weeks left before the Awakened Academy's resumption, Victor, Danny, and Max were back at it—filming new content without Jake.

This time, they focused on flashier moves—Victor performed precise aerial stunts using Wind Shifting Arts and even deflected thrown objects mid-air with Gale Strike. Max and Danny acted as the hype-men, ensuring the shots looked dramatic and engaging.

...

...

Meanwhile, at Velcrest Academy of Advanced Studies, Jake sat upright in a modern, glass-walled office, being grilled by interviewers.

"So, Mr. Blake," an older professor voiced while adjusting his glasses. "Why do you want to attend Velcrest?"

Jake nodded confidently while preparing his answer.

"I believe Velcrest is the perfect place for me to refine my academic skills," he said. "I may not be an Awakener, but I know that with my intellect and hard work, I can contribute meaningfully to this institution and its research projects."

The interviewers jotted down noted while nodding in approval.

Jake grinned internally. 'I'm killing this interview!'

A few minutes later, the interview ended, and Jake walked out feeling victorious.

That was until—

BAM!

He bumped into a large-bellied man with a long, bushy beard, wearing a Velcrest professor's robe.

"You, boy!" the man pointing his thick index finger at Jake. "Follow me immediately, or you can kiss your admission goodbye!"

Jake's eyes widened. "W-what?! But I just—"

"NOW!" the man barked.

Jake followed the strange professor down the hallway with a panicky expression.

The large-bellied man led Jake into a crowded area where students moved around, chatting and relaxing.

"You want to get into Velcrest?" the man voiced while stroking his long beard.

Jake gulped. "Uh… yes, sir?"

"Then you must prove yourself!" the man declared. "Start by doing ten frog jumps across this open space!"

Jake winced. 'Oh, come on… in front of all these people?'

Seeing no way out, he cursed under his breath and began hopping like a damn frog causing students to stare and laugh.

"Good, good!" the bearded man nodded approvingly. "Now, go to that tree, hug it tightly, and apologize for all the deforestation mankind has committed!"

Jake's jaw dropped.

"You can't be serious—"

"DO IT!"

Despite feeling humiliated beyond belief, Jake wrapped his arms around the tree. "I'm sorry, tree… for humanity's crimes… against nature…"

Students burst into laughter.

The bearded man grinned. "Excellent! Now, one last task—stand in the middle of the crowd and do the chicken dance while clucking loudly!"

Sweat began forming on Jake's forehead.

"This… this is too much…"

He glanced around, seeing dozens of Velcrest students moving about.

If I do this… I'll never live it down…

But just as he prepared to sacrifice his dignity, a camera flash blinded him.

Click!

Jake turned sharply to see Max holding a camera while grinning from ear to ear.

Behind Max, Victor covered his mouth, struggling and failing to hold back laughter.

And standing next to Jake—

The bearded professor yanked off his fake beard, revealing—

Danny.

Jake's face darkened. "You… sons of bitches…"

(( Thirty Minutes Earlier ))

After a full day of filming, the boys decided it was time for a much-needed break.

"Let's go mess with Jake," Max grinned.

Danny cracked his knuckles. "Been waiting for this all day."

Victor let out a wry chuckle. "I don't know guys... maybe we shouldn't..."

"Come on man, where's your spirit... you'd usually be the first one to come up with things like this," Danny edged him on from the side.

"Yeah man. Come on, we need the old Victor back even if it's just for today," Max elbowed Victor softly with a mischievous look.

"Aww damn you two, I feel bad for him already…" Victor shook his head with a look of pity.