I Can Only Cultivate In A Game-Chapter 407: The Veilwood Playground

The structure cracked and collapsed in a cascading avalanche of debris.

Sylrith fell with it—

Only to spread the delicate neck-wings and glide effortlessly back into the air.

They did not need the bridge since they could fly.

Still—

The destruction slowed some of them and that was enough.

She gathered every ounce of strength remaining.

The boundary was directly ahead now so she did not slow or hesitate for even a second.

With a final roar, she leapt, carrying Victor with her straight toward the boundary.

BAM!

The moment she reached the boundary, an invisible force detonated against her body.

It felt like colliding with a mountain.

The impact was catastrophic.

Her beast-form was hurled backward violently, slamming into the ground with enough force to crater the earth beneath her.

Victor’s body was nearly thrown free, but her shadows held him tightly.

She groaned while struggling to rise.

The boundary shimmered mockingly in front of her.

Apparently, it wasn’t just lines of light... it wasn’t just a boundary... It was a massive barrier encompassing the entire region.

No one could leave... at least not conventionally.

Her beast-form flickered slightly, destabilizing from the impact as she slowly turned around.

They were right behind her... she was completely surrounded by tens of Sylrith.

Some hovered, some stood on warped trees... while some perched on broken stone with their fully white eyes glowing in the dim purple haze.

The earlier Sylrith stepped forward.

"You have caused quite the disturbance."

Another tilted its head slightly.

"You fought well."

A third spoke, almost curious.

"But there is nowhere to run."

The circle tightened and Eirene’s breathing slowed as she positioned herself defensively over Victor’s unconscious body.

... 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

...

~ Back To The Present ~

Victor’s vision swam as he hung upside down with blood slowly rushing to his head.

The eerie forest stretched beneath him in warped, nightmarish shapes. Purple fog drifted lazily between crooked trees whose bark split and reformed like breathing flesh.

A Sylrith stood directly in front of him studying him with its pale and luminous eyes that held amusement.

"Welcome to the Veilwood Playground, human."

The name echoed in Victor’s ears.

’Playground?’

The creature leaned closer with its membranous neck-wings fluttering gently as though stirred by a breeze that didn’t exist.

"Try not to struggle too much..." it whispered softly. "It will only increase your suffering."

Something inside Victor snapped as rage swept through him... Where was Gojo and Eirene?

He clenched his fists and attempted to flex his body, to break free from the binds through sheer physical strength alone.

Unfortunately, nothing happened... to make matters worse, his limbs felt sluggish, heavy and weak...

As if the vitality had been drained from his muscles.

He frowned.

That wasn’t normal.

The Sylrith tilted its head.

"Oh," it said pleasantly, "the borila syrup must already be in effect."

Victor’s eyes narrowed.

"Told you not to struggle too much, didn’t I?"

Borila syrup? What was that supposed to be? Poison? A suppressant?

Victor gritted his teeth.

Whatever it was... it wouldn’t stop him from getting out of here!

He closed his eyes briefly and immediately began to channel his qi.

The familiar flow that had become second nature to him over the past months spread from his dantian—

However, the moment that happened... pure, blinding agony detonated inside his meridians.

It felt as if molten metal had been poured directly into his veins.

"Giarrrrhhhhh!"

Victor screamed.

The sound tore from his throat involuntarily, echoing through the twisted clearing.

The Sylrith laughed delightedly.

"Don’t try to channel any form of power," it said casually. "You’ll just be hurting yourself."

Victor’s breathing turned hurried...

His qi circulation had been forcibly disrupted mid-flow. The pain lingered, crackling faintly under his skin like residual lightning.

He refused to accept it.

He tried again forcing his qi to move...

This time, the backlash was worse.

His body convulsed violently as if stabbed from within by a thousand needles.

His vision flashed white as he screamed again.

"Kiiaaaaarrrrhhhhhhhhh!"

Nearby, several of the other bound captives flinched at the sound.

Victor body trembled immensely from the pain.

His meridians felt torn but still he wasn’t about to give up just because of pain...

If qi channeling was blocked...

Then he would use something else.

He didn’t even bother with gradual awakening. He triggered the activation of the Void Emperor Bloodline...

For a split second—

Power answered.

Glowing arrow like markings began to appear across his skin, illuminating faintly despite his inverted position. A terrifying pressure began to form around him.

The Sylrith’s amusement faltered as it took half a step back.

It felt it...

That dominant power...

However, before the Void Emperor Bloodline could fully activate, pain exploded within Victor’s body immensely.

Only that unlike the last time, it magnified exponentially.

Victor felt like his entire skeleton was being crushed inward while simultaneously stretched apart.

The Void Emperor Bloodline was too powerful.

The borila syrup reacted violently against it.

The energy spike triggered an overwhelming internal backlash.

The glowing arrow markings flickered and then vanished completely as the bloodline deactivated mid-activation.

Victor vomited blood from his mouth in thick, dark streams.

And it didn’t stop there.

Warm liquid trickled from his nose, his ears and from the corners of his eyes.

His body shook weakly while the Sylrith stared for a moment—

Then began laughing again.

Louder this time.

"The higher the power," it mused, "the higher the pain."

Victor’s breathing came in shallow gasps as his entire body throbbed.

His internal channels felt scorched.

Now—

Now he understood that this wasn’t simple suppression...

The borila syrup wasn’t just sealing his power... it weaponized it.

Any attempt to channel energy triggered amplified feedback.

The stronger the energy, the greater the backlash.

He was in trouble this time...

Real trouble.

And to make matters worse, this was only beginning.

The Sylrith stepped away from him, strolling casually across the clearing.

Victor forced himself to look around despite the dizziness.

There were at least seventeen beings in total, strung up exactly like him from thick, fibrous ropes that extended upward into an overhead structure made from intertwined roots.

He already saw earlier that some were creatures far larger than him, with scaled skin or armored hides but this time he noticed something that made his breath still...

There were two other humans...

Both male.

Both stripped down to nothing but undergarments and bruised.

Victor stared at them in disbelief.

This was the first time he had seen other humans in over five months of being displaced and it was under such circumstances?

He didn’t know whether to feel relief or despair.

The Sylrith placed four weapons deliberately on the ground in the center of the clearing.

A long blade with spiky edges, a spear-like weapon crackling faintly with purple energy, a curved dagger and a strange, crescent-shaped throwing weapon.

It stepped back.

"Survive in the Veilwood Playground," it announced calmly, "and perhaps... you might just earn your freedom."

The word freedom sounded almost mocking.

In the distance, low and eerie growls rang out.

Strange shapes shifted between the trees.

Creatures that did not move like the Sylrith.

Creatures that did not radiate intelligence...

Predators.

The Playground wasn’t just about them fighting each other.

It was about surviving whatever else lurked here.

Victor’s mind raced as he focused on the reality of the situation...

Bound... poisoned and surrounded by unknown creatures...

The Sylrith weren’t even the only threat.

As if to punctuate that realization... the structure above them suddenly ignited.

Flames erupted along the thick rope-like vines that held them suspended.

Fire raced along the fibers, spreading steadily downward.

The heat intensified immediately and Victor’s eyes widened.

The Sylrith turned slightly and added almost casually—

"Oh. I should mention."

It gestured lazily.

"Your bodies have been doused in a rather flammable solution."

Victor’s heart sank.

"When the flames reach you," the Sylrith continued, "whoever remains bound... will burn quite beautifully."

A few of the captives began screaming instantly.

They struggled wildly against their restraints.

Victor twisted his body, testing the rope... it was really strong and thick, positioned at an angle that made gaining leverage difficult while upside down.

The fire crept closer.

The Sylrith began drifting away with their laughter echoing faintly through the warped forest.

They weren’t even staying to watch... or rather they’d be watching from very far away.

To them... This was routine... this was entertainment.

Victor gritted his teeth.

He had to think since he couldn’t use qi or activate his bloodline and his physical strength was weakened.

He twisted again, ignoring the pain in his abdomen and the dizziness from blood loss.

The fire was perhaps fifteen meters away now.

One of the larger captives began thrashing violently, snapping part of its rope but in doing so, it channeled some form of power instinctively.

It screamed as internal backlash tore through it and blood sprayed out of its mouth.

It turned out that the borila syrup affected them too.

The flames reached the lower segments of rope for one unfortunate being.

Its oil-drenched body ignited instantly and the scream that followed was horrifying.