Matthew Atkinson & Natalie Russell
Sixth Layer of the Supernatural Realm
Passing through the city gate, Matthew and the others discovered that beyond it was not a civil settlement but a military camp.
The cavalryman led them into a tent and said, "Wait here."
Seeing the cavalryman about to leave, Filip Walker hurriedly asked, "How long do we have to wait?"
"The general will summon you later." After saying this, the cavalryman left.
The group could only look around.
The tent wasn't big; it was just right for the ten of them to stay inside.
Sam Harris was the first to lose his composure and stick his head out of the tent to check.
A moment later, the young man suddenly exclaimed, "Oh? What kind of military camp is this? There are even female soldiers here? I thought that in ancient civilizations, women were not conscripted into the military."
Upon hearing this, the others rushed over to check.
They lifted the tent flap and, sure enough, saw a group of female soldiers, armed with spears, patrolling.
The female soldiers also noticed that Filip Walker and others were spying on them, but they did nothing and focused on patrolling, demonstrating excellent military qualities.
Not long after, the group discovered that other supernaturals were being led into the military camp by the soldiers and placed in separate tents to wait.
"It seems that quite a few people have chosen this checkpoint, just like us." Lucian Richards said.
"That's normal," Denis Read said. "The number of freshmen far exceeds the number of checkpoints, so many people will inevitably choose the same checkpoint."
"Huh?" Filip Walker suddenly said, "That team that just passed by... seemed to be the University of Cambridge team."
"Is it really the University of Cambridge? We really have a connection with them. We ran into each other last time as well," Charles Francis said.
As everyone was talking, the sky gradually darkened.
As it was getting dark, a soldier finally came to inform them that the general had summoned them to the training ground.
When the group followed the soldiers to the training ground, they found that many people had gathered there.
Half of them were supernatural individuals.
These supernatural individuals were organized into teams of ten, and there were people of all races.
They were clearly from all over the world, randomly entering this layer with them.
When Natalie and her group arrived at the training ground, almost all the supernatural individuals' expressions changed.
Some were happy, some were worried.
Natalie was now widely recognized as the top freshman, possessing the strongest abilities among all the freshmen.
Those who looked happy were supernatural people with no grand ambitions.
They just wanted to get through this layer safely.
With a strong person like Natalie around, they would definitely face less pressure and be safer.
Those supernatural individuals with worried expressions were the ones who wanted to achieve good results.
Being at the same layer with a powerhouse like Natalie would definitely make the competition even fiercer, and they were afraid that Natalie would steal their chance.
And some people looked at Natalie with malicious intent in their eyes.
The bounties for Natalie had not been cancelled.
Even though this was a realm of amnesia, some people didn't want to see Natalie continue to grow.
Noticing the malicious gazes, Matthew immediately said, "Natalie, you stand in the middle, and everyone else, stand in front, behind, left, and right to protect Natalie in the middle."
Although Natalie was currently powerful, she had not yet reached the level where she could transform into her elemental form.
With so many freshmen here, it would be perilous for her if someone were to launch a sneak attack.
Unlike Matthew. With a body of steel and master-level Armament Haki, even if he stood still and let others attack him, they wouldn't be able to harm him.
Upon hearing this, Filip Walker and the others immediately formed a circular formation, protecting Natalie in the middle.
The team stood on the periphery of the training ground, not squeezing in to join the crowd.
"Natalie Russell."
Suddenly, a voice came from behind.
Everyone looked over and discovered it was Marcus Kelly from the University of Cambridge.
He was a Magma-Magma Fruit user, quite strong, and a rising star with some fame.
"I never expected that we would meet again in the Supernatural Realm."
Marcus Kelly looked at Natalie and said confidently, "This time, I definitely won't lose to you."
Everyone: "…???"
They had no idea where this guy's inexplicable confidence came from.
Natalie didn't want to talk.
She thought the man was too childish and couldn't be bothered with him.
Marcus Kelly, however, was not willing to let it go so easily.
"Last time you won the championship mainly because of Matthew's command, right?"
Marcus Kelly's eyes swept across the crowd, and after seeing Matthew, his gaze paused for a moment before turning to Natalie. "This time, the mission is about killing monsters, a contest of strength. I won't lose to you again."
Natalie remained silent.
Filip Walker couldn't help but say, "Our Miss Natalie is recognized as the strongest among the freshmen. Where do you get the confidence to say that?"
Marcus Kelly snorted coldly, offering no further explanation, and said, "You'll find out soon enough."
At this moment, a large number of armed soldiers rushed into the training ground and formed a battle formation.
This startled the superhumans.
Then, a general in armor, surrounded by a group of guards, arrived at the training ground.
It turns out it was the general's grand entrance.
Everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Then, to everyone's surprise, the general of this military camp was actually a middle-aged woman.
The general's bodyguards and some of the officers were also all women.
If there hadn't been so many male officers nearby, people would have wondered whether this was a women's military camp.
Next, after giving a morale-boosting speech, the general ordered the supernatural teams to send a representative to draw lots.
The drawing would determine the zones each team would defend.
The city wall was massive, connecting two mountain peaks, and was at least a thousand meters long.
This general divided the city wall into hundreds of defensive zones, using ten-meter-long crenellations.
Each defensive zone needs to be guarded by both supernaturals and soldiers.
"Filip, you will represent our team to draw lots," Matthew said.
"Okay, Matthew."
Filip Walker agreed and ran over to queue up for the lottery.
A moment later, after Filip Walker returned from drawing his lot, he said, "I drew lot number 17."
Bobby Burns couldn't help but ask, "Are the numbers written in cardinal numerals? Or is it in a foreign numerical system?"
"In cardinal numerals," Filip Walker said, taking out a wooden plaque and showing it to everyone. "These are the numbers."
The lot in his hand was a wooden plaque with the number "17" on it.
"Strange." Bobby Burns said, "Have you noticed that in this military camp, neither the generals nor the soldiers seem surprised by the appearance of us supernaturals? They even have numbered lots with cardinal numerals, and they probably already knew we were in groups of ten?"
"There's nothing strange about that."
Denis Read said, "I think this supernatural realm layer is one of the layers where time flows relatively normally, and it will not reset after we leave."
"Is there such a layer?" Bobby Burns exclaimed in surprise.
"Of course there are," Denis Read said. "The time flow in the Supernatural Realm Layers is very bizarre. In most layers, the event resets after the supernatural beings leave, and the world waits for the next round to arrive. There are even Supernatural Realms with their own unique situation, such as the eighth and eighteenth layers. After supernaturals leave, time stands still in these layers. Only when supernaturals enter the eighteenth and twenty-eighth layers again will time restart."
"When the next batch of supernaturals enters next year, the Supernatural Realm will reset."
"And this supernatural realm layer should be a layer where time does not reset. The people here have long known of our existence as supernatural beings, and they also know that we are here to help them. In fact, their method of drawing lots based on cardinal numbers may have been taught to them by the supernatural beings."
Upon hearing this, Bobby Burns suddenly realized that he didn't know any of this.
But Matthew's focus was more on the eighth, eighteenth, and twenty-eighth layers that Denis had mentioned.
Matthew knew these layers were OASIS world layers, and, according to Denis, time froze in them after leaving them until re-entering.
This meant that after the first easter egg challenge in the eighth layer, time would freeze until entering the eighteenth layer for the second challenge.
And Denis's knowledge of the layers beyond the tenth layer was another point that caught his attention.
The first ten layers were mandatory, so obtaining information about them wasn't difficult. Anyone with a supernatural family member could access this information.
But things changed after the tenth layer.
Information about these layers was more tightly guarded, and it wasn't easy for everyone to obtain, especially information about layers beyond the twentieth.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.142: Leave the Monster Killing to Me
Ch.143: Meteor Volcano
Ch.144: Ferocious Beasts