Matthew Atkinson & Natelie Russell
Oxford, United Kingdom
Regarding the tenth layer, there was indeed a lot of knowledge to explain. So, when the class ended, Professor Holland seemed to have still many things left unsaid.
When the bell rang, the students all prepared to leave.
Professor Holland, while packing his things, called out to Matthew, "Matthew, wait a moment."
Matthew was a little surprised, but stayed behind.
When there was no one left in the class, Professor Holland then asked, "The tenth layer is a solo layer. What are your thoughts? Do you still want to pursue the highest grade?"
Matthew said without hesitation, "Of course."
Professor Holland frowned, "Personally, I would advise you to proceed cautiously. Although your current strength is quite good among freshmen, it's nothing in the world of the tenth layer."
"The horror of Devil Monsters is beyond your imagination. The key is that there is no detailed information about Devil Monsters to refer to. Facing those monsters alone without detailed information will be very dangerous for you."
"Of course, these are just my personal suggestions. It's up to you whether to listen or not."
Professor Holland said no more and left.
Matthew looked at Professor Holland's retreating figure, his face full of indifference.
Of course, he could understand Professor Holland's thoughts. However, his true strength had long since surpassed the freshman level.
If a seventh-rank Thunder God could kill Devil Monsters, then perhaps he could too.
…
A similar conversation also took place in Class A.
Professor Isabel Grant was earnestly speaking to Natalie at this moment.
"Natalie, it's not that I want to stop your achievements, but the tenth layer is simply too dangerous. After so many years, even those who have managed to get an S-grade mission ranking are very few, probably only a single digit."
"Moreover, this is a solo layer. No team means there's no Matthew's brain for strategy. Your strength in the world of the tenth layer cannot be considered strong."
Natalie: "…"
"Natalie, for this layer, I hope you can act within your capabilities. Please! Please, do not overexert yourself. The gains and losses of just one layer are nothing compared to the big picture. As long as you can continue to achieve SSS-grade results in subsequent layers, that's enough…"
Even after a long time, Professor Isabel Grant was still earnestly trying to persuade Natalie. She originally thought that Natalie would still refuse her advice.
Unexpectedly, Natalie actually nodded and said, "Professor, you make sense. I will act within my capabilities."
Hearing this, Professor Isabel Grant was immediately stunned. This was the first time Natalie had been so cooperative with her.
For a moment, Professor Isabel Grant even felt a sense of unreality. So she asked, "Really?"
"Professor, I'm not the type of person to take unnecessary risks and put my life at jeopardy. If Matthew isn't there, I definitely won't force myself."
Hearing this, Professor Isabel Grant then understood the reason and couldn't help but smile bitterly.
All her words were not as effective as that boy's absence.
'So, without Matthew accompanying her, will Natalie actually become cautious?' she thought.
She really didn't know how outstanding that boy was in the Supernatural Realm to make Natalie so dependent on him.
"I'm relieved that you can think this way." Professor Isabel Grant said.
She actually had some things she didn't say.
Coming to persuade Natalie was partly her genuine thoughts and partly under instructions from higher-ups.
The higher-ups also didn't want Natalie to act on a moment's impulse and have an accident in the tenth layer. They had made it clear that Natalie's life was their top priority.
…
After eating lunch in the cafeteria, Matthew returned to his dormitory.
As for afternoon training…
Unfortunately, training didn't help Matthew. Unlike others, Matthew couldn't increase his attributes through training.
And after the mixed martial arts training Professor Holland gave him for the third layer, there wasn't much left for him to train on.
Matthew had learned those martial arts quickly, yes, but they weren't very effective.
Firstly, these martial arts were designed for human-to-human combat and wouldn't work against monsters.
Additionally, after reaching a certain level of power, these kinds of techniques became largely irrelevant. They could only be effective if two supernatural beings of equal power faced each other and both possessed pure melee abilities.
But did such supernatural beings exist? Even supernatural beings with melee abilities diversified their skill sets, adding medium- and long-range attack skills.
And at a certain point, technique became insignificant against pure power.
There was nothing karate, Muay Thai, or Judo could do against Shanks' Divine Departure and Garp's Galaxy Impact attacks.
That's why you wouldn't see anyone using martial arts in those anime or fantasy superhero universes.
Of course, there were exceptions. Batman, Bruce Wayne, had learned and used martial arts because he didn't have any superpowers.
Toji Fushiguro was another exception. Martial arts were truly a perfect fit for him. But this was because his cursed energy was zero, but he possessed immense physical strength.
In a way, Toji Fushiguro used martial arts to make the best use of his abilities.
But physical strength wasn't the only thing Matthew possessed, and his physical strength was on a level incomparable to Toji Fushiguro's.
When the air pressure generated by a single punch could demolish mountains, the technique used became largely irrelevant.
As for how Matthew learned these martial arts so quickly... It was, of course, thanks to his mental attribute.
A normal person could think that supernatural beings were super-intelligent because of their mental abilities, but this was completely wrong.
The primary function of the mental attribute was to enhance energy-based abilities such as elemental or psychic abilities.
Of course, it also enhanced people's mental abilities. However, this enhancement did not increase their IQ.
As the mental attribute strengthened, the brains of supernatural beings improved their data processing capacity, memory, and other abilities, but, unfortunately, this did not make them super intelligent.
Otherwise, the technology of this world would have reached a much more advanced level. After all, there were experts whose mental attributes were thousands of times greater than those of normal people.
The basic principle behind Matthew's Super Brain innate skill was similar. Its primary function was to strengthen the brain rather than make it more intelligent.
Thanks to this, Matthew could use his super senses and his super perception without his brain overheating.
While mental attributes didn't make supernatural beings more intelligent, they did confer benefits, such as enabling them to learn faster and become more knowledgeable.
Matthew learned martial arts very quickly thanks to this, and after a few repetitions, his body imprinted them in his muscle memory.
However, he hadn't seen much benefit from it until now.
Perhaps things would be different if Matthew found a suitable training partner. Someone he can with all his might. If he found someone of equal strength, he might be able to use his fighting techniques to gain the upper hand.
Unfortunately, he had to conceal his power, and he thought no one would train him in that kind of fighting.
So, Matthew was waiting to activate OASIS for this. At least in that virtual world, he could create opponents of equal standing. And then he could fight and train as he wished, without restraint.
Frankly, Matthew felt like he was currently living in a world made of cardboard. He felt as if he might tear or destroy something if he wasn't careful.
So, instead of training, he lay in his dormitory, beginning to think about how to deal with the tenth layer.
Matthew wasn't worried about his own performance at all. He was currently thinking of Natalie.
Natalie's safety was his primary concern. The tenth floor was a place where anything could go wrong, and Matthew didn't want Natalie's life to be in danger.
But apart from that, if he still got an SSS-grade mission evaluation again this time, while Natalie's performance was mediocre, then even a fool would know something was wrong.
Given the difficulty of the tenth tier, someone couldn't get an SSS-grade by chance. So, Matthew couldn't use luck as an excuse.
Although Matthew now felt that even if he exposed himself, there shouldn't be any major problems. But there were only two months left until the next Holy Land, and to have all his efforts go to waste at this point would be rather unfortunate.
He needed to just wait until May, when the Holy Land opens, and confirm that no one had obtained a Kryptonian Bloodline Card.
At that time, Matthew could completely let loose.
"For the tenth layer, the best outcome is still for Natalie and me to both get an SSS-grade mission evaluation."
"And if I arrange for Natalie to leave the Supernatural Realm a little later than me, Natalie will appear in first place on the mission result rankings."
Matthew murmured to himself.
The only remaining problem was the Super Announcements.
Super Announcements were announcements for anyone who broke a new record.
Even though Natalie had achieved a higher score than he did, Matthew would also receive a Super Announcement as long as he achieved an SS or SSS grade.
Because no one had received these grades before, the Super Announcement announced all those who broke records in the same layer, not just the highest score.
But the situation would be different next year. If someone wanted to trigger a Super Announcement, they needed to perform better than those who entered before them and surpass their historical record.
But Matthew couldn't do anything about it. He was up against the Supernatural Realm itself.
Perhaps the only thing he could do was leave the tenth layer early and get an average grade. But Matthew didn't want that either.
"Anyway. No matter how much I dwell on it, it's not something I can figure out. Uncle Russell said there's something that could help me with this and that he'll investigate. I'll put it off until I hear from him."
Matthew muttered to himself again. And then he focused on his task.
That was to find Natalie on the tenth layer, protect her, and survive together for 63 days to obtain an SSS-grade.
It was just that…
He thought it through well, but achieving this was very difficult.
Because the tenth layer was the size of a world in itself, and he and Natalie were going to be sent to a random location within that world.
But Matthew had an idea. He intended to use their latest supernatural item to solve this problem: the Medallion of Sweethearts.
He held one half, and the other half was in Natalie's hand.
With this medallion, as long as they were in the same world, no matter how far apart, he could perceive Natalie's location and distance.
Thinking of this, Matthew reached his neck and held the Medallion of Sweethearts in his hand, then closed his eyes and felt carefully.
He had never tried the medallion's special feature before, and this was his first time using it.
Sure enough, after he closed his eyes, he mysteriously sensed the location of the other medallion.
It wasn't far from him.
'That direction… is Natalie's dormitory? Is she in her dormitory now?' Matthew didn't think much and went out directly.
A moment later, he arrived outside Natalie's dormitory and rang the doorbell.
Natalie quickly appeared and opened the door.
"Matthew? How did you know I was in the dormitory?" The girl asked as she stepped aside to let Matthew in.
Normally, she would be at the training grounds at this time, and Matthew would come there when he wanted to find her.
At Natalie's question, Matthew reached for his neck and removed the medallion from the collar of his shirt, showing it to her and said with a smile, "With this. This thing is very useful. I just tried it, and it can indeed sense your location."
Hearing this, Natalie also smiled and nodded, saying, "It's really useful. Yesterday afternoon, when you went to South Korea, I kept using it to sense your location, and it was very accurate."
"Oh?" Matthew immediately teased, "So you were using it to sense my location all the time yesterday?"
He deliberately emphasized the word "all the time."
Natalie, of course, understood Matthew's meaning, her pretty face slightly red, knowing she had let it slip.
The girl quickly changed the subject, "You suddenly came to find me, is it for the tenth layer?"
Matthew nodded and said, "We truly have a telepathic connection. This should be proof that we were created for each other."
Natalie was already somewhat immune to Matthew's cheeky flirtatious words.
Then the girl had a flash of inspiration, as if she had thought of something, and asked, "Matthew, are you planning to use these two medallions to confirm our locations in the tenth layer?"
"Natalie, you truly live up to your reputation as a top student. Nothing can be hidden from you." Matthew said with a smile, "That's what I'm thinking. After entering the tent layer, you find a safe place to hide first, and once I sense your location with the medallion, I'll come to find you."
"What if we're too far apart?"
"Did you forget? I can fly. Thanks to this medallion, no distance can separate us."
"Won't that be too dangerous? According to the Professor, there are also many powerful monsters that can fly. Also, flying continuously for a long time would consume a lot of your stamina, right?"
"Natalie, it seems you still don't understand how strong my Super Flight ability is. I could easily fly around the world if I wanted to." Matthew said with a smile, "The problems you're worried about are not problems at all. Trust me."
Natalie looked at Matthew and nodded, saying, "Okay. I'll follow your arrangements."
"Then it's settled."
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.201: R.O.B.I.N.
Ch.202: First Product
Ch.203: Tenth Layer Entry Day