Matthew Atkinson & Natalie Russell
Third Layer of the Supernatural Realm
The current team members who have successfully advanced to the second round were Matthew, Natalie, Denis Read, Bobby Burns, and Anastasia Bradley.
Denis Read's steel fists were still mighty, and he managed to knock his opponent out of the ring.
Bobby Burns's blade hands were also fierce. With one slash, he severed one of his opponent's pincers, scaring his opponent into surrendering on the spot.
As for Anastasia Bradley, she was the most formidable of the three.
On the stage, she transformed into a giant python, lashing out with her tail and instantly killing her opponent, the goat-headed monster.
Among those eliminated, there was no need to talk about Emma Jackson and Sam Harris.
Filip Walker couldn't even transform into his werewolf form because he had exhausted too much energy on the train and hadn't recovered.
Charles Francis, the user of the Bomb-Bomb Fruit, was unlucky and encountered a stone golem monster with outstanding defense, which completely countered his ability.
Andrew Hill's ability to teleport was indeed unpredictable and might be very useful in other areas, but it was not suitable for him to use on stage.
His opponent was a mantis monster, very similar to the monsters in the second layer of the supernatural realm, but much stronger and incredibly fast.
If Andrew hadn't surrendered quickly, he would have been torn to pieces.
...
Half of the members were eliminated in the first round.
For other ordinary teams, this might be normal, but for a team aiming for the championship, this was a bit problematic.
Natalie Russell's team, team number 96, had dropped to outside the top 10,000, and their exact ranking was unknown.
Because the ranking only showed the top 10,000 teams.
How could anyone be happy with such results?
What was even more upsetting was that, in the ranking of human civilization, the number one team was one they knew very well.
Team number 438. Marcus Kelly's team from the University of Cambridge.
That petty Marcus Kelly miraculously managed to get everyone in his team to advance, achieving a perfect score of ten points in the first round of the tournament.
...
"Why do you all have such long faces?"
Matthew frowned and said, "Eat and drink as you please. After you've eaten and drunk your fill, rest for a while. There's still competition to come."
"Matthew…" Filip Walker said awkwardly, "We didn't expect that the rankings in this fighting tournament are based on team points, which is not like what the professors said at all."
"We've already been eliminated in the first round... I'm afraid we'll be dragging you and Miss Natalie down this time in the Supernatural Realm."
When these words were spoken, the other four were filled with shame as well.
"As long as we don't lose any members, we'll be fine." Natalie's voice rang out.
Her expression was calm, and there was no worry on her pretty face.
"Natalie is right." Matthew said with a smile, "My requirement for you is not to lose any members. As for the rest, Natalie and I can handle it."
Filip Walker wanted to say something more, but suddenly an unpleasant voice rang out from the side.
"Isn't this the strongest team of freshmen students? What a coincidence."
Everyone immediately looked toward the source of the voice.
Then they saw Marcus Kelly leading a group of people slowly walking towards them.
Compared to the dejected Filip Walker and his group, Marcus Kelly and his gang were all full of pride, like proud peacocks.
When they got closer, Marcus Kelly then asked with a smile, "Natalie Russell, may I ask how many points you got in the first round of the tournament? I didn't see your team on the rankings."
After these words were spoken, Marcus Kelly's companions all burst into laughter.
Filip Walker and the others were both angry and ashamed.
If they weren't dragging the team down, how could Marcus Kelly be so smugly mocking them?
"It's so good to be young," Matthew exclaimed.
Only young people like these would resort to such low-level mockery.
If Matthew allowed this level of provocation to affect him, he would be so embarrassed that he would want to crawl into a hole in the ground.
"Childish."
This was Natalie's evaluation.
Marcus Kelly and the others were taken aback.
Then, the guy laughed even harder.
"Natalie Russell, I admit you're strong, but you probably never expected that the rankings in this layer are actually based on the team's total points, right? Hahaha..."
"How does it feel to be dragged down by these good-for-nothings? Don't you regret your choice back then?"
"This time, forget about getting an SSS-grade mission rating; you won't even get an A-grade mission rating."
Natalie was too lazy to waste her breath arguing with these people, so she picked up her plate and prepared to get her food.
She hadn't eaten or drunk anything for eleven hours, and she was very hungry.
"Natalie, these sushi rolls are delicious."
Matthew picked up a sushi roll from his plate with his fork and held it out towards Natalie's mouth. "Come on, open your mouth."
Natalie was a little shy. However, she still opened her mouth and let Matthew feed her.
Marcus Kelly: "..."
Such public displays of affection instantly made everyone around them feel uncomfortable.
Marcus Kelly hesitated several times before finally leaving with his men in a fierce manner.
Turning to look at his burly teammates, he suddenly felt that the food on his plate didn't taste so good anymore.
...
After the team ate and drank their fill, they arrived at the rest area.
They found a private room for the team to rest.
The private room has those reclining single sofas, and everything was designed with human preferences in mind.
"Natalie and I are going to sleep for a while to rest. If we're not awake by the second-round time, then wake us up." Matthew said.
But that statement was somewhat ambiguous.
Natalie's pretty face turned red immediately.
Everyone: "..."
Matthew didn't care about anything else and simply lay down on the sofa, falling fast asleep.
Matthew was quite relaxed about the tournament because the rules clearly stated that once the tournament reached the final round, someone could become the ring champion and try to defend their title.
If Matthew didn't have enough points, he would become the champion and take on all his enemies single-handedly.
And that way, he would earn enough points in one go.
So, what was there to panic about?
In addition, fighting was prohibited in the rest area, so it was very safe to sleep here.
...
Five hours wasn't short, but wasn't long either.
However, if it was spent sleeping, it was just a matter of closing and opening your eyes.
Therefore, for Matthew, these five hours passed very shortly.
Filip Walker woke him up.
"Matthew, wake up, it's almost time for the second round."
When Matthew woke up, he saw Filip Walker looking exhausted, with bloodshot eyes.
"Didn't you sleep?" Matthew asked.
Filip Walker forced a smile and said, "I'm fine. Anyway, I've already been eliminated. You guys are the ones who need to rest."
Matthew shook his head, too lazy to try to persuade this guy anymore.
Filip Walker had a very contradictory personality.
When things were going well, he would become incredibly arrogant, haughty, and disdainful of everyone else.
But once he was in a bad situation, his mental state would collapse faster than anyone else's.
Matthew got up from the sofa, stretched a little, and felt he was in great shape, full of energy, and wished he could tear the arena apart.
A moment later, break time was over.
The teleportation portal appeared before everyone precisely on time.
After crossing the portal, everyone returned to the arena.
The second round of tournament matches was about to begin.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.90: Second Round of the Tournament
Ch.91: The Tenth Round Begins