Matthew Atkinson & Natalie Russell
Global Layer of the Supernatural Realm
When Spider-Man kicked Matthew's chest, Matthew activated the Tremor-Tremor Fruit ability to test its effects.
The result was excellent. It truly deserved its reputation as the strongest Paramecia-type Devil Fruit.
Spider-Man's entire skeleton and internal organs were shattered upon contact with him, almost turning him into mincemeat.
[Challenge successful. Congratulations on advancing to the next round. Please leave the ring as soon as possible.]
Another notification popped up in Matthew's left eye, and without thinking twice, he stepped into the portal and returned to his seat.
In the ring, the traces of the battle, including Spider-Man's corpse, were instantly cleaned up, restoring everything to its original condition.
Then, a new Spider-Man reappeared, waiting for the next challenger.
...
When Matthew returned to his seat, he was surprised to find everyone looking at him in shock.
Because his fight with Spider-Man, though it sounded long, was actually very short.
After all, Spider-Man died from a single contact with him, so much so that no one could figure out how Matthew killed Spider-Man.
Sitting next to Matthew, Professor Holland immediately asked, "Matthew, how did you do that? Why did Spider-Man repulse and die when he was clearly the attacking one?"
Everyone else pricked up their ears, waiting for Matthew's answer.
Matthew smiled and said, "It's the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. Didn't I buy the Tremor-Tremor Fruit at the annual university auction before? It even made it to the trending topics... I've been researching this ability recently and discovered that I can harness the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit with every part of my body."
"So, that's exactly what I did. Spider-Man was killed by the shockwave the moment he touched me."
Everyone was surprised to hear this. They probably didn't expect that the Tremor-Tremor Fruit could be used in this way. In a defensive way.
After all, everyone knew this ability for its attack power.
Matthew then added, "Of course, this method can only be used to counter weak opponents. It will definitely be ineffective against strong ones."
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded slightly.
Professor Holland frowned and said, "You should use the Tremor-Tremor Fruit ability sparingly, as it is very harmful to your body."
Matthew didn't bother to explain how terrifying his body was now and simply replied, "I understand."
...
Defeating Spider-Man was hardly an achievement.
Everyone was only slightly surprised by Matthew's performance before continuing to watch the competition.
Next, among the team members, Natalie, Grand Magister Russell, and Aria Powell took the stage one after another.
And all of them defeated Spider-Man.
Although Natalie couldn't yet transform into her elemental form, her overall strength was already extremely high, and the flames she released could burn the entire ring.
Spider-Man had no way to avoid it, so he naturally lost.
Furthermore, Natalie now possessed the Supreme Level Haki skill.
This meant Supreme Level Armament Haki, Supreme Level Observation Haki, and Supreme Level Conqueror's Haki.
Matthew didn't think an opponent like Spider-Man would pose a challenge to Natalie.
Grand Magister Russell easily defeated Spider-Man by relying on his powerful Devil Fruit abilities and excellent skills.
Despite his imposing official demeanor, Grand Magister Russell was a genuine fifth-rank expert with considerable strength.
As for Aria Powell... She spent even less time in the ring than Matthew.
Once on stage, she unleashed a laser beam from her eyes and instantly killed Spider-Man.
After all, her laser beam traveled at the speed of light. Once aimed, it hits. No matter how fast Spider-Man's reflexes were, he couldn't avoid it.
This was also the power of laser eyes.
And so, the first day of the competition passed.
There were tens of millions of supernatural individuals in the entire arena. At this rate, the first round of challenges would probably take five days to complete.
Matthew's team currently had 4 competition points.
Defeating the defending champion, Spider-Man, only earned each 1 combat point.
After the first day of competition ended, everyone went to the team's villa.
There was also a restaurant section in the villa's kitchen, where the food is unlimited. They just needed to click on the menu, and food would appear instantly.
All Matthew could say was that the Supernatural Realm was truly amazing.
After dinner, the group sat on the sofa in the living room on the first floor and chatted.
As they chatted, the conversation turned to Matthew, and everyone felt that Matthew's behavior today was too impulsive.
Matthew nodded in agreement on the surface, but inwardly, he felt no remorse for what he had done.
He had been keeping a low profile and pretending to be a freshman all day long, but he had enough of that.
In the Supernatural Realm, especially in an Amnesiac Layer, what is there to worry about?
So, what if he offended someone? After they left, who would remember? The only person who would remember was Matthew himself.
After chatting for a while, everyone went back to their rooms to rest.
And the Supernatural Realm had even thought of those who couldn't sleep or were bored. There was a holographic computer in the room that participants could play with.
Furthermore, by entering the name of a supernatural person on the computer, one could view videos of their fights.
As for whether it was possible to train and increase attributes in the Global Layer… This was impossible.
So, everyone spent their time relaxing and unwinding.
...
Matthew's initial prediction was pretty correct. The first round of challenges lasted for six days before it was all over.
In the first round, more than 4 million people were eliminated.
Probably, these supernaturals who didn't even make it past the first round were just here to collect free 50 attribute points like most freshmen all around the world.
Freshmen like Matthew and Natalie were quite exceptional.
All of Matthew's team members had advanced to the next round. But this was only the first round, so there was nothing to celebrate about.
Then the seventh day arrived, and the second round of challenges began.
This time, the defending champion was a big mecha guy.
Bumblebee from Transformers.
Standing over five meters tall, Bumblebee's presence in the ring exuded a far more imposing aura than Spider-Man's.
Most of the people in the arena were very surprised to see such a champion. No one expected that the second-round defender would be an enormous robot.
"Why is there a robot defending champion?"
"With that height and build... how am I supposed to fight him?"
"The main problem is his weapon. With that caliber, even a fifth-rank expert wouldn't be able to withstand a single shot, right?"
"It seems that many people will be eliminated in this round."
In the world of film and television, Bumblebee was on the good side.
However, at this moment, Bumblebee on the stage had thick armor on his face and had entered battle mode. His exposed electronic eyes were all scarlet, as if filled with bloodlust.
The feeling of oppression was very strong. Even a fool wouldn't mistake such a Bumblebee for a benevolent one.
Matthew's team was also discussing the new champion at the moment.
"The second-round defending champion is Bumblebee?"
Professor Holland's expression turned grave, "This one is troublesome. Ordinary abilities are probably useless against an opponent like this."
Matthew's heart stirred upon hearing this.
Since Professor Holland knew Bumblebee, it meant that Transformers would appear in later layers of the supernatural realm.
"I think I might not be able to get past this hurdle," another male professor sighed and said.
"Natalie, you should forfeit this round." Professor Isabel Grant said immediately. "Bumblebee is a mechanical life form and is more resistant to high temperatures. Your fire ability may be less effective against it."
Grand Magister Russell quickly added, "Professor Isabel Grant is right, Natalie. You should forfeit in this round. Bumblebee's weapon will be too dangerous for you."
"You should think about your own situation." This was Natalie's response to her father.
Matthew hesitated for a moment and then said, "Natalie, I also think you should forfeit. Bumblebee does have a certain ability to restrain you."
Bumblebee's power was probably between the fourth and fifth rank. If this champion were another human, Matthew would have considered Natalie's victory more likely.
But the opponent wasn't a human; it was a robot. This neutralized Natalie's Conqueror's Haki's incapacitation power.
Moreover, Bumblebee apparently had fire resistance.
And even though Natalie possessed Supreme Level Armament Haki, she was a follower of the mental path.
Therefore, her Constitution, Strength, and Agility attributes were quite low. Armament Haki might have slightly enhanced her defense and physical attack, but it wasn't enough to quickly defeat a four-rank opponent.
If Natalie had activated the Flame-Flame Fruit's elementalization skill, Matthew wouldn't have had anything to worry about. Then Natalie could have slowly tried to damage Bumblebee using her three Haki skills.
But Natalie couldn't elementalize at the moment, which put her at great risk. If Natalie were to fight Bumblebee in a life-or-death situation elsewhere, she might have won.
But here, Matthew didn't want to risk Natalie's life. After all, all he had to do was exert a little effort and earn the points that Natalie could win.
If this would keep Natalie safe, it was a decision Matthew didn't need to think about.
"Sure." Natalie agreed without hesitation.
Grand Magister Russell: "..."
'Good heavens. You don't listen to me, but you listen to this guy, huh!' Grand Magister Russell was very angry and fuming from inside at the moment, but he didn't know what to do when faced with his daughter.
At this moment, he finally understood the helplessness behind the saying, "A daughter is not meant to stay at home once she grows up."
"Matthew, aren't you also going to forfeit?" Professor Holland asked.
"Me?" Matthew said, "I have a strong physique and want to give it a try."
Professor Holland originally intended to object, but recalling Matthew's performance when facing Spider-Man and the bet with the guy behind him, he could only sigh and did not stop him.
"Never be overconfident. If you find that you cannot defeat your opponent, surrender in time." Professor Holland said, then whispered, "This is the Amnesiac Layer. Even if you lose the bet, no one will remember you once you leave..."
This meant Professor Holland advised Matthew to reject the consequences if he lost the bet.
Matthew smiled upon hearing this, knowing that Professor Holland cared about his student.
Then, the second round of challenges began, and people began to step onto the rings.
Unlike the previous round when facing Spider-Man, this time, Bumblebee clearly put tremendous pressure on the supernaturals.
Matthew glanced around and found that there weren't many supernatural individuals who advanced through. Most had chosen to surrender.
It seemed that this round would eliminate at least half of the participants.
"It's my turn." Grand Magister Russell stood up and stepped into the arena.
On the stage, Grand Magister Russell used his Devil Fruit and transformed into a tiger, using his agility to maneuver around Bumblebee. Finally, he seized an opportunity, jumped onto Bumblebee's back, and ripped off Bumblebee's entire head.
Although Grand Magister Russell ultimately won, the process was very thrilling.
When Grand Magister Russell returned in triumph, everyone applauded him. Grand Magister Russell fought a brilliant battle just now.
It had to be said that he was quite capable of becoming a grand magister.
Not long after, it was Aria Powell's turn to go on stage.
Aria Powell's battle was very quick, taking the same amount of time as her previous round.
Because with a single shot of her laser beam, she instantly sliced Bumblebee in two.
All Matthew could say was that she truly lived up to her reputation as a seventh-rank expert. Her strength was truly formidable.
Moreover, the Laser Eyes ability had another powerful aspect. Any enemy who couldn't defend against it, no matter how strong they were, would be instantly killed.
It was no exaggeration to say that without special life-saving abilities, even a sixth-rank expert was no different from an ordinary person in front of Aria Powell.
Even a speed-type sixth-rank powerhouse wouldn't be able to withstand her for long.
Laser Eyes beams moved at the speed of light; being targeted by her was equivalent to being hit.
Even if a sixth-rank superhuman were fast, could they still outrun the speed of light?
Of course, things might be different if they possessed skills like Supreme Level Observation Haki, as Matthew did.
After all, thanks to his Supreme Level Haki, Matthew could foresee the future and anticipate his opponents' attacks before they even happened.
And thanks to his superior speed and reflexes, dodging Ms. Powell's laser beams was easy for him. But Matthew didn't need to.
He believed he could easily counter her laser beams with his Steel Body and Armament Haki.
What Matthew was really curious about was whether his heat rays or Ms. Powell's laser beams were more powerful.
---------------
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.175: The Third Champion – Cull Obsidian
Ch.176: Actions Have Consequences
Ch.177: The Fourth Champion – Steppenwolf