Matthew Atkinson & Natalie Russell
Oxford, United Kingdom
Actually, every year, a few new outstanding supernaturals emerge from the freshmen students.
However, only a minority of these freshmen students could actually grow and succeed.
The group stayed in the lounge for two hours.
During this time, people also brought them coffee and desserts to help them replenish their energy.
Two hours later, it was nearly time to enter the supernatural realm.
Filip Walker glanced at his phone and said, "Teammates, it's almost time. We should head to the training grounds to assemble."
Upon hearing this, everyone put down the booklets they were holding and left the lounge empty-handed.
In this layer, bringing any items was prohibited.
The Supernatural Realm had its own set of judgment standards. Once a rule prohibiting the bringing of items was established, supernatural individuals couldn't bring anything in except the clothes they were wearing.
There had been supernaturals who had tried to tamper with their clothing, such as stuffing things inside or making clothes out of metal.
As a result, upon entering the Supernatural Realm, they found themselves completely naked.
Since then, no supernatural had dared to do that.
...
The group arrived at the training grounds.
The other freshmen had already arrived and were waiting.
As Filip Walker and his group approached, many people showed expressions of envy and jealousy.
They were not jealous of Matthew.
Because Matthew teamed up with Natalie from the very beginning.
What they envied were the freshmen like Filip Walker.
Initially, they also had the opportunity to team up with Natalie and be carried by her.
These people stole their opportunity.
Faced with those envious glances, the others in the team were somewhat embarrassed, but Filip Walker looked proud and smug.
Especially that disdainful look, as if to tell everyone, they were all trash.
His smugness angered many people.
"Look at his smug look, I really want to beat him to the death."
"Indeed, this guy looks like he deserves a beating."
"What's with the smugness? Maybe Natalie will mess things up this time? Who knows?"
...
These discussions had no impact on Filip Walker whatsoever.
"One last minute, everyone, get ready." Someone from the university staff shouted.
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately fell silent, joined hands with their teammates, and prepared to teleport.
All students were standing in rows of ten.
In Matthew's group, Natalie was first on the right, followed by him, and then Filip Walker and others.
A minute passed quickly.
The moment the countdown ended, all the freshmen students on the training grounds disappeared.
...
Matthew Atkinson & Natalie Russell
Third Layer of the Supernatural Realm
A flash of white light passed, and when Matthew regained his sight, he was already in an unknown new realm.
This place looked like a train station—a huge one.
It was so long that Matthew couldn't even see the end of it.
At the moment, Matthew and the others were standing on the station platform.
There were countless freshmen students around them, too many to count, actually. And certainly not all of these students were from the United Kingdom.
Everywhere they looked, there were people from around the world.
Where was this place?
Sam Harris couldn't help but say, "Isn't the third layer of the Supernatural Realm supposed to be a place for a fighting tournament? This doesn't look like a place for a fighting tournament at all."
No one could answer Sam Harris's question.
After all, this was the Amnesiac Layer, and no one knew what this place was.
Everyone silently observed their surroundings.
"Natalie Russell?"
Suddenly, a voice came from the side, attracting everyone's attention.
Everyone looked over and saw a group of freshmen students approaching them. All of ten of them were male.
The leader among them set his sights on Natalie Russell.
"I didn't expect to run into you so soon."
This was a burly young man.
The young man was not particularly handsome. He had a square face and a resolute expression, looking like a tough guy.
However, his sharp eyes gave off a dangerous feeling. Somewhat.
In particular, the aura emanating from the other person seemed to carry an intense, scorching heat.
As the young man approached, Filip Walker and the others could feel the air around them heating up, as if they were standing next to a furnace.
It seemed that what was walking towards them wasn't a person but a moving volcano.
"He is... Marcus Kelly from the University of Cambridge. A Logia-type Magma-Magma Fruit user."
Filip Walker reminded him in a low voice. His tone carried a hint of surprise.
As a fellow freshman, Filip never expected that Marcus Kelly's aura would be so astonishing.
Even without Filip Walker's reminder, everyone recognized Marcus Kelly. The previous booklet contained information about him after all.
"Natalie Russell, speaking of which, we're actually from the same city. We both came from London. This year, London has really produced a lot of talented people."
As Marcus Kelly spoke, he glanced at Matthew, who was standing next to Natalie.
The "talented person" he mentioned seemed to have a hidden meaning and was not a positive term.
Upon hearing Marcus Kelly's words, Matthew finally remembered.
He remembered that when he first transmigrated, he was on his high school's training grounds and heard his classmates talking about Marcus Kelly.
The other person was from XxX High School. He obtained a Logia-type Devil Fruit in the Holy Land and was immediately snatched away by the University of Cambridge with a special admission.
Matthew heard that the mayor of London City personally visited his home to convey his congratulations and gave him a bonus.
He wondered if Natalie had received a bonus.
"Is there something you need?" Natalie asked calmly, her attitude was indifferent.
Because the girl had already realized that Marcus Kelly was up to no good.
"Nothing much," Marcus Kelly said with a smile. "I just wanted to see the legendary strongest freshman."
He sized up Natalie for a moment, then suddenly said, "But I couldn't see anything special."
If it were any other freshman, they would probably get angry upon hearing this.
Natalie, however, remained calm.
In her opinion, Marcus Kelly's behavior was very immature.
To come up and provoke someone for no reason, especially in the Supernatural Realm, was simply idiotic.
"Marcus, right? May I ask when you last went to the eye doctor?" Natalie remained silent, but Matthew, who was standing next to her, spoke up.
"What?"
Matthew then revealed a stern face and said seriously. "Such a beautiful woman, and you actually say she's nothing special? Are you sure your eyesight is normal?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the people around him struggled to suppress their laughter.
Even Natalie's lips curled up slightly when Matthew praised her beauty.
Only Marcus Kelly looked angry.
"Do you think you're funny?"
"What? Are your eyes really normal? But then why would you say Natalie doesn't have anything special? Oh... So, you're swinging to the other side. No wonder everyone on your team is a guy. Don't worry, buddy. Nobody's judging here. But just for the record, I am straight. So don't try your luck with me."
When Matthew finished speaking, everyone around couldn't help but laugh. Some were even roaring with laughter.
The only group that didn't laugh was Marcus and his teammates.
Marcus's teammates' facial expressions changed after Matthew's words, and they began to distance themselves from him.
Marcus, on the other hand, was visibly angry, his veins bulging on his forehead.
He stared coldly at Matthew, but he couldn't dare to make a move.
It was not that he was afraid of Matthew, who was known as just a pretty boy.
Nobody knew what the situation and rules were in the Supernatural Realm at the moment.
If harming people was prohibited, and Marcus broke the rule, he might be punished, which would be disastrous.
"A gigolo who lives off a woman." Marcus Kelly scoffed. "You have no right to speak here."
Then he turned to Natalie and said, "Natalie, your taste is really terrible."
Hearing Marcus Kelly belittle Matthew, Natalie finally retorted. "If you're sick, you should get treatment."
The girl didn't seem to be very good at swearing. Her offensive power was rather weak.
But Matthew realized that the words Natalie used were the same ones he'd used in high school against Amy Baker when she asked him for Flame-Flame Fruit.
So, even though Natalie seemed cold to those around her back then, she was paying attention to Matthew.
Matthew could tease Natalie about this for a while.
Marcus Kelly wanted to say something more.
But suddenly, a loud broadcast was heard.
"Good morning, participants of the fighting tournament. The tournament train is about to arrive at the platform. Please prepare yourselves. The train will only stop for five minutes. Any participant who fails to board within the allotted time will be disqualified from the tournament."
Everyone was taken aback when they heard the broadcast.
Fighting tournament train?
Why did they have to take the train when they could just be teleported directly to the tournament venue at the beginning?
This supernatural realm layer was a bit strange.
Marcus Kelly dared not say anything more and prepared to lead his team back to their positions.
However, before leaving, he still left behind a sentence.
"Natalie Russell, I will show you with my actions how foolish your choice was. This fighting tournament championship will definitely belong to me."
---------------
Author's Note: You folks can also read up to +40 chapters on my P@treon Pages as an early access privilege.
www.patreon.com/spell_merchant
P@treon Page Name: Spell Merchant
www.patreon.com/vanguard_v
P@treon Page Name: V For Vanguard
Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.84: SCP Elimination Train
Ch.85: SCP-096