Natalie Russell
Oxford, United Kingdom
"Natalie, my personal suggestion is that you make sure you have a full team ready for this Supernatural Realm."
Professor Isabel Grant said, "Find two more teammates with high base attributes to assist and protect you. Although Matthew has high base attributes, he alone is definitely not enough. In this layer, where grading is based on the highest-scoring individual in the team, I think you understand that a full team is a better option."
Natalie remained silent, still frowning and deep in thought.
Professor Grant continued, "Or this time, you can just proceed safely. After entering the Supernatural Realm, if you die, choose not to be revived and be a spectator. Don't think about the perfect mission evaluation this time. As long as you can keep your life and come back alive, that's a success."
"This is also the principal's idea. The principal said that you don't need to worry about temporary gains and losses..."
"If you don't want to put up with it, then listen to me and add two more teammates as support."
It had to be said, Professor Isabel Grant's advice was very pertinent.
But…
"It probably won't be easy for me to find teammates now, will it?" Natalie politely declined.
"Knowing that a lot of people will target me in the fourth layer of the supernatural realm, who would dare to team up with me?"
Upon hearing this, Professor Isabel Grant immediately smiled and said, "As long as you reveal that you are willing to add two permanent teammates, I believe that countless freshmen will be willing to take the risk and rush to become your new teammates."
Permanent teammates…
This meant that they would be together in subsequent layers as well.
Upon hearing this, Natalie frowned slightly.
She stopped refusing politely and shook her head directly, saying, "Forget it, professor. Right now, having more teammates might do more harm than good. I'd rather listen to the principal."
Adding more teammates was definitely not an option.
This layer was not an Amnesiac Layer. Adding teammates would expose Matthew's secret.
Professor Isabel Grant seemed to have known this would be the outcome all along. Upon hearing this, she smiled bitterly and said nothing more.
Actually, she wouldn't have suggested this to Natalie if the principal hadn't told her to.
Because this suggestion had been made several times before, but Natalie had rejected it each time.
...
Leaving Professor Grant's office, Natalie received a phone call from her father.
"Natalie, have you had lunch?"
"I was just about to go back to the dorm to eat."
"Oh, well, to make a long story short... I am calling to let you know that headquarters has approved my new promotion. Once I've finished handing over my current work, I'll be going to Birmingham to take up my new post, probably next month."
"Okay, I got it. Congratulations, Dad."
"Thanks. Speaking of which, Clark helped me a lot to make this appointment go so smoothly... When I visit Oxford, could you help me arrange a meeting with him? I want to treat him to a meal to thank him and also give him the bonus from the London City spacetime rift incident."
"You can ask him yourself?"
"I've tried several times, but I don't know where Clark is. His phone is always off, and I can't contact him."
"Okay... I'll try talking to my senior about it later. As for whether he can accept the invitation, I don't know."
She hung up the phone with her father.
But Natalie now had a headache.
She thought about it and told Matthew, asking him to decide.
After a moment's hesitation, Matthew declined.
Because if he met with Grand Magister Russell too many times, he could say too many things he shouldn't have, which would make things even more awkward when they finally come clean.
Natalie agreed with Matthew's attitude and concerns. She planned to tell her father that Clark Kent had gone on a long trip when he asked again later.
...
Matthew Atkinson
Oxford, United Kingdom
The next morning.
Professor Holland continued to share information about the fourth layer of the supernatural realm.
"The world background of the fourth layer of the Supernatural Realm is a virtual universe. And the name of the virtual universe is OASIS."
"The OASIS stands for {Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation}. It is an MMOSG. This abbreviation stands for {Massively Multiplayer Online Simulation Game}." The Professor said.
And Matthew's predictions were indeed correct.
The fourth layer was located in the Ready Player One universe.
Now the real question was whether this was the world of the book or the world of the film.
"So, are we really going to be part of a game?" a student asked.
"The abbreviation MMOSG might include the word 'game,' but according to our information, this definition was defined for OASIS when it was newly developed. Currently, OASIS has transformed from a game into a virtual universe." The professor explained and then continued.
"The OASIS was created by James Halliday and Ogden Morrow of Gregarious Simulation Systems and was released on December 8, 2025, in the fourth layer's world. While starting as an online gaming platform, OASIS gradually evolved into a globally networked virtual reality world that most of humanity now uses daily."
"The universe of the OASIS is split into 27 sectors, each 10 light hours across, arranged like a Rubik's cube. The sectors have zones that can be any shape and size, and each has different rules. Some zones could allow or prohibit magic, technology, Player vs. Player, teleportation, communication, and more."
"For instance, Ludus, the schooling planet, is a no-PvP zone. The worlds within OASIS can also have different settings. Ludus is always day, Neonoir is always night, and Archaide's sky never changes, with a volcano constantly on the horizon. Planets can be player-built, owned, and colonized, or created by the developers."
The professor paused for a moment to allow everyone to digest the information he was sharing, then scanned the classroom to make sure everyone was listening.
"Professor, do we really need this information? After all, aren't we just going to participate in a Battle Royale? Wouldn't it be more beneficial to focus on information related to that?" someone asked.
"Normally, what you're saying would be true. But entering the OASIS world at the fourth layer won't be your only time. You'll enter the same world in subsequent layers, and one of those layers is among the mandatory first ten layers. So, learning the background of this universe will be useful in later layers because subsequent layer missions take place in various locations within this universe."
'Oh.'
Many students were surprised to hear this information.
All the layers they had entered so far were independent of each other, but the universe they would be going to in the fourth layer would require them to revisit it later.
And, as the professor's words suggested, this wouldn't be just a one-time visit.
"For now, let's focus on the fourth layer and the Battle Royale. This Battle Royale you'll be participating in takes place on Planet Doom in Sector 12. This planet contains many Trenches and Pyramids. The Artifact Zone will appear at the top of the largest pyramid. When you teleport to this planet, you will see a flag planted on top of this pyramid."
"The pyramid where the Artifact appears is usually the area with the most intense combat. And many high-level NPCs come here to acquire the Artifact."
"The ones you need to be most careful of are Daito, Sho, and Aech. These three NPCs are definitely present on the planet you will all be teleported to, and you should absolutely avoid fighting them."
"Tomorrow I'll be going into detail about the NPCs to watch out for and the weapons, equipment, and skills you can choose from after entering the fourth layer, so I'm not going into those topics today."
"Today we'll be discussing Planet Doom's map and its permissions and restrictions."
After saying this, Professor Holland continued the rest of the lesson, discussing Planet Doom.
All the students kept Professor Holland's teachings in mind.
Matthew, however, was very interested in the OASIS layers they will enter in the future.
When Professor Holland finished his topic, there was still some time before the bell rang, so he asked if anyone had any questions.
Matthew raised his hand and asked, "Professor, you said that we would enter the same world again in the subsequent layers of the supernatural realm. Can you give us a little more information about these layers?"
Professor Holland nodded and said, "Yes, in the eighth, eighteenth, and twenty-eighth layers of the Supernatural Realm, you will enter OASIS again to carry out other missions. These layers aren't the subject of today's discussion, so I won't go into detail."
"But you'll need Currency Coins in the eighth layer. Therefore, it would be beneficial for you to collect as many Currency Coins as possible in this layer because you'll be able to use them in the eighth layer as well."
'So, the layer we'll be entering OASIS again is the eighth layer,' Matthew thought.
At this moment, the bell rang, signaling the end of the class.
Professor Holland then packed his things and left the classroom.
The students, on the other hand, were very curious about the contents of the fourth layer of the supernatural realm and gathered together with their teammates to discuss it.
Matthew, meanwhile, started walking towards the campus exit. Instead of going to his apartment today, he planned to go to a Sunbathing Experience Center to soak up the daylight.
After all, he had told Ava Owen he would be staying on campus for three days, and he didn't want to create an awkward situation by going to his apartment and encountering her.
But as he walked, his mind was wholly preoccupied with something else.
'Why doesn't Professor Holland tell us all the information about the first ten layers of the supernatural realm at once?' That's what he thought.
But Matthew knew the reason.
This was actually a government requirement. Students could only learn about the contents of the next layer of the Supernatural Realm after completing a layer.
In addition, saying too much at once was not necessarily a good thing for everyone.
Because some Supernatural Realm layers were terrifying, revealing them beforehand could affect students' minds, making them fearful and thus impacting their daily training.
By repeatedly explaining these concepts, the university gave students ample time to grow.
As they gained more experience and knowledge, they would naturally develop the courage to face even more dangerous layers of the supernatural realm with equanimity.
But Matthew still wanted to know the mission of the next OASIS layer.
Just knowing that the Coins would be useful to them wasn't enough for him.
So, to get this information, Matthew considered talking to Natalie.
If Natalie asked for this information to prepare better, her Professor probably wouldn't turn her down.
And if that didn't work, he was considering talking to his grandfather to learn the contents of the eighth layer directly.
After all, all the Supernatural beings still alive, except for the freshmen, had experienced and completed the first ten layers.
---------------
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.117: Hero Template Cards
Ch.118: Entering the 4th Layer
Ch.119: Avatar Creation