Matthew Atkinson & Natalie Russell
Fifth Layer of the Supernatural Realm
The key was successfully surfaced out of the water. Matthew, however, seemed even more cautious.
He held the key in his hand but didn't pull it, keeping a firm grip.
In the movie Matthew watched, the key was stuck inside an ice cube with a metal frame, and to escape the room, the contestants had to melt the ice with their body heat to retrieve it.
But such a challenge would be too long for this 4-hour-long fifth layer.
In the fifth layer, the championship would be determined by the points each team earned.
In Survival Mode, the mission was to survive for a set time at each level. Teams could surrender if they felt threatened.
However, since level durations were fixed and the difficulty level was lower compared to other modes, the points they could earn were limited, and each level yielded a small number of points.
On the other hand, in Hunting Mode, teams faced the mission of hunting a certain number of monsters in each level. If they could hunt the monsters quickly, they could advance to the next level faster.
This allowed them to increase their points more quickly. However, they could still surrender at any time if they felt threatened.
Therefore, although they had the chance to earn points more quickly, the number of points they earned per level was not high.
In Escape Mode, teams could not surrender while in a level and lost their supernatural abilities throughout the challenge. The only chance to withdraw was during the short breaks between levels after completing the first level.
In contrast, the points teams earned at the end of each level were higher, and the faster they completed a level, the faster they could advance to the next level.
That's why Matthew understood why the Supernatural Realm wouldn't put the key inside an ice cube that would take a long time to melt.
Supernatural Realm wouldn't be unfair to them that way. Otherwise, they might have had to remain at the second level until the fifth layer was completed.
That would put them at a disadvantage compared to the other contestants.
And the Supernatural Realm's removal of the ice cube could have brought other changes along with it.
Therefore, when Matthew saw only the key, not the ice cube, he realized something was different and acted much more cautiously.
But others were puzzled by his behavior.
"Matthew, what are you doing?" Filip Walker couldn't help but ask.
Matthew said, "There's a string attached to the key, which must be some kind of mechanism. If it breaks, something bad could happen."
Everyone was taken aback.
Upon closer inspection, a string really was found on the key.
This string was extremely thin and transparent; they couldn't see it at all unless they looked closely.
If everyone still possessed their abilities and attributes, they would naturally be able to see it. But now that everyone was just an ordinary person, they had to stare intently to see it clearly.
Upon seeing this string, everyone felt a deep sense of admiration for Matthew.
If it were them, they would have already broken the string.
"Go to the exit first. Try to stand on the side and don't step on the ice." Matthew added, "I suspect that the mechanism connected to this line is very likely related to the ice."
Upon hearing this, everyone sprang into action, moving closer to the exit.
Everyone followed Matthew's instructions and stood close to the wall, not daring to stand on the ice.
After everyone had taken their positions.
Matthew then ripped the thin string and, carrying the key, rushed towards the exit.
-Boom, Boom, Boom
Almost as soon as Matthew reached the exit, the ice shattered into pieces and fell into the rushing river.
Seeing this, everyone was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat.
If it weren't for Matthew's reminder, they wouldn't have known how many people would have died in this wave.
No wonder everyone said that the escape mode was the most dangerous.
This was outrageous.
At this moment, everyone was in complete awe of Matthew.
Without hesitation, Matthew used the key to open the exit door and led everyone to the next hurdle.
To the third escape room.
No one showed any intention of giving up.
With Matthew around, they felt confident.
The third escape room was a room filled with deadly laser traps. And there were many black-and-white squares on the ground leading to the exit.
If someone took a wrong step, the lasers would activate, killing everyone in their path.
This room was clearly more difficult.
Without Matthew, their entire team would probably have died here.
But with Matthew involved, the outcome was completely different.
Knowing the plot, Matthew quickly found the correct steps to pass through the laser area.
Under his command, the group passed the third challenge level without any significant incidents.
Then came the fourth room...
Fifth room...
...
In the theater, seeing Matthew's performance, everyone was so shocked that they were speechless.
Those challenge rooms and those traps—if they were the ones trying to break into them, they would have died countless times already.
And what about Matthew?
He always managed to find valuable clues, lead his teammates to avoid various deadly traps, crack mechanisms and secrets, and finally succeed in passing the level.
One after another.
Under Matthew's command, all nine teammates were unharmed.
Everyone witnessed Matthew's extraordinary insight and wisdom.
He was simply gifted.
"Now I finally understand why Natalie insisted on teaming up with Matthew."
The one who said this was Professor Isabel Grant.
Watching Matthew's performance on the screen, she was utterly convinced. "So, Matthew has such talent. No wonder Natalie and Matthew achieved SSS-grade results four times in a row, results that no one else could match."
Professor Holland was sitting not far from Professor Isabel Grant.
Hearing this, he was deeply moved. "If someone didn't see it with their own eyes, it would be hard to believe that he has such talent."
"That's right. Although Natalie said that Matthew was the one who planned the equipment they would buy for the fourth layer and used the Hero Template Cards they bought, I didn't entirely believe her. But now…" she said.
Similar discussions arose everywhere.
Grand Magister Russell, who was sitting in the front row, fell silent.
He finally realized that he had a serious prejudice against the Atkinson family's kid.
If he set aside those preconceived biases, he also had to admit that Matthew's performance just now was excellent.
"This Matthew is truly a gem."
The principal of the University of Oxford commented with a smile.
...
The challenges lasted four hours. And those four hours passed quickly.
When the challenge time was over, Matthew and the others, who were in an escape room, were all teleported out.
In the theater, on the giant screen, the scores of each team also popped up.
The first-place team was Team Matthew from the University of Oxford.
And there was a massive gap between them and the second-place team.
In just 4 hours, Matthew led his team to gain 32,000 points.
This was because the escape mode was the most difficult and, therefore, awarded more points.
Moreover, there were ten participants.
Each member would receive 200 points for successfully passing each level.
After completing one level, the ten-member team would have accumulated 2000 points.
In just four hours, Matthew led his team through sixteen challenges. When the fifth layer ended, they were in the midst of the seventeenth challenge.
That was 32,000 points.
Victor's team ranked second. His team was lucky. They drew the hunting mode and earned a total of 3873 points.
Not even a fraction of Matthew's team…
The third team, led by Marcus Kelly, was also in hunting mode, scoring 3822 points.
It was a real shame that he scored 51 points less than Victor.
Seeing the leaderboard rankings, everyone in the theater smiled.
"Hahaha, we are the champion team."
"There's a reward to get, so this trip was worthwhile."
"Great, the reward of 20 attribute points is just enough for me to level up my Armament Haki by one level. At the beginning of next month, I'm confident I can try the twenty-fifth layer of the Supernatural Realm."
"When they drew the escape mode, it really startled me. I thought I had come here for nothing, and that all the favors I had spent to acquire this spot had been in vain. Luckily, Matthew Atkinson saved the day..."
"With Natalie Russell and Matthew Atkinson, the University of Oxford's ranking in this year's college evaluation will definitely be raised."
...
"Matthew is awesome. Haha, we won 100 attribute points without even lifting a finger."
"Matthew really is amazing. I really don't know how his brain works."
"Damn it, I have to apologize to Matthew when we get out. I completely misunderstood him before."
"Me too. I always thought of him as a gigolo who lived off women. Now I feel terrible about it."
"Matthew is really something. If he has this ability, why didn't he say so sooner?"
"Heh, would you have believed him if he had said it before? There were similar rumors at the university before, but I didn't see you guys believe them."
"That's true... If someone didn't see it with their own eyes, who would have thought that Matthew had such a talent?"
In the theater, everyone was talking about Matthew's "super talent".
But in the meantime, Matthew and his teammates were faced with a completely different choice they had to make.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.138: Unknown Levels (End of the 5th Layer)
Ch.139: Moving Back to Campus
Ch.140: Another Amnesiac Layer