Matthew Atkinson & Natalie Russell
Oxford, United Kingdom
The Global Layer topic had sparked heated discussions online.
Everyone was speculating about who would be this year's champion of the Global Layer competition.
Matthew even saw advertisements for gambling websites on some forums. Many gambling websites had opened betting odds for this global supernatural realm competition.
The current favorite for the championship was naturally South Korea's "Ma Dongwu".
"What are you looking at so intently?" At that moment, a voice rang out from the opposite side of Matthew.
Matthew looked up from his phone and saw that it was Professor Holland.
Professor Holland sat down opposite Matthew, holding a plate.
As Matthew put away his phone, he asked, "Professor, did you also wake up late today?"
"Isn't it because I heard you recruited a seventh-rank expert to join the team. I was so excited that I couldn't sleep well last night." Professor Holland smiled and said, "That's why I got up a little late today."
Yes. Professor Holland was also a member of the faculty team at the University of Oxford.
It was said that upon learning of the addition of a seventh-rank expert, the positions of faculty team members at the university became highly sought after, with many within the university keeping an eye on them.
But Matthew was unaware of the specifics of what had happened.
The team consisted of ten people in total, and the remaining six were selected by Professor Isabel Grant.
"Professor Holland, don't worry, I'll definitely take you flying this time."
Upon hearing this, Professor Holland laughed.
Professor then nodded and said, "With Ms. Powell's abilities, it's definitely no problem for her to lead us into the top fifty."
Clearly, Professor Holland misunderstood him, but Matthew didn't care and offered no explanation.
He asked, "By the way, who do you think has the best chance of winning the Global Layer competition this time?"
Without a second thought, Professor Holland said directly, "The favorite for the championship is definitely Ma Dongwu from South Korea."
Matthew frowned slightly and couldn't help but ask, "Just what kind of strength does this Ma Dongwu possess? What is his ability?"
Professor Holland replied, "His ability is due to the bloodline of Gilgamesh of the Eternal Race, and his power is astonishing. As for his strength... There should be videos of him fighting a few years ago online. You can look for them."
Upon hearing this, Matthew was a little surprised.
Holy Land even has the bloodline of the Eternals?
Then Matthew recalled the movie about the Eternals. In that terrible movie, the Eternal named Gilgamesh had very little screen time, but the strength he displayed was indeed considerable. He was very powerful.
According to official Marvel data, Gilgamesh's power was comparable to that of Hulk.
In addition, Gilgamesh was also very strong, with high defense and stamina.
No wonder Ma Dongwu from South Korea is called "One-Punch Man".
Speaking of which, the actor who played Gilgamesh in the Earth-based movie "Eternals" was also South Korean and is known as "One-Punch Man".
What a coincidence.
Matthew quickly took out his phone and searched for Ma Dongwu's videos online.
Many search results popped up. It seemed that Ma Dongwu was very popular online.
The most popular video among them received over a million likes.
When Matthew clicked on the link, he saw a battlefield filled with monsters, where Ma Dongwu charged forward relentlessly, blasting away every monster that stood in his way with a single punch. Even monsters tens of meters in size were sent flying with a single punch.
His strength was absolutely astonishing. It completely surpassed the original Gilgamesh.
But compared to his own strength, Matthew still thought Ma Dongwu was inferior.
After that, Matthew asked the professor about some other champion seed supernaturals.
Professor Holland said a lot in one breath. There were quite a few both domestically and internationally.
It seemed the competition for the Global Layer championship was fierce.
At 10:00 a.m., the faculty team gathered in a lounge.
When Matthew arrived, almost all the professors were already there.
Aside from Professor Isabel Grant and Professor Holland, Matthew recognized the other four professors, but he didn't know their names.
At that moment, a multitude of new memories suddenly flooded Matthew's mind. Actually, these memories weren't entirely new. Matthew had lived them before but had forgotten them.
These memories were from his time in the Amnesiac Layers.
But Matthew would deal with that matter later.
A moment later, Natalie and her father, Grand Magister Russell, arrived together.
Upon seeing Matthew, Grand Magister Russell gave a rare nod, as if to greet him.
Since witnessing Matthew's performance in the fifth layer of the supernatural realm, Grand Magister Russell's attitude towards Matthew has changed.
But in Grand Magister Russell's mind, Matthew was still not as good as Clark Kent.
Upon thinking of "Clark Kent," Grand Magister Russell couldn't help but frown.
That kid has vanished like a ghost. Nobody knew where he went, and he couldn't get in touch with him.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, everyone sat down.
"Matthew, when will Ms. Powell arrive?" Professor Isabel Grant asked.
Everyone already knew the identity of the seventh-rank expert that Matthew had invited.
Matthew said, "I just contacted her. She's on her way and should be here in about twenty minutes."
Upon hearing this, the professors and teachers all breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as they confirmed that she would come and didn't cancel her participation, that was fine.
Twenty minutes later, a luxury electric sedan drove into the University of Oxford.
It was Ms. Powell who got out of the car.
Ms. Powell's real name was Aria Powell, and she was thirty-three years old.
To reach the seventh-rank standard at this age was definitely the mark of a gifted individual.
Everyone went to greet Aria Powell upon her arrival.
A seventh-rank expert was worth doing this for.
After exchanging pleasantries, everyone returned to the lounge and took their seats.
Aria Powell glanced around, outwardly calm but inwardly somewhat disappointed with the team Matthew had assembled.
There wasn't even a single sixth-rank supernatural.
Although she came to repay a favor from her parents, she was equally concerned about her overall performance in the Global Layer.
While Aria Powell looked around at the people around her, Matthew was sizing up this "Ms. Powell".
Last time back in London, he didn't get a good look before she left, busy eliminating monsters.
Now that she was sitting right in front of him, Matthew naturally couldn't help but take a second look.
Although Ms. Powell was over thirty years old, she had maintained a great figure because she was a supernatural. She had a slim waist, long legs, and a curvaceous figure.
Her skin was a healthy wheat color. She also had very neat short hair.
As for her facial features...
Because she wore specially made, large mechanical glasses that covered most of her face, it was difficult to see what she looked like.
However, judging from her nose and mouth, she shouldn't be ugly.
"Ms. Powell, thank you so much for your help this time," Matthew said.
Aria Powell waved her hand, glanced at Natalie, and then said, "Natalie Russell is our future, and you are also a key figure that the higher-ups are paying close attention to. I am very happy to be able to help you on your path to growth."
Looked like Ms. Powell had high emotional intelligence and was very good at speaking.
Grand Magister Russell immediately smiled and said, "Speaking of which, Ms. Powell is a special advisor to our region's Royal Guild of Supernatural People. As the grand magister, I have never had the opportunity to visit her. It is my dereliction of duty."
"Grand Magister Russell, you flatter me," Aria Powell said. "My position as advisor is merely nominal. You are the grand magister, and you must be very busy with countless affairs every day. It should be me who visits you..."
Amidst the polite exchanges between the two parties, time flew by, and it was past eleven o'clock.
"The Supernatural Realm will open in one minute. Let's get ready," Professor Isabel Grant reminded them.
Everyone nodded, stood up, walked side by side, and then held hands.
Seeing Matthew holding his daughter's hand, Grand Magister Russell was somewhat displeased but said nothing.
One minute passed quickly.
The moment the supernatural realm opened, all ten people in the lounge vanished from their original spots.
...
Matthew Atkinson & Natalie Russell
Global Layer of the Supernatural Realm
The next moment, the group appeared in an unknown square.
The square was enormous, almost endless. Not far away, there was a super huge arena, comparable in size to a large city.
At the moment, there were so many people in the square that it was impossible to count them all.
They were all supernaturals who had just been teleported here.
"This is the Global Layer? There are so many people."
"That building is... an arena? It's huge."
"If it is not big enough, how can it hold so many people?"
"The thought of seeing experts from all countries of the world compete soon fills me with anticipation."
"Yes. It'll definitely be a feast for the eyes."
The surrounding chatter reached Matthew's ears. However, Matthew didn't care about any of that.
He approached Natalie without making a sound and held the girl in his arms to prevent any accidents.
Because there were just too many people around.
It was uncertain whether it was permissible to attack others here. What if someone saw Natalie and harbored malicious intent?
Although Matthew was very confident in his current abilities, there were also formidable experts here.
Natalie quickly noticed Matthew's subtle actions. The clever girl soon realized that Matthew was protecting her, and her heart warmed, a smile appearing on her pretty face.
At this moment, the rules of the competition in the Global Layer appeared in the left eye of all the supernatural beings.
The competition rules were very long.
But one of the rules explicitly stated that, outside of the ring, attacking others in private was strictly prohibited.
Upon seeing these competition rules, Matthew finally relaxed and stopped protecting Natalie like a mother hen protecting her chicks.
"Huh? Professor Isabel Grant?"
A voice suddenly came from the side, attracting everyone's attention.
When everyone turned their heads to look at the voice's owner, they saw a strange group.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.172: An Unfavorable Competition Format
Ch.173: The First Champion – Spider-Man
Ch.174: The Second Champion – Bumblebee