Matthew Atkison & Natalie Russel
Tenth Layer of the Supernatural Realm
After Matthew took "Corpse Crystals" from her, Natalie watched curiously to see what he would do next.
She noticed that some of the "Corpse Crystals" in the bag Matthew was holding had disappeared. Then, seeing Matthew staring blankly into space, she waited for a moment before finally asking, "Matthew, are you going to tell me what's going on?"
Natalie knew very well what those states where supernatural beings stared blankly into space meant. Matthew was now examining his attribute panel.
'Did this mean Matthew had found a way to use the corpse crystals?' she thought.
Whatever it was, Natalie wanted to know as soon as possible.
"Oh. It seems I was right. This substance is an amnesiac substance, and after leaving this layer, it's erased from everyone's mind. But because I'm immune to amnesiac layers, I was able to access information about this substance," Matthew explained.
"Huh? You're immune to amnesiac layers?" Natalie asked in surprise.
"Ah, right, I was waiting to enter this layer to explain this to you," Matthew said.
Then he told her how he obtained the Amnesiac Remember Card, the memories related to the amnesiac layers, and the conversation he had with Grand Magister Russell.
He then told her what he had learned about the crystals he held and how he had used them to upgrade one of his skills.
"So, the conversation you had with my father in my dormitory after the global layer was all just acting?" Natalie asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.
"Uh. Just for the record, it was your father's idea, and I only agreed because I was under pressure," Matthew said.
"Hmm. That doesn't mean you're not guilty, though. Anyway, I'll decide on your punishment later. On the other hand, this means these crystals are useless to us, right?" Natalie said.
"...Yeah. I can't use them to upgrade my skills anymore, and consuming them normally is deadly for us supernaturals," Matthew said.
Natalie thought the same.
"Then I'll give these things to Paige later," Natalie said.
Matthew already knew the names of most of the survivors in the vehicle and said with a smile, "It seems you're very fond of that girl."
Natalie nodded and said, "I admire her tenacious character and am willing to lend her a hand."
Matthew smiled. He also thought that the girl was very strong. As for how Natalie handled the "corpse crystals", he couldn't care less anymore.
"Oh, right. Nat, let me show you something." Matthew said, and with a thought, an unknown round object appeared in his hand.
The object was very small, probably only the size of a marble, two centimeters in diameter, and was overall silvery-gray, looking very much like bone.
Natalie's senses were sharp, and she immediately felt that this object was emitting an invisible aura.
"This thing…" Natalie asked, "Is this what you got after killing the Devil Monster?"
Matthew smiled and said, "Yes, its name is 'Bone Core'. It's a supernatural item, but it cannot be removed from this layer. More importantly, it has a truly unique feature. If someone's attribute is less than one-fifth of their highest attribute, this item adds 250 points to the lower attribute."
"Huh? Really?" Natalie asked, surprised.
"Yep. Nat, take it and have a look." Natalie took it and looked at it. Indeed, a prompt for a supernatural item appeared in her left eye.
In addition to what Matthew said, if the user had more than one attribute that satisfied this condition, the affected attribute would be randomly chosen.
Furthermore, a person could use multiple Bone Cores, and the first addition to each attribute would always be 250 points. However, after the second use of the same attribute, its effect would begin to decrease.
This was an invaluable item for those who focused on a single attribute on their chosen path, especially those like Natalie who focused on the Mental attribute.
Supernaturals had to adhere to a certain ratio when developing their attributes.
Someone developing on the Strength path needed to have Constitution equal to half their Strength.
Otherwise, their own powers would begin to harm their own bodies.
However, these conditions were quite relaxed for those who preferred the Mental path. Natalie only needed to keep her Constitution at 5% of her Mental attribute.
Therefore, those who focused on the pure Metal path generally had the most unbalanced attribute panel.
"Nat, use it." Natalie heard Matthew say.
"But..." Natalie began, but Matthew interrupted her.
"The point distribution in my attribute panel is quite balanced right now, and none of my attributes meet the usage requirements. And we can't take this item out. You're not going to let it go to waste, are you?" Matthew said.
"...Okay. I'll use it," she said.
Natalie then immediately chose to use the supernatural item, and upon checking her attribute panel, she saw that her Agility attribute had increased by 250 points.
This was her weakest attribute after Strength. But now it was almost at the level of her Constitution attribute.
"Nat, I plan to collect some information about Devil Monsters and hunt more of them. Maybe I can get more Bone Core or even some other good stuff."
But Natalie had a different opinion. "Devil Monsters are very dangerous. It's better not to clash with them."
"That's why I need to collect information about them first." Matthew said with a smile, "I definitely won't go and clash with those Devil Monsters that have troublesome abilities. I'll only target the easy ones."
Natalie heard this and still disapproved somewhat, but she knew that Matthew was very stubborn, and once he made a decision, it was difficult for others to change his mind.
"Fine! But safety comes first."
…
As the two chatted on the RV's roof, the survivors in the vehicles behind were also watching them in secret.
They were mainly watching Matthew. Seeing that man with the powerful aura, everyone's eyes were filled with awe.
For the next half-day, everything was peaceful. They didn't encounter any monsters or zombies either.
When night fell, the convoy pulled over. Night was when monsters were most active and powerful. It was unsuitable for travel and easily led to danger.
The entire convoy formed a circle in the wilderness, and everyone built a fire inside the circle to cook.
Perishable foods were long gone, so they mainly cooked some packaged, ready-to-eat food and drank dehydrated vegetable soup.
After eating, they extinguished the fire, then arranged for people to take turns on night watch, while the others rested.
Of course, Matthew and Natalie didn't need to worry about such matters. The two slept in the RV on the same bed.
However, in the middle of the night, Mason Cooper suddenly panicked. His daughter had developed a high fever, and it was very severe.
"April! April…" Paige Cooper anxiously called out to wake Natalie and said, "Tilly has a high fever. Can you please take a look at her?"
Natalie immediately got up and went to the sofa in the RV. She first touched the child's forehead and found that the fever was indeed severe.
However, it was somewhat different from a normal high fever.
Natalie's mental power was now very powerful, and with supreme-level Observation Haki, her corresponding perception was enhanced further.
She quickly sensed that there seemed to be an unknown energy fluctuation within Tilly's body.
At this moment, the appearance of this phenomenon stirred Natalie's heart. "She's not just having a normal fever." She said.
Upon hearing this, the few people gathered around were all stunned. Mason Cooper quickly asked, "Captain, what's wrong with Tilly?"
The person he addressed as "Captain" was none other than Natalie herself.
The reason for this title was that everyone unanimously agreed to it. Initially, everyone called Natalie "Leader," but she refused, so it changed to "Captain."
As for Matthew?
In everyone's eyes, he was like a god. They didn't dare to give him any random title.
"If I'm not mistaken, she's awakening an ability," Natalie said.
Professor Isabel Grant had mentioned the awakening of survivors to her before. Although the professor hadn't gone into detail about the symptoms of awakening, Tilly's current situation only fit the awakening of an ability.
Upon hearing this, most of the Cooper family members were both surprised and delighted.
If the Cooper family could produce an ability user, it would certainly be more beneficial than harmful for their future path of survival.
Even Matthew showed a curious expression.
"Tilly is awakening an ability?" Paige was first surprised, then worried, saying, "But I heard that the process of awakening an ability is very dangerous..."
As soon as she said this, Mason's face immediately turned bitter, full of worry.
Natalie didn't know that there would be danger during the awakening process, so she immediately asked, "What kind of danger?"
Paige first glanced at her uncle, then gritted her teeth and said, "I heard that awakening an ability takes a long time, at least a dozen hours of unconsciousness. If they can wake up, then they're an ability user. But many people don't wake up after this process. The success rate of awakening an ability is less than 20%."
Mason's face instantly turned even more pale. He knew all this, but hearing it still didn't help much to ease his worries.
Natalie thought for a moment and asked, "Is there any way to increase the success rate of awakening?"
Paige shook her head, "I haven't heard of any. I only know that the success rate of awakening abilities was higher when the apocalypse first started, and then it got lower and lower."
Natalie's heart stirred, and she immediately said to Mason Cooper, "Uncle Mason, go outside and ask if anyone knows about this."
Upon hearing this, Mason Cooper immediately ran out of the RV. He asked around outside, then quickly returned dejectedly, shaking his head.
Seeing this, everyone's hearts tightened, and they looked at Tilly worriedly.
Natalie thought for a moment and said, "I have a theory about this situation."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked towards Natalie.
Natalie said, "Paige just said that when the apocalypse began, the success rate of awakening abilities was relatively high, and as time went on, the success rate became lower and lower, right?"
"Yes," Paige said, "I heard it from more than one person."
"This should be true," Zeke Cooper, who was nearby, said, "It's rare to see newly awakened ability users now. They're all people who awakened during the apocalypse."
Natalie then said, "Given such a phenomenon, my theory is that the awakening rate has nothing to do with time. It should be related to one's physique."
"Awakening an ability requires a long time, and during this process, a large amount of physical strength and energy must be consumed. If the body is weak, it certainly won't be able to endure."
"When the apocalypse first began, people had only been hungry for a short time, their bodies were still in good condition, they could withstand the consumption during awakening, and they could persevere, so the success rate was relatively high."
"But now, ordinary survivors are almost all sallow-faced, emaciated, and weak in physique. The little physical strength in their bodies simply cannot support the consumption during awakening, so the success rate will definitely decrease."
Upon hearing Natalie's analysis, everyone suddenly understood. It was a logical theory, and it seemed to be true.
But wasn't that bad news for them?
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.218: Awakening – Humanity's Savior
Ch.219: Our Worlds Are Quite Similar
Ch.220: Reaching the Borders of Sacramento