Matthew Atkinson & Natalie Russell
Fourth Layer of the Supernatural Realm
[Your achievement triggered a special event.]
[The Planet Doom Frenzy event will begin 1 hour before the end of Battle Royale. Get ready!]
[01:50:42... 01:50:41... 01:50:42...]
Matthew didn't know what Planet Doom Frenzy was.
The professors hadn't mentioned such an event, and the Supernatural Realm didn't seem inclined to provide details.
But Matthew didn't think the event they were about to face in the last hour would be easy for them.
Before this warning, Matthew had thought their last hour would be easier because one of the requirements of the Artifact Hunt event was to spend at least an hour in the Artifact Zone to win the artifact.
Therefore, he hoped that the attacks would decrease as they entered the final hour, since others had no chance of winning the Artifact Hunt.
But apparently, the Supernatural Realm wouldn't give them that comfort.
Matthew checked his panel and saw that there were currently 72,417 NPCs and 2,147 Players on Planet Doom.
Apparently, some of the Players had purchased Extra Life Coins for themselves.
Most likely, a large portion of the players who chose to revive after the Cataclyst explosion were taking advantage of the fact that he and Natalie were the focus of the NPCs, silently hunting them down.
It was a good way to increase their Kill Count and earn a good grade at the end of the layer. And Matthew had no problem with them. As long as they weren't targeting him and Natalie, they could hang out however they wanted.
On the other hand, Matthew did have a problem with the number of NPCs.
Turning to Natalie, he said, "Nat, we should probably reduce the number of NPCs as much as possible for the next two hours. I don't have a very good feeling about this Planet Doom Frenzy event."
"Do you have a plan?" she said.
"Start using your weapons, too. Using Heat Rays with a weapon won't be difficult with our Super Sense ability."
"Okay."
Then Natalie pulled out her Railgun from her Panel inventory, while Matthew pulled out his Anti-Personnel Ordinance Cannon. Both were long-range energy-based weapons that dealt severe damage.
Normally, these weapons ran out of ammo quickly, making them difficult to use for extended periods. But both Matthew and Natalie had purchased the Unlimited Ammo item, so they didn't need to worry about ammo.
And then, for about two hours, Matthew and Natalie started clearing out all the NPCs around the Artifact Zone, using their weapons and Heat Rays.
As the Battle Royale entered its final hour, Matthew's Panel showed that just over 10,000 NPCs remained on Planet Doom.
And then the warning they were waiting for arrived.
[The Planet Doom Frenzy event is starting.]
[Daito created a new avatar and participated in the event with the avatar DaitoSub2.]
[Sho created a new avatar and participated in the event with the avatar ShoSub2.]
[Aech created a new avatar and participated in the event with the avatar AechSub2.]
[Art3mis created a new avatar and participated in the event with the avatar Art3misSub2.]
[Greedy Nolan Sorrento created a new avatar and participated in the event with the avatar Angry Nolan Sorrento and the Sixer army.]
[Parzival created a new avatar and participated in the event with the avatar ParzivalSub2.]
[ParzivalSub2 used the Magical Radio Artifact and started playing the song "We're Not Gonna Take It - Twisted Sister".]
[Many NPCs are flocking to Planet Doom after ParzivalSub2's rally.]
[The Frenzy prize has been determined.]
[Every Player or NPC who manages to kill the Natalie Russell or Matthew Atkinson avatars will gain two Artifacts.]
"Oh shit..." was all Matthew could say.
Supernatural Realm wasn't just sending them six boss characters; it was also placing two Artifact bounties on each of their heads and gathering the avatars from OASIS here.
And Natalie and Matthew would have to endure this frenzy for an hour.
"I hope the Supernatural Realm gives us some good Supernatural Items for this Artifact Hunt. Otherwise, all this effort will be pointless."
With their achievements, they had already guaranteed themselves a high SSS-grade result. Still, their goal was to win the Artifact Hunt with the highest rank and obtain as many high-quality Supernatural Items as possible.
"The boss characters have started entering the Battle Royale area. What are we planning to do, Matt?"
Meanwhile, Matthew was monitoring the number of NPCs on the planet via the Panel. The NPC count, which had dropped to 10, had now risen again to 50,000 and didn't seem likely to slow down anytime soon.
"I'll deal with the boss characters. You protect the Artifact Zone, Nat. But if you feel the pressure is too great, let me know. I'll come to clear the area," he said.
"Are you sure you can handle six boss characters?" she asked.
Matthew looked at the six boss characters, each approaching from a different direction. They were probably stronger than before.
He knew it wouldn't be possible to kill them all in an hour. And if he tried to fight one, the others would reach the Artifact Zone and therefore Natalie before the fight was over.
"I don't intend to attack them to kill them. I'll try to keep each of them as far away from the Artifact Zone as possible. We just need to hold out for an hour. Then we'll win," he said.
"Okay. I'll protect this area. You keep them away," Natalie said firmly.
Then Matthew took flight and flew towards Sho, one of the bosses, and with a powerful punch, sent him flying back a few tens of meters. He then froze him with his Super Cold Breath before flying to Aech at the other end of the map and doing the same to her.
For a while, Matthew continued flying back and forth across the map, repelling or at least slowing down the boss characters.
He used his Super Cold Breath on them whenever he could. Although it lasted only a few seconds on some, the effect on Sho, Daito, and Aech lasted more than 10 seconds, and Matthew used that time to repel the others.
And whenever Natalie felt pressured by the NPCs, he would throw Holy Hand Grenades, Chucky's, and bombs he'd collected from other players to the perimeter of the Artifact Zone while moving from one boss character to another.
This cleared the area around the Artifact Zone somewhat, easing the pressure on Natalie.
But the pressure on Matthew was steadily increasing. This was probably the most challenging situation he had found himself in since entering the Supernatural Realm.
Although he occasionally repelled the boss characters, this only slowed them down, and the six bosses were slowly but surely advancing towards the Artifact Zone.
Half an hour after Planet Doom Frenzy began, and half an hour before the end of the fourth layer, the boss characters decided to make a change.
Daito and Aech teamed up, while Art3mis and Sho formed another team. Now, as four separate units, they were advancing towards the Artifact Zone from four different directions.
This reduced the number of points Matthew needed to fly, but since the two units were now stronger than usual, the time he spent fighting them also increased.
And from time to time, the boss characters began to use super-powerful moves that activated Matthew's Danger Sense.
And sometimes they even used artifacts that restricted Matthew's movements. Although Matthew managed to escape them for short periods, in those few seconds he lost, the bosses closed the distance to the Artifact Zone.
But this was another reason why Matthew shouldn't let them get close to the Artifact Zone. If they used these super abilities in the Artifact Zone, where the evasion area was limited, Matthew and Natalie wouldn't have a chance to dodge them.
So, Matthew continued to resist and somehow managed to prevent them from approaching the Artifact Zone.
When he checked the panel, he saw that the number of avatars on the planet was around 830,000, and he realized that the remaining time was 00:13:09.
There were 13 minutes left in the Battle Royale, meaning Matthew only had to hold out for three more minutes.
Because they had other plans for the last 10 minutes.
But then Matthew noticed Natalie muttering a word. "Danger..." and time seemed to stop for Matthew.
He knew this meant Natalie's Danger Sense was signaling her, and even before Natalie finished the first syllable, Matthew appeared beside her.
Matthew appeared between Natalie and the direction she was looking. Since Natalie was looking this way, the danger had to come from this direction.
And Matthew saw it. A long, blue, energy-filled bullet stood about two meters in front of them. And it seemed to move faster than Matthew and Natalie.
If Natalie's Danger Sense hadn't warned her before the bullet was fired, she would most likely have been dead before Matthew could reach her avatar.
Matthew raised his right hand towards the bullet.
Now that he sensed the danger from the bullet, he knew he probably wouldn't be able to stop it, but his goal wasn't to stop it, but to deflect its trajectory.
However, this bullet was more powerful than Matthew had anticipated. After piercing the palm of his hand, the bullet continued through his arm, exiting from his shoulder and continuing its path towards Natalie's head.
At this point, Matthew's arm was shattered by the bullet's impact, with part of his right shoulder. His entire right arm is gone.
But Matthew felt the bullet slowing down slightly as it traveled through his arm.
As a last resort, Matthew turned his head, and after his eyes turned a fiery color, Heat Rays emanating from them began to hit the bullet.
This caused the bullet to change its trajectory slightly, and in the process, Natalie moved her head as much as she could and dodged it, narrowly missing.
The bullet continued on its way but took a piece of Natalie's ear with it.
Matthew and Natalie had somehow managed to escape the most significant danger they'd faced on this layer, but this time it was truly a close call.
Matthew turned his head and looked at where the bullet had come from. And when he saw him, he instantly knew who had created this danger for them.
I-R0k.
A high-level avatar, usually working as a mercenary or a fixer, whom Nolon Sorrento used to carry out his secret operations in the OASIS.
The next moment, Matthew appeared beside I-R0k, took the Sniper Rifle he was holding, and finished him off with a Heat Ray.
Apparently, I-R0k wasn't a boss, just an NPC chasing a bounty, but he had managed to pose a greater threat than any of the other bosses.
After Matthew put his Sniper Rifle in his inventory, gathered I-R0k's other items, and reappeared beside Natalie.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.125: Second Cataclyst
Ch.126: Artifact Hunt Event Prizes
Ch.127: Another SSS-Grade Results