A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 37

Although Zhao Xiaoyu was willing to agree for her own benefit, she wasn’t a pushover. Since Su Bei wanted information from her, he couldn’t get it for free: “I’ll tell you their Abilities, but you tell me Jiang Tianming’s and Mo Xiaotian’s Abilities. How about that? Or swap one of them for your own Ability.”

“Change the condition,” Su Bei said lightly. “I can tell you my Ability, and after the monthly exam, you can ask me to demonstrate it once. Trust me, once you know my Ability, you’ll definitely be willing.”

Hearing his confident words, Zhao Xiaoyu was a bit surprised. She had many guesses about Su Bei’s Ability, suspecting it might be a Prophecy type like Feng Lan’s. Honestly, if it was a Prophecy Ability, she would absolutely agree to this condition.

Getting a prophecy from a Prophet Ability user was a huge gain, something many would pay a fortune for!

But since Su Bei had never clearly stated his Ability before, Zhao Xiaoyu assumed he wanted to keep it secret.

That’s why she only included his Ability as a backup option in her earlier request. In truth, among the three people’s Abilities, she was most curious about Su Bei’s.

“I agree, but I’m really confused,” Zhao Xiaoyu said, looking at him probingly. “Why would you rather reveal your own Ability than tell me about those two?”

“Because we’re currently teammates,” Su Bei answered.

His answer was the truth. Since he was currently teammates with the protagonist group, he wouldn’t do anything to betray them, including leaking team information. This was indeed a matter of principle, but it was also a practical consideration.

Compared to other teams, their team was already too weak. If he did something like this within the team, it would further reduce their chances of winning.

Although this was a manga world where the protagonists’ victory was almost 100% guaranteed, it could still make things harder. Su Bei didn’t want others’ suffering to stem from his actions.

Of course, there was another reason: who knew if the author would draw this scene in the manga? If it was drawn and he had directly revealed the protagonist group’s information, he’d definitely be labeled a traitor, which was unacceptable.

But after the monthly exam, when they were no longer teammates, he wouldn’t have to hold back.

“You saying that makes me seem a bit despicable,” Zhao Xiaoyu said with a bitter smile, a hint of dissatisfaction in her eyes. “If you’re truly righteous, don’t come to me. Fishing for enforcement is illegal too.”

Su Bei had actively sought her out for a deal, yet ended up framing her as the despicable one. Although Zhao Xiaoyu didn’t consider herself a good person, she was still unhappy with his aloof behavior.

“So I’m not righteous either,” Su Bei shrugged, completely indifferent. “We’re just acting according to our own principles.”

Hearing this, Zhao Xiaoyu’s expression softened. After Feng Lan tactfully left, she didn’t hesitate and directly revealed the Abilities: “Zhou Renjie never mentioned his Ability, but according to those who fought him, they were all sent into a black space as soon as they entered the arena. No one has come out before he releases them, and no one has managed to harm him.”

Sending people into another dimension? Su Bei was very curious about the specifics of his Ability: “Didn’t you investigate what those sent inside experienced?”

Since Zhao Xiaoyu wanted to contribute to the team, she must have looked into her teammates’ Abilities. Su Bei didn’t believe she hadn’t questioned Zhou Renjie’s opponents.

Sure enough, Zhao Xiaoyu nodded helplessly: “Of course I did, but they said it was pitch black inside, and they couldn’t see anything. Not seeing, they didn’t dare move. When they saw light again, it was Zhou Renjie letting them out.”

Pitch black? If there was light, maybe they could see what was inside. But unless it was a special Ability, where would light come from?

Following typical manga logic, Wu Mingbai would likely face Zhou Renjie. Wu Mingbai’s Ability was [Earth Element]. Could he handle this Ability?

Whatever, why worry about the protagonist? As long as he himself had a way to deal with Zhou Renjie, that was enough, since it wasn’t certain who he’d face in the team battle.

Su Bei continued: “What about Baozhu?”

“Baozhu has a domain-type Ability [Gorgeous Domain]. Everyone inside the domain must act elegantly. If they’re not elegant, they’ll be kicked out.”

What a rich girl’s Ability. Su Bei couldn’t help but twitch his lips: “This Ability doesn’t seem hard to deal with?”

If it was just about elegance, could you elegantly beat someone up? Even if fighting wasn’t allowed, both sides would be restricted, so they could just stall on the stage.

“Of course it’s not that simple. In the domain, you can’t fight. Fighting or cursing is considered inelegant. Once you’re inelegant, you’re ejected from the domain. Her domain currently covers an entire arena.”

In other words, this was essentially a defensive domain. No fighting was allowed inside, and anyone who fought would be ejected, ensuring absolute safety for those within.

Zhao Xiaoyu sighed: “She’s a young lady; elegant behavior is easy for her. But for us ordinary people…”

No need to say more—ordinary people, unfamiliar with the rules, were easily ejected.

“Wait a sec…” Su Bei frowned, muttering to himself.

“What’s wrong?” Zhao Xiaoyu asked, puzzled.

What was wrong was that two of the three in Si Zhaohua’s group, the protagonist group’s foil, had defensive Abilities. This didn’t seem to fit the manga’s usual balancing logic.

But he obviously couldn’t say this. Su Bei shook his head: “Nothing. My Ability is [Destiny Gear], which can predict parts of fate.”

A flash of understanding passed through Zhao Xiaoyu’s eyes: “Then what you said to Jiang Tianming on the first day of school was?”

“A prediction for the school,” he chuckled. “A very interesting result.”

In fact, as early as the first manga update, Su Bei had noticed a small bug in his character setup. His current setup required touching someone’s head with the Gear to predict their fate via the compass. So how did he predict something like “this year’s unluckiest person”?

He’d been thinking about how to patch this hole for a while. Finally, some time ago, he came up with a reason—why assume only people could have fate compasses?

But this explanation wasn’t easy to share; he needed a reasonable opportunity to say it. Now was a good chance to shift perceptions a bit.

Although this scene might not make it into the manga, it didn’t matter. He could use this opportunity to plant a potential foreshadowing. If it paid off, great; if not, it was just one sentence.

Learning Su Bei’s Ability, Zhao Xiaoyu was indeed eager for him to predict her fate once. Although Su Bei said his predictions were unstable, knowing even a bit of the future was hugely appealing to ordinary people. Since it cost her nothing, Zhao Xiaoyu had no objections.

After gathering the intel, Su Bei didn’t leave. Zhou Renjie’s and Si Zhaohua’s matches were coming up soon, and staying to watch wasn’t a bad idea.

Soon, Zhou Renjie took the stage. His arena match was extremely simple. Activating his Ability and opening his mouth, his opponent was shrunk and sucked into it.

After waiting ten minutes with no change in Zhou Renjie’s expression, the referee came over routinely and announced: “Zhou Renjie wins. Release him.”

Zhou Renjie opened his mouth, and his dazed opponent was spat out. Thank heavens, there wasn’t a trace of saliva on him, or Su Bei would’ve been terrified to face Zhou Renjie. The next match was Si Zhaohua’s, also straightforward. Wings spread, he blocked an attack.

Simultaneously, several feathers shot toward his opponent like hidden weapons in a fierce assault. His opponent, not strong to begin with and knowing he couldn’t beat the top of Class A, gave up and left the stage when he couldn’t hold on.

Watching their invincible displays, Su Bei sighed deeply: “These guys are hell-mode to deal with. Feng Lan, would you surrender outright against them?”

The first half was genuine sentiment; the second was probing for info.

Feng Lan, ever honest, didn’t mind Su Bei’s probing: “If Si Zhaohua doesn’t use ‘Holy Judgment,’ I should be able to win.”

This statement shocked even Su Bei. He knew clearly that if Feng Lan said this, he had the confidence to back it up.

Was his confidence from that ability he showed yesterday, seemingly predicting the opponent’s next move? No, if it was just that, he probably couldn’t even escape Zhou Renjie’s stomach.

Meaning he had other abilities.

Was this [Prophecy]? It was even stronger than Su Bei had understood.

Seeing his Ability, Su Bei realized his own needed to be developed into something balanced in offense and defense. Failing that, he’d fall short. But how could fate be made balanced in offense and defense?

After lunch and a brief rest, the first match of the afternoon was his. As expected, his opponent, per the “Campus Wall” intel, immediately released thick fog across the arena. The milky-white fog obscured nearly everything, with extremely low visibility.

Most people would panic in such a scene, but Su Bei wasn’t fazed, standing still. After a while, his opponent grew slightly anxious.

His Mental Energy was limited, and his Ability couldn’t last long. If this continued, once the Ability faded and his advantage was gone, he might lose. So, under cover of the fog, he planned a sneak attack.

This played right into Su Bei’s hands. Well-trained, he detected the opponent’s footsteps the moment they approached, effortlessly grabbing them with a backhand.

His grip was strong, and no matter how the opponent struggled, they couldn’t break free. Struggling too hard, they were pinned to the ground by Su Bei’s single hand, unable to move. When the fog cleared, Su Bei mercilessly tossed his opponent off the arena.

The second day’s victory let him breathe a huge sigh of relief. He’d secured the minimum, so now he just had to wait for tomorrow’s manga update to see if it brought any new changes.

Finally, Su Bei watched Baozhu’s match. She lightly stomped her right foot on the arena, and the entire stage was instantly enveloped in a pink layer, like a Barrier.

Pink, very fitting for this young lady’s personality. Baozhu had pink hair and blue eyes, and it was clear she loved pink, with her daily outfits and accessories all pink.

Now it seemed her Mental Energy was pink too.

Baozhu pulled out a pink feather fan from somewhere, elegantly fanning herself, and looked critically at the Class B boy opposite: “You’re my opponent?”

The boy frowned, looking around: “All pink and gaudy, what is this place? Your Ability?”

“So rude,” Baozhu said, sounding disdainful but smirking.

Because the next second, the boy suddenly felt a massive repulsive force he couldn’t resist, and he was ejected from the arena.

So verbal rudeness would also be repelled by Baozhu’s domain. Su Bei couldn’t help but sigh, feeling the difficulty of countering this Ability.

If only cursing was deemed verbally rude, that’d be simple. But what if failing to say certain high-society phrases was also judged as rude?

For example, if Baozhu said “How are you?” and the opponent didn’t reply “I’m fine, thank you.” (×)

In that case, winning in the domain would be too hard. Unless… you struck first.

That evening, the official website released the schedule for the third day’s matches. Since the number of participants had been cut by more than half over the past two days, from around 300 to just over 60, the last two days would no longer be one match per day but three.

Tomorrow would have three matches. With the numbers, there might be a lucky one who got a bye. But clearly, that lucky one wouldn’t be him.

Sighing, Su Bei looked at his opponent for tomorrow. As expected, it was someone from Class A. This damned luck. He was truly exasperated, sometimes suspecting this was the school teachers deliberately targeting him, not just a matter of luck.

But this guess might actually be true. Both Jiang Tianming, whose Ability was unknown, and Su Bei, who had lied about his Ability on the surface, were facing Class A opponents tomorrow. It was hard to say if this was the school testing their Abilities on purpose.

While Su Bei was pondering whether this was the school’s deliberate arrangement, the notification sound for Manga Consciousness’ update suddenly rang: “King of Abilities has updated. Please check it.”

The moment the notification sounded, Su Bei’s mind felt a sudden chill. It wasn’t the piercing cold of a snowy day but the odd sensation of holding ten mints in his mouth and drinking cold water, a coolness rushing to his brain.

“Hiss!”

Su Bei couldn’t help but gasp, the stimulation making him close his eyes tightly. Only after his mind gradually adjusted did he slowly open them: “That was intense!”

His mind felt crystal clear now, and opening his eyes, he could distinctly feel his vision and hearing had improved significantly. He could easily catch the slightest movements in the room, like the breeze or rustling.

More than that, there was something new in his mind. It was an indescribable thing, vaguely like “gas.” But Su Bei knew it was likely the solidified form of his Mental Energy.

He tentatively tried to control this Mental Energy, but it was like the softest tofu, scattering with the slightest touch, impossible to control. It was a matter of proficiency, Su Bei realized clearly. Since his Mental Energy didn’t come from his own training but arrived suddenly, he couldn’t master it quickly.

It was like eating a pill that boosted cultivation but needing to refine it to truly raise one’s level.

Fully controlling Mental Energy wasn’t a one-day task. Though he’d need it tomorrow, Su Bei wasn’t rushed. He opened his phone to check the latest manga content.

Updating at this time meant this chapter’s ending was likely tomorrow’s match schedule.

[The first page of the latest manga chapter starts at the field on the first day of the monthly exam. The field is packed with people, ten one-meter-high arenas neatly spread out, looking impressive.

The six members of the protagonist group, including Su Bei, step onto the field. Like all the students, they’re full of vigor, perfectly embodying youthful prime.]

As Su Bei had predicted, the manga author didn’t skimp on screentime. Every member of the protagonist group got a chance to shine in the first day’s individual battles.

The first to compete was him, facing his first-day opponent—the green-haired classmate.

The green-haired classmate in the manga was as goofy as in reality, twisting his body like rubber clay on the opposite side, loudly trying to intimidate.

Honestly, in reality, this behavior was somewhat intimidating. Seeing a human contort like that would make most people feel some fear.

But in the manga, it was different. The manga’s exaggerated style stripped away any fear, leaving only a strong goofy vibe.

[“Is this your Ability?”

“So impressive!”

“You can transform into so many shapes!”]

Su Bei’s few insincere praises in the manga came off like teasing a dog, making readers imagine a dog showing off a trick and the owner praising, “Good dog! Well done!”

The malicious, sadistic vibe was maxed out, but heaven’s sake, Su Bei hadn’t meant it that way! He just wanted to rile the opponent up to drain their Mental Energy.

Next, Su Bei’s complaints perfectly showed what it meant to lie with eyes open, bad enough to make Meng Huai call the cops. Yet the opponent fully believed him, even performing more tricks.

Only after exhausting their big move did manga Su Bei seem to grow bored, mercifully walking over to easily send the opponent off the arena.

“Is this the manga filter?” Looking at the figure standing alone on the arena, every hair gleaming like gold in the sunlight, looking down at the loser, Su Bei couldn’t help but marvel.

Those words were indeed his, said deliberately. But his goal was entirely to drain the opponent’s Mental Energy, not to watch a show!

That said, the filter was well done. Manga Su Bei was a true powerhouse, naturally not needing to rack his brain to beat a Class C student. The manga turned all his actions into watching a show, which couldn’t be more reasonable.

Though reasonable, Su Bei couldn’t help but sigh: “Isn’t this slander? I’m an honest guy!”

Unexpectedly, the short scene of him leaving the stage was drawn too. A full-panel, cool wink from Su Bei, plus a taunting jab, maxed out the mockery.

The green-haired kid knelt and roared in fury, fitting perfectly in the manga, not awkward at all.

Then Jiang Tianming asked what if the green-haired kid didn’t get up. Su Bei returned the kid’s initial intimidation as “comfort,” successfully making him jump in rage.

Finally, he ignored him, innocently answering Jiang Tianming: “See, he’s up now, isn’t he?”

When Su Bei turned to this page, Manga Consciousness couldn’t help but quip: “You really think you’re an honest guy?”

What kind of honest guy would treat a poor loser like that?

Su Bei coughed and quickly flipped past that page.

As expected, Feng Lan’s line and Su Bei’s reply were included in the manga.

The comments were successfully guided by the manga, with no one finding it off, all thinking it fit the character.

“Hahahaha, this green-haired kid’s such a goof? One moment S, the next B.”

“I’m picturing my mom teasing our dog Xiao Hua.”

“This is teasing a dog, right? It’s dog-teasing, isn’t it?”

“Such bad taste, Su Bei!”

“Don’t tease this green-haired kid, tease me, waaah!”

“Something weird slipped into the comments.”

“Total domination…”

“Didn’t want to win so fast after watching the show? Did Su Bei use his Ability?”

“This scene of standing alone on the stage is so cool! Like a god descending!”

“Others’ winks are cool and charming, mine are twisted and ugly.”

“He’s so good at mocking, hahahahaha.”

Feng Lan’s arena match showcased his near-prophetic combat ability through the inner thoughts of a few onlookers.

But since he wasn’t part of the protagonist group, the manga didn’t give him much plot. The focus was mostly on Jiang Tianming and the others facing off with Si Zhaohua’s group below the stage. Since no conflict occurred, it was just a few quick shots to show their faces.

Next was Mu Tieren’s match, another straightforward domination, so it didn’t have much plot.

But when Mu Tieren easily sent his hefty opponent off the arena, Jiang Tianming’s inner thought caught Su Bei’s attention: “The Class Monitor’s strength seems to have grown a bit.”

The line itself wasn’t an issue—after nearly a month since school started, it was normal for an Ability to get stronger.

But its inclusion in the manga was odd. Why dedicate a small panel to this line if it was normal? Su Bei suspected the Class Monitor’s skill might not be as simple as it seemed, but with too few clues, he didn’t dwell on it and flipped the page.

Next was Wu Jin’s plot. Su Bei perked up, having acted quite a bit in this part, hoping it achieved the effect he wanted.