A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 42

“Someone’s coming out!” Someone shouted, and everyone turned toward the arena.

Zhou Renjie and Wu Mingbai emerged one after the other. Zhou Renjie, walking in front, was pale, his expression extremely grim. Su Bei had never seen this usually ruddy-faced fatty look so humiliated and defeated.

The outcome was obvious.

“You lost?!” Baozhu’s eyes widened in shock. “How is that possible?”

Though she didn’t particularly like Zhou Renjie, she had confidence in his strength. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have allowed him to get close to her. She had assumed the top three spots would surely be claimed by their group, but to think one of them would fall before the final day.

At this moment, Zhou Renjie had lost his usual arrogance. He hadn’t expected to lose either. Facing Baozhu’s doubt, his chubby face twisted, and he said viciously: “Wu Mingbai’s methods were too despicable. He’s just a sneaky villain! I only lost because I was careless.”

Baozhu gave him a skeptical glance: “You’re a guy, he’s a guy. How could his methods be despicable?”

Zhou Renjie was choked by her words: “…No, it’s…”

But before he could finish, Si Zhaohua interrupted: “Enough. You lost, you lost. Hmph, so what if they won a round? I’m definitely not going to lose.”

“Neither will I!” Baozhu declared immediately. She didn’t believe those commoners could break her [Gorgeous Domain].

In contrast to their gloomy atmosphere, Wu Mingbai’s side was like a festive celebration, with gongs and drums, firecrackers, crowds, and waving red flags. (Not really.)

“You’re too awesome, Mingbai!” Mo Xiaotian was, as always, the first to cheer. “I really want to fight you. If we don’t get matched, how about a secret match after the monthly exam?”

Wu Mingbai grinned happily, but his words were sharp: “It’s not even night yet, so why are you already dreaming?”

“Today’s matches are over, and everyone won big. Let’s go eat something good.” Jiang Tianming skillfully interjected, preventing what could have turned into a one-sided, nonsensical argument.

Lan Subing raised her hand: “My treat.”

Seeing everyone’s gazes, especially Su Bei’s, turn toward her, she recalled the events before their last group meal and added softly: “To celebrate that I can finally use [Word Spirit] when facing one person.”

That’s right—this was why she had won every match over the past two days. She had finally overcome part of her severe social anxiety, allowing her to fight one-on-one without being tongue-tied, as long as no one else was watching.

Hearing this, Jiang Tianming and the others’ eyes lit up, and they eagerly asked: “You’ve overcome it? How did you do it? You’ve got to tell your parents the good news!”

Lan Subing’s parents had been heartbroken over her social anxiety. If they knew she was improving, they’d surely be thrilled.

“I plan to tell them after tomorrow’s matches, along with my monthly exam results, to give them a surprise.” Lan Subing’s eyes curved into a smile, clearly delighted with her progress.

The most surprised was probably Su Bei. He had thought she wouldn’t break through this limitation until her match against Baozhu on the final day. To think she had already done so earlier?

But if that was the case, wouldn’t she easily defeat Baozhu? That didn’t align with the manga’s design, did it? Glancing thoughtfully at the blue-haired girl, Su Bei withdrew his gaze.

He figured Lan Subing might have some undisclosed weakness, which was normal. They could very well be opponents tomorrow, so keeping a trump card was wise.

“By the way…” Mu Tieren, who had been silent for a while, suddenly spoke with a hesitant expression. “There are nine people left for tomorrow’s arena matches. How will the school arrange our matchups?”

Right! His words stunned everyone. As Mu Tieren said, how would nine people be paired up?

If one person was left out to sit a round, they’d have to wait until the end to be reassigned.

Seeing everyone fall into thought, Su Bei snapped his fingers to break the silence: “That’s for the school to worry about. What we need to think about is where to eat.”

His words made sense, and everyone gave up worrying for the school, heading off to eat together.

After dinner, Su Bei spent the rest of the time training his Mental Energy. He knew all too well that if he wanted to perform confidently tomorrow, he had to truly become an advanced Mental Energy user.

Conventional methods wouldn’t allow him to master this extra power quickly, so Su Bei had to resort to some uncomfortable, extreme methods.

In the dormitory, the blond boy sat on his bed, a small mountain of exquisitely crafted Gears piled in front of him. Each Gear was adorned with intricate, elaborate patterns, and they came in various shapes.

These were all conjured by Su Bei, one by one. Each Gear was a Destiny Gear capable of prophecy. The patterns were meticulously carved onto them using his Mental Energy.

[Destiny Gear] could only be used once a week, but “use” referred to generating a prophecy. Conjuring Destiny Gears had no such limit, though it consumed far more Mental Energy.

And right now, he needed to consume Mental Energy.

Su Bei’s strategy was to completely deplete the large amount of Mental Energy stored in his mind. Only by exhausting it entirely and letting it regenerate would it truly become his own.

He hadn’t done this before for two reasons: first, he hadn’t thought of this approach, and second, this method was far from easy—or rather, it was quite painful.

Excessive Mental Energy depletion caused dizziness, weakness, and headaches. Continuing in such a state would lead to gradual exhaustion. This exhaustion wasn’t just physical; it felt like his organs were being drained, his brain squeezed dry.

When the Gears formed a mountain as tall as him, Su Bei’s face was as pale as paper. His forehead was covered in sweat, and he could barely sit upright, nearly collapsing to the side.

The feeling of wanting to die made him constantly tempted to give up, to stop channeling Mental Energy outward, which would bring relief.

But he didn’t. He persisted.

One Gear, two Gears, three Gears…

Finally, Su Bei’s Mental Energy was completely exhausted. His vision went black, and he passed out.

“Ring ring ring ring ring!”

When he woke again, it was the next morning, roused by the seven o’clock alarm he had set. Having depleted his Mental Energy the previous day, his head still ached, like a hangover.

Today’s matches started at eight. Su Bei turned off the alarm, rubbed his head, and opened his phone to check the day’s schedule.

Regarding Mu Tieren’s question from yesterday, the school had indeed provided a solution. Zhou Renjie, defeated by Wu Mingbai, would fight one more round, but it wouldn’t count toward rankings. If he won, he’d remain in tenth place, but his opponent would take ninth. If his opponent won, they’d advance.

This plan had an obvious issue: if Zhou Renjie’s opponent won, the second round would have five people, creating another odd-number problem.

But the school had clearly considered this, assigning Mu Tieren as Zhou Renjie’s opponent. Compared to other students with varied techniques, Mu Tieren, with his [Body Enhancement] Ability, was the ideal choice.

Of course, this was with Mu Tieren’s consent. Win or lose, he’d earn a hundred points for it. Mu Tieren agreed for two reasons: first, he didn’t want to face someone he knew, and second, after weighing his options, Zhou Renjie, already defeated once, was the opponent he was most likely to beat.

Su Bei glanced at his own opponent: Feng Lan.

The other matchups were no less intense: Mo Xiaotian versus Si Zhaohua, Jiang Tianming versus Wu Mingbai, Lan Subing versus Baozhu.

Every pair was highly anticipated. If Su Bei weren’t personally involved, he’d probably be excited to watch.

Sighing deeply, Su Bei felt a bit helpless. From the previous public arena matches, he knew Feng Lan could predict others’ actions in advance. He had said back then that such an Ability was godlike in combat.

Even with his proficient fighting skills, he had to be extremely cautious against this Ability.

Avoiding Feng Lan’s predictions was impossible, so he had to find a way to ensure that even if Feng Lan foresaw his next move, he couldn’t counter it.

To do that, he first needed to know one thing—how far in advance could Feng Lan predict?

When he arrived at the field, the others were already there. On the final day, while everyone wanted to win, aside from Baozhu and Si Zhaohua, the others felt little pressure.

Five from Class F and one from Class D—it was a case of glory in victory and honor in defeat. As for Mo Xiaotian from Class A, he had never felt any pressure from start to finish.

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Tianming looked at Wu Mingbai. Despite being opponents soon, he showed a faint smile: “We’re finally going to have a proper match.”

Wu Mingbai grinned brightly: “I won’t go easy. I’ve improved a lot lately. I’m afraid you can’t keep up.”

To his provocation, Jiang Tianming scoffed: “Don’t cry when you lose.”

He then stepped onto the arena.

The most excited was undoubtedly Mo Xiaotian, bouncing around Si Zhaohua like a lively red-haired puppy: “I’ve wanted to fight you forever! The school really gets me!”

Si Zhaohua had no ill feelings toward him and gave a polite smile: “I’m also looking forward to our match. After you.”

As they both entered the arena, Baozhu finally looked away, turning arrogantly to Lan Subing: “What your friend just said, I’ll say to you too—don’t cry when you lose.”

Lan Subing still wasn’t used to speaking in front of strangers, but she wasn’t fazed by the provocation. She gave Baozhu a polite smile, then ignored her and walked straight to the arena.

This action infuriated Baozhu, who stomped her foot hard before chasing after her.

Mu Tieren and Zhou Renjie, mutually disdainful, exchanged no words and entered the arena separately.

The last ones left on the field were Su Bei and Feng Lan. Su Bei glanced at Feng Lan, with no pre-match banter in mind. He knew only a victory gave him the right to talk; for now, he’d stay humble.

“Shall we?”

“Sure.”

Until the moment he stepped onto the arena, Su Bei was still mentally rehearsing his next moves. As he had thought, he needed to determine exactly how many seconds Feng Lan could predict.

It was certain this time wouldn’t be too long. Combat was inherently fast-paced, and overly advanced predictions would cause a butterfly effect, altering everything that followed.

Moreover, since becoming an advanced Mental Energy user, Su Bei had gained a deeper understanding of Mental Energy through recent training. He was also certain that Feng Lan’s Mental Energy wasn’t sufficient to see too far or too much into the future in a short time. Otherwise, his mind would become chaotic.

With this in mind, Su Bei stepped onto the arena and, without delay, charged toward Feng Lan. He needed to figure this out as quickly as possible and couldn’t let Feng Lan guess his intentions before then.

Unlike Su Bei, a seasoned fighter, Feng Lan, though he exercised regularly with running, had never systematically learned to fight. As a result, while he could parry each of Su Bei’s moves, he looked quite disheveled.

But Su Bei didn’t underestimate him because of this disarray. For someone who had never fought before to block his every move was already telling. And though he looked disheveled, he hadn’t lost, had he?

As things stood, unless one of them tired out first, they’d remain in a stalemate.

In terms of pure stamina, Su Bei was confident he could outlast Feng Lan. If they kept this up, Feng Lan would run out of energy first, and Su Bei would win.

But this was just an arena match. What was the point of such a victory?

Winning by exhausting the opponent’s stamina, only to forfeit the next round and let Jiang Tianming and Si Zhaohua reach the finals—that might suit the author’s expectations, but Su Bei wasn’t willing.

The fight continued. After completing several sets of attacks with varying durations, Su Bei had an answer: Feng Lan could foresee events five seconds in advance.

So, he had to devise a trap that, even if Feng Lan saw his attack five seconds early, he couldn’t avoid. The preparation and attack had to be spaced more than five seconds apart to prevent Feng Lan from sabotaging the setup.

The only way to achieve this was with Su Bei’s Mental Energy. He needed to use it to set a trap.

Yesterday’s strategy had been successful. This morning, Su Bei could feel he had fully mastered the Mental Energy in his mind.

Controlling other objects might still be challenging due to lack of practice, but controlling the Gears he generated was second nature.

For example, with a dictionary, his current Mental Energy could only lift it slightly. But with Gears of the same weight, Su Bei could easily wield them for an attack.

“What are you doing?” Feng Lan suddenly frowned, blocking a downward strike from Su Bei with a raised hand, then asked with a furrowed brow.

He hadn’t predicted anything specific, just felt that Su Bei’s current attack pattern seemed slightly different from before.

Unlike earlier, when Su Bei seemed intent on a one-hit knockout, he now appeared less focused on immediate victory, instead attacking various parts of Feng Lan’s body.

Su Bei raised an eyebrow, his attacks unrelenting: “I told you, you’re perfect for practicing combat. Don’t waste your talent, OK?”

Stepping back to dodge another attack but getting hit on the head due to divided attention, Feng Lan pursed his lips: “I’ll start training later.”

Su Bei smiled but said no more. Talking during intense movement could disrupt breathing, and it’d be embarrassing if he lost his breath now.

Finally, the preparations were complete. Su Bei relaxed his force, feeding Feng Lan a few lighter moves.

Seeing five seconds had passed, the corner of his mouth curled slightly.

Suddenly, Feng Lan’s expression changed drastically. He stopped dodging, looked up sharply at Su Bei: “You were planting things on me earlier!”

Su Bei halted his attack in time, nodding with a smile: “Yep. Want to experience it?”

As he spoke, he activated his Mental Energy. The Gears he had hidden on Feng Lan’s collar, hat, pockets, and elsewhere during their earlier exchanges floated up one by one. Each was a pointed Gear, their sharp, menacing tips aimed at Feng Lan’s vital points.

Feng Lan had seen this scene five seconds ago, so he didn’t struggle further, though his expression was puzzled: “When did you plan this?”

“When I saw you were my opponent.”

But Feng Lan was still confused: “You know you didn’t need to do all this to win, right?”

He wasn’t an attack or defense-oriented Ability user. Once his Mental Energy was depleted, Su Bei could easily win.

Moreover, though Feng Lan had been using his [Prophecy] Ability, and Su Bei had attacked with Gears, Feng Lan didn’t believe this was his true attack method. Like Si Zhaohua, who usually attacked with feathers but whose real damage came from his ultimate move.

“I know.” Su Bei nodded casually.

Feng Lan was even more puzzled: “Then why…”

“Win by draining someone’s Mental Energy? Sure, but what’s the point?” Su Bei squinted, smiling happily. “Don’t you think this is more fun?”

The two walked off the arena together. Su Bei seemed in high spirits, while Feng Lan, though expressionless, was visibly disheveled.

He could indeed predict in advance, but under Su Bei’s relentless assault, avoiding fatal attacks was already difficult. He had no chance to dodge less critical hits and had to endure them.

Despite the bruises on his face, these marks didn’t detract from Feng Lan’s appearance. Instead, they transformed his usual good-student vibe into that of a delinquent, creating a striking contrast.

Mo Xiaotian and Si Zhaohua had already emerged, both looking pale. Unlike Su Bei and Feng Lan’s physical brawl, theirs had been an Ability showdown.

“Wow, you guys okay?!” Mo Xiaotian’s eyes widened in shock at their appearance. Even Si Zhaohua, usually aloof, showed a rare look of surprise.

Both Su Bei and Feng Lan were typically composed, rarely seen in such a battered state.

Feng Lan’s expression remained calm, unfazed by their shocked gazes, only feeling the pain on his body: “I’ll ask later if I can go to the infirmary.”

Until the final results were announced, no one could leave the field today.

Seeing him mention leaving at this moment, the other two understood the match’s outcome.

Si Zhaohua looked at Su Bei with a curious gaze but quickly composed himself: “Congratulations. Looks like we’ll be classmates soon.”

Those who made it to the final day were undoubtedly eligible for Class A, even if some had average Abilities.

Often, sufficient combat skills and intelligence could compensate for such shortcomings, as even the most ordinary Ability had the potential to grow stronger.

Next out were Zhou Renjie and Mu Tieren. Mu Tieren appeared uninjured but had a grim expression. Zhou Renjie, though pale and clutching his stomach as if hurt, looked noticeably smug.

“I won!” Zhou Renjie loudly declared the result everyone had already anticipated.

Mo Xiaotian approached, wanting to support Mu Tieren out of concern, but before he could touch him, Mu Tieren dodged.

“I’m not avoiding you.” Mu Tieren’s face was grim, but he explained, “Just… it’s better if you don’t touch me right now. Stay away for your own good.”

From a nearby bench where he was resting, Zhou Renjie overheard and sneered: “What’s with the act? No one else is as dramatic as you!”

“That’s because no one else knows!” Uncharacteristically, Mu Tieren snapped back.

Their behavior was intriguing. Su Bei glanced thoughtfully at Zhou Renjie, a sudden spark of realization crossing his mind, his expression turning odd.

Seeing Mo Xiaotian, though stopped by Mu Tieren and obediently not touching him, still looked confused, Su Bei kindly explained: “The Class Monitor is looking out for you.”

At that, everyone’s gazes snapped toward him. Mo Xiaotian, sensing Su Bei might know the truth, eagerly asked: “So what’s going on, North Bro? Tell me!”

Since Su Bei hadn’t fought Zhou Renjie, he could share his guess. But instead of answering directly, he looked at Mu Tieren: “Can I say it?”

Before Mu Tieren could respond, Zhou Renjie grumbled discontentedly, “Shouldn’t you be asking me? Isn’t it my Ability?”

Su Bei turned to him, shrugging: “Who told you I figured out your Ability?”

He asked Mu Tieren because they were on good terms. If Mu Tieren didn’t want the truth revealed, Su Bei wouldn’t mind keeping quiet. To him, it wasn’t a big deal—just a bit gross.

But asking Zhou Renjie was different. Why should Su Bei hide an Ability he’d deduced on his own?

Mu Tieren nodded indifferently. He didn’t really care, just felt uneasy: “Go ahead. I’ll take a shower later, and it’ll be fine.”

Seeing he didn’t mind, Su Bei satisfied Mo Xiaotian’s curiosity: “Zhou Renjie’s Ability is probably the ability to suck people into his stomach.”

The “black space” mentioned by his previous opponents was actually Zhou Renjie’s stomach. Getting in there meant being coated in his saliva and stomach acid—pretty disgusting to think about.

“That’s it!” Mo Xiaotian suddenly understood, then said to Mu Tieren with a serious tone, “You really need a shower. Struggling in his stomach for so long, you must’ve sweated a lot.”

Everyone: “…”

Si Zhaohua’s mouth twitched inelegantly, and he said to Su Bei: “Now I get why you joined their group.”

Su Bei disagreed, retorting: “You can’t insult our group like that.”

After his words, everyone couldn’t help but laugh.

Except for a bewildered Mo Xiaotian.

As the atmosphere grew lively, Lan Subing and Baozhu emerged. Baozhu’s eyes were red, as if she’d been crying.

Seeing her like this, Si Zhaohua immediately frowned: “What happened?”

“I lost.” Baozhu said aggrievedly, not forgetting to glare at Lan Subing.

Hearing it was just a loss, Si Zhaohua’s frown eased: “It’s fine. Lan Subing is the Lan Family’s young miss. It’s normal that your Ability can’t counter hers for now.”

Lan Subing was well-versed in the unspoken rules of high society and wouldn’t be easily tricked by Baozhu. It was Baozhu’s bad luck that, among the eight others in the final round, only Si Zhaohua, Lan Subing, and Feng Lan weren’t countered by her Ability, and she happened to face one of them.

As they spoke, Jiang Tianming and Wu Mingbai walked out side by side. Seeing everyone looking over, Wu Mingbai, feeling playful, tilted his head and grinned: “Guess who won?”