A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 44

Based on their earlier observations, they unanimously speculated that Su Bei had the ability to alter outcomes, like in Wu Jin’s and Zhao Xiaoyu’s arena matches. But this time, he lost. Though his opponent was the temporary top freshman, it still left them both surprised and puzzled.

Great question! What a fantastic question! Su Bei was momentarily stunned, then a surge of wild joy rose in his heart. With their question, his ability to change fate was practically cemented.

What was this? This was mutual help! They helped him solidify his Ability, and he’d help them change their fates later. What a perfect collaboration.

While Su Bei was mentally throwing confetti, he deliberately put on a theatrical look of confusion: “Huh? Why would I use my Ability before the match?”

Seeing this, Wu Mingbai grinned cheekily: “Stop acting. Your performance is faker than ours.”

The words felt oddly familiar. Su Bei thought back and realized they were what he’d said to the protagonist group when he first gave them his fake prophecies.

Who would’ve thought they’d come back to him like a boomerang?

This guy sure holds a grudge. Su Bei’s mouth twitched, and he gave a forced smile: “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Though he said this, it was practically an indirect admission that he indeed had the ability to change fate.

Lan Subing tugged at Wu Mingbai’s sleeve, and Wu Mingbai got the hint, putting on an innocent face: “Could it be you didn’t want to win?”

“Clumsy provocation,” Su Bei shook his head. After a moment’s silence, he finally gave a half-smile: “Haven’t you heard? A doctor can’t heal themselves.”

With that, he turned and left. His match with Si Zhaohua had drained him significantly, and he genuinely needed a good rest. Honestly, if the protagonist group hadn’t come to deliver this “gift,” he wouldn’t have bothered with them.

Watching his back, Lan Subing quietly asked: “Do you think his ‘a doctor can’t heal themselves’ means he can’t or he doesn’t want to?”

“Doesn’t want to, probably,” Jiang Tianming said after a moment’s thought. “If he couldn’t use his Ability on himself, he could’ve used it on Si Zhaohua.”

Hearing his analysis, the other two nodded, finding it reasonable. Wu Mingbai pondered: “Then why doesn’t he want to use his Ability in his own matches? Could there be some side effect?”

“Probably not,” Lan Subing shook her head. “Su Bei doesn’t seem reckless. He casually used his Ability on Zhao Xiaoyu and Wu Jin before, so it likely has no side effects.”

Indeed, though they weren’t entirely aligned, for now, they all believed Su Bei had no ill intentions—just a penchant for watching the drama unfold.

Wu Mingbai’s eyes gleamed, and he looked thoughtfully at Su Bei, resting with his eyes closed under the shade: “Then it’s some psychological barrier he can’t overcome.”

Si Zhaohua had already entered the arena for the finals.

Outside, the group started arguing loudly over who would win, each side staunchly believing their own would triumph.

Not wanting to join the bickering, Su Bei promptly relocated to Feng Lan’s side, arms crossed, watching the show from the sidelines (single rhyme).

He didn’t speak, but Feng Lan glanced at him: “You’re not asking me to guess who’ll win?”

Almost everyone had asked him that, probably because his Ability was [Prophecy].

“Nope,” Su Bei shook his head nonchalantly. “I already know who’ll win, so that’s enough.”

Now Feng Lan was intrigued. He knew Su Bei often accurately predicted winners. But he didn’t ask who Su Bei thought would win. For someone with a [Prophecy] Ability like him, the future was the last thing he needed to know in advance.

Since Ability users’ matches never lasted too long, fifteen minutes later, Jiang Tianming emerged from the arena, princess-carrying Si Zhaohua. Despite being covered in wounds, he grinned brightly: “I won!”

Jiang Tianming looked far more battered than anyone before him. His face bore several cuts, his school uniform was tattered, and some spots were still bleeding.

The most gruesome wound was on his arm. It was clear Si Zhaohua hadn’t held back; the gash was a full decimeter long, flesh torn open, faintly revealing bone.

Si Zhaohua, in his arms, was equally disheveled, with fewer wounds but a pale face and closed eyes, clearly unconscious.

Wu Mingbai was the first to react, laughing as he approached: “You’re something else! But is the guy in your arms okay?”

As he spoke, Baozhu rushed over, angrily demanding: “What did you do to Zhaohua?”

She tried to take Si Zhaohua from Jiang Tianming’s arms but misjudged the boy’s weight and nearly stumbled, almost dropping him.

Luckily, Jiang Tianming’s quick reflexes caught Si Zhaohua, preventing a second injury from his own teammate.

To keep Baozhu from charging again, Jiang Tianming quickly explained: “He passed out from overusing his Mental Energy.”

Of course, he tactfully omitted that his final blow was the straw that broke the camel’s back. If he mentioned that, Baozhu might try to fight him.

Lan Subing and Wu Mingbai flanked Jiang Tianming like two guardians, ready to stop Baozhu from causing more trouble.

Mo Xiaotian, the mood-maker, arrived late but enthusiastically: “Jiang Bro, you’re awesome! First place! Class F’s first! Why wasn’t I put in Class F?”

Mu Tieren pressed a hand on his head: “After the monthly exam, you can apply to the teacher.”

“By then, you’ll all be in Class A. If I go to Class F, won’t I miss you guys again?” Mo Xiaotian said, unusually logical, then laughed cheerfully: “I’ll wait for you in Class A!”

At that moment, the referee approached with the beautiful School Nurse. After spending time together, they all recognized her. The nurse, named Ye Lin, had the [Life Spring] Ability, which created a healing spring.

Ye Lin handed each person a cup of light green water—her Ability’s Life Spring water. The amount varied based on the severity of their injuries.

After distributing the water, Ye Lin cautioned: “The Life Spring water I gave you can only heal physical injuries. You’ll need to recover your Mental Energy yourselves. The team battles start in two days, so rest well.”

Once she finished, the referee said sternly: “Today’s match results must not be shared with anyone. Violators will be disqualified. The day before the monthly exam, the official website will release the details. Don’t forget to check.”

After a moment’s thought, considering these students were the school’s future pillars, he added: “The team battles will involve fighting Nightmare Beasts. You haven’t studied them yet, right? Don’t forget to look up information.”

“Thank you, Teacher!” Grateful for the hidden tip, everyone thanked him.

The referee nodded, said no more, and left with Ye Lin.

At that moment, Si Zhaohua, in Jiang Tianming’s arms, twitched his eyelids and soon opened his eyes, revealing golden irises. He first looked around in confusion, then, realizing he was in his rival’s arms, his pupils dilated, and he struggled fiercely.

Afraid he’d fall, Jiang Tianming reluctantly set him down: “Can you stay still?”

Si Zhaohua laughed in exasperation. Though still unclear on the situation, he retorted instinctively: “Who asked you to carry me?”

“Should I have left you alone on the arena?” Jiang Tianming mocked, then remembered Su Bei had done that several times. Coughing, he added: “It’s the finals. I’m showing some humanitarian spirit.”

Si Zhaohua snorted while straightening his clothes but didn’t respond. Previously, he’d looked down on Jiang Tianming partly due to clashing vibes but mostly because he thought Jiang Tianming was weak.

But after this match, he realized he’d misjudged him.

Though Si Zhaohua believed his loss was because he’d used his strongest skill against Su Bei earlier, the fact that he’d been pushed to use it showed Jiang Tianming’s strength.

Still, biases don’t vanish instantly, and he and Jiang Tianming genuinely clashed. Plus, losing the finals left Si Zhaohua in a foul mood.

Honestly, though fully awake, he still found it hard to believe he’d lost. Si Zhaohua had never failed in anything growing up; he excelled in every way. This was his first time experiencing second place.

Baozhu, who knew him well, worried about him and glared at Jiang Tianming’s group in solidarity.

Si Zhaohua shook his head and downed the Life Spring water. Once his complexion improved, he issued a new challenge to Jiang Tianming: “I lost the individual battles, but our team will definitely win the team battles.”

He was intensely proud. Though he’d be frustrated by his loss, he’d never deny it. To him, those who refused to admit defeat were the true weaklings.

But acknowledging this loss didn’t mean he thought himself inferior to Jiang Tianming. He’d prove his strength in the team battles and reclaim the title of top freshman at Endless Ability Academy!

“I took first in the individual battles, and I’ll take first in the team battles too,” Jiang Tianming replied fearlessly, meeting his gaze head-on.

The next second, [Manga Consciousness] chimed in Su Bei’s ear: “[King of Abilities] has updated. Please check it.”

Updated? It seemed the author had finally decided to split the monthly exam into three parts. Undoubtedly, this was good news. Su Bei could already feel certain changes in himself.

His Ability seemed to have shifted again.

The strange sensation made Su Bei’s eyes flicker. He spoke up: “Since the matches are over, I’ll head out first.”

“Huh?” Mo Xiaotian’s eyes widened. “Shouldn’t we celebrate now? Our team had a huge victory!”

Indeed, everyone in their group was in the top ten—a true landslide victory.

Celebrate? With such a “useless” Ability achieving these results, maybe he should celebrate. But Su Bei had no interest in celebrating now. He only wanted to study his new Ability.

If he wasn’t mistaken, the change at this moment could only be the setup he’d left earlier.

Perhaps this time, he could unlock the chance to change fate.

Sensing his reluctance, Mu Tieren considerately said: “We can celebrate later. I want to go back and shower first.”

“We need to recover our Mental Energy too,” Jiang Tianming nodded. “No rush for celebrations. There’s still the team battles. Opening champagne at halftime could lead to a comeback.”

Ultimately, they agreed to hold off on celebrations until after the monthly exam.

Back in the dormitory, Su Bei didn’t even look at the manga, immediately focusing on understanding his Ability’s new changes.

Looking in the mirror, he noticed a change in the Destiny Compass above his head. First, the central pointer had multiplied—now there were two, one large and one small.

The large one was the original, representing major events in the owner’s life. Since Su Bei first saw it, its position had barely shifted, only moving slightly when he successfully altered his Ability through the forum.

The small pointer was new. Su Bei reasonably deduced it represented minor events in the owner’s life, like winning a match.

This aligned with his earlier performance in the manga. After all, the large pointer wouldn’t bother with such trivial matters, so adding a second pointer made logical sense.

Additionally, both pointers now had a ring of gear-like grooves around them.

Or rather, those were clearly designed to hold Gears.

Following his instincts, Su Bei conjured a Gear unlike any before. Its spiral patterns were dizzying to look at.

This Gear… seemed to perfectly fit the grooves around the small pointer?

With that thought, Su Bei tentatively placed the Gear in the groove around the small pointer, and it worked! Turning the Gear, the needle above his head began to move with it.

Su Bei’s eyes widened. Not daring to mess around, he carefully turned the pointer back to its original position.

He knew the pointer represented the direction of fate. If he could move it with a Gear, didn’t that mean he could truly change his and others’ fates?

But clearly, changing fate consumed a massive amount of Mental Energy. Just a slight turn, without even finalizing the change, drained nearly half his Mental Energy. Fully implementing it would likely consume most of it.

As for the large pointer, there was no need to try. Su Bei could sense that even his entire Mental Energy wouldn’t be enough to move it.

And he was an advanced Mental Energy user!

Su Bei couldn’t help but sigh. That wasn’t the worst part. The worst was that he had no idea which way to turn the Gear. He’d been so busy with the monthly exam that he hadn’t thoroughly studied the Destiny Compass.

But come to think of it, there was one function he hadn’t explored.

Su Bei removed the Gear he’d placed on the Destiny Compass and spun it. The pointer moved again!

This meant that once his Gear was attached, he could control the pointer it was linked to, even after removing it. Paired with his advanced Mental Energy, this was a godlike skill! He could subtly attach a Gear to someone’s Destiny Compass with his Mental Energy, retrieve it, and then secretly alter their fate.

Hmm? Why did that sound like he was sneakily stealing someone’s birth chart to curse them?

Figuring out the pointer’s direction wasn’t something he could solve quickly. With over a day left, Su Bei opened the manga to read the new content.

The updated manga started from the third day of the individual battles, beginning with Mu Tieren versus Wu Jin.

The pre-match dialogue between Jiang Tianming’s group and Wu Mingbai’s group was fully depicted, one side brimming with positive encouragement, the other with suppression and mockery—a stark contrast.

“Jiang Jiang’s so good at comforting! The Class Monitor looks way less nervous now.”

“Hahaha, Mo Xiaotian’s such a mood-lifter!”

“This fatty’s so annoying! What did Class F do to you?”

“So cold, this group.”

“Zhao Xiaoyu actually spoke up for Wu Jin? Kinda changing my view of her.”

“Zhao Xiaoyu probably doesn’t want to give up, right?”

“The contrast between the two groups is so clear. Jiang Jiang’s side seems weaker, but I’d join a team with that vibe.”

Since Wu Jin would lose the next match, the author gave this one some focus.

[Wu Jin walked onto the arena with his head down, facing a Class C Ability user. Being in Class C typically meant having some combat-worthy Ability. Thanks to Zhao Xiaoyu sharing intel, Wu Jin knew this opponent’s Ability was [Corrosive Poison].

Sure enough, the boy pulled out a bottle of purple liquid, mocking relentlessly: “I don’t know how a Class F like you made it this far, but if you don’t want to suffer disfigurement, I suggest you scram now!”

He’d reached the third day relying on this poison. Though he could only conjure one bottle, anyone who dared approach would get it splashed on them. Once they were writhing in pain, he’d easily knock them off the arena.

Six matches won so easily gave him boundless confidence. He felt Class C was beneath him; with his Ability, even Class A students might not beat him.

Naturally, he looked down on his flamboyant opponent, seeing him as mere point fodder.

Wu Jin didn’t respond, only muttering softly to avoid triggering his Ability while walking toward him without hesitation.

Seeing him dare approach, the opponent didn’t hold back, splashing the purple liquid at him.

“Sizzle sizzle sizzle!”

A pungent smell filled the air, accompanied by the sound of corroding flesh. Though Wu Jin tried to dodge and deliberately lowered his presence when nearing, he was still splashed. Fortunately, he’d raised his arm to shield his face, so the corrosive liquid only hit his arm.

Even so, the pain was nearly unbearable. The flesh on his arm where the poison landed was completely corroded, exposing white bone.

Sweat instantly beaded on Wu Jin’s forehead. Clutching his arm in agony, he could barely stand, collapsing to the ground.

His opponent showed no sympathy, instead laughing gleefully: “You dare challenge me? This is what you get!”

He approached, ready to toss this seemingly defenseless opponent off the arena. But as he got close, a perfectly intact hand suddenly gripped his wrist tightly.

The opponent’s expression turned to shock: “How are you…”

Before he could finish, Wu Jin used the grip to stand.

“You actually damaged my flawless skin. I’m very upset. Let’s make it up with this match’s victory.”

As he spoke, he first took the bottle of corrosive poison from his opponent’s hand and poured it onto their right hand.

“Hiss!”

Though only a tiny amount remained, it still made the opponent scream in pain. After this, Wu Jin unhesitatingly dragged his opponent to the arena’s edge and pushed them off.

Standing on the arena, he looked down at the mist below, then lowered his eyes. Those pale gray eyes, rarely seen, seemed to shimmer: “Don’t let me get hurt again.”]

At this point, the barrage exploded.

“Whoa, what’s this???”

“Wu Jin’s no slouch either…”

“That opponent’s so cruel. They’re classmates, how could he be so vicious!”

“Why didn’t the opponent fight back?”

“Feels like Wu Jin’s hiding something.”

“‘Flawless skin’???”

“Is Wu Jin out of character?”

“Look at those peach-blossom eyes! I bet if Wu Jin lifts his hair, he’s a total heartthrob!”

Even Su Bei was shocked by this plot. Was that the Wu Jin he knew?

The manga clearly showed Wu Jin’s transformation after he was injured and fell. From that moment, his body was surrounded by a metallic, pale gray glow.

Su Bei guessed this was the manga’s way of showing his change, not a display of Mental Energy, as Wu Jin’s earlier Ability use lacked that metallic sheen.

The transformed Wu Jin was indeed different. He seemed… narcissistic?

When Su Bei saw the line about “flawless skin,” he nearly spat out his water, instantly recognizing the stark difference. Based on his understanding, the old Wu Jin would never say something like that.

And at the end, the manga deliberately highlighted Wu Jin’s eyes. Those pale gray eyes, previously dull, suddenly sparkled brightly.

The change in Wu Jin after his injury was dramatic, not just in personality but also in his Ability.

Su Bei noticed a suspicious detail: after Wu Jin grabbed his opponent’s wrist, the opponent never struggled. It could be explained as shock initially, but for them not to resist even when Wu Jin poured the poison on them was highly unusual.

Moreover—

Su Bei zoomed in on the manga, closely examining the opponent’s pupils. Though the image was small, he could faintly make out that their pupils seemed heart-shaped?!