A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

36:

After learning that Si Zhaohua’s power was “Angel”, Mu Tie wasn’t afraid, instead, he laughed loudly like a simpleton: “What’s there to worry about? His power is famous, and famous powers are sure to have recorded weaknesses in books, just use those against him.”

Hearing this, everyone was momentarily stunned. This was a strategy they hadn’t considered, using the weaknesses of powers to defeat Si Zhaohua? It might actually be feasible!

Jiang Tianming immediately stood up: “Then I’ll go to the library now…”

Before he could finish, Mu Tie forcefully pushed him back into his seat: “Finish your meal first, then rest well. There’s a day between the individual and team battles, it’s not too late to check then.”

Observing their conversation, Su Bei finally understood the necessity of Mu Tie Ren’s presence in the team. Previously, not having participated in the investigation process, Su Bei found Mu Tie Ren, compared to the other distinctive protagonists, to be quite ordinary.

So ordinary that he couldn’t help but doubt, could such a seemingly useless Mu Tie Ren really stay with the protagonist until the end? Or would he be dropped along the way?

Now he realized, Mu Tie Ren was not without purpose. On the contrary, he was the safety pin the author attached to everyone when they were lost.

Jiang Tianming and Wu Mingbai, although they seemed to be worlds apart in personality, actually shared a similar cleverness. Both were the smart, scheming, and prideful type, and the things that could dishearten them were very similar. Basically, if one became despondent, the other would too, for the same reasons.

Then there’s Lan Subing, a severe social phobic. Although she had improved a lot in front of familiar people, expecting her to comfort others was still a bit far-fetched. Moreover, being well-protected by her family, she always carried a certain naivety, making her easily affected by setbacks.

Mo Xiaotian, needless to say, wouldn’t be easily affected, but at most, he could provide emotional support and practical help to others.

Only Mu Tie Ren, his will was firm, as if nothing could bring him down. Usually, the smarter one was Jiang Tianming, but when faced with formidable enemies and cruel setbacks, the one who could think calmly was Mu Tie Ren.

Such a person was exactly what the protagonist group was lacking!

As for Su Bei?

With his current character setup, he was definitely the type to disappear just before the protagonist group encountered danger.

No, he had another use.

Watching everyone still lost in thought from Mu Tie Ren’s words, Su Bei swallowed his last bite of food and spoke lazily, “While you’re all worried about Si Zhaohua, who’s expected to rank first and can’t eat, have you considered the many people ahead of you?”

—Knowing his fate, he was responsible for kicking the protagonist group back onto the right path when they strayed.

It’s hard to understand what these people were thinking. They should know that today was just the end of the first round of the arena competition! Except for Mo Xiaotian, the others hadn’t even encountered Class B yet, and they were already thinking about how to deal with the top of Class A.

Although Su Bei knew they would definitely make it to the last day, these characters in the story didn’t know that. They had no confidence in defeating the opponents to come and were already worrying about how to beat the top of the grade, wasn’t that absurd?

Without him, perhaps a slight setback from other classmates tomorrow,

The protagonist group would realize their mistake. After all, none of them were prone to drifting; they were just a bit off track for now.

But now that he was here, he might as well play his part lightly and save them the trouble.

After finishing his words, Su Bei picked up his plate and left the cafeteria.

After his departure, the others exchanged glances, and it was Jiang Tianming who reacted first. He wasn’t upset by Su Bei’s words, which could be considered mocking, but instead nodded seriously, “The words may be unpleasant, but they’re not wrong.”

“Let’s give it our all tomorrow, at least make it to Shi Zhaohua’s presence,” Lan Subing clenched her fist, cheering everyone on. She herself needed to think about how to unleash her special ability tomorrow. As the young mistress of the Lan family, Lan Subing had her own pride. She absolutely refused to fall within the first three days!

Mo Xiaotian, who had hardly been affected, shouted with high spirits, “Yay! The monthly exam is over, let’s all head to Class A!”

“Shut your mouth,” Wu Mingbai hissed quietly next to him, swiftly moving to cover his mouth, then glaring one by one at the classmates who were looking at them strangely.

Mu Tie, the Iron Man, didn’t seem to mind, stretching out his long arm, gathering a few people, and heading out together, “Hahaha, let’s go. Although Class A is a bit tough, we will work hard.”

On the other side, Su Bei, having returned to the dormitory, didn’t rest to recover his energy but tidied up briefly before heading straight to the library.

The protagonist group didn’t need to worry about Shi Zhaohua so early, but he did. He needed to understand the opponent’s special ability as soon as possible, to see if there was anything about his own ability that needed to be changed.

The temporary absence of Class S was a good opportunity for Su Bei. The moment he heard Shi Zhaohua’s words, he realized that the answer he had given Jiang Tianming was unexpectedly on point, truly “no need to rush.”

He didn’t know if the protagonist would enter Class S, but he must be able to. That’s right, “able,” not “want.” He just needed the qualification to enter Class S, not necessarily to join it. Whether to join Class S or not would depend on where the protagonist ends up; he would be wherever the protagonist is.

The ability “Angel” should, unsurprisingly, belong to the professional category of abilities. Such abilities are not rare and are usually very practical. For example, if one awakens the “Programmer” ability, they could become a real programmer in the future if they don’t want to be an ability user.

This kind of ability is useful not only in attack and defense during combat but can also genuinely enhance the owner’s programming skills.

Indeed, in the special category of books introducing professional abilities, Su Bei saw the “Angel” ability.

Although this ability is rare, it is not unknown because every ability user who possesses the “Angel” ability and grows up will definitely become a significant figure.

The book’s description isn’t too extensive, only mentioning that the “Angel” ability has no evolutionary path, just like faith cannot change. It can only advance from one pair of wings to two, then three.

This brings up a point not yet discussed: “the evolution of abilities.”

“What? Abilities can evolve?” Su Bei widened his eyes, surprised to find such a delightful piece of information while searching for “Angel.”

Originally just an ordinary person, with parents who were also ordinary, he naturally knew nothing about the many things concerning ability users.

With new content to learn,

He couldn’t continue searching for “Angel” anymore, setting the book aside and directly starting to look for books on the evolution of abilities.

The evolution of abilities is not a secret, and Su Bei quickly found related books. From the introduction in the books, he learned that when an ability develops to a certain extent, it will evolve.

The book gave a few very simple examples, such as “Fireball” evolving into “Fire Element,” “Singing” into “Sound”…

Indeed, this is merely the development of a special ability, not any real new knowledge. It’s just that the development is deep enough that a quantitative change triggers a qualitative change, resulting in significant alterations, even changing the name of the ability itself.

Having understood this, Su Bei lost interest in this so-called “ability evolution.”

He turned his head, returning his attention to the book introducing the “Angel” ability. The “Angel” is an ability with both offense and defense, its wings impervious to blades and bullets, each feather sharp beyond compare.

But using feathers for attack is just a basic move for the “Angel” ability, in gaming terms, it’s called a “normal attack.” This uniquely endowed ability comes with a powerful move called “Judgment.” The more wings an “Angel” has, the greater the power of Judgment.

The most powerful six-winged “Angel” ability user in history used the skill “Judgment” on a city’s nightmare beasts, obliterating them into ash and smoke.

It’s precisely because of this that once the ability appears, it immediately becomes the target of high-level nightmare beasts. Only top forces like the Ability Academy can protect these rare ability users, which is also why Si Zhaohua came to the academy and didn’t mind showing off his ability.

After flipping through the book without finding any content on the “Angel” ability’s weaknesses, Su Bei couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. Although it’s not written in the book doesn’t mean there are no weaknesses, but clearly, the “Angel’s” weaknesses aren’t easy to find. The protagonist group is probably in for some trouble this time.

Leaving the library, Su Bei had a plan in mind. Si Zhaohua is bound to enter Class S, using the “Angel” ability as a benchmark. To get into Class S, one needs a sufficiently strong ability, preferably without any weaknesses in offense or defense.

He couldn’t help but sigh. If only he knew a few more abilities that were a sure entry into Class S, having just one ability for reference is useless.

Sighing, he opened his phone. It’s eight o’clock in the evening, and tomorrow’s arena information should be out. Sure enough, the official website had updated the news.

Seeing his opponent, Su Bei finally breathed a sigh of relief. This time’s opponent is another Class C, but if he remembers correctly, her ability is “Rising Mist.” This ability currently doesn’t have much offensive power; it just creates a thick fog around.

Although the data doesn’t specifically mention it, if nothing unexpected happens, in the fog, the opponent should not be affected in terms of vision, only the enemies would be.

For ordinary people, facing such an ability in the arena is certainly difficult to deal with, one could easily be lured to the edge of the arena and then pushed off. After all, in the thick fog, they can’t see not only the opponent but also their own direction in the arena.

But Su Bei doesn’t need to worry, his combat value is enough to let him easily handle untrained ordinary people even if he’s blind.

Looking at his opponent, he glanced at the other members of the protagonist group’s opponents. After checking, Su Bei whistled cheerfully: “Looks like tomorrow will be an easy day to watch the drama.”

The next day

The order of the matches was Lan Subing, Wu Mingbai, Jiang Tianming, Mu Tie Ren, Mo Xiaotian, Su Bei.

Getting this order from the messages they sent, Su Bei couldn’t help but ask: “Isn’t our match order deliberately set by the author? ()”

Originally, seeing yesterday’s order, Su Bei was certain that their match order was intentionally set by the author, otherwise, it couldn’t explain why the core protagonist group was at the end.

But today’s match order made him uncertain about this guess again, how did the protagonist group get moved to the front? Could he have guessed wrong?

—

However, the “Comic Consciousness” confirmed his guess: “It’s set by the author.”

“Why then…”

Before Su Bei could finish, “Comic Consciousness” guessed what he was about to ask: “Putting Jiang Tianming and the others at the forefront today is to have them encounter strong opponents, to adjust their mindset.”

So that’s it, Su Bei suddenly realized. He had already noticed this issue at noon, the protagonist group was too focused on Si Zhaohua, neglecting the current situation.

However, through his mockery at that time, those people should have returned to normal. Unfortunately, being normal is useless, they still have to face the strong opponents.

Suddenly he thought of something: “It seems that our battles tomorrow will be glossed over, won’t they?”

The comic’s length is limited, even if the author wants to drag it out, it’s impossible to depict 12 arena battles for six people. The first day’s arena might be fully illustrated, but the second day will be difficult. Now that Jiang Tianming and the others have secured their spots, the rest probably won’t have any storyline.

No need for a response, Su Bei already knew the answer. He couldn’t possibly be disappointed, as his battle tomorrow would be uninteresting due to a weak opponent.

He was just thinking, since he has no storyline tomorrow morning, what could he do with the morning time?

There were two options, one was to watch Ai Baozhu and Zhou Pangzi’s arena, to understand their abilities. The second was to make contact with Zhao Xiaoyu and Wu Jin,

He hadn’t made contact before because there wasn’t much opportunity, Wu Jin was inconspicuous in class, and Zhao Xiaoyu usually only played with girls, he couldn’t just go up and strike a conversation, could he?

But now, the monthly exam was a good opportunity, having witnessed the performance of these two people in the exam and having given an evaluation, for Su Bei to approach them was perfectly reasonable.

After hesitating for a moment, he decided to do both. Zhao Xiaoyu and Ai Baozhu were teammates, they wouldn’t miss their teammate’s arena, so he could just chat with them while watching the arena.

He checked the official website for information, confirming that all four of them, except for Ai Baozhu, had their matches in the morning.

Early the next day, Su Bei opened the door, just in time to see Feng Lan. He then remembered, Feng Lan also had a match in the morning.

“Good morning, shall we go together?” Su Bei asked proactively. These past two days, they hadn’t been together much, after all, they each had different teams and were busy with the competition.

Feng Lan nodded, thought for a moment, and asked: “Do you also have a match this morning?”

“No, mine is in the afternoon. Jiang Tianming and the others are in the morning,” Su Bei replied ambiguously. At first listen, it seemed like he was saying he was going to the playground now to watch Jiang Tianming and their match. But who could know that actually, as early as last night, he had declined the other party’s invitation to act together, saying he wanted to act alone today.

Hearing his words, Feng Lan did not ask further and went to the playground with Su Bei.

Looking around, it was now Wu Mingbai’s turn, it seems Lan Subing had already finished.

—

Lan Suling’s face was pale, but her mouth wasn’t sealed behind the thick scarf. Instead, she rarely pulled it down, letting her entire face see the light of day again.

What happened? Su Bei raised his eyebrows in surprise. But then, thinking of the comic he would see tomorrow, he withdrew his gaze.

Scanning the playground again, Su Bei soon found his target—Zhao Xiaoyu. She was the first to compete today in the team led by Si Zhaohua.

The second was Feng Lan.

If not for this, he wouldn’t have come now. Watching a teammate’s match, such a heartwarming act, was alien to Feng Lan.

Seeing Su Bei arrive at Zhao Xiaoyu’s arena alongside him, Feng Lan was visibly surprised, questioning with his eyes why Su Bei had followed.

“She’s quite interesting,” Su Bei said, arms crossed, in a casual tone. There was no hint of flirtation in his voice, only the tone of someone enjoying the show.

It was only then that Feng Lan really took a good look at the teammate on stage, as if to remember this person Su Bei found “quite interesting.”

Zhao Xiaoyu had already started fighting her opponent, a student from Class D, whose abilities weren’t very impressive, at least not enough to make a difference in the arena.

Therefore, Zhao Xiaoyu adopted the same tactic as yesterday, fighting while retreating, feigning a desperate but futile resistance. This strategy was remarkably effective against most untrained people; once they fell for it, the situation would almost instantly reverse, turning them into the loser.

One had to admit, the girl’s acting was indeed good. Even for someone like him, who often fought, it would be hard to notice she was deliberately showing weakness without looking closely.

The result was no surprise, just like the first day. Her opponent burst into uncontrollable laughter when Zhao Xiaoyu spoke, and then she easily sent them off the stage.

Victorious, Zhao Xiaoyu was in high spirits. She was well aware of her own strength. Having passed the assessment with her pure Class F ability was already a success. Now, all she needed was a good score in the team battle to ensure her promotion.

In fact, apart from Class F, the ability academy was essentially equal for everyone. The differences between classes were mainly among the students, not the teachers.

Zhao Xiaoyu didn’t think there was anything wrong with Meng Huai’s teaching methods. In fact, she believed that physical training was indeed the best approach for Class F students.

But the problem was, she wanted to enhance her abilities!

If she ended up returning to the ordinary world, what would become of her newly awakened ability, the three years she had delayed?

Stepping down from the arena, Zhao Xiaoyu was clearly startled for a moment when she saw Su Bei. She didn’t understand why he had come to watch her match.

Having been in Class F for nearly a month, Zhao Xiaoyu thought she had seen through many things. Undoubtedly, Su Bei, Feng Lan, and Lan Suling were never going to stay in Class F.

Then there were Mutei Ren and Jiang Tianming, who also seemed capable of leaving Class F. But because she wasn’t sure about their abilities, Zhao Xiaoyu couldn’t be certain.

For those in Class F who might rise to prominence, Zhao Xiaoyu naturally wanted to be part of that circle. Especially the top three, with their unique abilities, they were like great Buddhas too grand for Class F to contain. It was far more useful to connect with them than with Sizhao Hua, whom she knew nothing about.

But being the clever person she was, she stopped wasting time once she sensed the considerable difficulty.

What she didn’t expect, however? The people she couldn’t get close to before were now actively coming to watch her arena match. Zhao Xiaoyu had a hunch; this person definitely wasn’t brought by Feng Lan. So why did they come?

With this thought, she approached with a hint of confusion: “Subei, Feng Lan, what brings you here?”

“The match just now was good,” Subei started with a polite compliment, then cut to the chase, “Do you know what abilities Aibaozhu and Zhou Renjie have?”

So they came to scout the competition. Although Zhao Xiaoyu didn’t think Jiang Tianming’s team could compare to Sizhao Hua’s team, she still asked, “Why don’t you ask the person next to you?”

Compared to her, who joined the group last, Feng Lan, who was likely recruited by Sizhao Hua from the start, would probably know more about their abilities.

Subei glanced at the person next to him, indifferent, as if the matter didn’t concern him: “Do you think he would ask on his own?”

Hearing this, Zhao Xiaoyu immediately understood.

And Feng Lan, finally drawn in by a topic concerning himself, showed a flicker of interest: “I could ask.”

“There’s no need,” Subei decisively stopped him.

If Feng Lan asked, Sizhao Hua’s intelligence would surely sense something amiss. Then, if asked who prompted him, Feng Lan certainly wouldn’t cover for Subei.

At least for now, Subei didn’t want his scouting to be exposed to the public, especially not in front of the protagonist group, and not just one or two individuals. So it didn’t matter if Feng Lan and Zhao Xiaoyu knew.

Feng Lan wasn’t one for idle talk. Although he’d likely tell the truth if asked, who would ask him, “Has anyone used you to gather our intelligence?”

As for Zhao Xiaoyu, if she refused to answer, she might just turn around and sell the information. But she would surely answer.

Seeing their interaction, Zhao Xiaoyu first said with a smile, “You two seem to have a good relationship.”

Then, with a slightly odd expression, she asked, “But I still don’t understand why you would come to me with questions? You know I’m on this team too, right?”

Subei also smiled, a smile with a deeper meaning: “Even if you told us, your team is bound to win, isn’t it?”

—And most importantly, although Zhao Xiaoyu hoped for their team’s victory, she didn’t want too many to stand out, especially those from Class A.

It’s quite understandable, really. She wanted to leave Class F with good grades, the higher the better. But everyone knows that during the team battle, teachers would be watching the whole time. If she just laid low, carried by Class A members, what kind of praise could she expect?

But as long as those three Class A students could be successfully targeted by others, leaving her some room to perform, the problem would be easily solved.

Of course, all this is predicated on the fact that even if they are targeted, the team must win. Otherwise, it’s like stealing chickens only to lose the rice. And clearly, Zhao Xiaoyu is very confident about this.

At her core, she is a refined egoist.

So, after listening to Su Bei’s words and pondering for a moment, she nodded with a complex expression: “I agree to your terms.”

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