A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

37:

Although Zhao Xiaoyu was willing to agree for her own benefit, she was no fool. Since Su Bei wanted to get some information from her, he couldn’t expect to get it for nothing: “I’ll tell you their special abilities, and you tell me Jiang Tianming and Mo Xiaotian’s abilities, how about that? Or you can substitute either of them with yourself.”

“Let’s change the condition,” Su Bei said indifferently, “I can tell you my special ability, and after the monthly test, you can ask me to demonstrate it once. Believe me, once you know my ability, you will definitely want to.”

Hearing his confident words, Zhao Xiaoyu was a bit surprised. She had many guesses about Su Bei’s special ability, thinking it might be prophetic like Feng Lan’s. To be honest, if he really had a prophetic ability, Zhao Xiaoyu would definitely agree to the condition.

Having a prophet use their ability for you is a huge win, something many would pay a fortune for!

But since Su Bei had never explicitly revealed his ability, Zhao Xiaoyu thought he wanted to conceal it. That’s why she only included Su Bei’s ability as an option in her earlier request. In reality, of all three people’s abilities, she wanted to know Su Bei’s the most.

“I agree, but I really don’t understand,” Zhao Xiaoyu said, looking at him inquisitively, “Why would you rather use your own ability than tell me the abilities of those two?”

“Because we are currently teammates,” Su Bei replied.

His answer was indeed the truth. Since he and the protagonist group were currently teammates, he wouldn’t commit any act of betrayal, including leaking team information. It was a matter of principle, but also a practical consideration.

Their team was already weaker compared to others. If he engaged in such actions within the team, it would further reduce their chances of victory.

Although this is the world of comics, where the protagonist’s chance of winning is nearly 100%, it could still be made more difficult. Su Bei didn’t want others’ suffering to come from himself.

Of course, there’s another reason: who knows if the author will include this segment in the comic. If it does get included, and he directly reveals the protagonist group’s information, he would definitely be labeled a traitor, which is unacceptable.

But once the monthly test is over and they are no longer teammates, he won’t have to worry anymore.

“You make me seem a bit despicable,” Zhao Xiaoyu said with a bitter smile, a hint of dissatisfaction in her eyes, “If you were truly righteous, you wouldn’t come to me at all. Entrapment is still illegal, you know.”

It was Su Bei who had initially sought her out for a deal, yet in the end, she was cast as a contemptible person. Zhao Xiaoyu might not consider herself a saint, but she still felt discontented with the other’s detached behavior.

“So, I’m not righteous either,” Su Bei shrugged, his demeanor utterly indifferent, “We all just act according to our own principles, after all.”

Hearing him say this, Zhao Xiaoyu’s expression softened considerably. Once Feng Lan left of his own accord, she didn’t mince words, revealing the abilities of those two individuals: “Zhou Renjie never spoke of his ability, but according to those who have fought against him, they were all sent into a black space upon entering the arena. To date, no one has been able to leave before he decides to release them, nor has anyone been able to inflict any harm on him.”

“Can he really send people into an alternate space?” Su Bei was genuinely curious about the specifics of his ability: “Didn’t you investigate what those who were sent in encountered?”

Zhao Xiaoyu, intent on contributing to the team, would naturally seek to understand the abilities of her teammates. Su Bei didn’t believe she hadn’t questioned Zhou Renjie’s opponents.

As expected, Zhao Xiaoyu nodded reluctantly: “Of course, I asked. But they said once inside, they saw nothing but darkness. Unable to see, they dared not wander until the light reappeared, which was when Zhou Renjie released them.”

Darkness? Then, if there were light, perhaps the specifics within could be seen. Alas, unless one possessed a special ability, where would the light come from?

And if it followed the usual comic tropes, it would likely be Wu Mingbai facing Zhou Renjie. Wu Mingbai’s ability was [Earth Element]; could he counter this ability?

But why worry about the protagonist? As long as he has a way to deal with Zhou Renjie, that’s all that matters, especially since it’s not always clear who will face whom in a team battle.

Su Bei continued to inquire: “And what about Ai Baozhu?”

“Ai Baozhu possesses a domain ability [Glorious Domain], where everyone within must conduct themselves with grace. Any lack of elegance, and they’ll be ejected.”

Quite the ability for the wealthy. Su Bei couldn’t help but smirk: “Doesn’t seem too difficult to handle?”

If it’s just about being graceful, does gracefully beating someone count as elegant? Even if one can’t hit, then neither can the other, and everyone would just wait it out on stage.

“Of course, it’s not just that. You can’t fight within the domain; fighting, cursing, all are inelegant. And once you’re inelegant, you’ll be bounced out of the domain. Her domain is currently large enough to cover an entire arena.”

In essence, it’s a defensive domain. You can’t fight within it; anyone who does gets ejected, ensuring absolute safety for those inside.

Zhao Xiaoyu sighed: “She’s a young lady, so elegance comes easily. But for us ordinary folks…”

No need to say more; ordinary people, not knowing the rules, are easily bounced out of the domain.

“That’s not right…” Su Bei frowned, muttering to himself.

“What’s not right?” Zhao Xiaoyu asked, puzzled.

Is it wrong that within the protagonist’s contrast group, Zhao Zhaohua and the other two, two possess defensive abilities? This seems to go against the balance settings of the comic.

But of course, this answer cannot be spoken. Su Bei shook his head: “No worries, my ability is ‘Gears of Fate,’ which can predict parts of destiny.”

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

“Predicted for the school,” he chuckled, “Quite an interesting outcome.”

In fact, Su Bei had noticed some minor bugs in his settings since the first comic update. His current setting requires the gears to touch the opponent’s head to predict their fate with the compass. So how did he predict the prophecy of “the unluckiest person of this session”?

Thus, he had been pondering how to patch this loophole early on. Finally, some time ago, he thought of a reason—Who said that only humans could possess a compass of fate?

However, this explanation isn’t easy to voice; a plausible reason must be found to speak it. Now is a good opportunity, one that might slightly alter impressions.

Though this part may not necessarily be drawn in the comic, it doesn’t matter. He can use this chance to plant a foreshadowing that may or may not be useful. If it’s used, great; if not, no harm done—it’s just a line.

Knowing Su Bei’s ability, Zhao Xiaoyu indeed wished for him to divine her fate. Although Su Bei said his predictions were unstable, knowing a bit of the future is always alluring to ordinary people. It’s a win-win situation, and Zhao Xiaoyu had no objections.

After gathering the information, Su Bei didn’t leave. Soon, it would be Zhou Renjie and Zhao Zhaohua’s match, worth staying to watch.

Zhou Renjie’s match was straightforward; with his ability activated and mouth opened, his opponent was shrunk and sucked right in.

After waiting ten minutes and seeing no change in Zhou Renjie’s expression, the referee came over proficiently to announce: “Zhou Renjie wins, release him now.”

With his mouth open, the opponent was spat out, dazed. Miraculously, there was no trace of saliva on him; otherwise, Su Bei would truly dread facing Zhou Renjie.

Next was Zhao Zhaohua’s match, equally simple: wings spread, attack blocked. Meanwhile, feathers flew like darts towards the opponent in a fierce attack. Knowing he couldn’t beat the top of Class A, the opponent conceded defeat and stepped down.

Watching their invincible forms, Su Bei couldn’t help but remark: “Facing them is like hellish difficulty. Feng Lan, would you concede immediately against them?”

The first part was indeed a sigh, while the latter was probing for information.

Feng Lan, an honest man, didn’t mind Su Bei’s prying: “If Zhao Zhaohua doesn’t use ‘Judgment,’ I should be able to win.”

At those words, even Su Bei couldn’t help but be surprised. He knew well that if Feng Lan said so, he must be confident.

Could his confidence be like yesterday’s, seemingly able to anticipate the opponent’s next move? But if it were just that ability, he probably wouldn’t even make it out of Zhou’s belly.

In other words, he possessed other abilities as well.

Was this the “Prophecy”? More powerful than what he had known before.

Having seen his special ability, it was essential to develop a balanced offense and defense. If he couldn’t achieve this, he would be considered inferior. But how does one make fate itself balanced in attack and defense?

After lunch and a brief rest, the first match of the afternoon was his. As the “Campus Wall” intelligence had indicated, his opponent released a dense fog that filled the arena. The milky white fog nearly obscured everything, reducing visibility on the platform to an extreme low.

Most people would panic at such a scene, but Su Bei remained calm, standing still. After a while, his opponent grew impatient.

His mental strength was limited, and his ability couldn’t last too long. If it continued like this, once the ability faded and the advantage was lost, he might end up losing. So, taking advantage of the fog, he planned to launch a surprise attack.

But such an action played right into Su Bei’s hands. Well-trained, he detected the footsteps of his approaching opponent in an instant and effortlessly caught him with a backhand grip.

His grip was so strong that no matter how much the opponent struggled, he couldn’t break free. Instead, due to the intense struggle,

he was pinned to the ground by Su Bei’s single hand, unable to move. When the fog finally cleared, Su Bei mercilessly threw his opponent off the platform.

The victory the next day was a huge relief for him. With the minimum secured, the next thing was to wait for tomorrow’s comic update to see if it would bring any new changes for him.

Lastly, Su Bei watched Ai Baozhu’s match. She tapped her right foot lightly on the ground, and the entire platform was immediately enveloped in a layer of pink, as if surrounded by a barrier.

Pink, quite fitting for this young lady’s personality. Ai Baozhu herself had pink hair and blue eyes, and it was evident that she had a strong preference for pink, as seen in her everyday attire and accessories.

It seemed, perhaps, her mental strength was also pink.

Ai Baozhu elegantly fanned herself with a pink feather fan she had drawn from somewhere, looking critically at the boy from Class B across from her: “You’re my opponent?”

The boy frowned, looking around: “All pink and mushy, what kind of place is this, your ability?”

“How rude,” Ai Baozhu said with disdain, yet the corner of her mouth curled up.

Because in the next second, the boy felt a tremendous repulsive force. He couldn’t resist it and was ejected from the platform.

It turned out that verbal impoliteness could also be repelled by Ai Baozhu’s domain. Su Bei couldn’t help but sigh, realizing the difficulty of countering this ability.

If it were merely cursing that was considered verbal impoliteness, it would be simple, but what if certain fixed phrases expected by high society were not spoken?

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

In such a situation, victory in the field becomes exceedingly difficult. Unless… one strikes first.

That evening, the official website released the schedule for the third day of the competition. As the numbers had dwindled over the past two days, the original count of around three hundred had now reduced to just over sixty. Hence, the last two days would no longer consist of one match per day but three.

There would be three matches tomorrow, and given the numbers, it seemed likely that one lucky individual would get a bye. But clearly, that lucky one wouldn’t be him.

He sighed, Su Bei glanced at his opponent for tomorrow. Unsurprisingly, it was someone from Class A, this damned luck. He was truly convinced, sometimes suspecting that it was the school teachers deliberately targeting him, rather than mere chance.

But actually, this suspicion might well be true. Jiang Tianming, who was clueless about his special ability, and he, who had lied about his ability level, both faced opponents from Class A tomorrow. It was hard to say whether this was the school’s way of testing their abilities on purpose.

As Su Bei pondered whether this was a deliberate arrangement by the school, the notification sound for “Comic Consciousness” comic updates suddenly rang out: “King of Abilities has been updated, please check it out.”

The moment the notification sounded, Su Bei’s brain felt a sudden chill. This chill wasn’t the bone-piercing cold of an icy, snowy landscape, but rather the peculiar sensation of coolness that floods the brain when one has ten pieces of mint candy in their mouth followed by a gulp of cold water.

“Hisss!”

Su Bei couldn’t help but inhale sharply, his eyes tightly shut from the stimulation, only slowly opening them once his brain had somewhat recovered: “That was quite the thrill!”

At this moment, his mind felt

crystal clear, upon opening his eyes, he could distinctly feel his vision and hearing had improved by more than a notch, easily capturing every rustle in the room.

Not only that, but it seemed like there was something extra in his brain. It was an indescribable presence, barely comparable to a “gas.” However, Su Bei knew that this must be the manifestation of his mental power solidifying.

He tentatively tried to control this mental power, but it was as delicate as the softest tofu, disintegrating at the slightest touch, utterly uncontrollable.

It was a matter of proficiency. Su Bei realized clearly. Since his mental power wasn’t developed through his own training but had arrived suddenly, he couldn’t master it in a short time.

It was like consuming a potent pill that could enhance one’s cultivation, but to truly elevate one’s cultivation level, one needed to refine the pill.

However, mastering mental power completely wasn’t an overnight task. Although he needed it for tomorrow, Su Bei wasn’t in a hurry. Instead, he opened his phone, ready to check out the latest comic content.

If it’s updated at this time, then it seems the comic’s latest chapter should end with tomorrow’s match schedule.

[The first page of the latest chapter of the comic starts from the playground on the first day of the monthly exam. The playground is bustling with people, ten one-meter-high platforms neatly scattered across, looking quite imposing.

Including Su Bei, the six members of the protagonist group step onto the playground, just like all the other students, they all exude a spirited demeanor, perfectly embodying the prime of youth.]

Just as Su Bei had anticipated, the comic author did not skimp on the scenes. On the first day of the individual battles of the monthly exam, each member of the protagonist group had their moment to shine.

He was the first to enter the ring, facing his opponent from day one — the classmate with green hair.

In the manga, the green-haired classmate, as silly as in reality, twisted his body like a lump of clay on the opposite side, loudly calling for surrender.

Honestly, such behavior is quite intimidating in real life; after all, seeing a human contort in such a way, most people would feel fear to some extent.

But in the manga, it’s different. The exaggerated nature of manga diminishes that sense of fear completely, leaving only a thick air of foolishness.

“Is this your superpower?”

“Wow, that’s amazing!”

“You can change into so many shapes!”

Su Bei’s insincere praises in the manga seemed like teasing a dog, as if the dog had shown some special skill, and the owner praised, “Good dog! Well done!”

This kind of malicious fun filled the atmosphere, but honestly, Su Bei didn’t mean it that way. He just wanted the opponent to burn more mental energy.

What followed was Su Bei’s perfect display of blatant lies, to the extent that Meng Huai almost wanted to call the police. Yet, the opponent believed every word and continued to perform.

It wasn’t until after the grand finale of the performance that Su Bei, as if finally tired of watching, mercifully knocked his opponent out of the ring.

“Is this the manga filter?” Watching the figure standing alone on the ring, each strand of hair shining like gold in the sunlight, looking down at the loser, Su Bei couldn’t help but sigh.

Those words were indeed spoken by him, deliberately so. But his aim was solely to deplete the opponent’s mental energy, not to enjoy a performance!

However, the filter added to the manga was quite good. In the manga, he was a true powerhouse, naturally not needing to rack his brains to defeat someone from Class C. The manga portrayed all his actions as if he were just there for the entertainment, which couldn’t be more fitting.

Though fitting, Su Bei couldn’t help but sigh, “Isn’t this slander? I’m an honest person, after all!”

What Su Bei didn’t expect was that even the small segment after he stepped down was illustrated. Su Bei’s full-frame stylish wink, coupled with his mocking taunts, was full of ridicule.

Then the green-haired classmate knelt and let out a long, angry howl to the sky, which felt perfectly natural in the manga, not awkward at all.

Following that, Jiang Tianming asked what if the green-haired classmate didn’t stand up. Su Bei returned the initial words of surrender as “comfort,” infuriating the man to the point of jumping up and down.

In the end, he simply ignored him, answering Jiang Tianming with an innocent face, “Isn’t he up now?”

As he turned to this page, the “manga consciousness” couldn’t help but retort, “Do you really think you’re an honest person?”

Which honest family would treat a pitiful loser this way?

Su Bei coughed softly, hastily turning the page.

The final words of Feng Lan and Su Bei’s reply were indeed included in the comic.

The barrage was successfully guided by the comic, and no one felt it was out of place; instead, it seemed to fit the character perfectly.

“HAHAHAHA, is this green-haired guy a fool? Switching between S and B.”

“Imagining my mom playing with our little Flower.”

“Is this teasing a dog, right? It must be!”

“Such bad taste, Su Bei!”

“Don’t tease this green-haired guy, tease me instead, wuu wuu wuu!”

“It seems like some strange comments have mixed in.”

“It’s a total crush…”

“Don’t you want to see the drama after winning so quickly? Did Su Bei use his special abilities?”

“Standing alone on the stage, this scene is so cool! Like a god descending!”

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

“He’s so good at mocking, hahaha.”

Feng Lan’s arena battle, his almost prophetic combat ability, was well portrayed by the thoughts of a few people in the audience in the comic.

However, since he wasn’t part of the main group, the comic didn’t give him much storyline, focusing mainly on the standoff between Jiang Tianming and Si Zhaohua below the stage. But since no conflict occurred, it was just a brief appearance for a few characters.

Next was the match of the Iron Wood man, a very simple crushing game, so there wasn’t much story.

However, when Iron Wood man easily sent his sizable opponent off the stage, Jiang Tianming’s inner voice caught Su Bei’s attention. He said, “The monitor’s strength seems to have gotten a bit stronger.”

There was nothing wrong with this statement; after all, school had started nearly a month ago, and it was normal for abilities to grow stronger.

But this line seems out of place in a comic. If it were a normal situation, why devote a small panel to this sentence alone?

Su Bei felt that the class president’s skills might not be as simple as they appeared on the surface. However, with too few clues, he didn’t waste time here and turned the page.

Next came Wu Jin’s storyline. At this point, Su Bei perked up; he had played quite a few roles in this segment and hoped to achieve the effect he desired.