A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 48

The next day, Jiang Tianming’s six-person team gathered again. With team battles starting tomorrow, they needed to familiarize themselves with each other’s Abilities. Getting sabotaged by teammates instead of opponents during the match would be a joke.

Mo Xiaotian went first: “My Ability is [Air]. I can create air blocks and adjust their pressure to make them explode.”

So that’s how the explosions worked, Su Bei realized. Others, who hadn’t seen Mo Xiaotian’s fights in the last two days, were astonished.

Lan Subing’s eyes widened, struggling to speak: “You can make air explode? How strong is it?”

“Not very,” Mo Xiaotian said glumly, shaking his head. “Watch.”

He raised his hand, summoning an air block. His skill was evident, as he framed a handful of sand to outline the block’s shape.

Through the sand, they saw the block was small, about head-sized.

Noticing its size, Su Bei asked: “If you trapped someone’s head in an air block, could you remove the air inside, suffocating them to win?”

Everyone’s eyes lit up. It was a clever idea. If feasible, it’d be a deadly move against carbon-based lifeforms.

But Mo Xiaotian shook his head, having tested his Ability’s limits: “Can’t do it. The block can’t move while I’m adjusting its air.”

So, if the enemy left the block’s range, they’d be unaffected.

The same applied to explosions. Dodging the blast zone meant no harm. Unlike suffocation, explosions were harder to detect, making them more likely to hit.

As he spoke, the sand swirling in the air block froze midair. Mo Xiaotian said: “The block’s pressure is set. It can explode now. Anyone want to try it?”

Everyone: “…”

They all stepped back in unison. Even if the damage was minor, no one wanted to feel a blast. Wu Mingbai conjured a small dirt mound beside the block, grumbling: “Just blow it up.”

Mo Xiaotian grinned foolishly and triggered the explosion.

“Bang!”

Like a firecracker, the blast scattered the dirt mound, but only half was displaced, the rest intact.

Wu Mingbai judged: “If it exploded near someone’s head, it could disfigure them, but that’s it.”

The head is both tough and fragile. An explosion beside it couldn’t kill, only maim, showing the blast’s limited power—enough to pierce skin, not bone.

“Make another,” Jiang Tianming suggested, thinking aloud. “If you change the pressure, does the texture feel different?”

Mo Xiaotian nodded, dejectedly complaining: “Yeah, I thought this skill would be awesome when I developed it, but it’s hard to hit anyone. I can’t get too close, or they’ll sense it. Each explosion block takes ten seconds to prep. To hurt someone, they can’t notice the block during that time, and they can’t be too far when it blows, or it’s too weak—mmph—”

Hearing him spill all his Ability’s flaws, the group’s expressions shifted from concern to shock to numbness. Was this guy too honest? They were opponents just yesterday. Even as teammates now, did he have to reveal everything?

Big brother Mu Tieren stepped forward, covering Mo Xiaotian’s mouth: “Enough, you’ve said plenty.”

Su Bei, standing aside, watched the struggling Mo Xiaotian curiously, wondering how he developed such a personality.

From the mark on his neck, Su Bei was certain Mo Xiaotian was with Black Lightning, and he knew it, or he wouldn’t cover the mark with a bandage.

But how could a carefully trained spy from a villainous group be like this?

Su Bei saw no acting in Mo Xiaotian. Playing a naive sweetheart wasn’t easy. Unless he was an Oscar-worthy actor, he was genuinely this naive.

Such a personality sent as a spy? Su Bei could only say Black Lightning’s future looked bleak.

To stop Mo Xiaotian from spilling more, Jiang Tianming changed the topic: “My Ability is [Object Control]. I can manipulate movable objects. Difficulty depends on weight.”

“Can you control people? Like my hand?” Mo Xiaotian waved his arm, curious.

Jiang Tianming had tested this: “If they’re unconscious, it’s possible, though hard. If they’re awake, no.”

This Ability resembled advanced Mental Energy, both consuming Mental Energy to manipulate objects. But the former used an Ability as a medium, costing less.

Unlike Mo Xiaotian, Jiang Tianming was reserved. He didn’t reveal his true Ability and only shared part of this sub-Ability’s function, hiding that he could control others’ Ability constructs.

This was normal. Spilling everything like Mo Xiaotian was rare. Keeping trump cards was key for surprise moves.

Next was Wu Mingbai: “My Ability is [Earth Element]. I can conjure soil and now some stone.”

He was also brief. Beyond the season one hint of a possible seal, his Ability had little to hide.

“Mine’s [Body Enhancement], as you know,” Mu Tieren said with a hearty laugh, looking at Su Bei. “Wanna spar? So they can see my strength directly.”

Caught off guard, professional slacker Su Bei declined: “No way.”

He refused for two reasons: to avoid wasting energy fighting and to avoid losing. He wasn’t sure he’d beat Mu Tieren, and any chance of defeat was a risk he wouldn’t take.

If he lost, readers would stop seeing him as the top freshman in physical skills—a major loss he couldn’t afford.

Seeing his refusal, Mu Tieren didn’t press, sighing: “Fine. My physical skills are decent now, right? I tested lifting six times my body weight.”

The human world record was three times body weight. Ability users, with enhanced physiques, averaged around three times. Mu Tieren’s six times was impressive.

Not the number itself, but that a Class F Ability user achieved it.

Again, his progress was too fast. Lifting six times his weight would justify a Class B placement.

Su Bei wasn’t the only one to notice. Jiang Tianming sensed something odd. Such rapid Ability growth—natural late bloomer or something special?

But with many team members hiding secrets, including Jiang Tianming, he didn’t comment, turning to Lan Subing.

Lan Subing understood, softly introducing her Ability: “Mine is [Word Spirit], making my words reality. But you know my severe social anxiety, so I can only use it with few people around. Too many, and I can’t speak.”

Word Spirit with social anxiety—Su Bei still found the author’s setup amusing. But it was a reasonable limit on the Ability.

Finally, Su Bei. He flicked his thumb and index finger, conjuring a Gear: “[Destiny Gear], controls Gears, predicts fate.”

Unlike the others, he barely hid that he was concealing parts of his Ability. Everyone knew he could change fate, yet he omitted it.

Such behavior should’ve been criticized in a team, but with everyone hiding something, no one dared call him out.

They didn’t know how much Su Bei knew, but they were sure he had intel sources. If they accused him, he might spill their secrets, backfiring spectacularly.

Jiang Tianming coughed, redirecting attention: “We don’t know how the team battles will work, but we might not always act together. If we split, six of us can form three pairs. Should we assign groups now?”

His foresight was appreciated, and everyone nodded, pairing up.

Wu Mingbai and Lan Subing paired, as he could create soil walls, giving Lan Subing a private space to use [Word Spirit].

Jiang Tianming and Mu Tieren teamed up, and Su Bei with Mo Xiaotian, as their Abilities didn’t synergize, so pairs balanced strong and average physical skills.

After this, Jiang Tianming extended his hand, back up: “So, let’s do this for the team battles?”

The others stacked their hands, lifting together: “Let’s do this!”

The next morning at seven, all freshmen gathered on the field with backpacks. Today was the team battles’ start, mandatory for all.

The school-required backpacks contained a bottle of mineral water and a roll of tissue, per regulations.

Besides freshmen, the field had many new faces in different-colored uniforms—likely senior students. With the freshman monthly exam nearing its end, they were returning for classes.

High school seniors are always curious about freshmen, so these seniors lingered around the field’s edge, eyeing them like zoo monkeys, chatting in small groups.

They seemed to have some intel on the freshmen, as many clustered around Class F, pointing at Jiang Tianming and others.

Though unaware of the final rankings, Class F reaching the last day was intriguing enough.

Most felt uneasy under the scrutiny, except Lan Subing. She wasn’t uneasy—she felt like dying.

Help, help, help! So many people staring at her! Want her dead? No need for this torture!

Jiang Tianming and Wu Mingbai, knowing Lan Subing’s struggle, tacitly positioned themselves to shield her from view.

With advanced Mental Energy, Su Bei’s senses were sharp, clearly hearing the onlookers’ chatter.

“This batch of freshmen is weak. Class A losing to Class F?”

“It’s the school’s fault, putting so many strong ones in Class F. That testing machine needs replacing!”

“Say what you want, this batch’s looks are top-notch. Blond, white-haired, black-haired, brown-haired—I feel like I’m in an otome game!”

“More like a harem audition. I’m thinking of a sister-brother romance—what do you say?”

Su Bei: “…”

He blinked, pretending he heard nothing.

Soon, the dean of students took the stage. The freshmen’s dean, a stern woman in her thirties with a bun and glasses, fit Su Bei’s stereotype perfectly.

But as dean of Endless Ability Academy, she wielded a powerful Ability. Rumor said Li Director’s Ability was [Mutual Learning], letting her or others learn new Abilities.

Among Point System rewards, one could exchange for a session with her.

Wasting no time, she addressed the team battles: “For this team battle, you’ll all be sent to a Different Space.”

“Different Space?!” The crowd erupted.

Different Spaces were channels for Nightmare Beasts to reach Earth, traveling from their birthplace to the space, then emerging to wreak havoc when it connected to the outside.

Their birthplace hadn’t been covered in class yet.

As Different Spaces housed many Nightmare Beasts, they were highly dangerous. Su Bei heard the seniors’ surprised gasps.

Knowing this was hard to accept, the dean explained: “No need to worry. This Different Space has been cleared, with no highly dangerous Nightmare Beasts. You’ll each get a watch. Smash the watch’s cover to be teleported out instantly. If you face lethal danger, the watch will auto-teleport you out.”

This calmed the crowd. Instant escape lowered the risk significantly. Plus, if cleared, few Nightmare Beasts should remain, right?

Seeing them quiet, the dean waved, signaling class teachers to distribute watches. Su Bei took his from Meng Huai, examining it.

Though called a watch, it showed more than time. A square displayed the number 0.

Once everyone had theirs, the dean continued: “You’ve likely seen the number on your watch—that’s your points. Your final team ranking will be based on total team points.”

“Killing Nightmare Beasts, eliminating opponents, and completing tasks earn points. Tasks are randomly scattered in the Different Space; you’ll know when you find them.” Director Li raised both hands, each wearing a watch. She tapped their faces, producing a “beep.”

“After setting options, tap watches like this to transfer points.” She smiled, jarringly at odds with her stern demeanor. “Some of you might’ve guessed—yes, we allow point stealing. Stolen points don’t count toward final totals, so if you fear losing points, smash your watch to exit early.”

Point stealing allowed? Talk about stirring chaos. Su Bei raised an eyebrow, already imagining the team battles’ mayhem.

But the stage speaker ignored the rule’s impact, continuing: “The watch has more functions than I’ve mentioned. Explore them yourself.”

“You’ll stay in the Different Space for up to three days. After that, we’ll teleport you out. Food and water are your responsibility. Oh, if someone eliminates all Nightmare Beasts or other teams, the Different Space will close early, letting you leave.”

Though she said this, eliminating all Nightmare Beasts—even with most cleared—was nearly impossible for freshmen.

Eliminating all teams was also tough, not just due to strength. Unless the space was tiny, finding someone hiding would be hard.

Looks like a three-day wilderness survival, Su Bei thought, feeling relatively relaxed. He’d undergone his father’s survival training. Unless the environment was bizarre, surviving three days was easy.

In their team, neither Jiang Tianming nor Wu Mingbai should struggle. Their grouping spread them out, each leading a pair. Their team wouldn’t be hindered by survival challenges.

Clearly, this was a huge advantage over other groups.

After explaining, Director Li raised her hand, and a black gate rose beside the stage. Open, its interior was pitch-black, revealing nothing.

“I’ll call team captains. Lead your team through this gate. You’ll be randomly teleported to a spot in the Different Space.”

“First team, Jiang Tianming.”

Hearing his name first, Jiang Tianming paused, then reacted, waving to lead their six-person team through the black gate under everyone’s gaze.

Entering, there was no dizziness, just a blackout. When Su Bei opened his eyes, they were in the Different Space. He first confirmed everyone was present, then observed the surroundings.

It was a vast forest, surrounded by towering trees blocking the sky. Their dense layers obstructed all paths, instantly explaining why forests were easy to get lost in.

Unlike real forests, this one was eerily silent. No bird calls, typical in forests, only the rustle of wind through leaves.

But that made sense. This was Nightmare Beast territory. With their instinct to destroy life, they wouldn’t tolerate birds here.

No immediate danger. Su Bei checked his watch, a touchscreen model showing time, points, and options like point transfer (already explained). He also found “Map,” “Leaderboard,” and “Tasks.”

Clicking Map, a small screen showed a map with five red dots and one green. Likely, the green was him, the red his teammates.

The Leaderboard was empty, probably because no one had points yet. The Tasks tab was also empty.

“It’s still early. Let’s move together, see if we find tasks or Nightmare Beasts. We’ll split into yesterday’s groups if needed. Any objections?” Jiang Tianming, with his leader’s charisma, adapted quickly, speaking first.

No one objected, nodding silently. The sudden shift to a strange, dangerous environment weighed on them. Despite their stellar individual battle records, arena fights differed vastly from real combat. Even Su Bei, trained in forests, wasn’t confident in ensuring safety here.

But one person’s vibe was off—Mo Xiaotian looked around excitedly, his red hair swaying like a flame: “I’ve never been to a big forest!”

He took a deep breath: “The air’s so fresh!”

His carefree attitude made others want to laugh. Wu Mingbai, amused yet mocking, said: “You think this is a vacation?”

But Mo Xiaotian didn’t catch the sarcasm, looking enlightened: “You’re right! This is the school’s sneaky field trip! Hehe, the school’s so nice.”

Everyone: “…”

Is this guy an idiot?