A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 52

Mo Xiaotian overheard their conversation too. He lowered his panting and whispered, “Are we gonna eliminate them?”

Eliminate…

Hearing that word, my eyelid twitched, and I recalled a fleeting thought from earlier.

It’s never wrong to consider the worst-case scenario when facing danger. I’d been thinking about this the whole way. If this event was indeed a conspiracy by a mastermind targeting all first-year students, what would they do?

Logically, we were safe in this Different Space. After all, we could be teleported out by shattering the not-so-sturdy glass cover on our watch. Even if ambushed, we’d be teleported out instantly upon facing lethal danger.

So, the only danger I could think of was if the teleportation failed. If we couldn’t teleport out of the Different Space, we’d be lambs to the slaughter against high-level Ability users.

But could the mastermind really pull that off? Tampering with the Academy’s life-saving measures for students would mean the Endless Ability Academy was riddled with holes.

That was the worst-case scenario. I only hoped it wasn’t true.

Sighing, I nodded, “Let’s try it. We haven’t seen what eliminating someone looks like yet.”

After a moment’s thought, I added, “Use the method of shattering the watch’s glass cover.”

I was worried that if the teleportation was indeed compromised, attacking with lethal force wouldn’t result in the opponent being teleported out upon facing mortal danger but instead dying on the spot.

To make them shatter their watch’s glass cover, we’d either have to make them feel enough danger to withdraw voluntarily or restrain them and shatter it ourselves.

The former wasn’t likely, so we’d have to consider the latter.

After some thought, I asked, “How many air cubes can you make now?”

“Ten!” Mo Xiaotian answered excitedly, finally asked about something he excelled at. He’d developed his first Ability quite well.

Ten was enough. I nodded, “I’ll sneak attack from behind to start the fight and drive the others away. You just need to trap one person.”

We’d worked together a few times and had decent coordination. A few of my Gears sent most of them scrambling in fear.

They were only fifteen or sixteen, and in this dark, eerie forest, their courage wasn’t exactly soaring. They didn’t care about their team and scattered in all directions.

While I acted, Mo Xiaotian had already targeted a boy, using several air cubes to block his escape routes.

The boy was clearly terrified, trying to seek help from others. But the others were too busy saving themselves to care about him.

Once the rest fled, I stepped out and easily subdued the boy.

“It’s… it’s a person, right!” The boy, restrained, was more relieved than angry. He’d rather be eliminated by a classmate than haunted by a ghost.

“A person,” I stepped into the moonlight, letting him see my shadow, “Are you withdrawing yourself, or do I help you?”

Getting my confirmation, the boy let out a long breath and asked hopefully, “Bro, can you let me go?”

“What do you think?” I gave him a half-smile.

As expected, no dice. The boy sighed, “I’ll withdraw myself.”

He knew he was unlikely to shine in the team battles. Becoming someone’s captive was within expectations. As the teachers said, withdrawing early meant an early vacation, which was good for him.

I quickly added, “After you get out, find Class F’s Teacher Meng Huai. Tell him Feng Lan disappeared right after entering and might be in danger.”

“Got it. I’m eliminated by you and still have to run your errands? What kind of touching classmate bond is this?” he muttered, but without lingering, he decisively shattered the glass cover. The next second, he vanished on the spot.

“Wow, so cool!” Mo Xiaotian’s eyes widened, “You can really withdraw like that? Shattering the glass isn’t even hard. That’s awesome! I was worried I wouldn’t be able to break it.”

I relaxed, smiling and nodding, “Yeah, that’s great.”

Since shattering the glass still allowed withdrawal from the Different Space, there wasn’t a big issue. Maybe I was wrong, and the enemy’s plot wasn’t about this.

Wait? Something’s off?

My expression froze. I suddenly remembered that Feng Lan also disappeared right after entering. Who said disappearing meant leaving the Different Space and returning to the Academy?

Besides, as I’d thought earlier, it was only the first day of the team competition. Even if someone wanted to cause trouble, it was too early. The teleportation device might be fine today, but who knew if it’d stay that way?

I couldn’t let my guard down.

Fine, meeting up with Jiang Tianming was the most straightforward solution. I sighed and checked my watch, “Let’s go find Jiang Tianming and the others. It’s already so dark, and we don’t even have a place to sleep.”

After realizing their pursuers were gone, Jiang Tianming and Mu Tieren stopped running. They were exhausted from fleeing for so long. In the middle of the night, it wasn’t safe. If the enemy kept chasing, even if they thought they couldn’t win, they’d fight back.

Talk about bad luck—Jiang Tianming had run into an opponent he’d thoroughly offended in the individual battles. And somehow, this opponent teamed up with another of his rivals, forming two teams with over ten people. How could they fight that?

The forest was good for escaping, with dense trees making it hard to be caught once you gained some distance. But one of those teams had a tracker who relentlessly pursued them.

Now that the group gave up, they both breathed a sigh of relief. But they were curious why the pursuers, after chasing so long, suddenly stopped.

“Rustle, rustle…”

After resting for a bit, they heard the sound of bushes stirring in the forest. Jiang Tianming and Mu Tieren exchanged wary glances, ready to fight for their lives.

Though it was two against twelve, as top-ten individual battlers, they weren’t without a chance.

But unexpectedly, a golden head and a red head popped out of the bushes.

It was me and Mo Xiaotian!

Seeing us, Jiang Tianming and Mu Tieren were surprised but didn’t let their guard down just because it was us. They first checked the map on their watches, confirming two red dots representing teammates were nearby before verifying we were their allies.

“How’d you get here? Oh, did you drive off the ones chasing us?” Jiang Tianming stopped Mo Xiaotian from pouncing over and asked me.

I nodded, “We eliminated one of them. Looks like eliminating someone gives 10 points.”

Hearing this, Jiang Tianming checked the leaderboard and nodded knowingly, “Eliminating one person gives 10 points, killing a Nightmare Beast gives 50. Seems like completing missions yields more points than solo efforts.”

“There’s no mission requiring us to split up now, so we thought it’d be better to join you first,” I said, observing the surroundings, “My plan is to not bother gaining more points for the first two days and go all out robbing on the third.”

Jiang Tianming’s eyes lit up, “That’s exactly what I was thinking!”

That’s why, after completing that mission, he hadn’t taken further action, even avoiding Nightmare Beasts from a distance.

He realized this after killing his first Nightmare Beast. He noticed his Mental Energy recovered very slowly.

To recover Mental Energy, you needed quiet meditation or sleep. Everyday activities without physical exertion could help, but it was much slower.

Normally, depleting Mental Energy could be recovered in a day. But in this lousy place, it might take a day and a half, and that’s without fighting.

After noticing the Mental Energy recovery issue, Jiang Tianming decided to wait until the third day to act, lest he become someone else’s experience package—that’d be too humiliating.

This was also what the Academy wanted students to learn in real combat. Real missions outside weren’t as comfortable as school, with no time for Ability users to recover Mental Energy. They had to learn to allocate it efficiently, maximizing its use within limited recovery.

I hadn’t noticed this because my high-level Mental Energy recovered faster and easier, less affected by the environment. Plus, I’d been slacking for a while today, so my Mental Energy was mostly restored.

Mo Xiaotian didn’t mention it because he hadn’t noticed at all. But as a beast-like intuitive type, after using a lot of Mental Energy upon entering the Different Space, he hadn’t used much since.

When Jiang Tianming shared his discovery, we both had a moment of realization.

“Yeah, my Mental Energy recovery slowed down a lot too! I didn’t even notice until you mentioned it!” Mo Xiaotian said dumbly, his eyes full of admiration.

I was equally surprised but quickly understood why Mental Energy recovery was slow. I’d experienced normal Mental Energy before; recovering it indeed required ample time and a quiet environment.

I hadn’t expected that high-level Mental Energy had such a perk—an unexpected bonus. Following Mo Xiaotian’s lead, I said, “I didn’t notice either. You guys are observant.”

In truth, I didn’t notice because there wasn’t much change to notice.

Obviously, Jiang Tianming and Mu Tieren guessed this. They didn’t believe I’d be as careless as Mo Xiaotian, missing something as basic as my own condition.

But neither planned to call it out. Mu Tieren just asked curiously, “If you didn’t notice the Mental Energy recovery issue, why did you want to hold off for the first two days?”

I raised an eyebrow, grinning like a sly fox, “The neighbor hoards grain, I hoard guns. The neighbor is my granary.”

It was already 1 a.m. Though kids our age were full of energy and could handle staying up late, this was a competition. Low energy could easily lead to being ambushed.

I surveyed the area but couldn’t find a particularly safe spot. Building a simple shelter would take too much time, and we hadn’t seen any caves along the way.

Sighing, I said, “You guys discuss the night watch. I’m fine with any time. I’ll go prepare a sleeping spot.”

Sleeping directly on the ground in the forest was a no-go; the cold could make you sick, and while there were no animals or birds, insects were still around. Waking up as a human ecosystem wasn’t ideal. At least a layer of leaves was needed. A campfire was also necessary. Though fire in the dark could attract attention, it provided warmth, visibility, and some help against enemies.

I was practically an expert, working quickly and efficiently. After Mu Tieren and the others finished discussing, they came to help.

It was clear that Mu Tieren and I were very skilled. Jiang Tianming wasn’t skilled but picked it up fast. Mo Xiaotian was neither skilled nor quick but was an excellent mood-lifter.

“Our final decision is Xiaotian goes first, then me, Class Monitor, and Su Bei last. Each for an hour and a half, waking up at 8 a.m. Sound good?” Jiang Tianming said while moving leaves, sharing their decision.

I nodded casually, knowing they were looking out for me. Night watch was easiest for the first and last shifts, but I accepted it comfortably. I started the fire, so I earned my share.

Soon, we set up the leaf beds, and I got the fire going. As agreed, we took turns keeping watch.

“Wake up…”

Mu Tieren’s voice sounded in my ear. I opened my eyes instantly, alert. Sleeping lightly in a dangerous place, I woke easily.

Realizing the situation, I sat up and checked my watch. It was 6:30 a.m., right on time. I liked punctual people for this kind of thing. If someone let me sleep longer on purpose, I’d actually be annoyed.

After the handover, I stood up to stretch. Per yesterday’s plan, we’d slack off today. But knowing manga logic, today wouldn’t be easy.

Sure enough, before 7:30, I heard noises from the trees. Looking up, I saw a jet-black snake, as thick as an adult’s palm, slithering down a tree near Jiang Tianming, hissing.

It was sleek and long; its head was nearly at the ground, but its tail was still hidden in the leaves. I estimated it was at least five meters long.

I shot a Gear at it, but the snake dodged with incredible speed. Realizing it was spotted, it stopped hiding and slid down quickly toward Jiang Tianming.

“Up!” I ran over, kicking Jiang Tianming awake, then leaped and kicked the Nightmare Snake away.

I wore the Academy’s specially made uniform, tough enough to resist tearing. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have dared kick it.

Everyone slept lightly. At my shout, they all opened their eyes and scrambled up.

“What’s going on?” Jiang Tianming asked, following my gaze to the Nightmare Snake, now half-raised and eyeing us menacingly.

Mo Xiaotian’s eyes widened, “That’s a huge snake!”

“Hiss, hiss, hiss—”

The Nightmare Snake flicked its tongue, its raised upper body swaying, searching for the best attack angle.

“It’s fast,” I warned, eyes alert, “Mo Xiaotian, trap it!”

“Got it!” Mo Xiaotian nodded energetically, creating ten invisible air cubes in front of us as a protective barrier.

Mu Tieren, drawing on extracurricular knowledge from school, judged accurately, “This Nightmare Snake probably isn’t venomous. The books say venomous ones have large heads. But I don’t know its Ability.”

No venom was good news, and everyone relaxed a bit. Jiang Tianming borrowed a few Gears from me, and we attacked together, aiming for the snake’s seven-inch spot, a common tactic we both knew well.

The snake was indeed fast, but it couldn’t fully dodge such a dense attack. With Mo Xiaotian’s air cubes blocking it, it was overwhelmed and soon fell.

Seeing the snake down, we didn’t approach immediately. Only after checking our watches and confirming we’d earned 50 points for killing a Nightmare Beast did we go over.

I grabbed the snake’s tail, lifted it upside down, and examined it, “Breakfast: grilled snake meat?”

Even regular snake meat was tasty, let alone the famously delicious Nightmare Snake.

Jiang Tianming couldn’t help but laugh, “This snake’s so big, it’ll probably cover lunch too.”

Mo Xiaotian, as always, hyped it up, “Awesome! I’ll do it. Let you see my barbecue skills!”

“You can barbecue, Xiaotian?” Mu Tieren smiled, “I’m looking forward to it.”

Though Jiang Tianming could cook and was good at it, seeing Mo Xiaotian’s enthusiasm, he was happy to let him take the lead.

But as soon as Mo Xiaotian took the snake from me, his excitement faded, replaced by a troubled look.

“What’s wrong?” Mu Tieren asked considerately, “Never handled a snake and don’t know how?”

Mo Xiaotian shook his head, frustrated, “No, it’s just that it needs cleaning!”

This whole snake couldn’t be grilled as is; it needed river water for cleaning. Using bottled water like before would be too wasteful.

“We passed a river yesterday,” Jiang Tianming offered, “I remember the way. It’s not far. Let’s go together?”

Mu Tieren looked surprised, “You can remember routes in a forest? I recall we passed a river, but I’ve completely forgotten the path.”

Jiang Tianming gave a complicated smile, clearly with a story behind it, “Yeah, remembering routes is important.”

Seeing this, Mu Tieren hesitated but didn’t pry. They were friends, but not close enough to touch on private matters. If he didn’t volunteer, it was best not to ask. Following Jiang Tianming for half an hour, we indeed heard the sound of flowing water. But it wasn’t just water—there were voices talking.

“Looks like a lot of people are around this river,” I said, understandingly.

It made sense. Water was the source of life, and camping by a river was an instinctive choice, even for those with little survival experience.

Sensing with my Mental Energy, I raised an eyebrow, “There are 15 people by the river, probably from three teams.”

Jiang Tianming and the others didn’t ask how I knew. Hearing this, they relaxed. If three teams could coexist peacefully, adding ours shouldn’t be an issue.

We pushed through the forest and, as soon as we appeared, drew fifteen pairs of eyes. A green-haired boy, seeing me, gaped in shock, “It’s you!”

This was my opponent from the first round of the individual battles.

Seeing a familiar face, I waved casually, unfazed, “Yo, what a coincidence.”

“Coincidence, my foot!” the Green-Haired Kid roared angrily, “Don’t you feel guilty seeing me?”

Probably because he was eliminated in the first round, he’d been following my matches. He soon realized I didn’t just win against him by trickery—I had real skill.

Now, he didn’t feel losing to me was shameful. Losing to a Class F student was embarrassing, but losing to a top-ten wasn’t.

But since I had the strength, why did I trick him in our match instead of beating him outright to make him accept defeat?

No doubt, I was toying with him!

The Green-Haired Kid felt his dignity was insulted, looking devastated, “You could’ve beaten me directly, but you chose to humiliate me.”

I: “…”

Was there a chance I really could only win that way back then?

But sadly, the truth couldn’t be said, and he’d never know. I sighed inwardly, ignoring him, and squatted by an empty spot by the river, looking at Mo Xiaotian, “What’re you standing there for? Come wash the snake!”

“Oh, oh, oh!” Mo Xiaotian snapped out of it, hurrying over with the Nightmare Snake he’d been carrying, starting to clean it.

Seeing such a massive snake, the people by the river couldn’t help but swallow hard. The Green-Haired Kid’s gaze darted between the snake and me, uncertain, “You killed this?”

“We killed it together,” I didn’t take sole credit.

But that alone was enough to shock him. While they could only flee from Nightmare Beasts, my mostly Class F team could kill one together. That was too strong!

Recalling how he’d just been accusing a big shot like me, the Green-Haired Kid instantly backed down. He coughed, “Ahem, well, you’re impressive. I won’t hold the past against you.”

He thought he’d secured his safety and saved face, looking smug, oblivious to his teammates’ disdainful looks.

His teammates quietly stepped back, afraid of being associated with him.