A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 80

She wanted resources for intel. Su Bei understood: “We didn’t bring much. Didn’t expect to get trapped.”

He wasn’t lying—he hadn’t brought much. Among the fifteen, Mu Tieren likely had the most supplies, maybe Zhao Xiaoyu too, but definitely not him.

His backpack had two water bottles and some dry rations. His storage space had more, but water-wise, it’d last three or four days. Without supplies, he’d have to drink Nightmare Beast blood or join a faction.

He planned neither, so he had to conserve. His words were a refusal—chess piece patterns could be figured out after one encounter, so why waste resources?

Sister Zhao’s eyes glinted, but she didn’t press, saying: “If you’re low on supplies, you should think about those factions.”

Ling You, silent until now, spoke: “If you were to advise, which faction should we join?”

She was probing Sister Zhao’s allegiance, not believing she was truly a loner. Even without Su Bei’s hint, she doubted the woman was harmless.

Sister Zhao didn’t take the bait, avoiding a direct answer: “Depends on your goals and Abilities—wait for rescue or actively seek a way out. If your Abilities aid survival, Conservatives are easier to join. If your Abilities aren’t useful, they might not take you.”

Her words seemed less favorable to Conservatives. Su Bei didn’t press, smiling: “Then we’re doomed—looks like we can only join the Radicals.”

Hearing this, Sister Zhao’s brows twitched, but she didn’t ask about their Abilities, instead saying: “Do you have other teammates in this maze? At your age, you’re probably here with teachers and classmates, right?”

“A few, but we don’t know where,” Su Bei said, not revealing others’ locations, then shifted topics: “Let’s hunt for pieces. Staying here’s no good.”

As he stood, he glanced at their Destiny Compasses. Sister Zhao’s showed no issues, but Ling You’s small pointer leaned right, indicating upcoming setbacks.

They wandered aimlessly. Stone chess pieces made loud noises when moving, but the tall, soundproof walls meant you couldn’t hear them unless close.

Knowing his luck was poor, Su Bei let Ling You lead. She didn’t disappoint, soon finding a target.

From afar, they heard heavy, rumbling noises.

Coming from a corner, the three went to check. It was a crowned woman’s statue.

The moment she saw it, Sister Zhao’s face paled, retreating quickly and checking her hand. Seeing it clean, she sighed in relief.

Only then did she look at the puzzled Su Bei and Ling You, warning: “Check your hands for any marks!”

Su Bei’s hand was clear, but Ling You said slowly: “This?”

A black crown tattoo had appeared on her hand.

Seeing it, Sister Zhao’s expression shifted, her eyes full of pity, but she stepped back slowly: “You’re marked.”

“What’s the danger?” Though it sounded bad, Ling You remained calm, asking coolly.

Perhaps pitying her, Sister Zhao answered without demanding payment: “It’s the ‘Queen’s’ mark. The ‘King’ will hunt marked people.”

The “King” was obviously no small fry—being targeted by such a boss was deadly.

Su Bei pressed: “Can the mark be removed or transferred?”

The question made Sister Zhao’s eyes flicker, but she answered: “It can’t be transferred. To remove it, you must destroy the ‘Queen.’ Destroying only the ‘King’ causes the maze to spawn a new one in half an hour.”

Thinking, she added: “Also, getting within one meter of the ‘Queen’ petrifies you.”

Feeling she’d done enough, Sister Zhao looked at Su Bei: “Marked people are almost certainly dead. Staying with her won’t help. Come with me.”

If Ling You were a stranger, Su Bei wouldn’t mind abandoning her. But as a classmate, he couldn’t just leave.

He shook his head firmly: “No, I’ll stay and see if I can deal with the ‘Queen.’”

Seeing his resolve, Sister Zhao left regretfully.

Ling You stayed silent throughout. After Sister Zhao left, she asked: “How do we break the statue?”

Good question. Others with strength boosts might manage, but they couldn’t. In Su Bei’s view, no one in S-Class could shatter a statue with brute force.

But Wu Mingbai, with [Earth Element], might thrive here—stone was a type of earth, after all.

Thinking this, Su Bei checked the watch’s map. The dots were now in twos and threes, none alone.

He opened the walkie-talkie: “Anyone know how to break chess pieces?”

To solve Ling You’s predicament, there was a simple way—Su Bei could use his Ability to shift her small pointer left. But it wasn’t dire yet, and he wanted to see the “King,” so he held off.

No one had ideas yet, but Wu Jin answered his earlier question: “I saw a statue. It has Nightmare Beast aura but isn’t one.”

Su Bei formed a guess. The statues were tied to Nightmare Beasts and the maze, with subtle implications.

Soon, rumbling echoed again.

The “King” arrived.

It was a majestic stone carving, a faceless man with a crown, charging straight at Ling You.

Its speed rivaled the “Knight’s,” unstoppable. Su Bei ducked into a corner, letting the giant piece chase Ling You. After it passed, he followed, testing an attack from behind. Unsurprisingly, it had no effect. Even with his Ability-enhanced physique, he was mortal—how could he break stone barehanded?

Probing with Mental Energy revealed nothing unusual.

Thinking, Su Bei shouted to Ling You, sprinting ahead: “Don’t run too far! Lead the ‘King’ in circles! I’ll figure something out.”

Initially, he thought since the “Queen” didn’t move, they could run toward it, then dodge, letting the “King” crash into it, solving both pieces.

But Sister Zhao’s warning about petrification within one meter of the “Queen” nixed that.

The maze’s passages were wide but only two meters. The “Queen,” one meter wide, stood in the center—impossible to stay over a meter away.

Colliding them directly wouldn’t work, but luring another piece to hit the “King” could. It wouldn’t solve everything, but it’d buy time to think and let Ling You recover stamina.

He shouted the plan to Ling You, then searched nearby for other pieces.

His luck was, as expected, terrible—finding nothing despite looking. Realizing his luck was the issue, he stayed put. Sure enough, Ling You soon found a “Knight,” colliding it with the “King,” temporarily resolving the issue.

When she returned, Ling You was exhausted, panting heavily, her face flushed, a stark contrast to her usual cool demeanor.

She brushed back green hair stuck to her face, collapsing on the ground. After catching her breath, she said: “The ‘King’ has a skill—lasers. Not sure if the next one will.”

Su Bei blinked: “Lasers?”

Focused on planning, he hadn’t noticed what the “King” did while chasing her.

Ling You nodded seriously: “Lasers, powerful. The ‘Knight’ had a skill too—its front hooves lifted in a trampling move when it reached me.”

Concerned for her safety, she spoke more than usual.

“So, besides marking, the ‘Queen’ has a skill—petrification,” Su Bei realized. “Every piece has an ability.”

That wasn’t the main issue. The real problem was dealing with the “Queen’s” mark. Without resolving it, they couldn’t leave, or they’d never clear the mark.

“...Why don’t you leave first?” Ling You said after a long silence. “I can hold the line.”

She could manage—half an hour was enough to recover stamina. But it was temporary; she’d tire eventually.

Should he use his Ability?

Thinking, Su Bei’s eyes lit up: “I’ve got an idea!”

Ling You’s eyes brightened: “What?”

“If we destroy the ‘Queen,’ its abilities, including the mark and petrification, should vanish,” Su Bei said. “You turn to stone, and when the ‘King’ comes, I push you behind the ‘Queen.’ The gap’s enough for you but not the ‘King.’ It’ll crash into the ‘Queen.’”

The plan wasn’t complex but required precise timing. He had to push Ling You out just before the “King” hit, from beyond a meter, to make the “King” collide unavoidably.

The plan’s success rate was high, but so was the risk. The “King” had lasers. If it chose to blast Ling You instead of crashing, it’d be over. As stone, she couldn’t activate her watch’s shield.

After outlining the plan, Su Bei fell silent, letting Ling You decide.

Though his Destiny Compass showed it would work, and as a protagonist, she wouldn’t die by his plan, life-or-death matters were hers to decide. He’d only suggest, not choose for her.

After a pause, with the “King’s” next arrival nearing, Ling You resolved: “Okay, but I hope you can push me directly behind the ‘Queen.’”

The prior laser attack was straight, so she guessed it couldn’t curve. Behind the “Queen,” it could block the laser.

This tested skill—the Academy hadn’t trained them for this, relying on instinct. But Su Bei agreed: “Alright.”

Plan set, Ling You lay down, scooting up so her head was within a meter of the “Queen.” This gave Su Bei a larger area to work with.

As Sister Zhao said, the moment she entered the one-meter range, she turned to stone from head to toe.

Su Bei positioned her near the wall, studying the angle to swing her behind the “Queen.”

“Rumble, rumble!”

A loud noise came from afar. Su Bei looked up—the “King” was coming, speeding toward his position.

Then he realized a problem. He needed to push Ling You at the last moment to make the “King” crash. The plan was fine, but how would he escape?

The “King” might destroy the “Queen,” but it’d likely hit him first. Su Bei didn’t think he could withstand a single blow. Come on, he was a fragile mage!

No time to think—the “King” was too fast. He had to decide now!

Gritting his teeth, Su Bei grabbed Ling You, leaping behind the “Queen” a second before the “King” reached.

As he crossed the one-meter mark, he felt himself petrify—a strange sensation, his body stiffening, his mind slowing to a stop.

In the last moment of thought, Su Bei clearly saw their landing spot was directly behind the “Queen.”

Success.

“Bang!”

Su Bei timed it perfectly. The “King,” at that speed, couldn’t stop, firing a laser in a final struggle. But the “Queen’s” tall form blocked it, and the “King” crashed into it.

The collision was deafening, both “King” and “Queen” shattering, stones flying. Miraculously, they vanished upon hitting the ground.

The petrified duo’s state lifted. Su Bei’s mind returned, moving his fingers, then quickly regaining control and standing.

Ling You stood too, lacking memories of petrification, puzzled: “Why are you here?”

Su Bei, too lazy to explain, said: “Guess.”

He walked to the explosion site, picking up a square stone that didn’t vanish and a green card with writing: “Looks like this is the token, and this card’s the exit clue.”

“I have one too,” Ling You said, pulling a card from her pocket, earned from destroying the first “King.”

She also showed a white card: “This came from a ‘Pawn’ that crashed with the ‘King.’”

Focused on the “Queen” and exhausted, she’d forgotten to mention them until Su Bei picked up the token.

Su Bei checked the white card—a function card. The front read “Pawn,” the back: “Tear to eliminate the nearest ‘Pawn’ piece.”

No wonder Sister Zhao called these exclusive props—useless elsewhere.

“Keep it,” he said, returning it, then examining the two green cards. Though from the same “Queen” and “King” for the same token’s exit, their contents differed.

Both were images. One showed a Nightmare Bird, pitch-black, covered in spines like a hedgehog, with six eyes on its head, looking bizarre.

The other was a “Knight” piece.

After a pause, Su Bei asked: “What’s this mean?”

Ling You, after thinking, guessed expressionlessly: “Places with ‘Knights’ or birds have exits?”

“Maybe...” Su Bei stood. “Let’s go back to where we first saw the ‘Knight.’ It’ll likely return there. We can follow it.”

Their memories were sharp, and they hadn’t wandered far, so they retraced their steps easily. With no immediate action needed, Su Bei opened the walkie-talkie to check others’ progress.

Si Zhaohua, Zhou Renjie, and Mu Tieren’s group replied quickly. They were alone, wandering the maze. Hearing Si Zhaohua, Su Bei recalled his question: “Can you fly up and see the maze’s layout?”

Si Zhaohua sighed, sounding regretful: “I tried, but there’s a Nightmare Bird up there, highly aggressive. They swarm if I show myself—can’t fly.”

Nightmare Bird? Su Bei’s eyes lit up: “The spiky ones?”

“You saw them?” Si Zhaohua was surprised.

Su Bei hadn’t, but he needed to know where they were: “When you flew, did you notice where they gather?”

“Southwest corner, I think,” Si Zhaohua recalled, then realized: “Is there an exit there?”

Besides that, he couldn’t think why Su Bei would care.

No need to hide, Su Bei admitted: “Yeah, we found a token and its clue pointing there.”

“Token?” Si Zhaohua, having turned off his walkie-talkie earlier due to outsiders, was confused.

Su Bei briefly explained the intel. Si Zhaohua’s spirits lifted. He’d wandered the maze without useful clues or exits—now, he was thrilled.

But Su Bei’s words raised a concern: “You two found one token?”

The implication was clear—if one token only allowed one person out, who would use it?

Mu Tieren, beside Si Zhaohua, spoke: “One token might not be one person. Otherwise, leaving would be too hard.”

That made sense. Finding an exit required destroying a “Queen” and “King,” then following the “King’s” clue. With so many obstacles, if one token was single-use, everyone might as well join the Conservatives.

Su Bei nodded: “Good point. We’ll see. If one token works for multiple people, you can come too.”

Zhou Renjie jumped in: “We’re heading there now!”

Perhaps feeling too eager, he added: “If it’s one per person, one of you’d be alone. Better to stick with us.”

They agreed and moved. The southwest corner was relatively easy to find, with a describable location.

Otherwise, finding a spot in a maze was tough, though Si Zhaohua could fly up at different spots to track the birds’ flight path to their nest.

As Su Bei pondered, Ling You, mostly silent, said firmly: “If it’s one person, you go.”

Su Bei raised an eyebrow, teasing in a dramatic tone: “Oh, what a kind, lovely, beautiful, generous, selfless lady!”

He earned a rare eye-roll from Ling You.

Note :

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