A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 84

While the five were still unconscious, the others gradually learned the full story. Meng Huai and the teachers didn’t hide anything, explaining things roughly.

After the teachers left, the group surrounded me. Li Shu, who’d already probed me indirectly, sat back to watch the show. Feng Lan, Wu Jin, and Ling You stood at the back, acting uninvolved. Mu Tieren and Zhao Xiaoyu were openly curious, while Mo Xiaotian joined in, clueless but eager.

Qi Huang, hands on hips, demanded confidently: "Su Bei, how come you didn’t encounter anything?"

Ai Baozhu immediately mimicked her, hands on hips: "Spill it, spill it!"

"I don’t know," I said, spreading my hands innocently. "Maybe I got lucky?"

The teachers ignored this excuse, but Qi Huang laughed, exasperated: "Ha? You think we’re idiots?"

Ai Baozhu echoed: "Yeah, yeah!"

Qi Huang shot her a helpless glare. Ai Baozhu dramatically fanned herself with a pink fan she’d pulled from nowhere, then hid her face and stepped back quietly.

Distracted by her antics, Qi Huang lost the urge to press me further. She just tilted her head and declared: "You wait. Next mission, I’m sticking to you the whole time."

After so many incidents, she’d noticed I could sense danger early. Even unavoidable dangers seemed to part for me.

Qi Huang was convinced that sticking to me would let her dodge hazards too. She was determined to cash in on my “luck.”

Once Qi Huang and Ai Baozhu left, Mo Xiaotian bounded over like a goofy corgi, grinning: "Su Bei, you really didn’t run into anything? That’s wild! I was fighting forever in there!"

"Nothing," I said, shaking my head honestly.

I was curious too. Where’d the enemies meant to be there go? [Destiny Gear] could alter fates powerfully, but not to the point of making people vanish, right?

I wondered if the manga would show this. If it didn’t, it’d remain an unsolved mystery for me.

By evening, the remaining five woke up. Their experiences were similar to the others’, but they’d all reached the fifth floor—though they had no memory of what happened there.

Hearing they’d lost their memories, the teachers grew serious, shooing everyone else out, leaving just the five in the room.

Outside, Li Shu explained softly: "Memory loss in an illusion is common, like in dreams. But in an illusion, it’s usually deliberate."

He stopped there, but we got it. Memory loss in an illusion was artificial, likely to hide something.

What happened on the fifth floor was worth pondering.

But conspiracies never lingered long in the hearts of teens. After a brief moment of reflection, everyone perked up again.

"By the way, did you run into anyone from Skydome Ability Academy?" Zhao Xiaoyu asked suddenly. Her face, rare with disgust, hinted at serious friction with them.

Many nodded. My group didn’t need mentioning—we’d clashed with two of them. Li Shu and Jiang Tianming’s team were chased by Radicals, partly because Skydome Ability Academy stirred things up.

But they’d also efficiently taken that group out.

Seeing we’d all suffered, Zhao Xiaoyu shared her side: "Those guys are really vile. They probably tracked us with some Ability, then used a Water Element Ability to join the Conservatives."

She chugged a glass of water and continued: "Water Element is valuable for those aiming to survive long-term in this Different Space, so they were treated like VIPs. Then they started sidelining us."

That period had grossed them out. If Zhao Xiaoyu and Wu Mingbai weren’t so good at navigating people, they might’ve been ousted.

"What happened to them?" Qi Huang, fuming, asked eagerly. If Skydome’s people got off scot-free, she’d lose sleep.

Luckily, Zhao Xiaoyu didn’t disappoint: "Them? They were hauled back by the teachers in disgrace. They pissed off a ton of Conservatives."

"How’d you do it?" Qi Huang pressed, her face alight with curiosity and gossip.

Zhao Xiaoyu outlined everyone’s roles: "First, big thanks to Wu Jin. He pretended to be alone, luring Skydome’s people to chase him out, thinking they’d take him down."

"Mingbai had already guided some Radicals, including two from Skydome, onto that path. With both sides meeting, each with someone from the same school, they’d naturally chat. That easily created the illusion they were secretly meeting."

"By then, Wu Jin slipped back using his Low Presence Ability, and Wu Mingbai returned too. I took that chance to lead the Conservatives over. Seeing Skydome chatting happily with Radicals, plus their day of stirring trouble, how could the Conservatives not get it?"

It was a clever plan, each step interlocking. Even if Skydome claimed it was a setup, it wouldn’t hold—Zhao Xiaoyu’s trio never left, so when would they have set it up?

If Skydome said they were just catching up with classmates, that wouldn’t work either. The Radical team wasn’t all Skydome students.

"Nice work!" Qi Huang, satisfied, gave a thumbs-up.

With her lead, everyone shared how they dealt with Skydome’s people. When the topic wound down, Mu Tieren asked: "With today’s events, are we ending the training early?"

"No way!" Mo Xiaotian reacted most strongly. He wasn’t done having fun and didn’t want to return yet.

Zhao Xiaoyu thought it over and shook her head: "Not necessarily. The school might not send us back. Black Flash already acted once—they likely won’t strike again soon. So continuing the training should be safe."

"Good, good! Laughter, your analysis is awesome!" Mo Xiaotian patted his chest, relieved.

Ai Baozhu, though, was disappointed: "Ugh, I kinda wanted to go back."

The wind and rain outside couldn’t compare to the school’s comfort. She’d have to get her family to invest in some Different Spaces for in-school training.

After that, we dispersed. It’d been a tiring day. The physical strain from the illusion didn’t carry over, but the mental exhaustion did. The Mental Energy drain was real, and only youthful energy kept us chatting so long.

The next morning, Meng Huai summoned us to the inn’s hall. He got straight to the point: "One thing today: the training continues. Rest today. Tomorrow through the day after, three days of activities."

With that, he left decisively, leaving us staring at each other. Mu Tieren spoke first, looking at Jiang Tianming: "Tianming, do you remember what happened on the fifth floor now?"

"No," Jiang Tianming said regretfully, shaking his head. "The teachers said they’ll help us figure it out after the training, back at school."

Seeing Si Zhaohua also frown and shake his head, Ai Baozhu stomped: "So we got targeted by Black Flash for nothing—more than once! You guys even lost memories, and we can’t do anything about them?"

On that note, Lan Subing whispered happily: "Not entirely. A-Jiang grabbed a button from an enemy. The teachers say it’s specially made, a key clue for tracking."

"A button?" We processed it, but before we could celebrate, we all showed surprise.

Mu Tieren repeated: "He took a button from the illusion?"

Lan Subing and the others nodded firmly. Jiang Tianming added: "I gave it to the teachers."

"How’s that possible!" Li Shu exclaimed, startling us.

Ignoring us, he fixated on Jiang Tianming: "How could you bring something from the illusion to reality? Those are fake!"

It was as absurd as bringing dream objects into the real world.

Jiang Tianming looked baffled, shaking his head: "I don’t know. When I woke up, it was in my hand."

"Let me try entering my illusion to see if I can bring something out!" Li Shu shed his usual gentle facade, showing obsession. "You have to try."

I didn’t want to get caught in their spat and slipped out. My manga persona made me enjoy drama, but I wasn’t keen on real arguments.

Feng Lan and Wu Jin came out too. Noticing my glance, Feng Lan said seriously: "It’ll get heated."

Wu Jin sighed in relief. The tense vibe he’d sensed was right, and he’d escaped in time.

Seeing we’d all ducked out for the same reason, I chuckled: "Poor Lan Subing."

She likely felt the brewing storm but stayed because one side was her friend. Witnessing an argument firsthand—how painful for a social anxiety sufferer!

Ling You stayed too, but she wouldn’t empathize with Lan Subing. She wasn’t socially anxious, just aloof.

At my words, Feng Lan and Wu Jin paused, then nodded in agreement.

Poor Lan Subing.

We chatted outside a bit before Feng Lan and I strolled back to our room. As I closed the door, Manga Consciousness spoke: "《King of Abilities》 has updated. Please check."

A manga update? I raised an eyebrow, unsurprised. Though it hadn’t been long since the last update, the past few days’ events were enough for a chapter.

After washing up, I leaned against the pillow under the inn’s bedside lamp and opened the latest chapter.

It started with Si Zhaohua and Jiang Tianming’s teams taking on their missions. The frame split, showing Ai Baozhu and Si Zhaohua simultaneously calling their drivers to send cars.

Both teams set out, with the manga alternating scenes: Jiang Tianming’s progress, then Si Zhaohua’s.

Since I knew my side’s story, I focused on Jiang Tianming’s. Their mission involved less human interaction.

Professionals briefed them on the Nightmare Star’s appearance, habits, and abilities, showed a recorded video, then left. Jiang Tianming’s team had to plan the rest.

Nightmare Stars only appeared at night, so they spent the day building traps and strategizing.

I thought Si Zhaohua should’ve taken that mission. His Ability attracted Nightmare Beasts—maybe he could’ve lured them out during the day.

Next was our side. My talk with Wu Jin about the “Succubus” wasn’t shown, but it hinted we had secrets.

Skimming the comments and flipping through, I sped through the mission, grasping the keywords readers associated with me: “knowing.”

"Su Bei knows so much!"

"Is it just me, or does Su Bei always seem to know things in advance?"

"Mysterious persona stays strong. Where’s he getting this info?"

"What’s your little secret? Let me in on it!"

"..."

Seeing these, I knew it was time. But first, I’d finish the manga and check the forum’s vibe.

After the mission, we rested a day. That day wasn’t in the main story, but a manga side story was updated, likely showing our truth-or-dare game.

The maze Different Space was the main event. Jiang Tianming, true to being 《King of Abilities》’s lead, was chased from the moment he entered.

Shortly after arriving, he encountered a Skydome Ability Academy student. He could’ve beaten one, but the fight’s noise drew another—the Skydome team’s captain.

The captain’s Ability, [Boulder Control], was perfect in the stone maze, making him untouchable. Outmatched, Jiang Tianming fled. He met Li Shu, who used a pre-set trap to trip up the pursuers, letting them escape.

But Skydome had planted trackers on them. By afternoon, they were chased again, this time with Radicals—six in total, relentless.

I shook my head watching. Being the protagonist was rough! I wasn’t wrong calling him a jinx at the start.

Next was Wu Mingbai’s plot, matching Zhao Xiaoyu’s account with no discrepancies.

Lan Subing, Feng Lan, and Qi Huang’s team was the luckiest, mostly facing lone Ability users. But by night, their luck ran out—they met Sister Zhao.

Same spiel, same process, same steps. Lan Subing’s trio didn’t fall for it but followed to see what she was up to.

Only then did I learn Sister Zhao was a Radical. Her goal was to scout Abilities. Strong ones were recruited; weak ones became bait or labor.

Lan Subing’s trio wrecked the Radicals and escaped.

Notably, after all this time, I realized Lan Subing had the best luck in our S Class of 15. Maybe because it’s a manga world, luck stats were obvious.

Lan Subing was the type to win eight out of ten raffles, clearly carrying the “lucky girl” persona.

After noticing this, I searched the forums and confirmed she was indeed called the “lucky little girl.” In season one, she had many lucky moments, but I’d missed them, focused on the main plot.

After her, Mo Xiaotian had decent luck, embodying the “fool’s fortune” trope. He was clueless but never got the short end.

Then maybe Ai Baozhu or Si Zhaohua?

Feng Lan’s luck was good too, but being targeted and kidnapped twice made it hard to judge.

The manga showed his latest kidnapping was targeted. He sensed danger five seconds early via [Prophecy], but it wasn’t enough to dodge, so he gave up.

The unluckiest was undeniably me, followed by Jiang Tianming. In my eyes, we firmly held the bottom two spots.

Damn it! How’d I end up paired with the lead protagonist?

My thoughts wandered before I continued. Though the initial protagonist trio’s team got more screen time, the other three teams had some focus.

Mo Xiaotian and Ai Baozhu’s duo was a comedy goldmine. One a big goof, the other a rich girl—they weren’t here to train but to clown. Both lucky, they faced no real danger. Some shady lone Ability users appeared but were quickly seen through by Ai Baozhu.

Next was Si Zhaohua, Zhou Renjie, and Mu Tieren’s trio. Their experience was standard: chased by “soldier” tokens, then “chariot” tokens. From this, I learned “chariot” tokens chased the nearest person, while “soldier” tokens fixated on the first person they saw. Those marked by “Queen” weren’t targeted.

Finally, Ling You and I. The manga highlighted our encounter with the “Queen” token. I felt I came off a bit sloppy, but it was fine—saving someone was enough to make readers cheer.

If I’d adjusted my pointer then, I’d have been more graceful, but I was glad I held back.

If I had, I wouldn’t have had enough Mental Energy yesterday to shift my pointer to the far left. Mental Energy should be saved—you never know when it’ll be critical.

Naturally, the next part was entering the illusion. This plot followed a timeline, starting with our group.

To my surprise, my offhand comment, “This sky... feels fake?” made it into the manga’s opening page!

No doubt it’d tie into my later “he knew it was an illusion” moment.

Scrolling down, after the scene of Si Zhaohua, Zhou Renjie, Mu Tieren, Ling You, and me climbing the staircases, the focus shifted to Si Zhaohua, fully showing how he cleared his stages.

Then a split frame showed the other three (minus me) in combat, indicating they faced challenges on each floor.

Finally, my most anticipated part!

[A golden-haired, purple-eyed, strikingly handsome teen calmly ascended the steps, moving upward steadily. He barely paused, lingering only a few seconds on each platform before continuing.

Unlike the others, he encountered nothing. Yet the teen didn’t seem surprised, carrying an air of inevitability, reaching the fifth floor.

The fifth floor was a bedroom-like room, its dim yellow lighting casting a lethargic mood.

As if returning home, the teen lay on the sofa with practiced ease, comfortably falling asleep.]

So they didn’t plan to show me using my Ability. I smiled, satisfied, and reopened the recently closed comments.

"????????"

"Isn’t everyone supposed to face challenges?"

"I don’t get it? Why’d he encounter nothing?"

"...?"

"Hahahaha, what’s this? Giving Su Bei a free pass?"

"How can Su Bei sleep in that setting?"

"Where are the enemies? Not a single one?"

"High schoolers’ stamina is unreal, sleeping on cue."

"His Ability? Su Bei used his Ability, right?"

"That Ability’s OP!"

"My brain’s frying."

"The more I see, the more Su Bei feels like a mole. Gotta judge him on the forum."

Note :