A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 86

After he left, the classmates in the class indeed started talking. The first to speak was Mo Xiaotian: “I feel like President Mu is so interesting. I also want to join the Student Council!”

For others in this class, joining the Student Council would be a piece of cake, but for Mo Xiaotian to join... Jiang Tianming glanced at the highly enthusiastic boy and could only say dryly: “Good ambition.”

Lan Subing asked curiously: “The teacher just said President Mu is very powerful. Does anyone know what his Ability is?”

Regarding this, Si Zhaohua actually knew before enrolling: “His Ability is [Light of Hope]. It’s said to be an extremely rare Ability that doesn’t require Mental Energy. As long as he has hope in his heart, he can unleash it.”

Everyone: “?”

Lan Subing weakly voiced what everyone was thinking: “A cheat?”

Su Bei thought to himself, isn’t that the truth? This Ability was even more protagonist-like than the protagonist. Something like “as long as hope doesn’t fade, the battle never stops.” Why not just let him be the protagonist of King of Abilities?

Seeing everyone’s reaction, Si Zhaohua shook his head: “But on the flip side, once disappointment creeps into his heart, the Ability’s power is greatly weakened. Still, there’s no doubt his Ability is extremely powerful.”

It sounded like an Ability with both pros and cons. On someone as optimistic as Mo Xiaotian, it would be like adding wings to a tiger. But on a pessimistic person, it might as well not exist.

Still, this didn’t change the fact that the Ability was incredibly strong. Someone who could become the Student Council President was indeed impressive.

Who would’ve thought, judging by his carefree demeanor earlier, that he possessed such a powerful Ability? “By the way, is anyone planning to join the Student Council?” After explaining the President’s situation, Si Zhaohua asked, “I’m thinking of giving it a try.”

“I’m going too,” Zhao Xiaoyu immediately said. She wanted to stay in the Ability world, but with her Ability, she might not even stay in Class S. So, she had long planned a path for herself: use her Class S status to join the Student Council early, then stay at the school as a teacher in the future.

She absolutely had to join the Student Council!

In the end, everyone decided to visit the Student Council together in two days. The intervening time would, of course, be used to research Student Council roles and write application reports.

Not everyone was keen on joining, though. Su Bei, Wu Jin, Lan Subing, and others had no interest at all. But the others made the decision unanimously, leaving no room for objections.

They didn’t strongly oppose it either. Even Su Bei was somewhat curious about the Student Council. The manga’s plot had progressed to this point, and with the sudden appearance of new characters, it was obvious they’d have to interact later. Knowing more in advance wouldn’t hurt.

Aside from Meng Huai, who slacked off today under the excuse of Student Council recruitment, the other teachers still taught diligently. Perhaps because the first training expedition had ended, the difficulty of their courses had increased, and two more classes were added.

One was a wilderness first-aid course taught by Ye Lin. After all, they couldn’t always have a doctor nearby, especially since this year’s Class S didn’t have a single healing-type Ability.

The closest were Lan Subing and Ling You. The former could use [Word Spirit] to heal, but that was somewhat wasteful. The latter could easily handle plague-type viruses but was too limited.

Relying on oneself was better than relying on heaven or earth. Learning more first-aid knowledge would make self-rescue easier when needed.

The other class was Ability Identification, taught by Lei Ze’en. This course aimed to broaden students’ knowledge, covering not just Ability items but also special Nightmare Beasts, Ability organizations, and more.

Ability items, in particular, were tricky. Ability users could create all sorts of strange items, and often, not only was it hard to figure out their function, but even recognizing them as Ability items was difficult.

However, Ability items did have certain differences from ordinary objects, so they weren’t entirely indistinguishable. Each category had its own characteristics, and recognizing these could roughly determine an item’s function. This was what they needed to learn.

In truth, ordinary students wouldn’t need this knowledge. Ability items weren’t that common and weren’t used for trivial matters. Special Nightmare Beasts usually meant significant strength, which they wouldn’t encounter either.

Thus, this course was exclusive to Class S, not offered to regular students. Fortunately, everyone understood its importance and listened attentively.

Notably, during the arena matches on the second day, Li Shu finally got his wish to fight Jiang Tianming. But this time, Jiang Tianming didn’t manage to pull anything out of the illusion, and the teachers couldn’t figure out why.

On Wednesday, the group went to the Third Teaching Building as planned. The Third Building was the faculty office building, but it was said that the entire fifth floor, including the rooftop, belonged to the Student Council.

With this setup, Su Bei sometimes felt the school was full of protagonist vibes.

On the way, Zhao Xiaoyu casually mentioned her findings from yesterday’s research: “Our school’s Student Council is mainly composed of third- and second-year seniors. Very few first-years can join.”

“That second-year senior who presented the PPT the other day is the President’s secretary, named Feng Manman. Usually, after the President steps down, the secretary takes over the position.”

At this, she showed an admiring expression: “Senior Feng is the only person in the past fifty years at Endless Ability Academy to successfully become the President’s secretary as a Class B student.”

To become the President’s secretary—essentially the next Student Council President—strength was indispensable. Almost every year, it was a Class S student, rarely Class A, let alone Class B.

Considering the position required student elections, for a Class B student to gain the trust of other prodigies showed Feng Manman’s remarkable ability.

Everyone immediately showed admiring looks. Mo Xiaotian asked curiously: “What’s the secretary senior’s Ability?”

“It’s the healing-type [Heart of Purification]. It doesn’t just heal people but can also purify Nightmare Beasts. Senior Feng participated in the Lando Plains Campaign as a first-year, killing Nightmare Beasts while healing allies. Alongside other students, including our Student Council President, she helped defend a city, becoming famous in one battle.”

The Lando Plains Campaign was something they’d studied in history class, emphasized because the school had been involved.

At that time, three massive Different Space portals suddenly appeared on the Lando Plains, with countless Nightmare Beasts pouring out. Many Ability users were forcibly conscripted by the government, and it took a full six months of fierce fighting.

Hearing that Feng Manman participated in such a major campaign as a first-year, everyone was naturally impressed. But Mu Tieren was puzzled: “With such a powerful Ability, how was she assigned to Class B?”

Zhao Xiaoyu hadn’t dug that deep. She was just an ordinary person with no connections in the Ability world. Knowing this much was already thanks to her strong social skills; deeper information was hard to come by.

“Mental Energy,” Wu Jin suddenly said in a low voice.

Though his voice was soft and low, everyone, being Ability users with enhanced physical abilities, heard him clearly.

His background was an open secret in Class S, so no one doubted his words.

Zhao Xiaoyu was stunned but quickly realized: “You mean Senior Feng’s Mental Energy is lacking? But how could that be? If her Mental Energy was weak, how could she have played such a big role on the battlefield?”

Wu Jin spoke again, still in a low voice: “Life force.”

At this, everyone fell silent. As Ability users, they understood what he meant. It wasn’t impossible to use an Ability without Mental Energy; one could use life force instead.

Using life force made it easier to unleash an Ability, even amplifying its effects. But unlike Mental Energy, life force couldn’t be easily restored—almost never, in fact. Using life force meant sacrificing lifespan.

“Then she now...” Lan Subing asked softly, her expression pained. She was someone who easily empathized with others.

Fortunately, Wu Jin gave a reassuring answer: “The Academy gave her many life force restoration items, and she’s mostly recovered now.”

Everyone sighed in relief. A hero like her shouldn’t perish early for saving others; that would only dishearten people. This also showed the Academy’s vast resources, able to restore even lost life force. But truthfully, talk of life force consumption and wars felt too distant. Zhao Xiaoyu changed the topic: “Which departments are you all applying to?”

This question carried her own little agenda.

As first-years, they could only choose departments. While their Class S status made joining the Student Council easy, a department wouldn’t recruit too many first-years.

If everyone chose different departments, it’d be fine, but if they targeted the same one, competition was inevitable.

The others didn’t notice—or didn’t care about—her subtle intentions and shared their desired departments.

With ten people wanting to join—Jiang Tianming, Wu Mingbai, Mu Tieren, Mo Xiaotian, Li Shu, Si Zhaohua, Zhou Renjie, Ai Baozhu, Qi Huang, and Zhao Xiaoyu—there were bound to be overlaps.

Zhao Xiaoyu’s choice, the External Affairs Department, only had Qi Huang as a competitor, so both should get in. But what truly surprised everyone was how many wanted to join the Disciplinary Department. Qi Huang, Zhou Renjie, Mu Tieren, and Mo Xiaotian all applied for it.

Wait, did someone odd sneak in?

“Hold on, Mo Xiaotian, what are you doing?” Wu Mingbai asked with a strange expression. He could ignore the others, even Zhou Renjie, but Mo Xiaotian was too much.

He and discipline weren’t exactly a match made in heaven—more like polar opposites. They had no connection whatsoever!

The others also looked at Mo Xiaotian oddly, not because they looked down on him, but because he wasn’t someone who cared about rules. He couldn’t even recite the school regulations! Managing discipline? That sounded absurdly out of place!

“As out of place as Su Bei managing discipline,” Lan Subing muttered.

With his sharp hearing, Su Bei’s mouth twitched. He gave Lan Subing a half-smile: “Someone like me, isn’t that exactly the kind of disciplinary officer everyone hopes for?”

At his bold claim, everyone wanted to retort but froze. Su Bei’s words... seemed kind of true? Someone like him as a disciplinary officer would probably ignore everything and even lead the chaos.

Such a disciplinary officer would indeed be a student favorite.

Jiang Tianming’s eyes flashed with amusement as he made a welcoming gesture: “Then shall our most popular disciplinary officer apply?”

No need for that. He didn’t want to pile work on himself, especially not in a thankless place like the Disciplinary Department. Su Bei gave a fake smile: “Let’s leave some opportunities for others.”

After saying that, he thoughtfully looked at Mo Xiaotian. The earlier interruption had let Mo Xiaotian dodge the issue, and bringing it up again now felt awkward.

But he wondered, was Mo Xiaotian joining the Disciplinary Department really out of interest? The Student Council was full of rules, and for someone like Mo Xiaotian, just being curious was one thing, but actually joining—especially the Disciplinary Department—was surprising.

The Disciplinary Department handled not only daily student regulations but also maintaining order at events.

Handing such a department to a villain, Su Bei could already foresee the school becoming a sieve.

Should he stop it?

With that thought, he asked Manga Consciousness in his mind: “Is Mo Xiaotian joining the Disciplinary Department a necessary plot point?”

Having partnered for so long, Manga Consciousness knew Su Bei well. Hearing this, it guessed his intentions and immediately stopped him: “No... it’s not entirely okay. This is a relatively necessary plot.”

Su Bei raised an eyebrow. “Not entirely okay”? “Relatively necessary”? What did that mean?

That short reply revealed a lot. Manga Consciousness’ response made Su Bei feel this was important but not irreplaceable.

Time to analyze from the start. What was Mo Xiaotian’s goal in joining the Disciplinary Department? Based on his analysis, it was likely to create a breach in Endless Ability Academy’s tight defenses, facilitating an invasion by Black Flash.

No doubt, if he didn’t intervene, Mo Xiaotian would successfully join. Once in, he’d start his mission, which could only succeed or fail.

If he succeeded, what would happen? Black Flash would invade. If they could infiltrate despite tight security, Su Bei didn’t believe they wouldn’t suspect an inside job. Once they investigated, they’d trace it to Mo Xiaotian.

In other words, success carried a high chance of exposing Mo Xiaotian’s identity.

What about failure? Failure had two possibilities. First, he’d be caught in the act, leading to exposure. Second, he’d mess up the mission himself, which might not expose him but could still leave clues.

Layer by layer, Su Bei’s thoughts cleared. Clearly, the author designed Mo Xiaotian’s Disciplinary Department role to set up his eventual identity exposure!

Su Bei understood: “So, as long as I can push for Mo Xiaotian’s identity to be exposed, he doesn’t have to join the Disciplinary Department?”

Used to Su Bei’s uncanny deduction skills, Manga Consciousness admitted: “Yes. So, what’s your plan? I need to assess if it’ll work.”

If he could arrange another event to expose Mo Xiaotian while preventing him from joining the Disciplinary Department, that could work.

But Su Bei shrugged: “Who said I’m going to stop him?”

He was just asking. Even without Mo Xiaotian’s internal help, many events would still happen. Why bother?

He’d only asked to see if he could actively change the plot. Getting a positive answer satisfied him.

At the fifth floor, many office doors were tightly shut, thick panels blocking outside views. Room 521 was the same, though faint voices came from inside.

Before Jiang Tianming could knock, the door opened from within. A dark-skinned boy saw them and gave a playful whistle: “Hello, little juniors!”

“Senior, hello. We’re from first-year Class S, here for the Student Council interview,” Jiang Tianming said politely, unfazed by the eccentric personalities of people like Li Shu and Mo Xiaotian.

The dark-haired boy looked intrigued, leaning against the doorframe: “Class S? Are you all joining the Student Council?”

“Not all. Some are just here to observe,” Jiang Tianming replied.

“Then...”

Before he could continue, a slightly hoarse female voice came from inside: “Zhang Sheng, step aside and let them in.”

Zhang Sheng? This flamboyant guy had such a refined name? Everyone was surprised.

After the voice spoke, Zhang Sheng dropped his playful demeanor and obediently moved aside. They then saw the speaker was Feng Manman.

Besides her, there was another girl they didn’t know, with long, wavy brown hair, mature and beautiful.

Pushing up her glasses, Feng Manman gave a standard smile and gestured to the long sofa opposite: “Please sit. The President was called away by a teacher but will be back soon. I heard you’re here to submit applications? You can hand them over now.”

Even without knowing her deeds, few in the group were troublemakers, especially after hearing about her. They obediently submitted their applications, disappointing Zhang Sheng, who’d hoped to give the newbies a scare.

The wavy-haired girl poured water into paper cups for them, smiling with a meaningful expression: “You’ve come to the right place. Our Student Council warmly welcomes newcomers.”

Her words felt vaguely ominous, especially as Zhang Sheng chuckled gleefully.

Zhao Xiaoyu felt uneasy and looked to Feng Manman for reassurance: “Senior, what’s it like joining the Student Council?”

Undoubtedly, Feng Manman was the only sincere one among the three. She answered directly: “No need to worry. It’s just that the midterms are coming up, and there’s an event afterward. So, joining now means you’ll be quite busy.”

Hearing this reason, everyone relaxed. Being busy was fine—someone like Zhao Xiaoyu even looked forward to it. More activities meant more contributions.

“Sister Man, your honesty will get you in trouble someday,” Zhang Sheng complained, having hoped to put on a show.

The wavy-haired girl glared at him: “If you can’t talk properly, don’t talk. Our Manman is an honest good kid.”

Defended like this, Feng Manman chuckled: “Alright, the juniors are here. I checked, and you submitted ten applications. The other five aren’t joining?”

Among those not joining, Su Bei was undoubtedly the most articulate. He stepped up: “Correct.”

“May I ask why?” Feng Manman looked at him closely. “Classmate Su Bei.”

They’d clearly researched this year’s Class S members. Su Bei wasn’t surprised: “Personality issues.”

He wasn’t wrong. Some were lazy, some were socially anxious, some disliked rules—all personality-related.

Feng Manman glanced at the list, noting those who didn’t apply, and made a mental note.

She didn’t ask if they’d reconsider or recommend departments but asked kindly: “If the Student Council needs your cooperation for tasks with your peers, would you be okay with that?”

Lan Subing didn’t mind. Even without Feng Manman’s words, she’d help if Jiang Tianming and the others needed her. But she struggled to speak to strangers, so she stayed back, hoping Su Bei would agree.

However, Su Bei smiled: “So, you want us to be free labor?”

He emphasized “free,” hinting he didn’t mind helping but not without some benefit.

Feng Manman understood and said: “Assisting the Student Council naturally comes with credit rewards.”

“Then we’re happy to help,” Su Bei replied, giving face.

As they spoke, someone pushed the door open—it was President Mu Yunfan. Seeing the extra people, he raised an eyebrow: “Here to apply? How many?”

“Ten,” Feng Manman answered.

That number was significant for past years. Mu Yunfan nodded, satisfied: “See, my approachable speech worked. You all wanted me to be serious. If I weren’t so relatable, would so many students join?”

The others rolled their eyes. Zhang Sheng didn’t indulge his ego, asking the applicants: “Did you join because of his speech?”

Of course not. Those applying had wanted to join before the speech, which had no impact.

Before they could answer, Mu Yunfan cut in: “Asking directly like that, they’ll be too shy to admit it. If you’re jealous of my charm, just say so. No need to undermine me.”

Zhang Sheng and the wavy-haired girl were speechless. Only Feng Manman remained composed, saying kindly to Jiang Tianming and the others: “Ignore them. Application results should be sent to your school email by tomorrow night at the latest. Details about joining the Student Council will also be emailed.”

Seeing such a stark contrast, they couldn’t tell who was the President and who was the secretary. Then Mu Yunfan remembered something, saying with a grin: “Oh, one condition for staying in the Student Council is passing all exams, at least.”

At this, most were fine, but Mo Xiaotian’s cheerful face collapsed. Unlike monthly exams, midterms were purely academic.

They tested not only Ability-related knowledge but also standard academic subjects to ensure students didn’t fall too far behind other high schoolers after leaving the Academy.

Mo Xiaotian was, without a doubt, a terrible student, unsalvageable even by his “guardians.”

Before Su Bei could stop him from joining the Disciplinary Department, he’d dug himself a huge hole. Su Bei patted his shoulder, giving a helpless look: “Good luck.”

Soon, all applicants were accepted, and the Student Council didn’t make things difficult, assigning everyone to their desired departments, which delighted them.

Mo Xiaotian was thrilled too, but with the “fail and get kicked out” sword hanging over him, his joy faded as midterms approached, replaced by rare anxiety.

Relying on himself was impossible. He was genuinely bad at studying, with self-study yielding zero results. Within days, he started pestering everyone for tutoring.

The top students in the class were Si Zhaohua, Lan Subing, Jiang Tianming, Qi Huang, and Su Bei—a fact easy to spot from past quizzes.

Naturally, Mo Xiaotian targeted them.

As expected, Lan Subing agreed first. Once she did, Jiang Tianming followed suit.

—And then they were endlessly tortured.

“It’s not that I don’t get it,” Jiang Tianming said, full of question marks. “Didn’t we just go over this problem?”

Mo Xiaotian sat at the desk, staring blankly at the test paper: “You didn’t go over it.”

“The problem’s different, but the method’s the same! Same formula. You can’t recognize something with a new head but the same butt?” Jiang Tianming was losing it.

Though not the most patient, he was usually calm. Yet after just two or three days of teaching, he was this frazzled, showing Mo Xiaotian’s immense power.

Jiang Tianming regretted agreeing, but backing out now would be too embarrassing.

Nearby, Lan Subing, just relieved from tutoring, had slightly messy blue hair and a dazed look, staring ahead, lost in thought.

After a moment, as Jiang Tianming roared again, she spoke: “The two of us aren’t enough.”

Jiang Tianming paused, eyes lighting up: “You’re right. Xiaotian’s case isn’t something we can handle alone. Let’s drag others in.”

With a plan, recruiting others was easy. Qi Huang and Si Zhaohua were cut from the same cloth; a challenge worked on them.

Mu Tieren and Wu Mingbai were roped in too. Mu Tieren’s grades were average but more than enough for Mo Xiaotian, and his patience would last longer. Wu Mingbai was a subject-specific expert, useful too.

With so many tutors, Mo Xiaotian’s grades finally crept up, but the tutors’ mental states plummeted.

They’d rather fight Nightmare Beasts for three hundred rounds than spend half an hour after school with Mo Xiaotian!

“There’s one thing I don’t get. Why didn’t you ask Su Bei?” Qi Huang, realizing she’d been tricked, asked indignantly. “Picking on the soft ones?”

Lan Subing, slumped on the desk, mumbled: “We asked, but he didn’t agree.”

More accurately, “We tried to trick him, but he didn’t fall for it.”

How could they not have asked Su Bei? Seeing him collapse under Mo Xiaotian’s torment would be more fun than watching Si Zhaohua and the others.

But Su Bei, well-versed in manga tropes, saw through Mo Xiaotian’s case as a nightmare to teach. He’d never intended to step into that abyss. Agreeing once would mean being dragged into tutoring before every exam.

The torment was intense and ongoing. He’d be crazy to fall for it.

After a pause, Qi Huang asked: “What about Feng Lan? His grades are decent, right?”

Lan Subing mumbled again: “He said he’d agree if Su Bei did.”

“So cunning!” Qi Huang was in awe, then frustrated at her own carelessness.

She’d vowed to follow Su Bei’s lead, yet forgot to do so in this case.

Nearby, Si Zhaohua sighed. He should’ve known anything Su Bei resisted so strongly wouldn’t be easy.

“No way!” Qi Huang, previously slumped with Lan Subing, shot up. “I’m going to try.”

She’d had enough. One more person suffering was better.

Si Zhaohua agreed instantly: “Count me in.”

Notably, unlike Jiang Tianming’s trio, who dragged each other down, Si Zhaohua honorably didn’t pull in Ai Baozhu or Zhou Renjie. But Su Bei got no such mercy—Si Zhaohua was eager to drag him into the torment.

The next day, as the first period’s bell rang, they exchanged a look and headed toward Su Bei.

Planning to nap on his desk, Su Bei looked up warily.

Was that... killing intent?

Qi Huang struck first: “Su Bei, didn’t you say you’d help if the Student Council was in trouble? There’s trouble now. Want to help?”

Su Bei raised an eyebrow, sitting up and leaning lazily against his chair: “What trouble?”

Qi Huang couldn’t tell the truth, or Su Bei would definitely refuse. But she couldn’t say nothing, or he’d get suspicious.

Si Zhaohua chimed in timely: “It’s about recruitment.”

He added: “The second-year seniors are about to start their training.”

Qi Huang wanted to applaud. Si Zhaohua made it sound like they needed help recruiting second-years for the Student Council.

If Su Bei asked later, they had an excuse: Mo Xiaotian failing and getting kicked out was related to Student Council recruitment. The second part? Just a casual remark—who knew he’d connect the dots?

With shining eyes, she stared at Su Bei, waiting for him to bite: “You’ll help, right?”

“No.”

“That’s gre—huh? Why not!” The two, ready to celebrate, were stunned by the sudden refusal.

Su Bei gave a half-smile: “Did you forget something? All first-years are busy with midterms right now. Even the Student Council wouldn’t be so harsh as to assign tasks now, would they?”

That was a flaw! Their eyes widened. They’d focused on using the Student Council as an excuse but forgot this basic fact. The Student Council wouldn’t assign tasks now, so their story didn’t hold up.

But they hadn’t exposed their goal yet, so maybe they could—

Before they could think of a new ploy, Su Bei tapped the desk slowly: “You want me to tutor Mo Xiaotian, don’t you?”

Only something like this would make these two team up to trick him.

Sure enough, their faces froze. Su Bei’s stance was clear: he wasn’t agreeing.

Seeing it was hopeless, Qi Huang gave up, slumping into the chair in front of him: “What would it take to get you to tutor Mo Xiaotian?”

Even when tricking someone, she avoided moral blackmail like “classmates should help each other.” She hated that herself and wouldn’t stoop to it.

Su Bei spread his hands: “Not happening.”

He wasn’t about to make trouble for himself.

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