A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

1:

When Subei entered the restroom, his mind was still foggy, as if shrouded in a cloud of mist. The sounds from the innermost stall reached his ears, faint and indistinct.

Wait a minute? Something seemed off.

Suddenly clear-headed, Subei realized something—the opening ceremony was about to start.

Based on his past experiences, the restroom should be crowded at this time. After all, once the speeches began, there would be no bathroom breaks for an hour or two, which is why he was here now.

But the restroom was eerily empty, save for someone likely in the innermost stall; the other compartments were unoccupied.

Subei, belatedly aware, turned his head and was startled to find a yellow sign had been placed at the entrance, probably bearing a “Do Not Enter” warning.

How had he missed it before?

Before he could ponder further, Subei, trained by his military father, sensed an extremely faint movement behind him.

Someone was approaching!

Almost instinctively, he lightened his breath without turning around, pretending to be unaware as he continued forward, feigning interest in the yellow sign at the door.

The presence behind him drew closer, and Subei quickly simulated the person’s movements from the slight breeze.

It must be someone about his height, who had emerged from the innermost stall upon hearing his footsteps, wielding a sharp object—Subei heard the whistling of metal through the air.

Now!

As if eyes had sprouted on his back, Subei’s hand precisely grasped the wrist of the assailant behind him just before the dagger could slice through his neck. With no hesitation, his right foot slid back in a sweeping motion, and with a combined force of wrist and torso, he flung the attacker over his shoulder onto the ground in front.

“Bang!”

The man behind him crashed onto the floor with a thunderous impact. Just as Subei had predicted, the man was about his height, dressed in black, with a silver mask that revealed only his purple-red eyes, nose, and mouth.

The dagger, meant for harm, slipped from the assailant’s hand and clattered to the ground due to the suddenness of the event.

Outside, hurried footsteps approached—it was the school staff, alerted by the noise in the restroom, coming to investigate.

Perhaps it was the sound of footsteps that heralded the change. Before Su Bei could remove his mask to see the true face of the man, the captive he had bound transformed suddenly and without warning into a wisp of black smoke, dissipating into the air.

“Superpowered.”

Su Bei’s complexion turned sour, realizing he probably wouldn’t find the other party. Just as he was about to stand up straight, he suddenly let out a pained grunt. It was as if his brain had been struck by something heavy, and then darkness fell before his eyes, and he slowly collapsed to the ground.

When he opened his eyes again, Su Bei found himself in a space of pure white.

Above, to the left, and to the right, everything was pure white, without any other marks, including the traces of walls. It was as if there were no boundaries at all.

Where was this?

He had clearly just fainted in the restroom and had already heard the footsteps of others from the school. Normally, a staff member who finds a student

fainted in the restroom would take them to the infirmary or a classroom.

But this place was clearly neither.

After a moment of hesitation, Su Bei chose to rise from the ground. His eyes were already open, and there was no one around; continuing to feign unconsciousness was clearly not a good strategy.

Rather than lying there in a state of decay, it was better to take the initiative to stand up and explore, to seize control.

Standing up, his gaze fell straight ahead. In the entire pure white space, there was only one thing: a table and a chair, with two books stacked on the table.

Su Bei looked around, confirming that there was indeed nothing else, and naturally walked over to the table, pulled out the chair, and sat down, then turned his attention to the books on the table.

Unexpectedly, the first book was a comic book. The cover featured several flamboyant characters, with a black-haired, black-eyed boy in the center, his expression resolute, embodying a spirit of moving forward courageously.

On either side was a man and a woman; the woman on the right had long water-blue hair with two braids tied in front of her chest. Her pale blue eyes were as calm as an ancient well. Her mouth was sealed with tape in the shape of a cross, as if she could not speak.

The man on the other side was all smiles, with brown hair and orange eyes, looking more like the protagonist of a shounen manga than the boy in the center.

Behind them were characters, both young and old, coming together to form this flamboyant comic cover.

At the top center was the bold title of the comic — “Superpower Reigns.”

The only keyword he could grasp from this title was “superpower,” a special ability that only a very few would awaken. These powers were varied and strange, each with different strengths.

All superpowered individuals, once discovered, would be sent to the “Endless Superpower Academy,” and only after graduation could they become official superpowered individuals allowed to use their abilities in society.

And it just so happened that Su Bei was also a person who had just awakened his special ability. Today marked the first day of school for freshmen at the “Endless Abilities Academy,” and he was a new student in Class F of the first grade.

Shifting his attention back to the book, Su Bei did not open it but instead glanced at the book beneath it. The book below was very thin, only a mere four or five pages long. Its cover was devoid of any illustrations, a plain white cover.

Flipping it open, he saw that it contained black and white comics.

Frowning in thought, he set down this book and began to focus on the first one.

Although he did not know the purpose of these two books being placed here, it was clear that someone wanted him to read these two comics.

Now, I am like a fish on the chopping block, subject to the will of others. Only by fulfilling the other party’s purpose can I possibly take further action.

Just like the impression given by the cover, this was a classic shonen manga full of youthful vigor. The protagonist was a black-haired, black-eyed boy named Jiang Tianming.

The protagonist, Jiang Tianming, and a brown-haired boy named Wu Mingbai were both orphans, while the blue-haired girl, Lan Subing, was the young heiress of the “Lan Corporation.” The first volume of the manga recounted the series of events they went through to uncover the truth behind the “suicide” of the orphanage director, who was like a mother to them. In the end, they discovered the truth and thwarted the evil corporation’s plot for human modification research.

Like all shonen manga, the trio formed a deep friendship through various humorous and touching daily life events, and each awakened their own special abilities.

Wu Mingbai had an ability from the start, the [Earth Element]. Despite his sunny appearance, he was always able to conceal the fact that he possessed special powers. Those who finished the first part of the manga knew that this guy was a classic case of “white on the outside, black on the inside.”

As for Lan Subing, she awakened the ability of [Word Spirit]. It must be said that awakening the [Word Spirit] ability in someone who was almost too socially anxious to speak was quite a cruel thing to do.

Regarding the protagonist, Jiang Tianming, he awakened the ability of [Death Summoning]. In the final moments, he summoned an adult woman who bore a striking seven-tenths resemblance to him and successfully defeated the final big boss.

At the end of the manga, the protagonist, Jiang Tianming, woke up in a hospital bed, looking at his palm with a dark and indistinct gaze: “The third one.”

Setting aside the cliffhanger laid out at the end of the manga, Su Bei quite liked the manga itself. The personalities of the three main characters were interesting and unconventional. The story was tightly linked, with many twists.

The special abilities of the three were also distinctive, bringing much joy to Su Bei, who had only awakened a trash ability and was assigned to Class F of the “Endless Abilities Academy.”

Su Bei himself, sixteen years old, had the ability [Gear]: he could produce gears of controlled patterns and sizes based on his mental strength.

A standard waste ability of Class F.

Fortunately, he had no intention of relying on his ability to live. His mother died in childbirth, and although his father died in the line of duty two years ago, the inheritance he left was enough for him to live a safe and secure life.

Su Bei planned to honestly graduate from Class F, open a hardware store afterward, and enjoy an early retirement, which he felt was not a betrayal of his ability.

But the problem is, he hadn’t even had the chance to attend the opening ceremony when he was inexplicably brought into this space to read comics. Even if the comic was captivating, why did they want him to see this?

Frowning at the last scene, Su Bei suddenly realized something. All three of them had awakened their special abilities during this time, so it was likely they would soon receive the admission notice from the “Endless Abilities Academy.”

With this thought, his eyebrows lifted slightly, revealing a subtle expression as he decisively opened the second comic.

As expected, the beginning of the second comic was the three of them receiving the admission notice from the “Endless Abilities Academy.”

In a few days, specialized inspectors would come to test their abilities’ levels for class placement. The process was exactly the same as when Su Bei had enrolled.

The class divisions at the “Endless Abilities Academy” were not fixed; students could progress at any time. After all, with the growth of mental strength and combat experience, even abilities that seemed useless could become powerful, allowing entry into better classes.

Lan Subing was originally assigned to Class A, but her ability of “Word Spirit” was hindered by her inability to speak, which was a significant drawback. At her request, she was moved to Class F. But once she could speak, she could easily be promoted.

Wu Mingbai, due to the average performance of his abilities, was placed in Class D.

And Jiang Tianming was assigned to Class F. His abilities should have placed him at least in Class C, but because he had exhausted his mental strength fighting the villainous boss in the previous volume, the inspectors could detect his ability but found his mental strength to be incredibly low, indistinguishable from an ordinary person, and thus he was placed in Class F.

They were also in the “Endless Abilities Academy,” and in Class F as well. Seeing this, Su Bei’s expression grew even more peculiar, muttering to himself, “I can’t possibly be in this comic too, can I…”

Turning the page, a murder occurred in the school restroom right after the start of school. A male student lay in a pool of blood, surrounded not only by bloodstains but also by scattered tiny gears.

At this sight, Su Bei’s expression vanished completely.

If he wasn’t mistaken, the boy lying on the ground was likely himself!