A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

48:

In the blink of an eye, the next day arrived, and Jiang Tianming’s team of six gathered once again. The group competition would start tomorrow, and today they needed to familiarize themselves with each other’s abilities. Otherwise, it would be a joke if they were not tricked by the opponents but by their own teammates during tomorrow’s match.

Mo Xiaotian was the first to introduce his special ability: “My ability is [Air], I can create air blocks and adjust the pressure inside to make them explode.”

So that’s how the explosions came about, Su Bei understood. The others, who hadn’t seen Mo Xiaotian fight in the last two days, were very surprised.

Lan Subing widened her eyes, struggling to speak: “You can make air explode? How powerful is it?”

“Not very,” Mo Xiaotian shook his head in disappointment, “You see.”

With that, he raised his hand and summoned an air block. From this, it was evident that he was extremely proficient in using this skill; he framed some sand with it so that the others could clearly see the outline of the block.

Outlined by the sand, the others could see that the block wasn’t large, only the size of a head.

Looking at its size, Su Bei suddenly asked: “What if you use an air block to cover someone’s head? Could you deprive the air inside and directly suffocate them to win?”

Upon hearing this, everyone’s eyes lit up. Indeed, it was a great method, and if it could be done, it would undoubtedly be a lethal move against carbon-based life forms that need to breathe.

Unfortunately, Mo Xiaotian shook his head; he had also tried various methods of using his ability: “It can’t be done. The block cannot move while I’m adjusting the air inside.”

That is to say, as long as the enemy escapes the defined range of the square, they will not be affected.

Similarly, this applies to explosions. As long as one avoids the blast area, they will not be harmed. However, unlike depriving the square of air which causes suffocation, making the air square explode is not easily detected, thus it’s easier to fall prey to it.

While speaking, the sand that had been continuously swirling within the previously created air square halted, suspended in mid-air. Mo Xiaotian said, “The air pressure inside the square has been adjusted, ready to explode. Who among you wants to experience it?”

The crowd: “……”

Everyone unanimously took a step back. Even if the damage was minor, no one wanted to experience being blown up. Wu Mingbai conjured a small mound of earth next to the air square and said gruffly, “Go ahead, explode it.”

Mo Xiaotian chuckled foolishly, then controlled the square to explode.

“Bang!”

With a sound akin to firecrackers bursting, the mound was blasted away. However, only a small part was blown apart; the rest remained intact in its original place.

Wu Mingbai immediately judged, “If it explodes next to someone’s head, it could disfigure them, but that’s about it.”

The head is both strong and fragile. An explosion next to it can’t threaten life, only disfigure, showing that its power is indeed mediocre. At most, it can penetrate the skin, not the bones.

“Can you create another one for me to see?” Jiang Tianming had an idea, “If you change the pressure inside, would the sensation be different?”

Mo Xiaotian nodded honestly and dejectedly, rambling complaints about himself: “Yes, when I developed this ability, I thought it would be very powerful. But it’s actually very hard to hit people with it. And even if I want to explode it near someone, I can’t be too close, or it will be detected. Each of these explosive squares takes ten seconds to prepare. To harm someone, you have to ensure the opponent doesn’t discover the square during this time, and at the moment of explosion, you can’t be too far away, or the power will be too weak—”

Listening to him blurt out all the shortcomings of his ability in one breath, the expressions on everyone’s faces went from concern to shock to numbness. Was this guy being overly honest? They were opponents just the day before, and even though they were cooperating now, was there a need to reveal everything?

In the end, it was the eldest brother, Mu Tie Ren, who stepped forward and covered Mo Xiaotian’s mouth: “That’s enough, you’ve already said plenty.”

Standing on the edge, Su Bei curiously watched the struggling Mo Xiaotian, eager to know how he developed such a character.

From the mark behind his neck, Su Bei was certain Mo Xiaotian belonged to the Black Lightning organization, and he knew it himself, otherwise, he wouldn’t have covered the mark with a band-aid.

But how could a spy carefully cultivated by a villainous organization have such a character?

Su Bei could tell there were no traces of acting in Mo Xiaotian, and the naive sweetness wasn’t easy to feign. Unless Mo Xiaotian was a top-tier actor, he probably was genuinely naive and sweet.

Such a character sent to be an undercover agent? Then Su Bei could only say that he could see the end of this organization’s future at a glance.

To prevent Mo Xiaotian from revealing any more of his secrets, Jiang Tianming quickly changed the subject: “My special ability is [Object Control], which allows me to manipulate movable objects. The difficulty of control is based on the object’s weight.”

“Can you control the human body? Like controlling my hand,” Mo Xiaotian asked curiously, waving his arms.

Jiang Tianming had actually experimented with this question before: “If a person is unconscious, although it’s very difficult, it is possible. But if they’re not, then it can’t be done.”

The ability sounded similar to advanced telekinesis, both involving the consumption of mental power to manipulate objects. However, the difference lies in the fact that the former uses a special ability as a medium, consuming far less mental power than the latter.

Unlike Mo Xiaotian, Jiang Tianming didn’t reveal much. He not only concealed his true special ability, but even the functions of this sub-ability were only partially disclosed. Important information, such as his ability to control others’ special creations, was directly hidden.

But this was normal; in fact, it’s rare for someone like Mo Xiaotian to reveal everything. Keeping some cards close to one’s chest allows for surprises at critical moments.

Next was Wu Mingbai: “My special ability is [Earth Element], which allows me to create various types of soil, and now I can even produce a bit of stone.”

He didn’t reveal much either, but aside from the possibility that his displayed abilities in the first season might have been sealed, there really wasn’t much to hide about his powers.

“I have [Body Strengthening], as you all know,” said the cheerful Ironwood Man, turning to Su Bei next to him, “How about we have a fight? That way, you can directly experience my strength.”

Suddenly feeling lively, the professional slacker Su Bei decisively refused: “No thanks.”

His refusal was due to not wanting to waste energy fighting others and not wanting to face defeat. Although he might not necessarily lose to Ironwood Man, the mere possibility was enough for Su Bei to avoid the risk.

If he were to fail, no reader would believe

his physical skills were the best among the newcomers. And that would be a significant loss for him, a risk Su Bei was not willing to take.

Seeing his refusal, Ironwood Man didn’t insist, merely sighing: “Alright then, but at least my physical skills are pretty good now, right? I’ve tried before; I can lift six times my own body weight.”

The current world record held by ordinary humans is lifting three times their body weight in barbells. With special abilities enhancing them, superhumans generally have a physical condition much stronger than ordinary people, usually around three times as well. Ironwood Man being able to lift six times was indeed remarkable.

Of course, it’s not about how impressive the number six is, but the fact that he, with an ability assigned to Class F, could achieve such a feat was extraordinary.

The same sentiment was echoed, he was progressing too fast. Being able to lift six times his own body weight, even being placed in Class B would be justified.

Clearly, not only Su Bei noticed this anomaly, but Jiang Tianming also sensed something unusual. The rapid improvement of special abilities, was it a case of late blooming, or was there something special at play?

However, considering there were many with secrets in the squad, and even Jiang Tianming himself had secrets, he didn’t say much and turned to look at Lan Subing.

Understanding the cue, Lan Subing softly introduced her special ability: “My ability is [Word Spirit], which allows what I say to become reality. But as you know, I have severe social anxiety, so I can only use my ability when there aren’t many people around. Once there are too many, I can’t speak at all.”

The spirit of words paired with social anxiety, even now, Su Bei finds the manga author’s setting quite intriguing. But in fact, this is also a limitation of this special ability, which seems quite reasonable when you think about it.

Finally, there’s Su Bei, who with a pinch between his index finger and thumb, conjures a gear: “The Gear of Fate, capable of manipulating gears and predicting destiny.”

Unlike the others, he hardly conceals that he’s hiding something about his ability. Everyone present knows he has the power to change fate, yet he chooses not to reveal it.

Logically, such behavior should be condemned in the team, but unfortunately, since almost everyone has their own secrets, no one dares to accuse him.

They don’t know how much Su Bei really knows, but they are aware that he must have some channels of information. If one were to accuse him, it might lead to their own secrets being exposed, akin to ‘stealing a chicken only to lose the rice used to lure it.’

Jiang Tianming coughs to draw everyone’s attention: “Although it’s unclear how the team competition will be conducted, I think it’s unlikely we’ll always act together. If we need to split into groups, the six of us can pair up two by two. Shall we divide the groups in advance?”

He is indeed very thoughtful, foreseeing this. Everyone nods in agreement, each looking for a suitable partner.

Wu Mingbai and Lan Subing pair up; he can create earthen walls, providing Lan Subing with a simple, independent space conducive to her use of word spirits.

Jiang Tianming pairs with Mutie Ren, Su Bei with Mo Xiaotian, as they lack abilities that complement each other, so the pairing is one with good physical skills with another of average ability.

After all is settled, Jiang Tianming extends his hand, palm down: “So, shall we give our best in the team competition?”

The others place their hands on top of his, and together they lift their hands: “Let’s do our best!”

The next morning at seven, all the first-year students appear on the playground with their backpacks. Today is the day the team battle begins,

and everyone must participate.

The backpacks, as required by the school, contain a bottle of mineral water and a roll of paper.

Besides the first-year students, the playground is filled with many new faces, also in uniforms but of a different color from the first years’.

Seeing them, everyone has their guesses; these are likely the upperclassmen returning to school as the first-year monthly exams come to an end.

It seems all upperclassmen are curious about the first years, so they gather around the perimeter of the playground, discussing in pairs and groups as if watching monkeys at a zoo.

It’s evident they have their ways of knowing about the newcomers, so many gather around Class F, pointing and speculating about Jiang Tianming and the others.

They don’t know the final rankings, but making it to the last day as Class F is already interesting enough.

Everyone is somewhat unaccustomed, except for Lan Subing. It’s not that Lan Subing isn’t unaccustomed; she feels like she’s about to die.

Save me, save me, save me! So many people are watching her, ahhh! It would be so easy to let her die, there’s no need to torment her like this!

Jiang Tianming and Wu Mingbai know Lan Subing very well, understanding that she can’t handle such situations, so they tacitly try their best to shield her from the surrounding onlookers with one in front and one behind.

Due to his advanced mental abilities, Su Bei’s senses are now incredibly sharp, allowing him to clearly hear the discussions of the spectators.

“These new students are not up to par, how could Class A lose to Class F?”

“If you ask me, it’s clearly the school’s fault for placing so many talented students in Class F. That testing machine should have been replaced long ago!”

“And you know what, the new students seem to have high attractiveness? The one with golden hair, white hair, black hair, brown hair, I feel like I’m playing an otome game!”

“It’s obviously a harem selection, I’m thinking of going for a little brother romance, what do you guys think?”

Su Bei: “……”

He blinks, pretending he hasn’t heard anything.

Soon, the head teacher takes the stage. Their first-year head teacher is a woman in her thirties, fitting Su Bei’s stereotype of a head teacher perfectly, with her hair in a bun, wearing glasses, and a serious face.

Without a doubt, to become the head teacher at the academy for the gifted, she possesses a very powerful ability. It’s said that Principal Li’s ability is “Teaching Benefits Both,” which allows her or others to learn new abilities.

Among the items that can be exchanged with good points, there is one that allows for a tutoring session with Principal Li.

The head teacher doesn’t waste any time and starts talking about the team competition: “For this team competition, we will place you all in an alternate space.”

“Alternate space?!” Upon hearing this term, the crowd immediately becomes restless.

The alternate space is the channel through which the nightmare beasts come to Earth. They travel from their birthplace to the alternate space, and then, when the alternate space borders the outside world, they come out to harm humanity.

As for the birthplace of the nightmare beasts, they have yet to learn about it.

Back to the alternate space, because it is inhabited by many nightmare beasts, it is very dangerous. Su Bei has already heard the surprised voices of the senior students around him.

Knowing that this news is hard for everyone to accept, the head teacher explains: “Don’t worry too much, this alternate space has already been swept by us, there are no particularly dangerous nightmare beasts inside. Moreover, we will distribute a watch to each person, and as long as you break the watch’s face cover, you can be immediately transported out of the alternate space. If you encounter a fatal danger, the watch will also automatically transport you out of the alternate space.”

Hearing this, the crowd relaxes considerably. Being able to leave at will greatly reduces the danger level. Besides, since the place has already been swept, there shouldn’t be many nightmare beasts left, right?

As everyone quieted down, the director of instruction waved his hand, signaling the teachers to distribute watches to everyone. Su Bei received his watch from Meng Huai and carefully observed it on his wrist.

Though it was called a watch, it wasn’t just for telling time. There was also a square on it, displaying the number 0.

Once everyone had their watches, the director continued, “You must have noticed the number on your watch by now, which represents your points. Your final assessment ranking will be calculated based on the total points of your group.”

“Killing nightmare beasts, eliminating opponents, completing tasks, all these can earn you points. Tasks are randomly distributed in the alternate space, and you’ll know when you encounter them.” Director Li raised both hands, each adorned with a watch. As the faces of the two watches touched, a “beep” sounded.

“After adjusting the options on the watch, touching them together like this will transfer points.” She said, and then, unexpectedly, she smiled—a stark contrast to her stern appearance—”Seeing this feature, some of you might have guessed. Yes, we allow the seizure of points. Points that are taken away will not be counted in the final score, so if you’re worried about your current points being stolen, you can choose to smash the watch face and exit the competition early.”

They actually allow the seizure of points? Truly stirring up chaos. Su Bei’s eyebrows raised, already imagining how chaotic the team battles would be.

Yet the person on stage didn’t care about the impact of this rule on the students, continuing on her own, “This watch has more functions than I’ve just mentioned, which you can explore on your own.”

“You will stay in the alternate space for up to three days, after which we will transport you out. As for food and water during this time, you’ll need to find it yourselves. Oh, and by the way, if someone manages to eliminate all the nightmare beasts or all the other teams, the alternate space will automatically close, and you can leave early.”

Though that’s what was said, undoubtedly, for freshmen to eliminate all the nightmare beasts in the alternate space—even if a large part of them has already been eradicated—is nearly impossible.

And eliminating everyone is also difficult, not just a matter of strength. Unless the alternate space is very small, if someone wants to hide, finding them is not an easy task.

It seems like it’s going to be three days of wilderness survival. Thinking this, Su Bei’s mood was actually quite relaxed. He had, of course, received wilderness survival training from his father, and as long as the environment in this space wasn’t particularly rare, surviving three days would be a breeze.

And within the team, neither Jiang Tianming nor Wu Mingbai should worry too much about this, as their previous grouping had conveniently separated the three of them, one to lead each. In other words, their team shouldn’t be troubled by wilderness survival.

Clearly, this was a huge advantage for them compared to other groups.

After explaining the rules, Director Li raised her hand, and a large black door rose beside the podium. The door was open, and inside was a dark expanse,

() where nothing could be seen clearly.

“Now, the team leaders I call, bring your team through this door, and you will be randomly transported to a location in the alternate space.”

“First group, Jiang Tianming.”

Hearing his name called first, Jiang Tianming was momentarily stunned, then quickly recovered, gestured, and led his team of six into the black door under the watchful eyes of all, the first to enter.

After entering, there was no feeling of dizziness, just darkness, and when he opened his eyes again, he was already standing in the alternate space. Su Bei first checked that all members were present, then began to observe the surrounding environment.

Here should be a vast forest, with towering trees all around, blotting out the sun. Layers upon layers block all paths, and anyone who has seen this place would immediately understand why it’s easy to get lost in the forest.

But unlike a real forest, this place is too quiet. Normally, the chirping of birds, a common sound in the forest, is absent here, leaving only the rustling of leaves stirred by the wind.

However, it makes sense, as this is the habitat of the nightmare beasts. Nightmare beasts have an innate desire to destroy all living creatures, naturally not allowing birds to exist in this forest.

From noble mtl dot come

At the moment, there seems to be no danger. Su Bei looks down at his watch. It’s a touchscreen watch, and besides time and points, there are several options displayed. One of them is to exchange points, which he already knew about. But Su Bei also sees options like “Map,” “Leaderboard,” and “Missions.”

He presses the map first, and a map immediately appears on the small screen. There are only five red dots and one green dot on the map. If nothing goes wrong, the green dot should represent himself, and the red dots, his teammates.

Clicking on the leaderboard, it’s currently empty, probably because no one has earned any points yet. The mission tab is also empty.

“Now that it’s still early, let’s walk together and see if we can encounter any missions or nightmare beasts. If needed, we can split up into yesterday’s groups. Do you have any objections?” Jiang Tianming, with his leader’s personality, quickly adapts to the environment and speaks up first.

Everyone nods in agreement, but no one speaks. Suddenly thrust into a strange and dangerous environment, everyone’s mood is somewhat subdued. Indeed, their individual combat records are impressive, but there’s a big difference between arena matches and real combat. Even Su Bei, who has trained in the forest, lacks confidence in ensuring safety in such an environment.

But clearly, one person’s demeanor is different from the rest—Mo Xiaotian looks around excitedly, his fiery red hair swaying like flames in the wind: “I’ve never been to a big forest before!”

With that, he takes a deep breath: “The air is so fresh!”

Seeing his relaxed demeanor, everyone feels a bit like laughing. Wu Ming, with a mix of amusement and sarcasm, says, “Do you think this is a vacation?”

However, Mo Xiaotian doesn’t catch the sarcasm and instead has an epiphany: “You’re right, this is like the school sending us on a disguised trip! Hehe, the school is really good to us.”

Everyone: “…”

Is he an idiot?!