A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 33

The night before the individual battles of the monthly exam, the official website had already released the competition schedule. On the first day, each person only needed to participate in one round, and Su Bei's opponent was a student from Class C.

The opponent’s ability was listed in the information: [Rubber Man], which allows him to turn his body into rubber, greatly increasing his flexibility.

Honestly, with this ability, he could have been placed in Class B, but perhaps the school decided he still needed some training, so they placed him in Class C.

When Su Bei saw who his opponent was, a bitter smile appeared on his face. He really shouldn’t have overestimated his luck as cannon fodder. There were a total of 200 students from Classes C, D, and F combined, and he just happened to encounter one of the most formidable opponents among them.

His luck was truly something else.

This kind of ability was very restrictive for someone like Su Bei, who planned to rely on combat skills. After all, his opponent could easily perform many movements that the human body couldn’t, making techniques like shoulder throws difficult to execute effectively.

Moreover, a rubberized body meant he wouldn’t be easily injured, as such an elastic material wouldn’t be easily cut.

Despite these thoughts, Su Bei didn’t hesitate to place all his points on himself. If he didn’t believe in himself, he might as well concede right away.

Their match probably wouldn’t attract much attention, and not many people would bet on it. However, his opponent would likely place his points on himself, so as long as Su Bei won, he could at least earn his opponent’s points.

After placing his bet, he couldn’t help but ask, “Manga Awareness, is my bad luck something inherent to me, or is it because of my cannon fodder status?”

His luck had never been great, but it had never been this bad. Out of 200 students, there were only a dozen or so worth worrying about, yet he managed to encounter one in the first round?

"Manga Awareness" couldn’t help but sigh at his misfortune: “Your peak bad luck was at the moment when the killer killed you, but after being saved, your luck gradually started returning to normal. However, this process may take six months to a year, so…”

So he was still incredibly unlucky, which explained why he had such a terrible match-up in the first round. Su Bei could already imagine that by the third day, he’d be facing all Class A opponents.

For now, he focused on figuring out how to defeat the Rubber Man. Lying in bed and pondering, Su Bei gradually drifted off to sleep.

The next day, the competition officially began. The school divided the field into ten arenas, each spaced five meters apart, allowing ten matches to take place simultaneously. Each arena was 20x20 meters, with two referees overseeing them from the main stage, each responsible for five arenas.

Su Bei was in the third round, so it was soon his turn. Since he was the first among the main group to compete, Jiang Tianming and the others were all cheering him on from the sidelines, though Su Bei didn’t really need it.

Standing on the arena, the green-haired boy across from him started to manipulate his body with his ability, showing off to Su Bei.

Yes, showing off. He twisted his body into an S-shape one moment and a C-shape the next, demonstrating his ability to bend at will.

As he twisted his body, he loudly tried to persuade Su Bei to give up: “If I’m not mistaken, you’re from Class F, right? I suggest you surrender now and save us both the trouble. If you lose today, you can enjoy a four-day break—wouldn’t that be great?”

Seeing his relaxed demeanor, Su Bei raised an eyebrow, a gleam flashing in his eyes. He suddenly understood why this ability, which should have placed the boy in Class B, had landed him in Class C.

He feigned surprise and said, “Is this your ability? That’s amazing! You can change into so many shapes!”

Hearing this, the green-haired boy immediately became smug and flaunted his ability further, twisting his arm into different shapes. “Of course! And I don’t mind telling you that after this monthly exam, I’ll probably be moved up to Class B. You’re just unlucky to face me. You should surrender quickly before you get hurt.”

However, Su Bei shook his head, pretending to be troubled. “I really don’t want to fight either. My ability… well, being placed in Class F shows it’s not very useful. But our class teacher is very strict. If I surrender outright, I’ll definitely be punished after the exam.”

This made sense, and although the green-haired boy had never been to Class F, he had seen their burly teacher, who looked like a Spartan who would physically discipline his students.

Since he believed Su Bei was considering surrendering, the green-haired boy relaxed even more. Of course, his relaxed attitude was also because he didn’t think a student from Class F could pose any real threat.

“So what do you want to do? Should we just fake a fight?”

“No need to complicate things,” Su Bei shook his head, looking as if he had both their interests in mind. “Just use your ability to show me some really powerful moves. If my teacher sees how strong your attacks are, he won’t object to me surrendering.”

The green-haired boy thought this made sense and quickly agreed. He then used his ability to coil his body like a large snake: “See this? It’s my constricting technique. I can wrap around someone like a snake and squeeze them until they suffocate.”

After showing off, he retracted his ability, his face turning pale as he forced a casual smile at Su Bei. “Now you can surrender, right?”

“Let’s shake hands and end this peacefully,” Su Bei said with a smile, nodding as he walked towards the boy.

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But the green-haired boy wasn’t stupid. Seeing this, he immediately became wary. “Wait, don’t move! I don’t want to shake hands with you!”

Su Bei, however, wasn’t about to listen. Realizing his trick wouldn’t work, he decisively accelerated, covering three meters in a single stride, reaching the green-haired boy almost instantly.

Before becoming an Esper, the green-haired boy was just an ordinary person with no training. At this moment, he couldn’t react in time and was directly grabbed by Su Bei, who mercilessly threw him over his shoulder.

Instinctively, he tried to use his ability to save himself, but the performances he had just put on, especially the last one, had already drained a significant amount of his mental energy.

It’s important to note that the green-haired boy was placed in Class C temporarily due to his poor mental stamina. If not for his lack of endurance, he wouldn’t have tried to scare Su Bei off by showing off his ability instead of using it to directly throw him off the stage.

He had fallen into a trap!

It was only now that he realized Su Bei’s request for him to perform was a ploy. If he had known earlier, he would have used his [Rubber Man] ability to throw Su Bei off the stage while he still had the mental energy to do so.

Instead of conserving his mental strength and trying to intimidate Su Bei, which led to his downfall, he was now left powerless, unable to launch any effective attacks.

Without his ability, he was nothing more than easy prey for the well-trained Su Bei.

But there was no time for regrets. After being thrown to the ground, the green-haired boy felt dizzy, as if the world was spinning around him. When he finally regained his senses, he found himself standing below the arena. At some point, the referee came over and directly declared Su Bei the winner.

“How could you do this!” The green-haired boy’s face was pale from overusing his ability, but his cheeks flushed with a sickly red due to his anger. He pointed at Su Bei on the stage, furious, “You cheated!”

“All’s fair in war,” Su Bei said nonchalantly as he slowly walked down the steps from the arena, giving him a friendly wink. “Thanks for the victory and the points.”

At these words, the green-haired boy suddenly remembered the 20 points he had bet on himself before the match—15 points earned from three weeks of classes and 5 points from helping the teacher.

“Ah! My points!” The green-haired boy let out a pained cry and dramatically dropped to his knees, his face twisted in anguish as he looked up at the sky, “I’ll never forgive you!”

Su Bei: “…”

Enough, he had had enough! He was really fed up with this manga-like world!

However, it seemed that no one else thought there was anything wrong with the scene. Mo Xiaotian ignored the green-haired boy and was the first to rush to Su Bei’s side: “Su Bei, you were amazing! You didn’t even break a sweat against someone from Class C!”

Although he was from Class A, he didn’t look down on Su Bei’s achievement at all. In fact, he had an expression of genuine admiration.

Jiang Tianming glanced at the green-haired boy, still stunned by his unexpected loss in the first round, and walked over with a smirk: “That was ruthless. What would you have done if he just sat there and didn’t get up?”

Hearing this, Su Bei also glanced at the green-haired boy and, with a sly smile, said, “If you lose today, you get a four-day break. Isn’t that great?”

The green-haired boy found the words oddly familiar, and after a moment, he realized—they were the same words he had said to Su Bei on the ring!

His anger flared up, his face turning red with shame and frustration, and he jumped up, pointing at Su Bei’s nose: “You, you, you—”

But after sputtering for a while, he couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Su Bei turned to Jiang Tianming and raised an eyebrow: “See? He got up, didn’t he?”

“Hahaha!” Wu Mingbai was laughing so hard he looked like he’d lost his mind. “I’ve learned something today, a really good trick!”

It was unclear whether he meant he had learned a new combat technique or a new way to annoy people.

Lan Subing, looking calm and composed, gave Su Bei a thumbs-up. But Su Bei couldn’t shake the feeling that he had imagined her inner voice cheering excitedly.

The most normal reaction came from their class leader, Mu Tieren, who patted Su Bei on the back with an approving smile: “That was a nice shoulder throw. We should spar sometime.”

Su Bei nodded readily. Since arriving at the Ability Academy, it had been a while since he’d practiced with someone. Mu Tieren’s build and abilities would make him a great training partner, even if he hadn’t trained before.

Standing at the back, Feng Lan walked over after the others had dispersed slightly and asked, “Were you conserving your strength?”

Su Bei was momentarily confused, not understanding why Feng Lan would think that. Then he recalled their first time running laps, when he had told Feng Lan he was running slowly to save energy, and he suddenly understood Feng Lan’s question.

This was tricky to answer—this part might even get drawn into the manga. If he really did end up losing later, he’d be publicly humiliated. Better to stick with his usual approach. Su Bei gave a mysterious look and said, “Guess.”

Not long after, it was Feng Lan’s turn to compete.

If all goes as expected, the main characters’ matches should be later on, and the later the matches, the more people will place bets. This is because by that time, their own matches will be over, and with only a small number of matches left, fewer options will naturally lead to more bets.

Feng Lan’s opponent was a student from Class D, whose ability, if Feng Lan remembered correctly, was [Sharp Tongue], which currently allowed him to make his tongue extremely hard. It wasn’t very harmful, but it was definitely disgusting.

However, as long as he didn’t let his opponent’s head get too close, it wouldn’t be much of an issue; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been placed in Class D.

On the surface, Feng Lan didn’t seem to have any attack capabilities either. His physical fitness was indeed good, but Su Bei, who had been running with him every morning, knew very well that this guy had never systematically trained in any fighting techniques.

It was clear that his family was the type that believed abilities were superior to everything else and looked down on ordinary people’s methods. They made him exercise purely to increase his mental strength, not to learn any self-defense techniques that ordinary people used.

In this situation, he and his opponent were probably evenly matched.

But Su Bei knew it wouldn’t be that simple. If Feng Lan were evenly matched with a Class D Esper, what kind of prestige would a prophet like him have?

So, he was very interested in this fight. Just as Feng Lan was curious about what tricks Su Bei had up his sleeve, Su Bei was equally curious about Feng Lan’s.

Clearly, he wasn’t the only one interested in this. Not only did the main group show up, but Si Zhaohua and his team also came.

When they saw each other, both sides looked at each other with disdain, but they didn’t start arguing under the arena, avoiding making a scene for others to watch.

Surprisingly, Zhao Xiaoyu and Wu Jin also came. The moment Su Bei saw them, he knew he had guessed correctly—they had indeed joined Si Zhaohua’s team. Their presence here was likely to gauge the strength of their potential teammates for future group battles.

The arrival of a few Class A students attracted quite a crowd, and Su Bei quickly logged onto the official website on his phone to place a bet. Even a small profit was better than nothing.

Soon, the battle began. The Class D student, knowing his ability would probably be useless, didn’t let his guard down, even though he was facing someone from Class F. He circled Feng Lan cautiously, trying to find a breakthrough point.

However, to everyone’s surprise, Feng Lan was the one who took the initiative. He walked straight toward the Class D boy, scaring him into retreating while he desperately warned, “Don’t come any closer, or I’ll make my move!”

Unfortunately, his warning had no effect, and Feng Lan continued to approach him with determination.

Finally, the boy couldn’t take it anymore and struck out first, throwing a punch straight at Feng Lan’s face. His punch was fast, and at such close range, the chances of landing it were high.

But before he could feel proud of his surprise attack, Feng Lan easily tilted his head to avoid the punch. The boy, unable to stop his momentum, nearly stumbled.

If it had been Su Bei, he would have followed up with a kick at this point. Even if he didn’t knock his opponent off the stage, he would have at least temporarily disabled him, securing the victory.

But Feng Lan didn’t have that kind of combat awareness. He just slowly turned around and waited for his opponent to steady himself. The Class D boy, watching his slow movements, felt like he was being toyed with and became furious.

He clenched his fists again and charged at Feng Lan. This time, as he was about to punch, he also tried to trip the white-haired boy who had embarrassed him.

To everyone’s surprise, just as the punch was about to land on his face, Feng Lan effortlessly dodged it with a slight head tilt and a backward step, avoiding both the upper and lower body attacks. As a result, the Class D boy ended up falling to the ground.

Now he finally realized something was wrong. After missing two attacks, he understood that there was a significant gap in strength between him and the white-haired boy.

Hesitating for a moment, he stood up and said, “You’re too strong. I surrender. Let’s both step down together.”

Feng Lan calmly nodded and walked with him toward the stairs. But as they reached the staircase, the Class D boy, who was trailing behind, suddenly revealed a sinister expression and forcefully pushed Feng Lan in the back!

Ai Baozhu, who noticed this from below the stage, couldn’t help but gasp. However, the arena had isolation measures in place, so the people on stage couldn’t see or hear what was happening outside. This was to prevent anyone from using the audience to cheat.

Many people now thought the Class D boy was about to succeed and that Feng Lan was about to fall when suddenly Feng Lan sidestepped, avoiding the exit entirely.

The Class D boy, unable to stop his momentum, tumbled down awkwardly.

As Feng Lan descended the steps, the referee came over to announce the result: “Feng Lan wins!”

Su Bei thoughtfully watched Feng Lan approach, now understanding what his trump card was.

He hadn’t expected [Prophecy] to have this kind of function, allowing him to foresee what would happen in the next few seconds. If that wasn’t the case, how could an untrained Feng Lan have dodged all of his opponent’s attacks as if he had premonitions?

Moreover, judging by the fact that Feng Lan didn’t even break a sweat during the match, this ability likely didn’t consume much mental energy.

It was an extremely powerful close combat ability, but it seemed a bit wasted. Su Bei concluded as he watched Si Zhaohua and the others surround Feng Lan. After some thought, he decided to send him a message.

[Dongxi Nan: I think you should systematically learn close combat techniques.]

After sending the message, he looked at Jiang Tianming. "Who's up next? The class monitor?"

Mu Tieren replied, "I'm in the twentieth round, so it's almost my turn."

Sure enough, he was next. Compared to other battles, Mu Tieren's fight was exceptionally quick. His opponent was a student from Class F, and Mu Tieren simply walked over, picked him up, and threw him off the stage, not wasting any time.

"Is this what absolute power looks like?" Lan Subing murmured, glancing at her own arm. It seemed like she was about to say, "Should I start training too?"

Jiang Tianming and Wu Mingbai were so startled that each grabbed one of her arms. Jiang Tianming sincerely advised, "You're a mage, skilled in magical attacks. Don't try to learn from the class monitor, who's a warrior."

Wu Mingbai nodded repeatedly. "Jiang is right. We support you working out, but there's no need to become like the class monitor."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Mu Tieren laughed and scolded, "I think I heard some discriminatory remarks."

At this moment, Su Bei suddenly noticed Wu Jin entering the ring. His opponent was a student from Class C, who already looked like he knew he was going to lose.

Su Bei raised an eyebrow, suddenly realizing something, and slowly walked over, deliberately making noise with his footsteps, clearly not trying to hide his presence.

Jiang Tianming and the others instinctively followed him. When they reached Wu Jin's ring, Wu Mingbai asked curiously, "Why are we here? Do you know anyone on stage?"

Su Bei pointed at Wu Jin, then added with a mischievous look, "He's in the same group as Feng Lan. And he's also a member of the group that doesn’t get along with you."

Hearing this, Jiang Tianming glanced at Wu Jin. The guy had shoulder-length purple hair and thick glasses. Despite his peculiar appearance, he strangely didn't draw much attention.

Recalling that he was in their class, Jiang Tianming was surprised. "Isn't he in our class? I think his name is Wu Jin. I haven't spoken to him since the start of the semester."

"I haven't spoken to him either," Mo Xiaotian raised his hand, looking a bit downcast.

Even he hadn’t managed to talk to Wu Jin, indicating just how reclusive he was. Lan Subing nodded seriously and whispered, "He seems quieter than me."

As they chatted, Wu Mingbai took a moment to observe the situation on stage. Wu Jin was muttering something under his breath as he ran around the ring, getting beaten up by his opponent. Before long, his face was covered in bruises.

Even Wu Mingbai couldn’t help but wonder aloud, "What's so interesting about this? That Wu Jin is definitely going to lose, right?"

Jiang Tianming and the others nodded in agreement, not expecting any other outcome. They had seen the profiles and knew the abilities of both fighters. One had [Silence if Silence], and the other had [Double Strengthening], which could currently double his physical strength. It was obvious who would win.

Seeing their expressions, Su Bei suddenly laughed and snapped his fingers. "Since you all think the other guy will win, wouldn’t it be more interesting if Wu Jin won instead?"

Everyone looked at each other in confusion, not understanding what he meant, but then they saw Su Bei unhesitatingly place all his points on Wu Jin.

"Are you crazy!" Mu Tieren's eyes widened. "That’s 400 points!"

Suddenly, he seemed to realize something. "Wait, where did you get so many points?"

When they had been hunting the culprit together, each of them had only earned about 100 points. Adding the points from three weeks of classes, the total should be around 115. Mu Tieren knew Su Bei had been selling ability data recently, as he was one of the buyers, but he also knew the prices weren’t high and that Su Bei hadn’t sold many before stopping.

In this situation, having two or three hundred points would be impressive. So where did the 400 points come from?

The others were equally shocked. Jiang Tianming, the sharpest among them, quickly figured out the truth. "You earned them by betting?"

Su Bei just smiled without answering.

The others trusted Jiang Tianming’s judgment and were astonished that Su Bei had earned so much in just one day by betting.

Only Mu Tieren remained worried. "I don’t know how you guessed right before, but in this match, Wu Jin has almost no chance of winning. Aren’t you afraid of losing those 400 points?"

Indeed, everyone else also thought Su Bei was being a bit impulsive. This wasn’t just about enjoying the show anymore; he was putting himself in the spotlight.

Seeing their concerned looks, Su Bei smiled. The group, attracted by his expression, suddenly noticed that he was holding a peculiar gear with a strange pattern.

Su Bei lowered his eyes, casually spinning the gear in his hand. His tone was relaxed, but what he said was extremely assertive: "Since I’ve placed my bet, then whether he wants to or not, he has to win."