A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

[Prophet Post] The protagonist group has already been noticed by "Black Lightning." Predicting how the Ability Academy will respond.

[Prophet No.0: As the title says, since "Black Lightning" is targeting first-year students, the top ten from the individual competition will definitely be under close scrutiny. The school can’t possibly overlook this, so I’m guessing they’ll have protective measures in place.

The easiest way to protect ten people at once is to put them in the same class. However, Class A didn’t seem to have any special protection mechanisms before, and I doubt the school would make Class A special just because of this incident.

Coincidentally, the S-Class was mentioned earlier. I think this is a hint from the author. The S-Class might be opening soon.]

To be honest, his reasoning was a bit of a cheat. Most people wouldn’t be able to connect this incident to the opening of the S-Class. But it didn’t matter—he was literally cheating, and it was a cheat no one could possibly detect.

Not in the mood to study, Su Bei idly speculated about who else might be selected for the S-Class tomorrow besides the top ten. If nothing unexpected happened, Qi Huang and Li Shu, who had appeared in the manga, would probably join.

Speaking of which, would Zhao Xiaoyu and Wu Jin really not get any more scenes after this? That seemed unlikely. But if they didn’t join the S-Class, their screen time would definitely decrease. It seemed that, barring any surprises, there would probably be some twists and turns later.

After thinking for a while, Su Bei refreshed the post on his phone. Sure enough, there were many new comments.

No.1: Huh?

No.3: Huh?

No.4: Wait, I recognize every word, but when they’re put together, I can’t understand a thing.

No.5: Great analysis. Next time, don’t analyze.

No.6: Huh?

No.7: OP’s imagination is running wild.

No.8: What a baseless analysis, but you know what? It actually makes sense.

No.9: OP’s username looks familiar.

No.10: Are you serious?

No.11 replying to No.9: I didn’t notice until you mentioned it. This OP is the Prophet! Damn! If that’s the case, I might actually believe his prediction.

No.12: It’s been a while since I’ve seen the Prophet post. Didn’t expect him to come back with another post that sounds like nonsense.

No.13: Finally caught a Prophet post live!

[...]

No.21: You’ve all confused me. Who is this OP?

No.22: I want to ask too. Why does no one think it’s absurd once they realize it’s his post?

No.23 replying to No.21 and No.22: Just search for the username "Prophet" and look at the timeline. You’ll understand.

[...]

No.61: I’ve checked. OP is actually kind of amazing...

No.62: All I can say is, this username really lives up to its reputation.

No.63: First, I have to say that the OP’s guess is really out there. Second, if it turns out to be true, I’ll become a blind believer of the Prophet! Prophet’s disciple! ℞ἁꞐO͍ᛒΕṩ

No.64: I’m really curious how you manage to guess correctly every time, OP. The things you predict are so far-fetched!

No.65 replying to No.64: I suspect OP peeked at the old thief’s script.

How could he guess correctly every time? Of course, it was because he was cheating! Reading this comment, Su Bei smiled to himself. Being able to read the manga and use the forum was his biggest advantage, and he intended to make full use of it.

After this, the trust of the forum readers in his account would likely increase significantly. By then, he should be able to use this account to further enhance his abilities. He needed to think carefully about the direction of that enhancement.

However, it would depend on the changes in his abilities after the next manga update. His performance in the team competition had been decent, so there might be some surprising developments next time.

On Sunday, the day before school started, the fifteen members of the S-Class were finally confirmed. Aside from the top ten, the remaining five included Li Shu and Qi Huang, as expected. There was also Ling You, a girl who had fought against Wu Mingbai.

Ling You was also from Class A, with short dark green hair and light purple eyes—undoubtedly a cool and beautiful girl. Her ability was said to be related to poison, but since Su Bei hadn’t faced her, he hadn’t looked into it in detail.

Normally, the addition of a new member would attract a lot of attention, but everyone’s focus was drawn to two other people—

Zhao Xiaoyu and Wu Jin had both been selected!

Clearly, no one had expected this. Seeing two students from Class F in the classroom, everyone wore expressions of surprise. While their individual competition results weren’t bad, they definitely weren’t at the level of the S-Class, right?

Just then, Meng Huai walked in. Seeing everyone staring at Zhao Xiaoyu and Wu Jin, he snapped his fingers: “What are you looking at? Looking down on them?”

No one spoke, but it was clear that some were unconvinced, especially those from Class A. Sure, Jiang Tianming and the others could be here since they were in the top ten, but what about those two?

Meng Huai, who knew his students well, glanced at Zhao Xiaoyu and said casually, “Explain it yourself.”

Zhao Xiaoyu had anticipated that she and Wu Jin would face criticism, so she had prepared an explanation. She smiled warmly, making it easy for people to feel goodwill toward her: “The S-Class doesn’t just accept students with powerful abilities. Those who excel in other areas can also be admitted.”

“Then you…” Zhou Renjie couldn’t help but want to mock her, asking, “In what area are you strong?”

But before he could finish, Zhao Xiaoyu continued naturally, “As for where my strengths lie, I hope you’ll discover them as we work together.”

Seeing her calmly admit her shortcomings in terms of abilities and speak so reasonably, the others’ resentment toward her lessened.

After all, there were still five dismissal spots. If Zhao Xiaoyu wasn’t up to par, she’d be dismissed eventually. There was no need to make enemies with her now.

Next was Wu Jin. Meng Huai didn’t seem inclined to speak for him either. Letting Zhao Xiaoyu speak first was already a form of protection for him: “Wu Jin, your turn.”

Wu Jin kept his head down, his hood covering half his face. His voice was soft: “The principal asked me to come.”

After saying this, he quickly walked over to stand between Su Bei and Zhao Xiaoyu, as if this spot could give him some sense of security.

Wow, this one’s even more of a heavyweight.

Although no one knew the principal of the Ability Academy personally, everyone in the abilities world had heard of his legends. He was said to be the most powerful ability user of the current era, with unparalleled strength. To this day, no one knew what his ability actually was.

Come to think of it, what was the principal’s surname again?

Wasn’t it… Wu?

Yikes!

Those who realized this couldn’t help but gasp quietly, including Su Bei. He couldn’t help but glance at Wu Jin. He had never considered this possibility before. Did Wu Jin really have such a background? Could he actually be related to the principal?

Everyone immediately fell silent. Since the principal had asked him to come, there wouldn’t be any controversy for now. If he remained after the dismissals and still couldn’t earn their respect, that’s when the real disputes would arise.

Meng Huai watched everyone’s reactions with interest. He had let Wu Jin speak for himself precisely to enjoy the show. Once he had seen enough, he sat down in the chair behind the lectern: “Come up one by one and introduce your abilities. You’ll be working together a lot from now on.”

As everyone took turns introducing their abilities, Su Bei took mental notes. The only two he wasn’t familiar with were Li Shu and Ling You, so he paid special attention to them.

“I’m Li Shu. My ability is [Illusion]. It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I hope we can maintain a harmonious relationship during our time together.”

Li Shu’s ability was [Illusion], which was self-explanatory. At its peak, this ability would undoubtedly be formidable, but for now, Li Shu was far from that level.

It was worth noting that after getting a closer look today, Su Bei finally gained some understanding of this person. He couldn’t tell if Li Shu was a yandere or not, but the way he spoke was a bit… peculiar.

Next was Ling You: “I’m Ling You. My ability is [Plague]. It usually doesn’t kill quickly, but once you’re infected, it’s almost impossible to cure, and it’s contagious.”

Everyone: “…”

The room immediately tensed up. Plague, in any era, was a terrifying thing. No one had expected someone to have such an ability! Even though they hadn’t encountered it before, everyone knew that this kind of poison was not to be taken lightly.

When it was Su Bei’s turn to introduce himself, he finally stopped saying his ability was [Gear]: “I’m Su Bei. My ability is [Gear of Destiny].”

This ability needed a bit of explanation, especially since there were a few unfamiliar faces in the class now. Seeing the small pointer on Mo Xiaotian’s head tilt to the right, Su Bei smiled and said, “Someone here is about to have some bad luck.”

He didn’t specify who it was, because if he said it outright, the person might react in advance, causing the pointer to shift back to the left.

However, if it was Mo Xiaotian, there was no need to worry too much: “Stop looking, Mo Xiaotian. I’m talking about you.”

“Huh… me?” Mo Xiaotian’s eyes widened. “Me?”

It was his turn to go up to the front. He walked up to the podium with a confused expression, only to trip as soon as he stepped onto it. Immediately after, the pointer above his head returned to the center position.

Seeing this, everyone, especially those who weren’t familiar with Su Bei, looked at him with shock. Such an ability was truly fascinating.

After everyone had introduced themselves, Meng Huai clapped his hands, and several pitch-black nightmare beasts, locked in cages, rose from the ground. Some of these beasts resembled recognizable animals, while others were so deformed they were unrecognizable.

“Starting tomorrow, each of you will undergo continuous nightmare beast combat training every day. In a month, you’ll be sent to a real alternate space for a trial. Any questions?”

“Me! Me!” Mo Xiaotian eagerly raised his hand.

Meng Huai sneered and threw a piece of chalk straight at Mo Xiaotian’s head, producing a crisp 'thunk'. It made people wonder what exactly was inside Mo Xiaotian’s skull.

“Questions don’t matter!”

Since classes officially started the next day, the teacher left soon after everyone had introduced themselves. Zhao Xiaoyu looked around: “Should we get together for a meal to celebrate becoming classmates?”

With only fifteen people in the S-Class, it was indeed possible to have a gathering to build some camaraderie.

The first to respond was, unsurprisingly, Mo Xiaotian. What was unexpected was that the second person to agree was Li Shu.

The pink-haired boy smiled gently and cutely: “Sure, I’d like to get to know everyone better!”

As he said this, he was clearly looking at Jiang Tianming. Su Bei was genuinely curious about how Jiang Tianming had caught this guy’s attention. He guessed that something interesting must have happened between them during the individual competition.

Noticing Li Shu’s gaze, Jiang Tianming’s expression darkened. Wu Mingbai, ever the loyal friend, stepped in front of Jiang Tianming and cheerfully asked Li Shu, “What are you looking at?”

Li Shu wasn’t as enthusiastic toward Wu Mingbai, but he still maintained his gentle demeanor: “I’m looking at Tianming. I’m quite interested in him, but it seems Tianming isn’t too keen on getting to know me?”

Being so openly interested in someone wasn’t offensive, but it was easy to misinterpret. Since Jiang Tianming clearly didn’t want to pay attention to him, no one else chimed in.

To be honest, like Su Bei, they were also curious about why this seemingly gentle pink-haired classmate was so interested in Jiang Tianming. It seemed like an unusually strong interest, as a genuinely gentle person wouldn’t say something like that in public.

Despite the strange looks from everyone, Li Shu didn’t seem bothered. Instead, he smiled warmly at the group.

Su Bei couldn’t help but sigh. He still couldn’t tell if Li Shu was a yandere or not. Aside from the Jiang Tianming-related issues, the guy’s surface-level behavior was quite polished.

Unfortunately, his sigh caught Li Shu’s attention: “Why did you sigh, Su Bei? Did my words bother you?”

Su Bei had no intention of getting entangled with Li Shu, especially after reading the forum analysis suggesting he might be a yandere. He decisively replied, “I just remembered I left the gas on in my room. I should go back.”

With that, he turned and left.

Behind him, Mo Xiaotian scratched his head in confusion: “Do our dorms even have gas?”

“Idiot!” Wu Mingbai didn’t hesitate to smack him on the head, then turned to Zhao Xiaoyu. “Let’s skip the gathering. We all basically know each other anyway.”

Zhao Xiaoyu, sensing the awkward atmosphere, so she immediately took the opportunity given by the other party and said: “You’re right. Subing, let’s head back together!”

Lan Subing, who had been socially anxious for a while, nodded decisively and left with her. The others gradually dispersed, leaving Li Shu standing alone with his gentle smile.

“Hehe, Su Bei, huh? What an interesting person.”

Back in his dorm, Su Bei thought for a moment and knocked on Feng Lan’s door. The other boy was holding a meal card, apparently about to go out for lunch.

Perfect timing. The two of them walked together. On the way, Su Bei got straight to the point: “Have you used your prophecy chance this month?”

“I’ve already used it,” Feng Lan said slowly, blinking. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason. I was just curious to see what it looks like when you use your ability,” Su Bei replied.

His own ability was completely fabricated, so he was naturally curious about what it was like for someone with a real prophecy ability to use it.

Hearing this, Feng Lan shook his head: “It’s not that special. Others describe it as me closing my eyes and then receiving the prophecy.”

So that’s how it was? It seemed Su Bei’s made-up version was more flashy. Su Bei nodded thoughtfully: “Can you tell me what you prophesied this time?”

Feng Lan shook his head again. He wasn’t being secretive, but: “My ability is different from yours…”

At this point, he frowned slightly and hesitated before looking at Su Bei: “Come to my house during the Shaijin (Sun Gold) Festival.”

The Shaijin Festival started on November 11th each year and lasted for three days. During this time, people would showcase their achievements from the year, which was why the younger generation often called it the “Flex Festival.”

How did the conversation jump to this? Su Bei was surprised but smiled and said, “Is this an invitation? I don’t have a problem with it, but why are you suddenly inviting me to your house?”

“The Feng family is an old prophecy family. We have a lot of books on prophecy-related abilities, and I think you should take a look,” Feng Lan said, his golden eyes filled with seriousness. “However, once you’re there, the elders will probably try to recruit you. If you’re not interested, you can just refuse.”

Whenever a new prophecy-type ability user appears, the Feng family takes the initiative to recruit them. This time, because Su Bei hadn’t revealed his ability from the start, and because their young master was in the same class, the Feng family hadn’t approached Su Bei.

Joining the Feng family, while it comes with certain restrictions and obligations to serve the family, isn’t entirely a bad thing for prophecy-type ability users. After all, prophecy abilities are rare, and without proper guidance, one could easily make serious mistakes.

It was precisely because Feng Lan noticed that Su Bei lacked knowledge in many areas related to prophecy abilities that he extended the invitation to his home.

Su Bei naturally understood the underlying meaning of Feng Lan’s words. Clearly, Feng Lan had noticed that Su Bei knew very little about these matters and might have even unknowingly violated some taboos, which was why he wanted to provide him with more information.

Although Feng Lan spoke casually, Su Bei couldn’t help but feel moved. Exclusive knowledge is always precious, no matter where you are. Yet, Feng Lan was willing to share it with him freely, just to help him learn more about prophecy-related knowledge.

However, while feeling touched, Su Bei also felt a hint of suspicion. He and Feng Lan were barely friends, having only known each other for a little over a month. Even if friendships in shonen manga often progress rapidly, it didn’t seem likely that Feng Lan would disregard his family’s interests and selflessly help him like this.

After all, as the undeniable heir of the Feng family, Feng Lan was far from being a pushover.

Thinking this, Su Bei decided to ask directly, though in a half-joking manner: “So generous?”

If he were to be more explicit, the sentence could have been followed with something like, “Do you have a crush on me or something?” But there was no need to go that far. As long as both parties understood, it was enough.

Feng Lan, as expected, understood the implication and gave Su Bei a complicated look: “It’s related to this month’s prophecy.”

Hearing this answer, Su Bei became even more interested in Feng Lan’s prophecy for the month. What kind of prophecy could involve him and make Feng Lan actively want to help him gain more knowledge?

With this in mind, Su Bei circled back to the earlier topic: “What were you about to say earlier? That my ability is different from yours?”

This was something Feng Lan had left unfinished.

Feng Lan organized his thoughts and continued: “While they’re different, they’re also similar. Prophecy allows one to know the fate of others. The larger the prophecy, the more people it affects. Once I receive a prophecy, fate begins to shift.”

Indeed, knowing a major prophecy, even if one does nothing, is still a form of response. Any response could lead to changes.

“If only one or two people’s fates are altered, it’s manageable. But if a prophecy changes the fate of too many people, the cost isn’t just mental power.”

Feng Lan didn’t specify what the cost would be, but it was easy to guess that altering the fate of too many people would come with a significant price.

Hearing this, Su Bei also understood where their differences lay. Su Bei’s prophecies were all about small matters, while Feng Lan’s, though he didn’t elaborate, were likely much larger in scale.

This was why Su Bei’s prophecies could be shared without issue, but Feng Lan’s couldn’t. The more people who knew, the more uncertainty it created, and ultimately, Feng Lan would bear the consequences.

So that’s how it was. No wonder Feng Lan felt that Su Bei knew too little about prophecy. Knowledge like this, if not shared willingly, would only come to light when Su Bei stumbled into a pitfall.

Big families have their advantages—their accumulated knowledge and resources are invaluable. Honestly, if Su Bei had access to the Feng family’s archives earlier, guiding the forum discussions would have been much more effective.

Unfortunately, Su Bei would never join them. Freedom was extremely important to him, second only to life itself. Besides, with all the mess he was involved in, joining the Feng family would be a betrayal of their goodwill.

That said, Feng Lan’s invitation to his home was meant to help Su Bei gain knowledge and insight, in other words, to help him grow stronger. What kind of prophecy could make Feng Lan want to help him become stronger?

Was it specifically about him, or did it involve others as well?

Thinking this, Su Bei decided to test the waters: “But what’s the point of inviting just me? Why not invite the entire S-Class? Your family probably wouldn’t mind building good relations with some promising ability users, right?”

Hearing this, Feng Lan thought for a moment: “But I don’t have a reason to invite them.”

Inviting Su Bei made sense because Su Bei genuinely needed the knowledge. Inviting others couldn’t be justified by saying, “I’m generously inviting you to visit my family’s library,” could it?

So it was related to everyone, after all? Su Bei raised an eyebrow and continued to offer advice nonchalantly: “Isn’t that simple? What’s the Shaijin Festival for? If you invite them, they’ll naturally understand the underlying meaning.”

This was true. Inviting others to your home during the Shaijin Festival was normal—after all, it was the “Flex Festival.”

Although it would be out of character for Feng Lan to do something like this, with the Feng family’s library as a lure, it was likely that no one would refuse.

As he spoke, Su Bei suddenly asked in his mind: “In the original storyline, without me, would Feng Lan have invited Jiang Tianming and the others?”

The “manga consciousness,” knowing this question was directed at it, thought for a moment and gave an affirmative answer: “Yes.”

Hearing this, Su Bei smiled: “Don’t worry, the opportunity will come.”

Feng Lan, being a prophet himself, was naturally sensitive to prophetic statements. Hearing Su Bei’s words, he immediately asked: “Is this something you prophesied?”

Note: It’s been raining a lot around here. Hope I don’t end up with a fever from getting drenched all the time on my way home!

Buy me a coffee

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!