A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 280

While fighting the second batch of Nightmare Beasts, I heard distant screams.

Something happened. I used a Gear to behead a beast, retreated to Ai Baozhu’s [Gorgeous Domain], and looked toward the screams.

If I remembered, that was Jiang Tianming’s exam area. As expected of protagonists—trouble magnets. I wondered what happened and if it’d affect us.

I checked their Destiny Compasses again, raising an eyebrow. In a blink, their small pointers had shifted left to the second quadrant—better luck!

What kind of blessed misfortune was this? My expression turned odd.

Ling You’s cool voice broke through: “What’d you find?”

Her light purple eyes, similar to mine, stared at my strange expression, repeating: “What’d you find?”

Rare for her to talk much, but I didn’t plan to answer seriously, grinning: “We’re lucky, not affected.”

Sensing my dodge, Ling You shifted topics: “Mm.”

Ai Baozhu suddenly tensed: “Who got affected?”

Jiang Tianming’s group, obviously. I smirked slyly: “Whoever’s unlucky, of course.”

They didn’t know my “unluckiest loser” jab at Jiang Tianming, but after so long, they knew who was lucky or not.

Lan Subing and Mo Xiaotian were clearly lucky; besides me, Jiang Tianming was the unluckiest.

Jiang Tianming was in the control track, with many S-Class members. Ai Baozhu’s face fell: “Should we check?”

Before she finished, our exam’s teacher took a megaphone: “Candidates, stay calm and wait. Don’t leave. The exam’s paused while we investigate.”

The screams were too loud to miss, so the academy didn’t hide it, informing everyone to stabilize morale and prevent chaos.

Ai Baozhu had wanted to check on Jiang Tianming’s group, but now it was impossible. She sighed: “Guess we wait for results.”

I gave her an odd look, pulled out my phone, and called Jiang Tianming in front of her.

Our phones were ability-user specials, working without signals, even in Different Spaces. They were designed for this, though only for calls—no online gaming.

So, they worked in the Nightmare Beast world.

Notably, since phone alerts were dangerous in Different Spaces, these phones didn’t ring. They emitted a signal only the owner’s mental energy could sense, waking them even from sleep.

Soon, the call connected. Under Ai Baozhu’s trio’s stunned gazes, I asked directly: “What’s happening there?”

At the same time, Manga Consciousness chimed: “《King of Abilities》 has updated. Please check.”

The update timing surprised me but made sense. The pre-crisis exam part, with its plot and foreshadowing, was enough for a chapter. Splitting it was reasonable.

Sadly, I couldn’t check now. With this situation, I’d have to wait until back. Whether we were affected or not, now wasn’t manga time.

Jiang Tianming’s voice came through: “Good you called. I forgot we could call here. Pass the phone to Teacher Lei quick—we’re on the run.”

On the run? I raised an eyebrow, unsurprised. They’d left [Death Graveyard]. I wondered what accident forced them out, likely just them. How unlucky were they?

“We” likely meant all S-Class control track students—Zhou Renjie, Lan Subing, Wu Jin. I wasn’t sure about Wu Mingbai. I’d planned to check his exam later.

But first, we needed to resolve this. I found our exam’s lead teacher, explained, and since S-Class’ troublemakers were elsewhere, Lei Ze’en was at the control track. We couldn’t leave, so the teacher took us to him.

I handed Lei Ze’en the phone, enabling speakerphone to hear firsthand.

“Teacher, we’re dodging Nightmare Beasts. The stronghold’s surrounded, and we can’t return. Any way to teleport us back?” Jiang Tianming summarized, faint footsteps and panting from running audible.

Lei Ze’en frowned, worried but speaking gently: “Find a safe spot, and I’ll try [Teleportation] to bring you back.”

In the real world, knowing their location, even while moving, Lei Ze’en could track their path, set a rendezvous, and teleport them back.

But in the Nightmare Beast world, without coordinates, they needed a safe spot for him to lock onto.

No choice—[Teleportation] wasn’t omnipotent. If he were lost, he could move himself without knowing locations. But separated, it was trickier.

Seeing Lei Ze’en couldn’t retrieve them instantly, Jiang Tianming paused: “Got it, Teacher. We’ll call when we find a safe spot.”

As he moved to hang up, Lei Ze’en stopped him: “Wait, how many beasts are chasing you? Can you hold out? If not, enable phone tracking. I’ll bring teachers to meet you.”

Not easy—high-level beasts swarmed outside. Leaving the barrier was near suicidal, especially to rescue pursued students far away.

[Teleportation] couldn’t be used inside the barrier. To prevent beasts from using abilities unexpectedly, the barrier blocked all abilities from passing through.

To teleport out of the beast encirclement, they’d have to risk leaving, which was dangerous.

Jiang Tianming knew the difficulty and that teachers might not reach them. More beasts could join the chase, endangering the teachers.

While running, he refused: “No need, Teacher. Wu Jin shook off the high-level beasts. They’re searching nearby. We’re hiding and running—no danger yet. Gotta go, don’t want them finding us.”

Without giving Lei Ze’en a chance to argue, he hung up.

Lei Ze’en sighed, looking at us: “I’m reporting missing students to the senior Director Wang. Stay here. I’ll be back.”

He left, and we stayed under other students’ sympathetic gazes. Ai Baozhu and I were fine, but Ling You disliked the attention, moving to the shadows.

Noticing, Ai Baozhu scanned around, realizing Ling You’s discomfort. She boldly approached a senior: “Senior, how did Renjie and the others go missing?”

“No problem,” the senior nodded, having been at the exam and knowing the details.

From her account, we learned their plight.

When the last beast wave came from the north, one had a swap ability. Abilities couldn’t penetrate the barrier, so it couldn’t swap them outside but could move them to the edge.

Another beast cooperated, pushing the edge-positioned students through a tiny flaw the beasts had painstakingly created in the barrier.

Jiang Tianming’s group was unlucky, targeted for standing out together, swapped, and knocked out.

“This luck…” Ai Baozhu’s mouth twitched, speechless.

The Control Track had many examinees, around forty or fifty. Being precisely selected—what could she say? Only mourn for them.

I shrugged, looking at Lei Ze’en, who’d returned after reporting: “Teacher, can we join the rest of our class? They’re probably worried about the missing ones.”

If Meng Huai were here, he’d instantly suspect my sudden thoughtfulness. But Lei Ze’en, less familiar, found it odd but reasonable, nodding: “Sure, I’ll take you to them.”

Since the exam was paused, Lei Ze’en decisively led all S-Class students from the venue to the Control Track’s. Along the way, Ai Baozhu’s retelling clarified what happened.

“We’re just letting them be chased?” Mu Tieren asked anxiously. “What if something happens?”

Lei Ze’en paused, his tall frame slightly hunched, clearly upset, but answered honestly: “No choice. The Nightmare Beast world is perilous. The life-and-death agreement you signed isn’t a joke.”

Two days before, the academy issued life-and-death agreements—enter the Nightmare Beast world at your own risk. It wasn’t mandatory; students could skip, taking only cultural exams for a 60-point passing score.

Though low for a senior’s final exam, it was reasonable. Ability academies trained students to fight Nightmare Beasts. Scores depended heavily on that ability.

Students too scared to enter under academy protection wouldn’t dare post-graduation. Lacking courage or ability, they’d earn lower scores.

Everyone knew he was right, but the harsh reality dampened their mood. Only I was unaffected, even asking Wu Mingbai: “Elemental tracks have different tasks, right? Did you finish?”

Seeing me chat casually at such a time, Wu Mingbai glared. But something clicked, and he asked eagerly: “You promised to answer one question unconditionally. Keep it—will Jiang Tianming’s group be okay?”

His question was one I knew. I pretended to “calculate” before shaking my head sadly.

Wu Mingbai’s heart sank, lips pursed, asking cautiously: “You shook your head because you couldn’t see?”

That was the best outcome—better than me shaking my head in pity.

“Huh? Didn’t you ask if they’d be okay?” I feigned innocence, as if I hadn’t teased him. “I shook my head because they’ll be fine!”

Everyone: “…”

Though happy, I was insufferably smug. They itched to punch something.

Lei Ze’en acted first, proving he was Meng Huai’s friend with an identical punch.

“Ouch!” I clutched my head, complaining: “You misunderstood, so why blame me?”

“Misunderstood ourselves?” Lei Ze’en didn’t buy it, amused and annoyed. But my assurance eased him.

It was great the students were safe. He didn’t want to lose any on his rare lead, even if accidental—it’d be his failure.

“Since they can’t return yet, Wu Mingbai, answer my question!” I sat cross-legged, looking bored, as if asking to pass time.

But I genuinely wanted to know if Wu Mingbai took his exam and what it was. I’d thought this would be his stage. If I was right about the academy’s exam purpose, he’d play a huge role in clearing meteorite fragments as the only earth elemental and a core protagonist.

Yet only Jiang Tianming’s group was affected, not him, making me doubt my judgment. Was Wu Mingbai really uninvolved?

That was fine. Wu Mingbai planned to invite us to Yafei Kingdom during summer break—likely his spotlight. But I’d thought this exam tied to the main plot. What was the author planning?

If I couldn’t figure it out, I’d wait for the manga. But I was curious about Wu Mingbai’s exam, watching him expectantly.

The exam content wasn’t secret. Since I said Jiang Tianming’s group was fine, Wu Mingbai relaxed, sitting cross-legged: “We finished. Elemental order was fire, earth, water, wood, metal. I finished just before the incident.”

He sighed, unsure if his luck was good or bad. He’d completed the exam well, but those after him might not stay in the Nightmare Beast world, likely facing easier tasks.

“Earth elementals had to kill 100 Nightmare Beasts without getting dust or debris on them,” Wu Mingbai said, gathering nearby dust and stones with [Earth Element] into a small floating rock. “It tested ability control and multitasking.”

No, it tested meteorite-clearing methods. I countered silently.

The academy’s task was cleverly disguised. Without my suspicions, I’d think it was just an exam.

“What about you, Qi Huang?” Not ignoring her, I turned to Qi Huang.

She sat cross-legged too, less prim than a heiress, more like a carefree wanderer: “Ours was annoying. Fire-creating abilities had to kill 100 Nightmare Beasts without open flames. Non-fire abilities, like [Magma], had to use open flames.”

That was tough. Everyone grimaced. They’d thought earth’s task was hard, but fire’s was worse.

With them starting, others shared their exam tasks. I listened—besides special and elemental tracks, others’ tasks were unrelated to the main plot.

As expected, earth elementals and special tracks were most likely to help clear meteorite fragments.

After chatting, the academy decided to take students back early, citing a student incident as unsuitable to stay. The reason was fine but unusual for the manga’s academy.

I guessed the real reason was that key students had tested, and killing Nightmare Beasts could be done in Different Spaces or the real world—no need to stay in danger.

“We’re leaving? What about Jiang Tianming’s group? They’re not back!” Wu Mingbai’s face changed, asking anxiously.

He was too worried, losing rationality. Lei Ze’en soothed: “Don’t worry. The academy’s leaving teachers, including me, to wait. When they call, we’ll rescue them.”

Realizing his error, Wu Mingbai saw the academy wouldn’t abandon living students and would send rescuers.

“Can I stay too?” he asked, unable to relax with Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing out there.

Lei Ze’en, understanding as a friend, couldn’t agree: “No, all students must return so we teachers can rescue without worry. I know you’re concerned, but I promise we’ll bring them back safely, okay?”

Seeing his earnestness, Wu Mingbai knew there was no leeway, nodding disappointedly: “Alright, I understand.”

Despite his compliant look, as Lei Ze’en left, Wu Mingbai urgently asked: “I want to stay secretly. Any ideas?”