A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 287

A post-match review wasn’t casual. If Su Bei was clean, Wilder’s match against Endless Ability Academy would be declared a loss.

The cost was steep, but Wilder’s team reasoned: as a secondary team, they couldn’t beat Endless, a contender for first. Better take a gamble—maybe turn a bicycle into a motorcycle.

If Su Bei was found cheating, Endless would be disqualified from this competition and banned from the next, while Wilder would win.

It was a no-loss, high-gain bet. This was why they’d risk offending Endless to “seek justice” for Mevis.

Su Bei, briefed on these rules before the competition, knew what Wilder’s students were up to and guessed their motive.

He didn’t think mere suspicion would prompt such a quick report. Normally, they’d investigate thoroughly first. But they reported almost immediately. Unless Wilder’s entire team was brainless, Su Bei could only think they saw more gain than loss in reporting, regardless of the outcome.

With this understanding, their goal was clear.

But Su Bei didn’t care what they thought—he hadn’t cheated and was guilt-free.

“What are you doing?” As Su Bei pondered if their blocking counted as self-defense justification, Teacher Li hurried over.

Standing in front of Su Bei, she faced Wilder’s students calmly but imposingly: “Since you’ve requested a review, wait for the results patiently, not harass my student.”

“We just wanted to ask,” the leader said, eyes clearing under her calm rebuke, explaining timidly. Without their teacher, students felt uneasy facing another academy’s teacher, especially when already guilty.

Ignoring his excuse, Teacher Li turned to Su Bei softly: “You okay?”

Su Bei shook his head. If there was trouble, he’d have acted already. Mevis, who he’d crushed, couldn’t frame him—could these guys?

Seeing he wasn’t bluffing, Teacher Li relaxed, a smile in her eyes: “Well done, a great start.”

A great start? He’d practically swept five opponents.

She trusted Su Bei didn’t cheat. She was at his final exam, where his Ability worked imperceptibly. Mevis’ reaction seemed reasonable.

“Head back now?” Su Bei asked calmly.

Teacher Li shook her head: “Since they requested a review, you need to be isolated temporarily. I’ll guide you.”

Unobstructed, they reached a private room. A security-uniformed person, tasked with watching Su Bei, ushered Teacher Li out, closed the door, and waited patiently.

Sesbia’s efficiency was high. In ten minutes, they had results without needing Su Bei to self-verify.

The official handling the incident brought Wilder’s students into the room and announced: “Mevis’ Ability failure was due to pesticide in fruit he ate yesterday, triggered today by releasing Mental Energy. The insects sensed death, causing the loss of control.”

After explaining Mevis’ blunder, the official turned to Su Bei: “Su Bei only used his Ability in the arena and carried no Ability items.”

The outcome was clear: “After our investigation, Wilder Ability School’s review request failed! Any objections?”

Hearing this, Wilder’s students looked deeply disappointed but, as Su Bei expected, not very angry, clearly anticipating this.

Their teacher hesitated, signaling the students to apologize to Su Bei. After their reluctant apologies, he asked amicably: “Can you tell us how you made Mevis’ Ability fail?”

He found the official’s explanation odd—how could Mevis’ mistake from yesterday hit during today’s match? Given Su Bei’s [Destiny Gear] Ability, it had to be his doing.

But even controlling Destiny, could he alter yesterday’s fate today?

“With my Ability,” Su Bei answered earnestly, deadpan.

He was telling the truth—just his Ability. The pesticide in Mevis was in a Schrödinger’s state, not enough to erupt but digestible by an Ability User’s strong body.

By altering Mevis’ Destiny, the pesticide erupted due to some action or organ, causing the sudden failure.

The teacher was stumped but saw Su Bei wouldn’t elaborate, sighing: “No objections.”

With no objections, the host received the message and announced: “After verification, no issues were found. Wilder Ability School is eliminated. Endless Ability Academy wins.”

The crowd exclaimed again.

Three crowd gasps in one match—who could say it wasn’t thrilling? Though the actual fight lasted under a minute, the twists made it a spectacle.

Returning to the stands, Su Bei felt the weight of all eyes. The audience was one thing, but Mu Yunfan and the others stared like he was a zoo exhibit.

Wei Yuexi, eyes shining, spoke first: “Su Bei, how’d you do it? Making the opponent implode and faint?”

“Ability effect,” Su Bei replied concisely.

Feng Manman, as vice-captain, knew his Ability well and asked curiously: “I’ve seen your match videos and data. You can change others’ Destiny, right? How do you counter that? Just accept it?”

Not quite. As Su Bei deepened his Ability understanding and Mental Energy grew, he felt high Mental Energy might detect subtle bodily changes, including Destiny shifts.

By promptly adjusting with ample Mental Energy, one might break free.

But this was just his theory, untested. Dream Bubble was great for experiments but couldn’t simulate such subtle reactions, as even Su Bei barely felt Destiny changes.

He wouldn’t share this, saying lightly: “Of course, Destiny’s just that dominant.”

If this made it into the manga, convincing readers his Ability had no weaknesses besides high Mental Energy cost, he’d hit the jackpot.

But he knew it was impossible. Readers trusted manga characters’ reveals, but no one normal would share Ability weaknesses. His answer seemed more like brushing off Feng Manman.

“That’s impressive,” Feng Manman said, knowing her question was forward. Though she doubted his honesty, she didn’t press, shifting topics: “No issues earlier? Anyone trouble you?”

She meant the review. Others were concerned too—knowing the host’s announcement had them panicking.

Except for Class S, others didn’t know Su Bei well. Since he was forced to compete, cheating to spite the school wasn’t impossible.

They’d all prayed he hadn’t caused trouble. Thankfully, he won fair and square.

“No issues. Sesbia’s efficient—cleared it fast. As for Wilder, they got what they wanted,” Su Bei said.

Seeking a quick end, they got one—elimination. Wasn’t that fitting?

He stretched: “I’m heading back to the hotel. No more for me, right?”

Having competed and saved five rounds, if they didn’t let him off, he’d really stir trouble.

“Go reassure the others first—they’re probably worried,” Feng Manman suggested reliably. “If you don’t want to compete again, tell Teacher Li. She’s in the stands.”

Reassuring Jiang Tianming’s group wasn’t necessary for Su Bei, but reporting to Teacher Li was. He followed the new president’s advice, returning to the competitors’ section.

“You okay?” Jiang Tianming asked immediately, visibly worried. Su Bei was back safely, but shouldn’t he be?

Having had issues abroad before, Jiang Tianming distrusted foreign governments, fearing Su Bei was mistreated during isolation.

Su Bei shook his head, half-joking, half-serious: “They just suspected. How could Sesbia dare touch me? If they tortured me, I’d be dragging Teacher Li to sue them now. Maybe you’d get a cool walkout thanks to me!”

He didn’t say that if they’d acted, it’d be unclear whether Endless or Wilder’s teachers would sue first.

Handling students without countermeasures was easy for Su Bei.

Everyone laughed, and Su Bei was right—he wasn’t one to take losses quietly. If wronged, he’d settle it himself. They relaxed.

Having competed successfully and exceeded expectations, Teacher Li was pleased, granting his wish to skip further matches.

She genuinely thought Su Bei was ideal—his imperceptible Ability was perfect for hiding others’ strengths.

But overusing any Ability risked exposure. She’d studied his Ability and knew he feared instant-kill Abilities.

Rare normally—who could instantly kill?—but at the world competition, with elite new Ability Users, such Abilities, though uncommon, existed.

They often had long cooldowns—fainting or unable to use Abilities after, like Si Zhaohua’s [Holy Judgment].

Trading one for Su Bei would be a steal for opponents.

Since he didn’t need to compete, Su Bei returned to the hotel, pulling out a Destiny organization item—Nightmare Realm Gate. As the name suggested, it let him enter the Nightmare Beast world.

From the manga, he knew Nightmare Beasts were gathering in the world beneath the venue. Entering now might reveal their plans.

The Nightmare Realm Gate’s advantage was its invisibility. Despite “Gate” in its name, it converted the magnetic field instantly, turning the environment into the Nightmare Beast world, not a physical door.

Su Bei thought “Nightmare Realm Converter” was more fitting.

This entry method let him appear in the Nightmare Beast world unnoticed, paired with an Invisibility Charm, making detection impossible.

A physical gate, even with an Invisibility Charm, would draw attacks. With no individual battles these days, it was perfect for reconnaissance.

The Nightmare Realm Gate had a cooldown, so he couldn’t return anytime. He informed Teacher Li, using the simple excuse of touring Sesbia.

Many competitors did this—eliminated main teams stayed longer, alternates toured during the event. Teacher Li wasn’t surprised, even touched that Su Bei reported. She’d struggled finding missing students, only to learn they were sightseeing. A troublemaker reporting in advance was rare.

It was like a habitually failing student finally passing—an odd sense of emotion.

Though less familiar with Su Bei than Meng Huai, as a seasoned Director, Teacher Li knew students, especially troublemakers.

Something unusual meant trouble before or after.

But since Su Bei reported, she approved without comment, answering for him when others asked.

She wasn’t worried about dangers. Sesbia was on high alert for the competition, and she’d consulted Meng Huai about her students.

Meng Huai’s comment on Su Bei stuck: “Don’t worry about Su Bei—he knows what he’s doing. Destiny Ability… hah, we’d all be in danger before him.”

Teacher Li trusted Meng Huai’s judgment. Though she sensed he wasn’t really touring, she didn’t interfere. A minor with such an Ability wasn’t destined for calm.

Receiving her approval, Su Bei took a deep breath, adjusted his luck to the best, and activated the Nightmare Realm Gate with Mental Energy. It emitted a faint black light, transforming the vibrant surroundings into dull black, white, and gray.

Su Bei jumped back, dodging an oncoming Nightmare Beast, realizing he’d been too careless. The Nightmare Beasts were too numerous—no room to stand.

Good thing he’d adjusted his luck, or with this density, he might’ve spawned on a Nightmare Beast.

He was only invisible, not intangible. If one touched him, he’d be found.

Constant dodging wouldn’t do. Su Bei seized a chance to leap onto a boulder, safe from accidental bumps. But he knew this wasn’t sustainable—he wasn’t here to be a statue but to gather intel. Without nearing the enemy’s base, how could he?

Observing, he saw a tent nearby—the Nightmare Beasts’ command center. It likely had soundproofing, as he heard nothing outside.

Squatting on the boulder, he thought and devised a plan.

He manipulated a Gear to kill a Nightmare Beast far off. Like a stone stirring waves, the sudden death caused panic. Low-Level Nightmare Beasts, though less intelligent, knew comrades didn’t die randomly.

Soon, Mid-Level and High-Level Nightmare Beasts came to investigate and control the scene. Su Bei strode through the cleared space into the tent.

Diversion was old but timeless. High-Level Nightmare Beasts might sense something but couldn’t find him.

He wasn’t the old Su Bei—once detectable by Black Flash’s leader despite invisibility. Now, he skillfully used Mental Energy to shield himself, a method from Destiny’s archives. Wrapping himself in Mental Energy prevented aura leakage.

With Manga Consciousness’ perfect Invisibility Charm, unless too close, no one could detect him, even with high Mental Energy. He couldn’t blend his Mental Energy with others, but passively, he was imperceptible.

Having high Mental Energy for nearly a year and facing many events, he’d be ashamed if he hadn’t studied it, unworthy of Manga Consciousness’ choice.

The tent held many bizarre High-Level Nightmare Beasts, evident by their forms. Most gathered before a large screen showing the venue’s live feed.

Notably, the black screen was a Nightmare Beast. Without its Destiny Compass, Su Bei would’ve thought Nightmare Beasts developed tech.

“Have you found all the hidden defenses?” a mermaid-like Nightmare Beast asked suddenly.

The brain-like Nightmare Beast in the main seat dismissed impatiently: “So fast? We can’t sense human Mental Energy fluctuations from here.”

The screen Nightmare Beast spoke: “What’s that mean? If you’re complaining, don’t use me. Know how hard it is to broadcast the venue live while dodging Ability Users’ surveillance?”

As they bickered, a humanoid Nightmare Beast intervened: “Why fight? Don’t implode before we hit the humans.”

“Exactly!” The Mermaid Nightmare Beast flicked her tail, splashing water despite no liquid around. “Even if we don’t find the defenses, our plan’s foolproof.”

The Brain Nightmare Beast, true to its form, stayed skeptical while others grew smug: “It’s a good plan, but when haven’t we said that? When hasn’t it gone wrong?”