A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 295

If Su Bei’s guess was correct, everyone was in danger. The author of King of Abilities didn’t shy away from deaths, even in a shonen manga. From the first season, events often stemmed from deaths, with more occurring during them.

This time, the consequences were graver. Killing classmates might leave trauma, but Su Bei didn’t think the author would go easy. Those meant to die would die.

But early on, it should be fine. As analyzed, the focus was tasks and beast eliminations, not heavy killing. It depended on when the protagonist group uncovered the truth—the sooner, the fewer deaths.

Su Bei wondered how they’d discover it. He’d relied on high Mental Energy, but Jiang Tianming’s group lacked it, and without Illusion Ability Users like Li Shu, breaking a master’s Illusion was nearly impossible.

Leaving the dark corner, Su Bei planned to return to the haunted house. Initially, he’d aimed to slack so much others wouldn’t bother killing him. Strong academies might not “raise pigs,” aiming to sweep all.

But it let him play freely. Elimination didn’t matter—dangers were inside and out, and he could justify it.

He’d worried early elimination might be out-of-character, but with enough info shared and threats looming, readers wouldn’t care.

Now, he couldn’t afford elimination—if it meant death, he had to stay, either as the sole victor or by breaking the Illusion.

With the protagonist group here, the second route was the only option. But breaking Jiram’s Illusion was tough—even his high Mental Energy couldn’t do it.

If the Nightmare Beasts weren’t foolish, they’d have countermeasures. Though doomed to fail, they’d trouble the protagonists.

Su Bei couldn’t wander recklessly. Escaping in the Illusion was hard, and as a Nightmare Beast target, they’d want him dead.

They had no chance outside, but in the Illusion, he was fish on their chopping block—they wouldn’t hold back.

Compared to open areas, the haunted house was safer. As the protagonist group’s spawn point, they’d likely cleared most beasts, letting him “move in.”

The pitch-black environment gave Su Bei a sense of safety. He planned to slack here until the match ended. As a non-author-planned character, he could choose whether to join the plot.

Not joining didn’t mean safety, but was joining safer? Shonen manga killed plenty of protagonist group members. As plot-bound characters, escaping the author’s control was harder than for him.

Sitting on a giant skull, Su Bei pondered. Slacking in the plot didn’t mean doing nothing.

The haunted house was only relatively safe, relying on darkness and information gaps—not like the ultra-safe Saint Spirit Sky Banyan he’d hidden in before.

Beasts or competitors could come and spot him unexpectedly. For such a flimsy hideout, preparing an escape was best.

In this Illusion, the only escape was leaving it.

Not an Illusion Ability User, even with high Mental Energy, breaking a master’s Illusion was doubtful. But it gave him something to do, not wasting time.

The academy had taught about Illusions—not first-year material, but as Class S with multiple Illusion experiences, they’d learned.

Illusions had three solutions: complete the task (some hidden, depending on discovery), forcibly break it, or find the array eye.

The second was impossible for them. Jiram, chosen by Sesbia for the second round, was a genius Illusion master. At their age—up to eighteen or nineteen—even with Illusion Abilities and high Mental Energy, breaking it was near impossible.

Of the first and third, Su Bei could only try the third.

The known task was eliminating everyone. Finding unknown hidden tasks required heavy effort on tasks and beast kills. He had no apparent need, so the first was out.

That left finding the array eye, requiring map exploration but aided by his high Mental Energy, sparing him physical searches.

He’d practiced finding array eyes at school. Without obstructions, they appeared as small vortexes in Mental Energy perception.

Larger Illusions had larger eyes—a limit for Illusionists. Only those who could hide various-sized eyes via the environment were masters.

Su Bei wasn’t sure how big the park was. He needed a full view to gauge the eye’s size and likely locations.

Thanks to anticipating more Illusion trips, he’d studied extracurricular material, knowing eye sizes by Illusion scale.

Sighing, he stood, heading out. Jiram likely didn’t place a map here—any would come from tasks. So he left his newfound safehouse for the park’s highest point.

In an open area, the highest spot was obvious. From afar, Su Bei saw the Ferris wheel’s top. As the tallest ride, it was likely right.

But it was far, with many potential encounters. Su Bei sighed, missing his Invisibility Charm.

Even with max luck, sneaking through shadows, he was spotted halfway by a trio from a notable academy, consistently top ten. Three third-year seniors—he couldn’t win.

Their stares showed they wouldn’t let him go easily. Helpless, Su Bei greeted casually: “Hey, seniors.”

The trio approached, intrigued. A girl with distinctive water sleeves asked curiously: “You’re from Endless Ability Academy, right? Why alone?”

She suspected he held his team’s points, hence the question. First-years might have few points, but every bit counted.

Su Bei, adept at reading people, saw no real curiosity in her eyes and said knowingly: “You want to see my points, right?”

Without waiting, he showed his watch. The clean interface displayed a glaring 0 points.

Before searching for the array eye, he’d transferred all points to Jiang Tianming’s group, instructing them not to send any back until he spoke.

If they were found with many points, they might be fine, but he’d be in trouble.

“Zero?” The water-sleeve girl asked, incredulous, expecting some points.

Prepared, Su Bei replied naturally: “Not just the fallout with my team—even without it, we wouldn’t put points on me. A lone guy with points? That’s like a kid flashing gold in a market, shouting it through a megaphone.”

She was speechless. She’d assumed he had points because he was alone. Now, he might be bait for people like her.

As she prepared to let him go, a male teammate with a teardrop mole asked curiously: “What was the fallout about?”

Su Bei repeated his earlier excuse. Unlike others, the teardrop guy responded differently: “No team now—wanna join us?”

A sunglasses-wearing girl snapped her fingers excitedly: “You’re Destiny-based, right? Perfect—we can compare notes!”

“You’re Destiny too?” Su Bei, planning escape, grew curious.

The sunglasses girl nodded confidently: “Sort of. My Ability’s [Defier of Fate].”

Su Bei: “…”

He needed to escape.

Escape was inevitable, but he was intrigued by her Ability. Plus, their direction matched his, so he didn’t rush off, asking: “What does [Defier of Fate] do?”

In a way, he was a defier of fate, altering his cannon-fodder Destiny.

Manga Consciousness had warned that, except for him, no character could realize this was a manga world. He didn’t expect her Ability to break that limit—just curious about [Defier of Fate].

“Simple—when I don’t believe something, it won’t succeed,” she answered generously, though the answer was surprising.

Su Bei’s eyes widened: “Pair that with hypnosis, and it’s invincible.”

Alone, it sounded strong but wasn’t. Could the brain deny what eyes saw or body felt? A cut arm, even if called fake, was hard to disbelieve.

She’d likely trained to alter cognition, but it went against human nature.

With hypnosis, it’d be different—making her instantly disbelieve, turning it real.

Surprised he thought of it, she sighed, part regretful, part relieved: “I thought of that long ago and tried it. My mind’s immune to control during Ability use, so I use it as a mental shield.”

If hypnosis worked, she’d be invincible.

“Couldn’t be invincible, but at least I’m not coveted. I’d rather it not be that strong than be controlled,” she said.

If controllable by hypnosis, she’d be a sharp blade for any hypnotist. She preferred this.

Chatting, they walked, and with a team, Su Bei wasn’t stopped. But their slow pace, stopping to kill beasts, delayed reaching the Ferris wheel.

Seeing the direction veer, Su Bei gave up team convenience: “I’m leaving. With you, I can’t play rides.”

The water-sleeve girl hesitated, then nodded: “We’ll watch you board the drop tower, then go.”

Initially, she agreed to take him, suspecting a secret Endless mission.

Endless, a top academy, despite its “catastrophe,” was still formidable. Who knew their trump cards? A lone Su Bei seemed suspicious.

But along the way, he didn’t do tasks or kill beasts, just slacked, matching his excuse.

At this rate, watching longer showed nothing. A team of three plus him felt awkward, so she let him go.

Normally, not killing early let others clear beasts for later harvesting. A slacker like Su Bei could be eliminated, but since he’d been friendly and caused no trouble, she spared the younger junior.

Su Bei wasn’t surprised by the easy release. He’d gauged their temperaments, making his request direct.

If they’d been harsh, using him as cannon fodder or amusement, he’d have used less peaceful means.

Having traveled most of the way with them, the final stretch was uneventful, reaching the Ferris wheel.

Many rides had task points, and as the only Ferris wheel, it was no exception. Word had spread, so it was crowded.

Su Bei didn’t rush over—he wasn’t here for tasks. With about ten tasks, he could wait until they were taken.

But crowds bred conflict. Soon, a brawl broke out—multiple teams in a chaotic melee. Su Bei sighed. If death here was real, their ruthless attacks would haunt survivors with guilt.

He’d considered warning others. With high Mental Energy, he saw the Illusion’s flaw—Illusion Ability Users might too.

But who’d believe a first-year? Some might think he was stalling for his team. More time meant more points.

Even if believed, few had Illusion Abilities—not mainstream here.

It’d just cause trouble.

His persona didn’t allow warnings, not even to the protagonist group. Without deaths, how would the protagonists’ actions matter? Even if he tried, it likely wouldn’t spread.

He wasn’t that selfless anyway.

From afar, using his Ability, he saw many fighters’ large pointers in the lower half—death loomed soon.

An hour later, the fight ended—some dead, injured, or fled. Su Bei planned to head to the Ferris wheel but noticed people approaching. Unsure if they’d spotted him, he stayed hidden.

They hadn’t—just happened by. A bloodied, pale-faced girl said: “Maybe I’m wrong, but killing feels too real.”

Though third-year graduates, they likely killed fewer than Jiang Tianming’s group. Ability Users mostly killed beasts, occasionally foes in Different Spaces or during Black Flash incidents, not in human melees.

“You’re just not used to killing,” a boy dismissed. “It’s Jiram’s Illusion—feeling real is normal.”

Logically, yes, but the girl felt off, murmuring: “Maybe… I’ll focus on beasts.”

After they left, Su Bei emerged. He wasn’t alone in noticing—others felt it too. Without his perspective, they wouldn’t consider such a wild possibility. Who’d dare dwell on it after killing?

This reminded him—earlier, he thought warnings wouldn’t be believed. Now, with suspicion seeded, his words could take root.

He needed the right moment. As a Destiny member, with his identity semi-public, he could profit while reducing Ability User losses.

One step at a time. Survival came first. He didn’t rush to plan spreading intel, arranging with the clown to enter a Ferris wheel cabin. As it closed, the scenery rose slowly.

Not night, no glowing lights, but the vibrant daytime view was charming. Su Bei admired it briefly, then, at the peak overlooking the park, focused on mapping.

No phones or items allowed—he had to mentally map the park quickly for exploration.

He didn’t plan to linger—two rides max, then leave. Such a unique, significant ride screamed plot point. Even if not, competitors would flock here. Getting caught in a brawl meant no escape and likely being the first casualty.

He used the chance to gauge the park’s size and array eye locations.