A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Jiang Tianming returned to his seat, and Lan Su Bing, beside him, asked softly in a somewhat dry voice, “What’s the situation with that person?”

She had severe social anxiety and usually only spoke to familiar people.

“Not sure, but it seems he doesn’t have any ill intentions.” As an orphan, Jiang Tianming was very sensitive to human malice. “Let me think about what he meant by what he said just now.”

It indeed needed careful thought. If the other party really wanted to convey something, it must be hidden in those words. Lan Subing nodded, “I’ll go check on this person.”

Although the students of “Infinite Abilities Academy” were required to live on campus, the school did not prohibit them from contacting the outside world.

The Lan family’s influence was significant, so checking someone’s identity wasn’t difficult.

“Sure.” It was indeed necessary, and Jiang Tianming never minded using his friends’ advantages. He was a pragmatist; his years as an orphan had taught him the importance of relying on available resources.

Lan Subing, having said a few words, reached her limit. Feeling she had solved the problem, she decisively stopped speaking. She was mentally preparing herself for the self-introduction session at the start of each school year, which was a major ordeal for her due to her social anxiety.

Jiang Tianming, on the other hand, closed his eyes and pondered Su Bei’s words.

“Saluting you on behalf of fate, the unluckiest of the unlucky in this generation.”

What did this mean?

The literal meaning was clear enough—it suggested that he was the unluckiest student in this year’s intake at “Infinite Abilities Academy.”

Given the confidence with which Su Bei spoke, even saying “on behalf of fate,” it seemed his ability was related to fate. At the very least, it might allow him to assess someone’s luck.

But would such an ability be placed in Class F?

That seemed almost impossible!

Based on what he, or rather the Lan family, knew, “Infinite Abilities Academy” was very strict about class assignments. They wouldn’t normally allow lower-level abilities in higher-level classes, nor would they place higher-level abilities in lower-level classes.

The former would waste teacher resources and likely leave the students unable to keep up. The latter could hinder the student and potentially endanger the lower-level class students.

So, class transfers were nearly impossible.

Unless it was a case like his own, where bad luck led to an issue during the pre-admission ability test, detecting only the presence of an ability but not what it was, forcing him into Class F.

Or like Lan Subing, who had an A-class ability, [Word Spirit], but due to severe social anxiety, couldn’t speak, rendering her ability unusable.

The school, considering her and her family’s wishes, and the fact that she could speak a bit more around familiar people, allowed her to join Class F.

Wu Mingbai didn’t have that privilege and was assigned to Class D. His ability needed refinement and forcing him into Class F wouldn’t be ideal.

Returning to the main issue, if Su Bei truly had an ability related to fate, his presence in Class F might indicate a larger plan. And the key might involve Jiang Tianming himself, otherwise, Su Bei wouldn’t have approached him with those words immediately.

Could it be that he discovered Jiang Tianming’s secret?!

The thought made Jiang Tianming frown, but he relaxed quickly.

Based on Su Bei’s attitude, it seemed he hadn’t discerned Jiang Tianming’s true ability. Perhaps he just saw something about his luck, which indeed wasn’t great… or rather, very bad.

Forming friendships with Lan Su Bing and Wu Mingbai was the only bright spot in his otherwise bleak life.

But if Su Bei didn’t have a special ability, his approaching Jiang Tianming with those words had to be for another reason.

Could it be that Su Bei’s background was unusual?

As an orphan, Jiang Tianming naturally had some curiosity about his biological parents. If someone recognized him through resemblance or prior investigation, it could explain such words.

However, if this were the case, it might be bad news for him. What kind of parents would prompt someone to call him “unlucky”?

Forget it. Let’s wait and see.

In a month, the ability academy would reassess abilities and potential, at which point any mismatches would be corrected.

If Su Bei left Class F then, it would mean he might have seen something through his ability. If he stayed, Jiang Tianming would have to consider the second possibility.

The students in the classroom chatted in small groups, but it was quiet around Su Bei. There was a sleeping student behind him, and anyone with a bit of sense wouldn’t approach to talk.

To maintain his air of mystery, Su Bei also stayed silent.

Similarly, to avoid overlapping with the persona of the big shot in the back row, he couldn’t lie on the desk and sleep.

After some thought, he looked out the window and focused on enjoying the scenery.

Before long, a man at least 1.9 meters tall with an excessively well-built body walked in. He wore a simple black T-shirt, but because of his muscular build, it looked like a black tight shirt. He also wore cargo pants, which appeared somewhat snug.

The man looked about thirty years old, with black hair and blue eyes. His features were sharply defined and handsome, with deep-set eyes, exuding mature charm.

However, he clearly didn’t care about making a good impression. His beard was scruffy, and his slicked-back hair was messy, showing no awareness of a new term’s new image.

Yet, this rough look gave him a wild and untamed allure, making him seem bursting with hormones.

With his eyelids drooping and looking quite drowsy, he walked to the podium, dragged a chair over, sat down, and propped his feet up in a laid-back manner: “I’m your homeroom teacher, Meng Huai, also the gym teacher. Introduce yourselves one by one, starting from the first person by the door.”

The girl sitting in the first seat by the door caught Su Bei’s attention immediately.

In both the manga and novel worlds, characters this pretty were rarely cannon fodder.

Of course, that’s just usually the case; otherwise, how did he end up as cannon fodder?

“Hello everyone, my name is Zhao Xiaoyu, and my ability is…” She paused and looked at Meng Huai. “Teacher, do we need to introduce our abilities?”

Meng Huai replied indifferently, “Up to you, but you’ll have many cooperative and competitive tasks later on.”

Hearing this, Zhao Xiaoyu made a mental note and said confidently, “My ability matches my name, it’s [Laughter Speech]. I like running and my best subject is Chinese. Thank you, everyone, I hope we can get along.”

She obviously valued the “competitive” aspect Meng Huai mentioned, so she didn’t elaborate on her ability. Another possibility was that she was confident she wouldn’t team up with Class F students, so she didn’t need to introduce herself to them.

The first introduction often sets the tone for the rest. Following her, none of the other students explained their abilities either, only stating their names and ability titles.

Finally, it was the protagonist’s turn. Jiang Tianming stepped onto the podium, and all the classmates looked over. His black hair and black eyes stood out in this manga world, and everyone was curious about his ability.

“Hello everyone, my name is Jiang Tianming, and my ability is [Summoning].”

Having read the first part of the manga, Su Bei knew his ability was [Death Summoning], but he left out the first two words.

[Summoning] sounded very general, and in fact, it was a major category of abilities. Powerful ones could summon the dead, while weaker ones, like Su Bei’s, could only summon gears.

So, when they heard Jiang Tianming’s ability was summoning, no one was particularly surprised, assuming he was too embarrassed to reveal what exactly he could summon.

But Su Bei understood why he didn’t clarify. First, he didn’t want to draw attention during this month, and second, he assumed he’d leave Class F in a month, so he didn’t see the need to disclose much.

However, knowing manga tropes well, Su Bei didn’t think he’d leave Class F easily. A protagonist in the bottom-tier class was a great hook, and the author wouldn’t miss such a selling point.

So, likely, neither Jiang Tianming nor Lan Su Bing would leave during the reassignment in a month. Not just them, even Wu Mingbai, currently in Class D, might be pulled into their class due to plot inertia.

After Jiang Tianming left the podium, there was a brief gap.

Meng Huai raised an eyebrow, glanced at the roster, and with a knowing look, called out loudly, “Lan Su Bing, come up and introduce yourself!”

Hearing her name called, the blue-haired girl, who was quietly putting on a mask, trembled and stood up, instantly attracting the whole class’s attention.

Her face flushed red, her eyelashes fluttered, and she bit her lip lightly, clutching the hem of her clothes nervously. Without picking up the mask that had fallen to the ground, under Meng Huai’s intense gaze, Lan Su Bing walked quickly to the center of the podium like a small quail.

Meng Huai’s expression relaxed slightly. “Alright, introduce yourself.”

The students below curiously looked at her. Not for anything else, but her silky long hair, beautiful light blue eyes, and fair skin made her quite noticeable.

Under tremendous pressure, Lan Subing straightened her body and bowed, then reached out with trembling hands to pick a piece of chalk from the box. Taking deep breaths, she turned around and wrote three large characters on the blackboard—Lan Subing. Her handwriting was elegant and beautiful, worthy of a million-dollar contract, clearly well-practiced.

As she tried to put down the chalk and escape, Meng Huai reminded her, “Your ability.”

Lan Subing’s face was burning, and under her blue hair, her earlobes were visibly red. Like a shy hamster dragged onto the stage, she reluctantly wrote two more characters: [Word Spirit].