A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

6:

Seeing what she had written, everyone was surprised. Unlike “Summoning,” a special ability like “Word Spirit” shouldn’t belong in Class F.

It was known that those assigned to Class F shared one common trait: their abilities were almost entirely useless. Even the weakest “Word Spirit” was definitely useful, so why was she grouped with these others whose abilities were considered worthless?

There were one or two clever ones who, observing her demeanor, began to speculate.

Thinking it was over, Lan Subing was the first to breathe a sigh of relief. She quickly picked up the eraser, and with each word she erased, fireworks burst in her heart, celebrating her escape from misery with a bang.

But just as she put down the chalk box and eraser, Meng Huai displayed a kind smile, “Subing, won’t you greet everyone? We’re all classmates now, no need to be so distant.”

The classmates perked up instantly, eyes shining at Lan Subing. —Such a beautiful girl, not to speak more would be a loss for Class F!

Thus, the chalk in the hands of Lan·Beautiful Girl·Subing snapped on the podium, breaking into two pieces, just like her heartstrings.

Great, she thought. Now, Lan Subing really was going to become a plain block of ice QWQ.

Beside her, Meng Huai was well aware of how much harm his actions could cause to someone who had always only hidden in her little room, rolling around with social anxiety.

As a homeroom teacher, he was well aware of why Lan Subing was assigned to Class F. His teaching tasks for the month included alleviating Lan Subing’s social anxiety, so he hoped she would speak up, even if just a word or two.

Never underestimate the power of those few words. Once Lan Subing spoke, her subconscious would accept her classmates as people she could talk to. After a few more tries, she might be able to speak as normally as she would with a friend.

Unfortunately, he had underestimated the impact of the unfamiliar environment on Lan Subing. Like a hamster thrown into the spotlight, feet dangling in the air, her first instinct was to seek out a familiar companion—Jiang Tianming, her lifeline.

Feeling Lan Subing’s gaze, Jiang Tianming didn’t hesitate to raise his hand. But before he could be called upon, Su Bei casually spoke up first, “How should we greet? Write ‘Hello everyone’ on the blackboard?”

Su Bei’s suggestion provided Lan Subing with an alternative, a way to cope even if she couldn’t speak.

Of course, his intentions weren’t purely kind. It was partly to scrape a bit of the plot and partly to curry favor. By giving the impression of goodwill to the protagonist group, he hoped to offset some of the hostility his previous words had caused.

To avoid being met with suspicion and guardedness by the protagonist group later on.

That troublemaker! Meng Huai almost rolled his eyes and shot him a warning glare: “You, shut up.”

Then, turning to Jiang Tianming with resignation, he asked, “And what do you have to say?”

He knew that Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing were good friends, and that Lan Subing had joined Class F because of Jiang Tianming. Otherwise, despite her severe issues, she could have been placed in Class D.

Understanding the difficulty she faced, Jiang Tianming, as a good friend, wanted to help. But now was not the time for him to intervene. Lan Subing’s issues needed to be addressed, and a true friend wouldn’t disrupt the process out of momentary sympathy.

Besides, if Jiang Tianming wanted to help her, he had to consider the feelings of the other students. Meng Huai worried that a boy of his age might act rashly and end up truly harming Lan Subing.

But Jiang Tianming wasn’t afraid. Although he understood the teacher’s intentions, he couldn’t ignore his friend’s pleading eyes. Su Bei’s earlier remark had given him a new idea, but that method wouldn’t allow Lan Subing to progress and would fail to honor the teacher’s efforts.

A compromise was needed.

Under the watchful eye of the muscular teacher, he spoke calmly, “Teacher, Subing can’t speak in front of many people. May I take her outside to record a greeting, then come back for her self-introduction?”

It was impossible to hide severe social anxiety. Better to be upfront about it from the start to avoid misunderstandings later.

It was indeed a good solution. It wouldn’t cause resentment among the classmates and would fulfill the task of greeting. The only issue was that it halved the effect Meng Huai wanted to achieve.

He wanted Lan Subing to break through her psychological barriers and be able to speak to everyone in Class F. If it was done through a recording, it would still help break some barriers, but not as effectively as speaking directly.

However, seeing Lan Subing’s tearful gratitude, Meng Huai knew he couldn’t push too hard and waved his hand with a headache: “Go ahead.”

With that matter settled, the students continued their introductions, and soon it was Su Bei’s turn, the penultimate one.

He strode onto the stage with a carefree swagger: “Hello everyone, my name is Su Bei, my ability is ‘Gear,’ and I plan to open a hardware store in the future. If anyone needs gears, come find me, and I’ll give you a discount for being classmates!”

Hearing such a down-to-earth self-introduction, everyone burst into laughter, and several people’s eyes lit up.

Initially, they had planned to dismiss their awakened but seemingly useless abilities after graduation, but Su Bei’s words made them realize that even ‘useless’ abilities could be utilized profitably.

Though not suited for combat, as long as one is creative, profiting from an ability is within reach for most.

Only Jiang Tianming, sitting in the middle row, twitched his mouth and couldn’t help but whisper to Lan Subing beside him: “Do you think what he’s saying is true?”

If it’s just a ‘Gear’ ability, how could he have said what he did?

Lan Subing shook her head and typed a message for him to see: “It might be a disguise.”

During their exchange, the last person, Feng Lan, also stepped onto the stage: “Feng Lan, my ability is ‘Prophecy.'”

If the previous twists were like tossing pebbles into the class’s lake, then Feng Lan’s declaration was akin to launching a missile into it.

‘Prophecy’ ability! How rare and precious! How could such an ability end up in Class F?

Even those who had never delved into the world of abilities knew that such a power was a treasure, no matter where it was placed. Even if it could only predict the weather, it would never be assigned to Class F.

And those in the know, recognizing Feng Lan’s surname, realized he was from the prophetic Feng family. And given his own claim of the ‘Prophecy’ ability, his status in the Feng family was certainly not ordinary.

‘Prophecy’ is a niche category of abilities, including predicting the weather, good/bad fortune, specific outcomes…

Pure ‘Prophecy’ abilities are extremely rare, and as far as they knew, if one belonged to the Feng family’s main branch, their emergence could directly lead to becoming the family head.

In other words, if Feng Lan wasn’t lying, he was likely the current head of the Feng family.

Everyone’s gaze was fixed on Feng Lan, hoping to glean more information from him, and ideally, to forge a good relationship to gain prophecies for free in the future.

Su Bei was also taken aback. With no background in the world of abilities, he was unaware of the Feng family’s prowess. But the power of the ‘Prophecy’ ability was clear even to the uninformed.

This person possessed such an ability—wasn’t that a direct clash with his own?

This was not good at all. Too similar abilities lose their uniqueness, and fans could easily be diverted. If the other party had a strong background, then Su Bei would definitely be at a disadvantage in attracting followers.

His brows furrowed, he resolved to find an opportunity to properly inquire about the other’s special ability. Only with clarity on this matter could he devise a targeted remedy for change.

On the podium, Feng Lan seemed utterly oblivious to the gazes and expectations of the audience, succinctly concluding his introduction before stepping down.

“Clap, clap, clap!”

Seeing that the crowd’s attention lingered on Feng Lan, as if their eyes were glued to him, Meng Huai clapped his hands to draw everyone back.

The freshly minted class head seemed to ponder what more he needed to say. After a moment, he tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a somewhat mocking and derisive expression: “You lot from Class F, surely you’re not so deluded as to think you can carve out a niche among the gifted with your pathetic abilities? The suggestion from our classmate Su Bei just now wasn’t bad.”

Hearing this, Su Bei’s brow twitched. He could feel the animosity in those words, and knew that a few of his less cunning classmates were already holding a grudge against him because of Meng Huai.

But why would Meng Huai do this? Su Bei couldn’t recall offending the class head.

After a brief reflection, he had an inkling. It seemed his words upon entering the class had caught the class head’s attention. By drawing hostility towards himself, he was guiding his classmates to cause trouble, ideally to probe his own limits.

“But after all, you’ll be in the world of the gifted for three more years,” Meng Huai declared his teaching philosophy with finality. “So if you want to survive, honing your physical skills is your only way out.”

His calm tone belied the irony of his words, delivering a significant shock to the naive students. It took a moment for the class to react and grasp his meaning, then the room erupted into an uproar.

“What do you mean by that?” The boy sitting next to Su Bei, an unremarkable-looking youth with a face full of acne, suddenly stood up, his question laced with dissatisfaction and anger.

Seeing his reaction, Su Bei understood immediately. It seemed the class head had chosen his next victim for intimidation.

Sure enough, without even lifting his eyelids, Meng Huai casually pulled a short piece of chalk from the box on the podium and threw it—

The chalk struck the boy’s forehead with lightning speed.

“Thud!”

The boy collapsed to the ground!

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