A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga - Chapter 339 : Chapter 339

Chapter 339

After dealing with the matters in the real world, I officially began my journey. In order to avoid the Nightmare Beasts, I definitely couldn’t go to those crowded places.

During this time, I had already made a travel plan. Although I planned to go wherever I saw, I had to at least determine the general direction.

Among them, I needed to avoid the countries where the plot characters were located, such as Apogod, Yafei Kingdom…

I planned to go all the way north, with the final destination being the North Pole. With ability items, I didn’t have to worry about the North Pole being particularly cold. In such a remote place, I didn’t have to worry about too many Nightmare Beasts appearing.

If it was just one or two, although I couldn’t use my ability and mental power now, and my physical fitness couldn’t be restored to its peak for the time being, I had ability items, and a very large number of them. Dealing with one or two Nightmare Beasts was still a piece of cake.

In the big forest, after reaching the central part, feeling a little tired, I carefully selected a tree that was visually the tallest and climbed up in a few moves.

Sitting on the topmost branch, I could almost overlook the entire primeval forest. The vast expanse of green made one feel relaxed at a glance. It would be even better if there weren’t those annoying Nightmare Beasts.

Looking at the two low-level Nightmare Beasts rushing towards me from a distance, a flash of annoyance passed through my eyes. The fact that ability users naturally attracted Nightmare Beasts was vividly demonstrated during my solo journey.

In the past half a month, I had encountered several Nightmare Beasts almost every two or three days. Sometimes they came individually, sometimes in groups. If it weren’t for the fact that I had enough items on hand, I would have had to return in disgrace.

There were no high-level Nightmare Beasts among these Nightmare Beasts, which undoubtedly made them much easier to deal with. It also made me more convinced that I was so unlucky before entirely because I was involved with the protagonist group. As long as I was far away from the protagonist group, high-level Nightmare Beasts were not that easy to encounter at all!

I took out a miniature laser cannon from my backpack and aimed at the two bird-like Nightmare Beasts that were already approaching. I shot very accurately, one shot per bird, easily getting rid of the two low-level Nightmare Beasts, and then skillfully threw the laser cannon into my backpack.

It was troublesome not to be able to use mental power. I couldn’t even use the storage ring. Not just the storage ring, many ability items required mental power to activate. For the time being, I couldn’t use mental power, so the items I could use were very limited.

Fortunately, with the help of my classmates, they modified items and went back to search the item library. In short, they had gathered a lot of usable items for me.

After eliminating the Nightmare Beasts, I turned on my phone to check if there was anything new on the official ability website. Although there was no signal in the big forest, the phones of ability users were specially made and could be used in most cases without a signal.

The official website was calm and peaceful. The news of my death was still posted on it. All the acquaintances I knew besides Class S were sending me messages, trying to ask in vain if I was still alive. I didn’t reply to any of them.

I wouldn’t do something like faking my death to my classmates in Class S, which would betray their trust. But for others, there was no need to be too considerate. After all, I didn’t fake my death because I had nothing better to do. I really had this need.

If too many people knew a secret, it would no longer be a secret. For my own safety, I’d better be more cautious.

I turned off my phone and continued to walk deeper into the forest according to the route displayed on my phone’s navigation. “Is this route really correct? Is the thing that can help me recover as soon as possible in the forest?”

While walking, I asked suspiciously. This primeval forest was sparsely populated and there were few Nightmare Beasts. It didn’t look like a place where treasures would be hidden. Generally, wouldn’t there be monsters or people guarding such treasures?

“Of course, I am the consciousness of this world. Nothing in the world can be hidden from my eyes.” Being questioned by me, the “Manga Consciousness” immediately defended itself righteously.

Regarding this point, I didn’t doubt it. What I doubted was, “But it’s only half a year. Why are you so eager to help me find a recovery item?”

This was the real reason I felt there was a problem. A half-year period of weakness would not endanger my life. The “Manga Consciousness” had no reason to help me for no reason, right?

“I just don’t want to see you suffer so much. Isn’t it very uncomfortable for you to have no ability and mental power?” the “Manga Consciousness” said with a kind look.

Actually, it wasn’t that uncomfortable. I hadn’t lost my instinct as an ordinary person just because I had been an ability user for a year or two.

But that wasn’t the point now. The point was that I didn’t believe a single word of the nonsense spoken by the “Manga Consciousness.” The other party was not a kind person. Even if we had some friendship and would help at critical moments, it was impossible to help with everything. Especially when I hadn’t asked.

Even caring so much about my recovery speed, had it turned into a mother hen?

I said unceremoniously, “What do you want me to do after I recover?”

Seeing that I had already said this, the “Manga Consciousness” no longer concealed it. “As a popular character, if you really stay offline all the time, it will definitely cause dissatisfaction among the readers. So the author wants you to appear at the finale and play your role as an easter egg to save everyone from fire and water.”

Bringing out a popular character who had been offline for a while at the finale to show off, if handled properly, could even increase a hot search.

I was familiar with the manga tropes and of course knew the author’s purpose. I thought for a moment, “Then what benefits do I get?”

The “Manga Consciousness” obviously guessed that I would ask this and immediately replied, “Doesn’t recovering ahead of time count?”

“If you think it counts, then there’s no need,” I sneered. “I’m not short of this kind of benefit.”

I had originally made up my mind not to participate in the upcoming plot of this season. Even if there was no threat of death, I wouldn’t participate. A little favor certainly couldn’t change my mind.

Clearly knowing that the initiative was now in my hands, the “Manga Consciousness” quickly compromised. “Alright, what do you want then?”

If it said the bargaining chip first, then based on past experience, it would be very easy for me to bargain. But if I said it first, although I would definitely ask for a lot, at least the right to bargain would fall into the hands of the “Manga Consciousness.”

I thought for a moment and found that I really didn’t want anything. The growth plan I mentioned to the author before was just a joke. I didn’t want others to design my ability.

“Open a hardware store for me next to the ability academy,” I finally said. “A hardware store with all kinds of facilities and a matching defense system.”

“…”

After a long silence, the “Manga Consciousness” said with a complicated tone, “You really are consistent from beginning to end…”

Actually, I wasn’t that obsessed with the hardware store. After all, opening a hardware store near the academy wouldn’t make money. But as the “Manga Consciousness” said, one must be consistent from beginning to end, right?

And to be a bit chunibyo, I actually wanted to be that kind of sweeping monk-like character. The plot of a failing shop owner near the academy actually being a powerful senior, just thinking about it made my chunibyo soul burn!

Besides, opening a hardware store didn’t mean I had to settle here. I could just close the store or hire a clerk to watch the store, and then come back when I wanted to rest and pretend to be an honest and down-to-earth small boss.

Wait? Why say pretend?

Cough cough, besides that, the most important reason was that I felt it was necessary for me to have a relatively safe residence near the school.

It was known that the manga 《King of Abilities》 still had a third season. The crisis of the second season basically had nothing to do with me, but in the third season, it was not impossible that I would be dragged into it.

If the author didn’t mean to use the time-skip technique, then the main location of the third season should still be the academy. In the second season, the academy had always been a safe house-like existence, but would it still be like that in the third season? I didn’t think so. Only when the academy was no longer safe could it give the readers a brand new experience, right?

Of course, this was just my guess, but it was always good to be more prepared for this guess.

This request was really not difficult. The “Manga Consciousness” was afraid that I would go back on my word and agreed immediately. And it decided to make sure that the hardware store had a full defense, otherwise it would be a disservice to such a simple request this time.

While talking to the “Manga Consciousness,” I didn’t stay idle. I walked deeper into the forest according to the route map. The dense miasma around me would have made an ordinary person faint by now. But I had items to protect myself, so I wasn’t afraid at all.

I have to say, this is the good thing about ability users. Not only can they use abilities themselves, but they can also create items for others to use. It’s just that most ability items are very expensive. Unless it’s an equivalent exchange of goods for goods, it’s often a seller’s market if you want to exchange money for useful items.

“Red mushroom…” Arriving at the target location, I lowered my head and searched around.

I was looking for a kind of red mushroom. This mushroom was extremely poisonous to ordinary people. It could drastically increase the blood flow rate and cause the eater to explode and die. But there was a seal of the “Life-Saving Puppet” in my body. The seal could bear this energy. Similarly, this energy could also help break through the seal.

Red was quite conspicuous in a green forest. I quickly found the target. I walked over and squatted down to pull out a mushroom by the root. “Is this it? How do I eat it?”

“It’s extremely poisonous no matter how you eat it. It’s up to you,” the “Manga Consciousness” replied indifferently. For it, taste was not important, only the effect was.

I twitched the corner of my mouth and looked at this mushroom with mud still on its root. “Is one bite enough?”

If one bite was enough, then I would just bite a part of the top that wasn’t stained with mud and be done with it. A little dirt wouldn’t kill me. But if I had to eat the whole thing, then it was better to wash it.

Fortunately, it wasn’t that troublesome. The “Manga Consciousness” replied, “One bite is enough.”

I nodded and took a bite of the mushroom’s cap. Then my vision went black and I fell down with a thud. Before I “died,” I didn’t forget to scratch a few words on the ground with my hand— “The murderer is”.