Chapter 6
Seeing what she wrote, everyone was astonished. Unlike [Summon], how could an Ability like [Word Spirit] possibly end up in Class F?
It was known that those assigned to Class F all shared one common trait: their Abilities were practically useless. But even the weakest [Word Spirit] was undoubtedly useful, so how could it be grouped with these Ability rejects?
A couple of clever ones, observing her performance, began to form some guesses in their minds.
Thinking it was over, Lan Subing let out a sigh of relief first. She quickly picked up the eraser, and with each word she wiped away, a firework burst in her heart, ping-ping-pang-pang, celebrating her escape from the ordeal.
But the moment she set down the chalk box and eraser, Meng Huai put on a kind smile: “Subing, won’t you say hello to everyone? We’ll all be classmates from now on, no need to be so distant, right?”
The classmates instantly perked up, their eyes gleaming as they stared at Lan Subing. —Such a beautiful girl, not saying a few more words would be a loss for Class F!
And so, the chalk in Lan·Beautiful Girl·Subing’s hand snapped and fell onto the podium, just like her heartstrings breaking in two.
Great, she thought. Now, Lan Subing was truly about to turn into a plain block of ice QWQ.
Meng Huai, standing nearby, was well aware of how much damage this action would cause to a socially anxious hamster who only ever hid in her little room, scampering on her wheel da-da-da.
But as the homeroom teacher, he also knew why Lan Subing had been assigned to Class F. Among his teaching tasks for the month was helping reduce Lan Subing’s social anxiety, so he hoped she could at least say a word or two now.
Don’t underestimate the power of those one or two words. As long as Lan Subing spoke, in her subconscious, the classmates in this room would become people she could talk to. After a few more times, she might even be able to speak as naturally as she would with friends.
Unfortunately, he underestimated the impact of an unfamiliar environment on Lan Subing. Thrown defenselessly under the spotlight, the little hamster dangling in midair first sought out her familiar companion. —Jiang Tianming. He was her lifeline.
Sensing Lan Subing’s gaze, Jiang Tianming didn’t hesitate and raised his hand. But before he could be called on, Su Bei beat him to it, lazily speaking up: “How’s she supposed to greet? Write ‘Hello everyone’ on the board?”
Su Bei’s words undoubtedly gave Lan Subing an alternative, a way to cope even if she couldn’t speak.
He did this not out of kindness, of course. First, to leech a bit of the plot, and second, to do a favor. Giving the protagonist group the impression that he was well-intentioned could offset some of the hostility from his earlier words.
So he wouldn’t have to face constant suspicion when approaching the protagonist group later.
This punk! Meng Huai nearly rolled his eyes, shooting him a warning glare: “You, shut up.”
Then, helplessly, he turned to Jiang Tianming: “And what do you want to say?”
He knew Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing were good friends, and that Lan Subing came to Class F because of Jiang Tianming. Otherwise, with her issues, she could have gone to Class D.
It was understandable that Jiang Tianming, as a good friend, wanted to help her out of this awkward situation. But now wasn’t the time for him to step in. Lan Subing’s problem needed to be addressed, and a true friend shouldn’t sabotage that just to spare her momentary discomfort.
Besides, if Jiang Tianming wanted to help her, he’d need to consider the other classmates’ feelings. Meng Huai was a bit worried that a boy his age might not think it through, blunder, and end up harming Lan Subing.
But Jiang Tianming wasn’t afraid. Though he understood the teacher’s intentions, he couldn’t ignore his friend’s pleading eyes. Su Bei’s earlier words gave him a new idea, but that method wouldn’t help Lan Subing improve and would waste the teacher’s efforts.
He had to find a compromise.
Facing the muscular teacher’s gaze, he spoke calmly: “Teacher, Subing can’t speak in front of so many people. Can I take her outside to record a greeting, then come back and introduce herself?”
Her severe social anxiety couldn’t be hidden, so it was better to be upfront about it to avoid misunderstandings later.
Admittedly, it was a good solution. It wouldn’t upset the classmates and would complete the greeting task. The only issue was that it halved the effect Meng Huai wanted.
He wanted Lan Subing to use this chance to break through her psychological barrier and speak to everyone in Class F. A recording, while still somewhat effective, was far less impactful than speaking directly.
But seeing Lan Subing’s tearfully grateful expression, Meng Huai knew he couldn’t push too hard. With a headache, he waved his hand: “Go, go.”
With that matter settled, the self-introductions continued, soon reaching the second-to-last, Su Bei.
He swaggered up to the podium: “Hey everyone, I’m Su Bei, my Ability is [Gear]. In the future, I plan to open a hardware store. If anyone needs gears, come find me, and for the sake of being classmates, I’ll give you a discount!”
Hearing such a down-to-earth introduction, everyone laughed, and a few even lit up.
They had planned to pretend they never awakened their useless Abilities after graduation, but Su Bei’s words made them realize that even trash Abilities could be repurposed.
They might not be able to fight, but with the right mindset, most could still profit from their Abilities.
Only Jiang Tianming, seated in the middle row, twitched his lips, whispering to Lan Subing beside him: “Do you think he’s telling the truth?”
If it was just the [Gear] Ability, how could he have said those things earlier?
Lan Subing shook her head, typing for him to see: “Probably a disguise.”
As they spoke, the last student, Feng Lan, took the podium: “Feng Lan, Ability is [Prophecy].”
If the earlier events were like tossing pebbles into the lake of the classroom, Feng Lan’s words were like launching a missile into it.
[Prophecy] Ability! What a rare and precious power! How could such an Ability be assigned to Class F?
Even those unfamiliar with the Ability world knew such an Ability was a treasure anywhere. Even if it could only predict the weather, it would never end up in Class F.
The more knowledgeable ones, through Feng Lan’s surname, realized he was from the prophetic Feng family. And based on his claim of having the [Prophecy] Ability, his status in the Feng family was far from ordinary.
[Prophecy] was a niche Ability category, including predicting weather, fortune/misfortune, or specific answers…
An Ability simply called [Prophecy] was extremely rare. As far as they knew, such pure Ability holders, if from the main Feng family, could directly become the family head upon emergence.
In other words, if Feng Lan wasn’t lying, he was likely the current head of the Feng family.
Everyone stared at Feng Lan with burning gazes, hoping to glean more information from him, ideally to build a good relationship and get free prophecies in the future.
Su Bei was also shocked. He had no background in the Ability world and didn’t know the Feng family’s influence. But even someone clueless could grasp the significance of the [Prophecy] Ability.
This guy had such an Ability, didn’t that mean they were competing in the same lane?
That wasn’t ideal. Abilities too similar lost their uniqueness, and fans could be split. If the other had a strong background, Su Bei would definitely be at a disadvantage in gaining followers.
His brows furrowed, determined to find a chance to thoroughly ask about the other’s Ability. Only by understanding this could he devise a targeted plan.
On the podium, Feng Lan seemed oblivious to the crowd’s gazes and expectations, finishing his concise introduction and walking off.
“Clap clap clap!”
Seeing everyone’s eyes lingering on Feng Lan, practically glued to him, Meng Huai clapped his hands to draw their attention back.
The freshly minted homeroom teacher seemed to ponder what else he needed to say, then, after a moment, pulled his lips into a slightly mocking sneer: “You Class F rejects wouldn’t be so delusional as to think you could make a name for yourselves among Ability users with your trash Abilities, would you? I think Su Bei’s suggestion earlier was pretty good.”
Hearing this, Su Bei’s brow twitched. He could naturally sense the hostility-stirring nature of those words, and a few narrow-minded classmates were already resenting him because of Meng Huai.
But why was Meng Huai doing this? Su Bei didn’t recall offending the homeroom teacher.
Reflecting briefly, he had a rough idea. It seemed his words upon entering the class had caught the teacher’s attention. This hostility was meant to provoke the classmates into causing trouble, ideally to probe Su Bei’s true capabilities.
“But you’ll still have to survive in the Ability world for three years.” Meng Huai delivered his teaching policy with finality: “So, to stay alive, training your physical skills is your only way out.”
His calm tone delivering such biting words clearly shocked the naive students. It took a moment for them to process what he said, and then the classroom erupted in an uproar.
“What do you mean by that?” A plain-looking boy with acne, yellow-haired, seated next to Su Bei, shot up, questioning angrily.
Seeing his reaction, Su Bei immediately understood. This guy was about to be used as cannon fodder for the teacher’s show of authority.
Sure enough, Meng Huai didn’t even lift his eyelids, casually pulling a short piece of chalk from the box on the podium, then suddenly flicking it—
The chalk struck the yellow-haired boy’s forehead with lightning speed.
“Thud!”
The yellow-haired boy collapsed on the spot.