Chapter 5
As Jiang Tianming returned to his seat, Lan Su Bing quietly asked in a somewhat hoarse voice, "What's the deal with that guy?"
She was a severe introvert, usually only able to speak with familiar people.
"Not sure, but he doesn't seem hostile," Jiang Tianming replied. As an orphan, he was particularly sensitive to human malice. "Let me think over what he meant by that line."
It definitely needed some thought. If the guy was trying to convey something, it had to be hidden in those words. Lan Su Bing nodded. "I'll go look him up."
Though students at the Endless Abilities Academy were required to live on campus, they weren't restricted from contacting the outside world.
The Lan Corporation had extensive resources, so finding out a person's background wasn't difficult.
"Go ahead." Jiang Tianming saw the value in this; he never minded using his friends' strengths. As a realist, his years as an orphan had taught him, and Wu Mingbai, not to rely solely on themselves when they didn't need to.
Lan Su Bing, having said as much as she could manage, fell silent. She was preparing herself mentally for the introduction round—a dreaded experience for the socially anxious girl, as it happened every year.
Meanwhile, Jiang Tianming closed his eyes and thought over what Su Bei had said.
"On behalf of fate, I salute you—the unluckiest of this year's class."
What did that mean?
On the surface, it was simple: he was calling Jiang Tianming the "unluckiest" student in their year at the Endless Abilities Academy.
For him to say this with such confidence, even claiming to "represent fate," it was clear that his ability had to relate to fate, or at least be something that allowed him to gauge a person's luck.
But would someone with such an ability really be placed in F-Class?
That seemed nearly impossible!
Based on his understanding—and the Lan Corporation's intel—the Academy had very strict criteria for class assignments. Low-level abilities wouldn't go to advanced classes, and high-level abilities wouldn't end up in low-level classes.
The reason was obvious: they didn't want to waste resources or overwhelm weaker students. In the latter case, they wanted to protect weaker students from possible harm.
So class-jumping was nearly impossible.
Unless it was someone like him, unlucky enough that during the abilities test, something went wrong, resulting in only a "power detected" reading without identifying the ability itself, forcing him into F-Class.
Or like Lan Su Bing, who had an A-Class-worthy "Words of Power" ability, but due to her extreme social anxiety, she couldn't speak, making her ability useless.
The school had taken her personal and family wishes into account and allowed her into F-Class because she could at least speak a few words to people she knew.
Wu Mingbai didn't have the same flexibility and was placed in D-Class. But his ability needed refinement, so F-Class wouldn't have suited him anyway.
Back to the original question: if Su Bei truly had a fate-related ability, his presence in F-Class likely had a purpose. And it probably had to do with him; otherwise, Su Bei wouldn't have approached him so directly.
Could he have discovered his secret?
This thought made Jiang Tianming frown, though he quickly relaxed.
Based on Su Bei's attitude, it didn't seem like he'd figured out his true ability. Maybe he'd just seen something related to luck… Jiang Tianming's luck was indeed poor—extremely poor.
His friendship with Lan Su Bing and Wu Mingbai was the only bright spot in an otherwise bleak life.
But if Su Bei didn't have a special ability, then the reason he approached him was equally intriguing.
Could it have something to do with his background?
As an orphan, Jiang Tianming naturally held some curiosity about his biological parents. If someone who knew them recognized him through appearance or research, it might explain his comments.
If that were the case, though, it might be bad news for him. What kind of parents would lead someone to call him the "unluckiest"?
Whatever the case, he'd wait a month to observe.
In a month, the Academy would retest everyone's abilities and potential. By then, any mismatched placements would be corrected.
If Su Bei left F-Class after that, it would mean he probably did have a unique ability. But if he stayed, Jiang Tianming would consider other possibilities.
Meanwhile, the other students in the classroom began chatting in small groups, but things were quiet around Su Bei. The student behind him was still sleeping, and anyone with common sense wouldn't approach.
To maintain his mysterious aura, Su Bei also stayed quiet. For the same reason, he couldn't lie on his desk to sleep, as it would clash with the "mysterious" vibe he was cultivating.
Thinking it over, he turned to the window and focused on the scenery.
A few moments later, a man standing a full 1.9 meters tall with a remarkably fit physique entered. He wore a plain black T-shirt that fit him like a second skin due to his muscular build, and cargo pants that looked equally snug.
The man seemed around 30, with black hair and blue eyes. His chiseled features and deep-set eyes gave him a mature, rugged attractiveness.
He didn't seem to care about making a good impression. His unshaven face and messy slicked-back hair showed no regard for the "new semester, fresh start" vibe.
But somehow, this only added to his wild, untamed charm, giving him a dangerously magnetic aura.
His eyelids drooped as if he'd just woken up, and he strolled to the podium, dragging a chair over, sitting down, and crossing his legs in a laid-back posture. "I'm your homeroom teacher, Meng Huai, and also the gym teacher. Let's go around and introduce ourselves, starting with the first seat by the door."
The first seat belonged to a girl. The moment Su Bei saw her face, he perked up.
In both manga and novels, beautiful characters rarely ended up as disposable side characters.
Though, as his own experience had shown, "rarely" didn't mean "never."
"Hello everyone, I'm Zhao Xiaoyu, and my ability is…" She paused, glancing at Meng Huai. "Teacher, should we include our abilities?"
Meng Huai shrugged indifferently, "Up to you, though you'll be doing a fair amount of team missions."
Hearing this, Zhao Xiaoyu gave a quick nod and confidently said, "My ability matches my name, it's called [Laughter Speech]. I like running, and my best subject is language arts. I hope we'll get along!"
Clearly, she was more focused on the "missions" part of Meng Huai's statement, choosing not to elaborate on her ability. Or perhaps she assumed she wouldn't be teaming up with F-Class students, so a basic introduction sufficed.
The first introduction set the tone, and each student after her, for various reasons, chose to introduce only their ability's name without further explanation.
Finally, it was Jiang Tianming's turn. As he walked to the podium, the students turned to look. With his black hair and eyes, he stood out in this world of vibrant colors, and everyone was curious about his ability.
"Hello everyone, I'm Jiang Tianming. My ability is [Summoning]."
Su Bei, having read the first volume, knew his ability was actually [Death Summoning]; he'd left out the first two words.
[Summoning] as a general ability sounded vague, as it encompassed a wide range. Some, like the protagonist, could summon spirits, while others, like Su Bei, could only summon gears.
So the class didn't find it strange. They assumed Jiang was simply embarrassed to specify what he could summon.
But Su Bei knew why he'd kept it vague: to avoid drawing attention during this one-month period and because he expected to leave F-Class soon, making further explanation unnecessary.
However, knowing manga tropes, Su Bei doubted Jiang would easily escape F-Class. The "low-ranked class protagonist" trope was a goldmine for stories; the author wouldn't waste such a selling point.
So most likely, during the upcoming re-evaluation, both Jiang Tianming and Lan Su Bing would remain in F-Class. In fact, their D-Class friend Wu Mingbai might also end up joining them due to plot necessity.
As Jiang stepped down, there was a brief pause.
Meng Huai raised an eyebrow, glancing at the attendance sheet, his eyes flashing with understanding. He called out in a loud voice, "Lan Su Bing, come up and introduce yourself!"
Hearing her name, the blue-haired girl flinched, her hand trembling as she tried to tighten her scarf around herself, then stood up shakily, drawing the class's attention.
Her face turned crimson, her eyelashes fluttered, and she bit her lip, gripping her coat nervously. Ignoring her scarf that had slipped to the floor, she lowered her head and shuffled to the center of the podium like a scared quail.
Meng Huai's stern expression relaxed slightly. "Alright, introduce yourself."
The students looked at her curiously. With her silken hair, striking blue eyes, and fair skin, her appearance was enough to draw attention.
Under intense pressure, Lan Su Bing straightened and bowed before nervously reaching into the chalk box, finally grasping a piece of chalk after a few moments. She took a deep breath, turned around, and wrote three large characters on the board—Lan Su Bing. The elegant, delicate script looked as though it belonged on a high-stakes contract, hinting at practiced skill.
Seeing her about to make her escape, Meng Huai reminded her, "Your ability."
Lan Su Bing's face burned bright red, her ears reddening visibly beneath her blue hair. She resembled a frightened hamster forced into the spotlight. Reluctantly, she wrote two more characters on the board: [Words of Power].