Life Of A Nobody - as a Villain

"Where were you? Can't you answer your phone when I call!!" Rebecca said, the moment she saw Rio walking towards them leisurely, glancing all around like he was on a stroll here.

"Sorry, was a little busy so didn't hear the ring." Rio explained and nodded at Amy who had a smile on her face staring at the fourth year students standing ahead.

He glanced at the opposing team and recognized four of them instantly -Millie, Pandya, Greta and John..

Pandya and Millie gave him a mocking smile and laughed in their hearts. One his old roompartner and future villain, other an arrogant narrow minded secondary heroine.

Behind them stood a middle aged man with sunken eyes and pale complexion with a forehead filled with lines of anxiety and old age, Hakan Samyor. The umpire and supervisor for this match.

Rio turned his attention away from them and looked back at his other teammates.

Since these games weren't compulsory and challengers had to find their teammates themselves. It was Becca and Amy who had chosen the other 12 members for this match. Though half the class came here to watch the show, many had refused to play this game so as not to offend any seniors in their first meeting. Some wanted to join for the opposite reason, like showing off in front of their seniors and woo the hotties in other classes or atleast leave an impression -

(After all, seniors at college are always hot.)

But knowing their limits and gap of skill, Becca had refused all those who didn't satisfy her quota. And now whoever was left were people who, according to her logic, were people who could take a solid hit and throw the ball back.

Valtor, Amaya, Rubina, Moksh, Heath, Katherine, Zirrix, Qingyue, Alaric, Takashi and two more people whom Rio didn't recognize.

Rio had a brief conversation with Valtor and chatted a few words with Katherine, before giving a nod of acceptance to everyone else.

Not surprisingly his team had many rankers, as Amy and Becca herself had called for them.

When Rio came, the professor had already walked forward and started talking about the rules and penalties, while his assistants flew in air, setting up the boundaries and barriers for this game.

"I leave for a few minutes and you already got yourself in trouble." Rio said teasingly, ignoring the serious atmosphere.

"Humph, they came looking for it." Becca snorted and replied "And besides, it was your sister who agreed to the challenge on my behalf, so don't lecture me."

"So you decided who's gonna do the defending job." Rio said looking at the small portal-like holes which worked as goal nets for this game.

"Amaya." Rebecca replied, causing Rio to raise his eyebrows in suspicion. After all, the goalkeeper would constantly be attacked and with no mana blockade Amaya was gonna be an open target.

"She said, she has the highest perception and passive skills among us, so she can trace and block everything."

Rio turned his face and saw her smiling at him, he didn't know what she was up to, or for what reason picked that part of the job, so he could just ignore her for now.

Soon the professor's lecture ended and he gave everyone 5 minutes to wear the flying shoes and the bracelet that blocked the energies and then reach their positions.

Some students were wearing these shoes for the first time, so it was worth a laugh watching them trying to balance themselves and trying not to fall.

One idiot was literally hanging upside down in the air and screaming with a pale face, making a joke out of him.

"What a great team." Rio said sarcastically making Becca glare at him in anger.

The game was to take place a hundred meters above the ground, where the stage was already set. The lines of boundary were already prepared and fourth years had already taken their positions. Looking down on them from their height.

Rio grabbed the wooden baseball type bat and swung it around to feel the weight and balance. These bats were covered in lines of runes and symbolic patterns that made sure they can handle the hit of a high speeding ball and the strength behind it.

He took a gray ball from the table and played with it in his arms. Though the ball looked small, only a little bigger than normal ones. But it was several times more heavy, like it was made from some big metal or stone and then compressed into this tiny shape.

The ball also had a few fancy patterns all around it. Covering all the surfaces. These patterns were filled with curses and magic too.

Every time a ball hit a person successfully, not only would it cause pain from the hit, but it would also bring a little curse that would target that player for the next two minutes. The curses can be anything randomly - like drowsiness, blindness, blocking senses, frozen in space etc etc.

The same was true after the ball collided with a bat, even then some similar functions could be triggered. Like the ball could speed up, slow down, turn heavy or light, enlarge or compress etc etc.

Randomly it could even create illusions between the game like splitting up or multiplying in several balls, making it harder for players to find the real ball and defend against it.

No healing of any kind was allowed between the game and there was no time limit either. So one can imagine how tough someone gotta be to take all those high speeding hits and keep playing the game.

"Let's go." Rebecca said and with a tap of her shoes on the ground, they lit up and took her to air. Rio followed behind her too and took his position at the forefront.

Two rows of students stood there facing each other, while a ball was placed in the center of them.

Amaya had already taken her position as the goalkeeper with confidence, while Marcus, the experienced fourth-year student, stood ready to defend his team's goal.

The goaling portals or courts as everyone calls them weren't fixed in place too, and would constantly keep moving or switch places randomly, so the goalkeeper also needed to focus and follow that pattern too. It was like keeping an eye at your front and the back both. Or you'll either get a hit or end up defending nothing.

The courts were divided in two colors, blue for first years and red for fourth years.

As the game was about to start, the audience watching from the stands below or those enjoying it from their own mounts and magic in air were all excited too. Conversations of this challenge were happening everywhere , with many people placing bets and spending money on every swing and player's performance.

Almost all the first year students and half the fourth years were present there watching this game. Even many staff members were present as audience. At some point even the student council and disciplinary committee also came forward to handle the crowd for this match, knowing the traction and pull of public would only be higher as game went on.

The moment professor Hakan waved his hand to signal the start of the game, the little round stand beneath the ball disappeared, and the ball was released high into air. While the players sprang in action, flying across the sky.

Rio's eyes followed the ball watching as Pandya took a swing with his bat and sent it hurtling towards his head.

"Fat bitch" Rio said and raised his hand to catch it. (Though any contact meant a curse, but it was too late for him to dodge and move out.)

But the moment his hands were about to catch the ball, the fat figure of Pandya blocked the sunlight and appeared in front of him, swinging his bat with a haughty smile on his face.

As if magic, the ball curved in air and changed the direction, causing his bat to directly smash onto Rio's hands.

"Sorry buddy, you know the game." Pandya said with a sneer and swung his bat again. This time diagonally, hitting the ball perfectly and sending it straight to Rio's head.

"You should've stayed in that dungeon." He said arrogantly.

But next second the scene where Pandya imagined the speeding bullet like ball would hit Rio's head from the side and knock him down, didn't come to pass, but what greeted him, was a sudden hit on his chin, that felt like a hammer knocked half his teeth into his brain - causing him to draw a parabola in the air and fall back.

"And you should've stayed in your daddy's balls. You're gonna regret coming to this world fatty." Rio said and directly flew away.

(Pandya shouted something behind his back, but Rio couldn't hear it as a curse blocked his sense of hearing. That's why what he thought was a whisper on his part, ended up being a full blown taunt that the whole audience cheered for.)