Life Of A Nobody - as a Villain

"What kind of penalty runes are making the fourth years scream like that? Rio was hit a hundred times and he didn't bat an eye and they're bawling their lungs after every hit."

"Is this a game, I think something's wrong?"

"Is the match fixed? Are those seniors just acting, it seems so real though?"

"I don't understand what's happening but it's so cool,... Ahem humm cruel, I mean, it's so cruel."

"Hey, do you think it's some kind of illusion or spiritual rune magic, that would explain the sudden shift of screams after the penalty."

"Will the staff stop the match? I feel something's wrong. Look at those seniors, those who fell down didn't even wake up again."

"What do you mean stop? Those seniors are just pampered chicks. They bullied our classmates for so long, but now it's their turn and they're crying louder than a bitch giving birth. That's what you get when you mess with the golden generation bitch."

"Yeah, right. I bet they're just used to funny spars and sitting on their asses and ordering stuff. Their minds and bodies are so weak lol. I wish I was there to hit em a few times."

"Me too."

The students standing around the barriers watching this game as the audience, were happily discussing the recent changes happening. All the fourth years had a black face filled with confusion and anger while the first years were cheering so loud their throats dried up.

The same was the case for the group of professors and academy staff watching this game too. Except the elders and the professor Akio Yoshida, who excelled in runes and linguistic arts, no one could understand what was happening.

"Professor Akio, can you see something? What's the penalty those students are going through?" The young man asked his mentor in confusion.

"Past presentation" The professor replied, his voice a little heavy and hoarse like someone had a hold of his throat, but everyone ignored it as it was normal. Instead they all focused on his words yet failed to understand anything.

"Meaning?" One of the staff standing nearby couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked him.

Professor Akio glanced at his female colleague and then gave it some thought, like he was forming his words to explain the phenomenon in simple terms. "They are simply living through the past of Rio like it's their present."

Just speaking these few lines seemed to take all the energy of the old professor and he ended up coughing a few times. His assistant hurriedly walked forward and helped by massaging his shoulder and passed him a white medicinal cloth that worked similar to asthma inhaler for the old man.

"Wait, so it's just an illusion rune?"

One of the staff said in surprise feeling a little disappointed that that's all it took to break the students ready to leave Zenith this year.

"Yes, but you should know they can't use their mana right now." The assistant replied, helping his mentor to a chair in the back.

"Still some students should still have the passive blessings of their gods, right? Why're they all just getting down so easily like that?" The man asked in doubt again. Clearly not satisfied with that answer.

If removing mana is all it took to make everyone so helpless, then they can all just leave their hopes to ever reach S rank in their lives. Hell even touching the boundary of limit rank might be difficult for them.

"Breaking through an illusion depends on what you're seeing or feeling inside. Looking at how they're crying and screaming, do you think their minds can even build the thought to struggle or focus. Let alone harden their hearts and calm their minds" Professor Ryuk replied according to what he learned from the library and basic books.

"They should be glad that the penalty only lasts for one minute, or our psychiatrists might have to start being busy." Professor Mythila, the echo empress, spoke up too.

Hearing Mythila speak up, the trickster teacher Arabella, who was watching the game with an ever enchanting smile, also shared her thoughts. "Makes you wonder what he actually went through to project a pain soooo _ delicious, you know?"

But as always, her words only caused others to glance at her weirdly and then take a step away from this crazy lady. Sometimes she's less of a sexy trickster and more of a sadistic torturer.

The shades of her personality keep shifting.

"But how is it possible that everyone is getting the same kind of penalties now?" A handsome staff with elvish ears and dark features asked.

"Ragball, as the name suggests, is just a game of ball made of rags." A professor of PT and gaming started speaking and explaining, "The rags used for making these balls however are all marked with runes and disc formations. So the penalties are always random and outside control from anyone."

"Some of these runes and penalties can only be used once and after being triggered, they'll disappear. Like a one time use skill card.

But some higher grade mystical runes could be reused many times depending on their creation level and difficulty."

"And Since the game has been going for so long and we have had so many penalties, it's not surprising some higher class runes which hadn't appeared before would start being repeated now."

The other time silent like a statue, gaming teacher, had a fanatical / overly excited expression while talking about the games and their making, causing the staff to take a step away from him too.

The academy was simply filled with so many weirdos.

While the staff was talking, the elders however were just silently witnessing the match. Their eyes only focused on the mystery magic they both noticed.

Cheating.

From the moment they entered the vicinity of sight, they both had already realized what professor Hakan was doing. Yet they said nothing for their own reasons.

Elder Xander simply had no good sights for Rio as Apollo didn't like him. And as for Elder Ragnar, that guy was a viking through and through, so this kind of brawl was just icebreak talk between buddies in his eyes.

But when the third round started something finally seemed to have changed. Elder Ragnar, who was busy strolling the skies of academy like a ghost, sensed something and appeared there openly.

"Did you see it?" Ragnar asked curiously, watching as the ball seemed to have its own will that wanted to help the first years at every turn in this round.

Xander, who noticed the changes in the ball and professor Hakan's struggle, shook his head and answered his rival with the same question. "What did you see?"

"I asked first." Ragnar replied.

"Does it matter?" Xander asked.

"Of course it does." The Viking said straightforwardly and asked again "Now tell me, what do you see?"

"The runes, they're changing every second. New letters and symbols, replacing the old ones, creating a new pattern for penalties." Elder Xander gave half the explanation and asked for the other half. "Now you tell me, what's changing them? A skill, blessing, or a god?"

Hearing the witty question Ragnar smiled and gave his answer. "No one."

"But… .."

"Oh come on, you sensed it too. They're changing by themselves." Ragnar replied and took a step forward as the ball flew in his direction, just in range that he could touch it by raising his hand, before doing a 180° swift and hitting the back of the head for a senior.

"Beautiful." Ragnar said, not sure talking about the ever changing runes or the bloody spectacle happening near his feet.

Where Millie was lying on the ground staring at the sky, counting clouds and imaginary stars like a caveman, while blood kept dripping through her skull, until the moment she lost consciousness and fell into a coma.

Professor Hakan, who watched his 'minions' break down one by one, while their supposed 'leader' kept backing away like a scared little baby , had a black face. His forehead couldn't help but form an extra wrinkle over the tension he felt, watching everything unfold before his eyes and spiral out of his control.

The elders were never supposed to be there watching this game. And even though they didn't say anything, he was sure they knew his little tricks. He literally saw Elder Ragnar smiling at him like he saw a funny toy around a playhouse.

He knew something was wrong when Rio suddenly questioned him before the final round, and that bad feeling only skyrocketed when the first boy went down. And ever since then, it's just been a huge constant tugging and pulling for the ball's control in his mind. He could only watch everyone struggle and fail. After a while when everyone fell down and the match was just about to be over, he saw Rio coldly smile at Demir (Pandya) , who was running towards the barrier, towards him.

He could see the horror in Demir's eyes like he felt absolute fear of something primal, the struggle on his face like he wanted to speak something but couldn't, and this gave professor Hakan a very very bad feeling.

Not taking any chance he wanted to jump in and stop the game, call it quits and declare the winner, before his premonitions came true.

But before he even took a step forward, he felt a pressure lock him in place.

He turned his face and glanced around, his eyes stopping on the muscular tribal man wearing a wolves skin like a freaking trenchcoat, and then he noticed the same playful teasing smile on Elder Ragnar's face.

'Fuck fuck fuckkkk' Professor Hakan cursed and tried to break through the binds of pressure and enter the gaming stage where Rio was about to land his final hit, but failed.

He could just watch as the ball made contact with the bat and like a lightning sphere escaping the white hole, it speeded away.

The pressure on him disappeared that moment, and professor Hakan ran through the barrier, his token allowing his entry, yet it was too late. By the time he reached over, the game was already over and all he heard were Rio's mocking words.

"I told you something was wrong with the ball, why don't you listen?"

Professor Hakan ignored Rio and looked behind him and saw Demir hanging on the verge of death.

Knowing the consequences of someone's death during a game he supervised and 'controlled', without wasting a second professor Hakan used his ultimate healing skill, a blessing of Pien Chueh, the Chinese God of medicine, called 'Light that brings life' - yet before his illuminated hands could reach the mortally wounded Demir, the dark clutches of death pulled him in its embrace.

[Game over]

A mechanical voice sounded along with a heavy tone of ringing bell, but professor Hakan just stood there, his hands raised high, while silently staring at the corpse of Demir.

Once known as the champion of Neisah, a talented monk, the silent buddha or the sinister satori - yet all that remained of him now was just a fat corpse with a giant empty hole in the place where his heart used to be.

It didn't take long for the audience to erupt in the loud shock after a brief silence since witnessing a death too, which brought professor Hakan back to his senses. Dozens of medics and other guards and staff , all rushed in once the barrier disappeared, surrounding the perimeter, checking on the dead body and calming the crowd.

In between all this he looked up and saw the perpetrator of this crime, the killer, walking away. Hands in his pockets and a relaxed demeanor.

Ignoring the chaos ensuing behind his back, Rio just looked at the sky where the elders were present and started whistling.

Soon the sound of a mortifyingly beautiful and captivating tone reached into the professor's ears, like the sound of death knocking on his door in the form of a whistle.

And all he could do is just stare at that person walking away and his shadow growing larger by the second through sun's refraction, until the shape of shadow from his raised arms moved through his body like a sickle of death that marked his soul.

— [I wanted to type words but fuck that's weird, so just imagine the whistle tone from kill bill here.]

[System says those idiots who don't know that tone, should better die and burn in hell for missing that masterpiece.]

[Author says fucking go and listen to it before coming back.]