Life Of A Nobody - as a Villain

"Do you think we'll find the others here?"

"Guess we'll know when we enter." Rio replied and stopped running.

After running for several hours, both the students reached the edge of a town.

They both stood over a mountain staring down at the village kinda settlement made below. The whole town was surrounded by towering mountains from all sides, with lush trees and heavy forest to provide nature's shield and cover.

The living settlement was also surrounded by a large wall from all sides, with only one entrance in the middle on sight. Guards dressed in clothes made out of furry animal skins and leather, or tree raisins and leaves, stood on perimeters.

The guards all had humanic features for body structure, other than the skin colors. People here had brownish skin at their feet and torso, while green skin on their face, chest and hands. Most of them had ears similar to elves, pointy and sharp at the edges. The dark red kind of long loose hair falling over their shoulders, tied in braids of different styles.

One look at this alien species and one word came to Rio's mind, - Sapinsar.

The original rulers of this planet.

These people just stood at the walls, and roamed the city like guards, but Rio noticed several other races walking around into the town too. Living in harmony as it seemed that racial discrimination didn't even exist here.

"Hey, look at that tree, does it look like the whole town was made around it, or was that grown at the exact center?" Valtor said, pointing at a large tree in the middle of the town whose height reached higher than the houses and walls around it.

Even from the peak of the mountain they were both standing on, that one tree looked like a watchtower of the highest kind, while surrounding it were a boundary of similar but smaller trees, as if they all shared the same roots.

Rio channeled his mana in the eyes, till a glint of light flashed into them and his vision increased by dozens of times. Instantly the blurry image cleared and he could clearly see things inside that town.

"Everything looks normal from here," Rio said and frowned, "But no way, is that normal."

"Is it something like the world tree that elves have?" Valtor asked, after noticing the same thing, "Do you want to capture a guard and then ask him?" he suggested. Though worried about Amaya a little, he was not willing to enter the town blindly and take unnecessary risks.

He was just thinking about ways on how to catch a guard without arousing suspicion or getting in the range of that watchtower 'tree' that always gave him a weird feeling. But before he could leave, Rio stopped him.

"Wait, let me check something else." He said and closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, they were clearer than before, a glint of silver shone in the center of his pupils, like a ray of light passing through that pierces everything, even the darkness around it.

'True eyes' A skill he bought from the system and later upgraded it, one that could let him see the truth of everything, break illusions, check barriers, surpass even the realms and runes of every kind.

Instantly the world around him seemed to turn into black and white, and the only thing in light became the one he focused on.

He was just taking a glance but suddenly a sharp pain shot through his eyes, causing him to close them instantly and suck in a breath of cold air.

"Aye, you okay? What happened?" Seeing him flinch, Valtor turned his head and asked him worriedly, as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

But instead of answering anything, Rio just kept looking at the tree in front of him with surprise in his eyes, which later turned into a cold smile.

'Simir, so that's what it means, huh, interesting.' Although he couldn't see everything from so far, he saw enough. For rest, he just planned to enter the town and check again.

"Hey, I asked what you found?" Unaware of his thoughts, Valtor shook his shoulder and asked him again.

"Those trees, they're the second race of this planet, Simir. They're similar to Treants we have in fairy forests or dryad lands." Rio explained a little, causing Valtor to frown.

"You mean spirits trapped inside a tree?"

Hearing the question, Rio just shook his head and explained, "They're trapped in our world, here, maybe it's just how they're born and bred."

"Treants are always the tenacious ones." Valtor said and then looked at his dual swords that had chipped from the edges with cracks appearing here and there. "If there's a fight, we'll need weapons, and theirs seems to be a part of their body."

Rio looked at the guards standing close to the entrance door, whose hands lacked fingers, since their palms were sharp and edgy like a sword. "Then we'll just have to chop them. But let's try the peaceful approach first, who knows maybe we'll be accepted."

"We're outsiders, aliens even. You think they'll just let us in?" Valtor asked.

"I saw some humans inside their camp, meaning either there was some other entrance to this dungeon, or there are already humans on this planet." Rio said, and added "In any case, since they don't have problems with them, they shouldn't have it with us too."

After saying that Rio's figure disappeared in a flash, leaving just a gust of wind behind. Valtor hesitated for a moment, before following him too.

'Is everything alright, why do I feel like something's wrong?' Valtor thought and after shaking his head in dismissal, he followed him too.

When they both reached the edge of town, they restrained their mana and started walking forward like normally.

They had faced a lot of monsters on their way here, leaving a bloody stench on their body. But the scent of nature was covering it up pretty neatly..

"Did you notice, there isn't a single monster in the vicinity?" Rio said, standing in the small line, consisting of no more than a dozen people entering the town.

"Yeah, I don't know why though?" Valtor nodded his head and then asked back, "Do you think it has something to do with that giant tree? Maybe like a barrier or suppression effect?"

"You think they're scared of it?" Rio raised an eyebrow and asked, while glancing at the towering tree, reaching well over 100 feet.

"Maybe, it's been giving me a weird feeling?" Valtor said, his eyes getting cloudy as he stared at the tree. The tint of green deep in his eyes, started to shine and slither a little, yet disappeared instantly.

His words caused Rio to frown as he didn't feel anything 'strange'.

"Hoomans, ppay tol and anter."

The husky tone from one of the guards interrupted Rio's thoughts, as he noticed the line was over and he was up next.

Without saying anything he pushed his hand into the pocket and pulled a bunch of energy seeds he got from hunting monsters, and threw them to the guards.

The guards looked at him and his 'weird' clothes for some time and then opened the door, letting him pass.

'Their language is similar to humans, and methods too. Is it a coincidence or …' Rio was thinking something when an old elf rushed towards his direction and blocked his path.

"Weltum to da Terum city. The battle will begin three days later, recht and recover." The elf said and pointed towards the South where small camps were made and many people were gathering.

Once Valtor joined him, they both started following the elf silently.

(Did he say war?) Valtor sent a message telepathically.

(Yeah, three days later. Let's just follow him and gather information first. Then we'll look for everyone else too.) Rio replied and continued.

While the two of them were safely entering the city after roaming around for nearly 3 days, others from the academy had long been teleported to different locations and some even gathered in groups.

In one such group, Leon was currently sitting on a tree, watching a group of monsters (Sapinsar) chasing and hunting a young girl of full human features except green skin (imagine Gamora but greener)

"You can't run anymore, cursed one. Today's the day you die."

"You've plagued our lands for the last time, you'll pay the price for going against the great Etum city."

"You called yourself a guide and have nothing but the graves following you. No more."

"You and your dark magic will end all life. Surrender and let us take you to the spirits. Let the godmother will cleanse your soul."

The group of sapinsar's taunted the girl before jumping forward, their hands turning into weapons themselves as one of them, probably their leader, slashed at her neck.

Bht just then, Leon who was silent till now, waiting and watching, seemed to understand the little something and jumped down to save the alien beauty.

Only when a hero saves someone when they're desperate could a heroine fall for him.