Turns Out I'm an NPC in the Tennis World

Akina Naruhito has always known he's an NPC who respawns in a fixed role every day: hostage (robbery/kidnapping), one of three murder suspects, part of the hype squad ("Wow, Student So-and-so is amazing!"), a cheerleader (cheering for Atobe-sama's victory), and so on. Then, in accordance with his mother's dying wish, he secretly applied to Rikkai University without telling his childhood friend, and moved all the way from Tokyo to Kanagawa. He thought he'd just moved somewhere new to keep being an NPC. But on his first day, when he went to check out the tennis club and it was challenged to a match, someone plucked him out of the crowd and shoved a racket into his hands. Akina Naruhito: ??? The curly-haired boy scratched his head and glanced over at him. "Hey! Can you play tennis? If not, stand in the far corner and stay out of my way!" Akaya looked at the "partner" he'd randomly pulled from the crowd. He was thin and didn't look at all athletic. Muttering under his breath, Akaya said, "If I didn't need a doubles partner to challenge Rikkai's strongest, I wouldn't bother dragging around a deadweight..." Akina Naruhito had just been about to leave the tennis court. He turned back with an impassive expression, weighed the racket in his hand, and took out a tennis ball. "Listen." He gritted his teeth. "Even if I'm an NPC, I have my own special qualities." Otherwise, how had he managed to survive among all those NPCs until today? As it happened, Akina Naruhito's strong point was this: the moment he stepped onto this little court, he became an invincible king. Even if it were a god, he'd slay it for everyone to see! *The script has been changed: Rikkai will win. Fans of Seigaku and Fudomine, enter at your own risk. *The protagonist is incredibly strong, but the author can't play tennis, so all the matches are made up. *This mixes in the Conan setting, but it won't make up a large part of the story. A peek at upcoming works Upcoming story 1 Kajimi Ri is an ordinary guy whose life philosophy is to eat, drink, have fun, and take things as they come. He's full of holes when it comes to both literary and military skills, and his catchphrases are "I want to die" and "I don't want to live anymore." He thought his life would be calm and uneventful, and that he'd simply live out his days. But ever since a certain black-haired guy with an M-shaped fringe smashed a volleyball into his left cheek, then a certain black-haired guy with an M-shaped fringe smashed a soccer ball into his right cheek, and finally he was humiliated into holding a racket, tripping over his own feet, and bowing 180 degrees to his big brother, two things became his most hated things in life. One: playing ball. Two: watching other people play ball. But his big brother loves tennis, his online friend is enthusiastic about volleyball... Even the gaming buddy he just met is studying hard to get into a school famous for its tennis record, giving up the one game they could play together to bond! Kajimi Ri: I really do hate balls the most! Before he could finish fuming, a mechanical voice suddenly rang out in his head. A System that was ten years late made its grand entrance, immediately maxing out all his attributes. It was just what he needed to fuel his still-ongoing chuunibyou phase and set him on the path to godhood. Kajimi Ri opened his character screen and looked at the long-overdue cheat, a sinister smile spreading across his face. Tennis, volleyball, soccer, huh? They say a gentleman can wait ten years to get revenge. Now, your gentleman has arrived! * This year, Rikkai admitted two freshmen with extraordinary talent. They were strong enough to become starters at any school they chose, much to everyone's envy. Later, those words reached Rikkai. A group of boys sighed and managed a bitter smile. People only saw the bright surface, never the wear and tear of time etched into their increasingly aged faces. Those two! They're demons, plain and simple! One is thoughtless and the other is cheerful. One makes the moves and the other swings. One takes the blame and the other gets punished. According to Yanagi Renji's incomplete statistics, in their first month at school alone, they challenged their second- and third-year seniors 38 times, sent Sanada 15 challenge letters, and got hauled off after causing trouble eight times... Yukimura, whose workload had suddenly exploded: ... Do we really need this year's freshmen? * Kajimi Ri: Only dogs like chasing balls. Kajimi Ri: Woof. Upcoming story 2 Hanami Nana, eleven years old, male, loves tennis and drawing. Just after graduating from elementary school, he faces a terribly troublesome problem: choosing a school. His cousin says, naturally, he should come to Hyotei Academy, where his cousin will lead him to win the National Tournament together with this man. His father says, "Seigaku is my alma mater, you know. Aren't you curious about it, Nana?" His neighbor says, "Maybe Teitan is the obvious choice for you..." Little Hanami Nana is overwhelmed by the sheer number of schools, so at his mother's suggestion, he uses a simple, straightforward way to narrow them down: matches. As a tennis fan, Hanami Nana takes his racket and challenges the strongest players at every school in Tokyo, one after another. After running up a row of 6-0 wins, he rushes into his mother's arms, feeling wronged. "Did they go easy on me because I'm young? Why are they so weak?" The players who had genuinely been beaten without scoring a single point: ... Heaven above, please judge who is innocent! In the end, after agonizing over it for a long time, Hanami Nana shares his dilemma with an online friend of five years. The other boy suggests another option: "If you want to play against strong opponents, or if you want to become the best in the country, come to Rikkai." "We're last year's champions, after all ^_^" And so Rikkai welcomes its second first-year junior. This junior looks sweet and well-behaved, speaks gently, respects his seniors, and is polite. He's the polar opposite of the other first-year, who has seaweed for hair and showed up at the tennis club mouthing off. Marui touches his chest and says with relief that Rikkai has struck gold with a buy-one-get-one deal. Then he sees the sweet, well-behaved first-year take out a racket. He's only a little weaker than their captain, can trade blows with the big guy Sanada, and easily flattens Kirihara into a compressed sheet of seaweed. Marui: ... He raises a hand, and all he sees is the repeated thwack of balls, dust flying, and the ground caving in. He lowers his hand, and all he can picture is the young boy bowing politely and saying in a gentle voice, "Hello, Senior Marui. Should I hand in my application form here?" Well... How can this not count as striking gold? * Yukimura has an online friend he's known for five years. Although they've never met, they get along and understand each other so well, it's as if they've spent every day side by side. It seems their very souls are in perfect harmony. He used to think that if they ever had the chance, they should meet. Once they left the delicate threads of the internet behind, reality would surely shatter any barriers, real or imagined. But he never expected that day to come so soon. On the day the tennis club recruits new members, the boy standing before him is bathed in sunlight, warm as a blanket fresh from the dryer, his eyes curved in a smile. "Hello. Should I say it's nice to meet you?" Notes: Also known as: We said we'd stick together in the tennis club, so how did we end up as dogs? Yukimura is at the peak of his strength in this story: no nerfs, no power reduction, decisively number one. Hanami Nana is number two, a true genius, a genius among geniuses. Yukimura pairing, 1v1 pure love, emphatic happy ending, but it won't feature heavily in the main plot. Rikkai's 16+3 is non-negotiable. Fans of Fudomine and Seigaku, read with caution! More notes to come. ③ Kirishima Ren is the savior from an old-fashioned salvation story: the one who loves everyone but is weak-willed, gets his heart, lungs, liver, and spiritual power ripped out, and then seals the great demon with his own body. He's the textbook example of "the whole world falls in love with you after you die." After finally completing the story and saving the world, he gets bound by a System that appears out of nowhere. He's just about to ascend, escape his original world's oppression, and enjoy life as a quick-transmigration agent, but before he's fully dead, some bizarre thing called the "World Will" kidnaps him. Before he knows it, he's started another life of saving the world. System A-001, whose Host was stolen from right under its nose, furrows its brows and turns into a screaming chicken, determined to wage war against the World Will for three hundred years. "How dare you steal my Host?!!" Kirishima Ren doesn't mind. It doesn't matter where he has to be a savior. Looking at the ruined world, the people who are hostile to him, and the forces plotting against one another, he gives them a smile so practiced it makes your heart ache. "Hello..." "Stop, " 001, who had been arguing with the World Will, holds up a sign and starts coaching him on the spot. "Do you know what you need to do now?" Kirishima Ren thinks about what he did in his original world and answers hesitantly, "First, reason with them, then change them with love...?" "Zero points!" A piece of chalk taps him on the forehead. 001's voice is merciless, and a glittering warehouse immediately opens before him. "Pick a weapon from in there that feels right, then go beat them up. If you can't win, I'll ask the Main God to give you special treatment." Kirishima Ren: ? "What kind of nonsense is this about changing people with love? You're the savior summoned by Them." "A savior is someone the whole world has to get down on its knees and beg to save them!" Kirishima Ren: ??? And so, under the System's guidance ① Savior of History After sending off eight corpses, Honmaru A-031 welcomes a ninth person who isn't afraid to die. The new Saniwa has a pretty face and looks delicate and frail, the kind who clearly won't live long. Mikazuki Munechika, the Honmaru's leader in all but name, takes a sip of tea and guesses that this person won't survive the first night. But then Bang! The elite dagger sent to assassinate the Saniwa is flung eight hundred miles away. Crash! The door to the Sanjo clan's quarters is kicked open. The delicate-looking new Saniwa stands before him, eyes blood-red, looking more evil than the swords on the verge of corruption. The words he speaks are just as merciless: "I have no interest in your past, present, or future, and I don't want anything to do with you." "The Temporal Government hired me to eliminate the Time Retrograde Army and save history. If we can't leave each other alone, " He gives a terrifying smile. "I don't mind sending you to meet God first." Mikazuki Munechika: ... ② The Source of the 'Book' A new Ability User has appeared in Yokohama. Their strength is unknown, but their ability is incredibly powerful. As expected, Mori Ougai, the leader of the Port Mafia, takes an interest in him and orders his strongest strategist and his greatest fighter to work together and bring the boy into the organization. But a promising talent like this naturally attracts more than one interested party. With the Special Division for Unusual Powers, the Armed Detective Agency, and even the Decay of the Angel all wanting to get involved, the situation becomes incredibly chaotic. Caught in a chain of plotting and schemes, the Ability User at the center of the storm chooses to Blow up half of Yokohama's five most famous buildings, then casually toss a certain Russian rice ball off to Siberia to grow potatoes (literally). Under the stunned gazes of everyone around him, he calmly lowers his hand and smiles faintly. "I won't be anyone's tool. I came only to save the world." "If you dare stand in my way, come forward, and fight me!" He's outside help summoned by the Book to patch up this world, which has been stabbed into a complete mess. Anyone who dares stand in his way had better ask the weapon in his hand for permission first! You are the darling of the World Will, a heaven-blessed child born from the hopes of countless people, a savior who deserves the respect and heartfelt gratitude of everyone. Anyone who dares stand in your way gets sent to the desert to farm! A-001 Notes: Everything gives way to saving the world. The strongest of the strongest. More notes to come. Theme: Stay sunny, cheerful, and positive.