Villain's POV: The Heroines Want Me!

Chapter 3: Chapter 3- Massive Difference

Chapter 3- Massive Difference

After that, Ethan walked down the stairs and left the cabin. Immediately, a cold breeze hit his face, and the beautiful view of the forest welcomed him. All around him, trees and greenery stretched as far as the eye could see. The birds chirped in the distance, and the sound of leaves and branches rustling in the wind felt like music to the ear. The sun was rising in the sky with its golden rays of light penetrating the trees and landing on the open field where the cabin was.

It was gorgeous beyond reason. Ethan took a second to appreciate the view. ’So gorgeous... This is the prettiest place I have ever seen and the air... It’s so fresh I feel like I’m healing by just inhaling it.’

His lungs were filled with the fresh air, and he felt like he was floating. His body also felt far more energetic and quick, rather than fat and sluggish. He had been living in that obese body for years, suffering from all kinds of sicknesses, and now... He was in the youthful and strong body of someone else.

”Come down here, Rize,” Geralt called for him from the other side of the field.

Ethan finally opened his eyes and started walking down the stairs. Stopping before Geralt, he looked left and right. ”So, what are we going to do, sir?”

”You already know,” Geralt replied. ”Their royal highness has chosen you as the potential escort of the princess. They expect you to protect her and put her life above yours in every situation and be ready to sacrifice yourself to make sure she escapes any danger. To do that, you need to be strong, capable, smart, quick-thinking, and most importantly... Firm with your decisions and ready to die at a moment’s notice.”

”...” Ethan’s eyes grew darker hearing that. ’Right, this part. He was really fed all this nonsense and brainwashed to become her devoted follower. Pathetic, honestly.’

”W-Why wouldn’t the royal family assign a capable Hunter for this task instead?”

”Hm, the royal princess does not want an older person following her around, and she’s very firm about her choice, so the royal family decided to find a suitable candidate to be her bodyguard. The choice fell on you because I recommended you to them.” Geralt explained. ”You have no background and no family, so you have nothing to lose. The royal family is giving you purpose by assigning such an honorable task to you. Do not disappoint me.” The man said.

’Piece of shit.’ Ethan squinted subtly. ”I will try my best, sir.”

Ethan didn’t understand the situation he was in yet, so trying to say no would be extremely stupid and rather reckless. ’For now, I need to play along and see where this leads me.’

”Good.” He said. ”So, you have exactly 10 years from this point to when you will awaken your soul core. During this time, you will focus solely on honing your physical and mental capabilities to be the perfect vessel for the power you will gain.”

Ethan nodded his head.

’In this world, every person has a chance to undergo a process called ’Awakening’ when they reach 16 years of age, where they would gain the affinity to use Essence and supernatural abilities called ’Gifts’. Most people don’t really get that power as it is purely reliant on talent, genetics, and a whole lot of luck.’

Those who do awaken are instantly catapulted into fame and success, becoming heroes in the eyes of the population.

’Luckily, unlike many other stories, you can roughly guess if you have a chance to awaken or not very early on with a simple medical check-up. If you have an active, growing Essence core, you are guaranteed to awaken; if not, then chances are... You’re normal.’

”I have decided to start your training by building the right foundations for your power. For the next 5 years or so, you will be undergoing physical, psychological, and academic training to be the perfect aid for Her Royal Highness.”

”Yes, sir.”

”We will start by building your stamina and muscle strength.” He said as he pointed at a random tree on the other side. ”Go stand next to that tree.”

”...” Ethan didn’t understand why he was asked to do that, but he still walked there.

”Now, I want you to run laps around the entire open field.”

”Yes, sir. But, how many laps should I do?” Ethan asked.

”I will tell you when to stop; now go.”

Ethan frowned before he nodded and then started running. ’I haven’t run in what feels like decades. My body feels so much lighter.’

The wind rustled his hair as he made the first lap around the house and looked at Geralt, who sat down and pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it up as he started smoking it while watching him. ”Keep your pace, Rize.”

”Yes, sir!”

Then, the second, third, and fourth laps passed quickly while Ethan kept running. He was still not feeling tired. However, his breath quickened, and his heart started racing. Meanwhile, Geralt didn’t move at all or react as he watched him silently.

Then, several more laps passed, and the exhaustion started getting to Ethan. His muscles started feeling tired, and his breath was uneven. Sweat broke from his forehead as he continued running.

’Geralt? Aren’t we going to stop?’ He clenched his teeth.

”Keep going, don’t slow down,” Geralt said casually.

’Fuck you!!’

Ethan swallowed the pain down and continued running. Several more laps passed, and Ethan started slowing down as his body was starting to hurt badly. He was breathing heavily, and his legs felt like two massive rocks he had to drag.

His body was soaked in sweat, and he could barely see ahead of him.

”I said don’t slow down,” Geralt said.

’Are you kidding me?’ Ethan thought to himself. ’I’m in the body of a 6-year-old boy, you dimwit! It can’t handle running an entire marathon!’

However, Geralt didn’t care as he kept pushing Ethan to run. Several more laps passed, and they reached the 20th lap. At that point, his body started burning, and he started stumbling every few steps, barely keeping his balance.

”S-Sir...”

”Keep going.”

”...”

Ethan didn’t know what to say or how to react. ’Why should I even follow your orders?! I’m dying here!!’ He screamed in his head. However, with that irritation and anger, he felt like Geralt was mocking him, and if he fell, that mockery would stick to him. Ethan was someone who hated mockery more than anything else; being bullied for his weight his entire life, he grew extremely sensitive to people doing him wrong, so he always wanted to prove them wrong.

Granted, he failed to do that, and that was what led him to become a shut-in and live off unhealthy food, playing games and reading novels. However, whether it was because of this sudden change or because he simply wanted to prove a point, he bit his tongue and continued.

The pain and the metallic taste of blood gave him a rush of adrenaline that made him start running faster again.

’Damn you, Geralt! Damn you, you senile old man!!’ He yelled in his head as his eyes flared with endless flames.

”Hm?” Geralt raised an eyebrow when he saw Rize suddenly start running again. ’Interesting. I thought he was about to fall.’

”AAAAAGH!” He yelled as he made another lap out of sheer will. As he finished the lap, he was about to continue running. But that was when Geralt finally spoke.

”Stop. That’s good enough.” He said. ”I’ve seen enough.”

As Ethan heard those words, he slowed to a halt as he looked at Geralt with wide eyes. His chest heaved up and down rapidly. Then, his eyes rolled back, and he fell to the ground. Everything became pitch black for a few seconds.

’I’m feeling so... nauseous, fuck. I’m gonna vomit.’ He thought to himself. However, with sheer will, Ethan stopped himself, and his vision started regaining a bit later. That was when he saw Geralt approaching him. He then crouched next to him.

”Your stamina is, as I expected, not that good yet. From today on, twice a day, you will be running laps around the house. You have to do at least 40 laps in total a day, or you won’t get any food or water for the rest of the day.”

”...”

’He’s insane. This man is officially insane.’ Ethan screamed in his head. ’Why am I even in this body? Get me out of here!’

”Now, drink this. It’s a Tier 5 recovery potion; it will help you recover some energy so we can continue your training.”

Geralt then pulled a vial out of his pocket. It had a blue liquid swirling within it.

’A Tier 5 recovery potion, huh? It’s stronger than Tier 7 and Tier 6 potions. There are 7 tiers for potions; each tier lower is significantly stronger than the one before it... Until Tier 2, as the mythical Tier 1 had never been sighted or made before.’

Ethan nodded his head faintly before he grabbed the potion and chugged it down. A sweet, minty taste invaded his mouth. It made him instantly feel a pleasant sensation as his vision became clear again. Then, he felt the cool sensation spread across his entire body, through his veins, bones, cells, tissue, and everything else.

His sore muscles recovered, his racing heart slowed down, and his heavy breathing slowed down. In a matter of seconds, Ethan found himself back to normal.

’This is insane... This is utterly insane! Magic is real!!’ He yelled in his head. ’If people saw what this potion could do back in my world, they would lose their minds fighting over it.’

It was a miracle in a bottle that no advanced medicine could replicate or even come close to. Something like this would truly change the world completely. Yet, not only was it one of the weaker potions, and not only was it very cheap and available everywhere in this world...

Geralt didn’t even seem like he understood how valuable it was. After all, for him, this kind of stuff was common like bread and clothes.

The sheer difference between the two worlds was massive.