Villain's POV: The Heroines Want Me!

Chapter 4: Chapter 4- Training Foundation

Chapter 4- Training Foundation

Ethan then slowly stood up and looked at Geralt. ”Thank you.”

Geralt nodded his head and then turned around and walked back to his seat. Ethan followed him silently. When he sat down, he faced Ethan and said.

”Now, go down and do as many push-ups as you physically can.” He said.

”...” Ethan looked down as he shuddered. ’Push-ups... That brings me really bad memories...’

The last time Ethan tried to do push-ups was in PE class back in high school, and he couldn’t even do one. All his classmates laughed at him, including the most popular girl in school, whom he had a crush on. That left him with deep trauma that made him hate training and physical activities in general.

However, naturally, things are now far different. He was younger, more athletic even for a kid, and far lighter. He could do it. Gulping, he went down and sucked a deep breath before he tried the first one.

’Hng... Oh?’ He was surprised to see how easy it was. He didn’t even realize he was already doing another one. Then another one and one after that. He kept going endlessly, and before he knew it, he was already past the ten mark as he kept going.

However, quickly, his arms started growing weaker and weaker with each push until he was shaking from head to toe by the time he reached the 20th mark.

”Keep going, you need to at least do 25.” Geralt said as he watched closely.

”Hng... Dammit... Ugh...” He cursed as he tried to add another one. But Ethan lost all his strength as he fell to the ground, breathing heavily at the 23rd push-up. He stared up at Geralt, who had a cold look on his face.

’Shit, I couldn’t get to the number he wanted.’ He cursed inwardly as he rose from the ground. ”I’m sorry, sir...”

”Hm, it is fine. It’s your first day. I need you to be disciplined and focused. This is your purpose, and you are going to achieve it as long as you follow my guidance, understood?”

”...” Ethan nodded faintly. ’If you only treated me like the 6-year-old I am, old man!’ He yelled in his head.

However, knowing Geralt from the book, Ethan was certain that this training was only going to get more and more brutal with every single day. That was when it dawned on him that he was truly stuck here... If this was truly not a dream, then he had truly reincarnated, and he was in this body till the day he dies.

’That is just ridiculous. Goddamit, what am I even supposed to do? What if I...’ He was starting to panic inwardly. But that was when he realized. Why was he even panicking in the first place? Wasn’t this something he wished for?

Didn’t he wish for a fresh start somewhere else? A place where no one would know him?

This was the perfect solution. A fresh start, in the body of the villain everyone hated but he sympathized with.

’I know the story, and I know how things will transpire. I could change Rize’s fate and make him live a better life. I could make him succeed!’ He thought to himself as he looked at his hand. Suddenly, he felt the determination and motivation he always wished for come back to him.

He had finally gotten another chance at life. To undo all the mistakes he had made and to be the person he always wished to be. He wanted to completely forget about his past... About Ethan, the loser Ethan.

’I’m Ethan no more... Now... I’m Rize.’ His eyes turned serious as he clenched his fist tightly and looked at Geralt.

***

A week passed rather quickly. During which Rize experienced what he could only consider to be the most hellish training of his life. The sheer intense training he underwent was nothing short of brutal.

For hours every day, he would run, do push-ups, sit-ups, and every single other exercise possible until his body was completely spent and he would need a potion to be able to keep going. The first three days were especially brutal; Rize would end up vomiting and feeling sore throughout the night.

However, with each passing day, he felt his strength, speed, stamina, and everything else about him improve rapidly. The main reason for that was that the bodies of people in this world were naturally a lot better than the ones in his previous world. That is due to the Essence in the air that they absorb naturally as they grow up, which improves their abilities quite a bit.

With his life basically being completely dedicated to training, eating, and resting... Rize noticed the growth in real time. He used to be able to do only a few dozen laps around the house; that number increased steadily.

His push-up record doubled by the end of the week, and he could survive the hellish training longer. Only for Geralt to increase the intensity even more and make it brutal again.

By the end of that week, Rize felt as if he grew ten years older.

The morning of the 8th day, Rize woke up early, showered, and ate the breakfast Geralt made for him before he walked out for the usual training... Or so he thought.

He found Geralt waiting for him outside in the middle of the field. He stared at Rize for a few seconds, confused as to why he didn’t tell him to start running as usual.

”Today, we will start your foundation for the most crucial part of your training... Combat.” Geralt said. ”I will be teaching you all forms of combat that I know, and all the weapons you would need to learn.”

”Oh? Already?” Rize raised an eyebrow. ”Am I ready now?”

”Far from,” Geralt said, destroying all hope Rize had. ”You are going to lay your foundations as you go. This is merely the first step.” He said.

Then, he stepped to the side as he showed Rize what seemed to be a wooden dummy for training.

”We will start by learning how to punch properly.” He said as he stepped in front of the wooden dummy; then, with a swift move, he launched a precise punch that shook the entire dummy and made a loud sound. It was fast and yet insanely accurate, clearly honed by years of training.

Then, he punched again, and again, his posture perfect and his eyes focused.

’Wow, that technique. How is he able to do that? His punch is straight as an arrow.’ He thought to himself.

”Now, the key is in keeping your posture and channeling the energy through your body into the punch,” Geralt said as he showed a slowed punch to demonstrate while explaining every detail to Rize. The latter listened carefully and memorized every word he said. One of his few good skills was his ability to learn things quickly if he put his heart into them.

He has a very good memory and a mind that could visualize things quite well.

”Come on now, give it a try,” Geralt said as he tapped the dummy. Rize nodded and stepped forward. Standing before it, he took the posture that Geralt took... Then.

*BANG*

”Ouch!” He punched the dummy, only for sharp pain to travel through his knuckles.

”Your punch was really weak and really slow. You also broke your momentum. Do it again.” Geralt said.

Shaking his hand, Rize nodded and stepped back as he took the posture again.

*BANG*

”Ouch!!!” He cursed as he felt even more pain run through his bones. ’That hurts! Who thought punching literal hardwood is a bad idea?! My fingers are in hell!’ He screamed in his head.

”Do it again! You didn’t hit strong enough, and you broke your momentum again.”

”But, sir-”

”But what? Are you going to say it hurts?” Geralt asked. ”It is going to hurt, every single time... Until it doesn’t anymore. That is how you learn things: you try, fail, suffer, and then figure it out. The princess doesn’t need your flaws.”

”...” Rize stared at him coldly before he clenched his teeth. ’Ok, you smelly old man. You fucking got it.’

Irritated with what he heard, he took a posture again.

*BANG*

”Come on, do it again!”

*BANG*

”AGAIN!”

*BANG*

Rize kept punching the wooden dummy, again and again and again and again, for a long time. Each time, Geralt would ask him to do it again and fix something. It was extremely painful, and at some point, blood started appearing on the wooden dummy. However, Rize didn’t even say another word as he kept going. His hands were dripping with blood, and they felt numb. His body was soaked in sweat from head to toe, and his breathing was fast and uneven.

’So this is why that bastard... Trained my stamina like hell... Looking back at it, it’s far from enough. This is brutal!’ He exhaled tiredly.

For hours, all he did was punch the dummy with all his focus.

However, what Rize didn’t notice and what Geralt was seeing... Was completely different. The man sat there and watched, his eyes squinted.

’His learning ability and adaptation ability are impressive. It only took him a few hours to almost get the hang of the technique.’

With each attempt, Geralt could see the improvement in real time, and it fascinated him. He had seen the potential in the kid when he first found him, but he never thought it was this amazing.

Rize was quite literally absorbing his knowledge like a dry sponge.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

The punches grew stronger and more refined as the hours passed by. At the same time, the frustration and anger Rize was feeling appeared in his punches as they became more aggressive and more violent. The blood and splinters from the punches hurt his hands so much, but he simply clenched his teeth through it.

’I will show you what I’m capable of, old bastard!!’

*BANG*