Villain's POV: The Heroines Want Me!

Chapter 11: Chapter 11- Will Of Steel

Chapter 11- Will Of Steel

Standing up, Rize looked all around him in confusion. He was soaked from head to toe, and his body was covered in blood stains from his injuries and the injuries of the fish. ”Hah... Is someone there?!”

He yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing in the distance as he searched for any movement in the forest. But he noticed nothing. The place looked as normal as ever... Almost too normal.

”Geralt! Are you there?! Were you the one who saved me?!” He yelled again. But he received no answer. That made him cough and stop. ’There is no point in me trying to yell. It must’ve been Geralt who saved me. Knowing that old man, he probably has been following me this entire time.’

Sighing, Rize looked all around him. ”Good news, I’m alive, and I somehow survived that encounter. Bad news... I lost all my stuff.” He muttered.

The bag that Rize had was thrown into the lake and shredded into pieces, so he could not recover it.

”Even if it’s still intact, I’m not going in that lake again...” He muttered before he started limping toward a tree and sat down to rest. His body was still pumping with adrenaline from the sheer fear he felt at that moment. He was so exhausted and in so much pain that he felt like he was about to get knocked out if he closed his eyes.

”*Sniff* I’m in a lot of trouble. I lost my compass and food supplies... Luckily, I know roughly where to go.” He muttered. ”But, with my messed-up ankle... Moving will be a task and a half...”

The problems seemed to keep piling up the more Rize thought about it, and it only dawned on him that he had barely even made any significant progress. However, he had no plan to just give up.

So, he took some time to rest and recover as much energy as he could and then finally stood up and started limping toward the trees.

Looking up at the sun above his head, he roughly guessed where he had to go. ’I’m so glad I memorized the coordinates and where I was heading... I would’ve been so screwed without the compass.’

With that, Rize’s journey started again. Even though he was very injured, he decided to try to walk as far as he could. The closer he got to his house, the better his chances of survival were.

For hours, he cut a path through the forest with sheer will and desire. Each step hurt like hell, but he didn’t care about that. He simply focused on taking the next step, and the step after, and the step after.

Luckily, he didn’t come across any predators that entire time. Rize knew that if something stronger than him appeared before him, he would be truly dead. He had neither the energy nor the physical ability to fight. It was truly something he could only pray wouldn’t happen.

The sun moved over his head and started descending into the horizon. Eventually, darkness started descending on the world, so Rize finally stopped and found a small hiding spot to spend the night.

’I’ve somehow walked a very good distance. I don’t know how much closer I am right now. But... I can make it...’

Wrapping his shredded coat around him, he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep. He was cold and tired, but he held on to the belief that he would make it. At the same time, the injuries on his body were burning a lot.

However, he was able to somehow sleep the night until the morning came. When he woke up, he was immediately greeted with bad news.

”Ugh... I feel... so tired...” He muttered as he touched his forehead, only to feel his face was boiling from sickness. ”Great. I got sick, cough cough, from the damn water and the injuries.”

Sighing, Rize tried to stand up, only to end up swaying left and right. ”Haha, this is really bad... Really, really bad...”

Shaking his head, he started walking tiredly. His eyes were hazy, and he could barely feel everything around him. ’My fever is so bad... I can’t really spend the day waiting either... I can tell my injuries are starting to get infected... Luckily, I’m so numb that I can’t feel the pain.’

”Hahaha... Hahahaha...” Rize started laughing out of nowhere as if he found his situation quite funny. It was so dire and bad that he could only laugh at how bad it was. However, even in his pain, he never stopped walking. It was as if his body learned to just walk without Rize being aware of it.

For hours, he stumbled his way through the forest, trying to remain on the right path. Each hour felt even worse than the one before. His fever was getting worse, and he was growing weaker and weaker. Sweat dripped down his face profusely, and he felt like he was going to die at any moment.

He only had his determination to survive keeping him going. He didn’t even know if he was walking fast enough or if he was going to die soon.

By the time the night fell again, Rize lay against a tree, not even bothering to hide himself. He was extremely hungry and dehydrated, but he didn’t care about that either.

’I just need... to keep walking... I will make it...’ He thought to himself. ’I will make it.’

Closing his eyes, Rize fell into deep sleep, tired and afraid, but still stubborn.

The night passed with Rize getting no rest whatsoever. He felt even worse that morning, and staring at his ankle, he could see pus and infection growing and spreading quickly. He knew that his leg would need to be amputated if he didn’t get medical attention soon. His fever reached critical degrees where his brain felt like it was boiling.

But... He was alive. That was more than enough for Rize to keep going. Gathering some berries, he threw them into his mouth and tried to eat them.

”Burgh!!”

Only to vomit them not long after as he felt quite nauseous. His long journey started again. With two days of basically no water and no food, a strong fever, two gruesome injuries... The boy continued walking.

”You... can keep... testing me... And trying me... You won’t break me... I’m already fucking broken... Hahahaha...” He laughed to himself as he leaned against a tree and pushed himself to the next one. That was his new method of walking, using the trees as propellers to move.

That was what he did for hours and hours and hours. Everything felt like it was simply passing by while Rize dragged his tired body.

”One step... is one step closer...” He muttered to himself. ”One step... Is one damn step closer!”

***

*Back at the cabin*

Geralt sat outside as he stared into the distance. He had been spending some parts of his day sitting out there waiting for the arrival of Rize. It had been four days since he sent them there, and there was no trace of the boy yet.

He didn’t know where he was or if he was alive or not. The royal family refused his request to help him through this particular test. They wanted to see if Rize was truly worth the effort or not. If he can’t survive this, then that year was basically a waste of time.

His expression was dark. This forest was no joke; it was extremely hostile and extremely dangerous even for adults, let alone a boy.

”I don’t even know why I agreed to let him do this... He’s far from ready.” He clenched his fists in frustration as he sighed. Everything felt so damn stupid for him. But how could he disobey his masters?

They were the royal family, and he was but a humble servant. Even if the cost of this was the innocent life of a small boy, he must do what he is told.

As he was sitting there, thinking about what he had just done, he suddenly heard the sound of an engine coming his way. As he looked up, a car arrived at the cabin from the dirt path and stopped.

It was completely black with tinted glass. Geralt frowned for a second before his eyes widened and he stood up instantly.

At the same time, a person got out of the car.