I stepped in a warrior division, equipped with my new set of clothes and shoes. This division was positively gigantic, with plenty rooms to train in. At the far end was a spacious gym, with Olympic-size pool.

Trackers and Skinwalkers were sparring together, with Ria and Kellan leading and training them. Traxx and Daniel were training more advanced and skilled warriors, combating in the other room.

First, I was to train with Maximillian, who would show me the basics. He was waiting for me already in a separate room, standing on a mat. I relaxed a bit, seeing that no one was here to gawk at my clumsiness and lack of the skill.

"Good morning, I hope you are well rested and prepared." He said smiling.

"Well, we shall see about that." I said, scratching my head, looking doubtfully.

He nudged me to stand in front of him. "First, you have to master your fighting stance." He said stepping beside me "Put your left leg forward and slightly bend your knees. Watch me." He took the position beside me, showing me the moves.

I studied him intently and repeated what he had shown me.

"Good. But don't be so tense, try to relax your form. Now lift your hands to your chin." He watched me as I did what he said. "No, higher. That's it!" He adjusted my left fist, moving it slightly forward.

"Your elbows are crucial, you can use them to block side punches. Don't worry, I will not be using my full force, try to block me."

He stood opposite me hitting me with slow speed as I tried to block him. "Good!" He complimented me "Now faster!" He moved faster, and it was harder for me to follow his moves as he blurred. I lost my concentration and received the blow below my shoulder. I hissed in pain as I massaged the sore flesh.

"Concentrate Korina! You got this!" He urged me on as we started again.

Concentrating hard I barely noticed how fast was I moving. We circled around one another, he was punching, I was blocking.

"Excellent!" He beamed at me. "Bend your head lower Korina, you must protect your face as much as you can." I complied lowering my chin, lifting my fists up.

"Oh, one more thing. Breathe regularly, don't try to hold it in."

"Got it." I nodded taking my stance.

"Spread your legs a little wider, like this." He showed me how and I followed his moves.

"Now, to evade your opponent you have to move constantly Korina. Try to shift your legs, find the right balance." We moved in a circle and when he jumped forward I evaded. He punched my side, and I blocked him.

Then we practiced jab punches, fast, straight blows to one's body. "You can do this to force your opponent to back off. Try it."

I thrust my fist toward his chin, barely following my moves. "Faster!" He yelled. I hit him over and over, already feeling the exhaustion. "Put your body weight in your stance Korina!"

The next move we did, was a right cross punch where I basically threw a left jab and then hit him diagonally with my right hand. "Relax your hind leg, twist it! Evade with your whole body. Left, right! left, right! Good!" We circled around each other, exercising the punches I've learned.

"Now follows an uppercut. Elbows down, fist turned upwards. Like this." He punched up as he was hitting someone's face. I followed him, trying to imitate his moves. "Rotate your hips." He reminded me. "Now let's mix them all together." We danced around each other and I tried to follow his fast pace.

"Good!" He complimented me, his expression proud.

Even though I understood the techniques quicker since my brain worked at a much faster pace than before, I was still covered in bruises.

And when I thought I couldn't take much more of it, Maximillian looked at the entrance of the room. "Ah! Daniel, come in. It is your turn. Korina, you did well today. I will see you tomorrow at the same time."

I thanked him, turning back to Daniel. I was becoming increasingly nervous because I didn't know what to expect from him or his training methods.

"Please go easy on me." I smiled at him.

"Not a chance, this is not a game Korina it's your profession now, so you'd better learn fast." He said to me, his expression all serious.

Apparently, in the gym, he was all about business. Sadly, that meant I will probably crawl out of here when we finish.

"Let's see what you have learned. We will be mainly exercising the moves you've trained with Max. Later when you master the combat skills, we will show you how to use various weapons." He explained. "Let's go! Show me your stance!"

"Yes Sir, I rolled my eyes." I moved too slowly trying to evade his punch in time. He knocked me back, and I landed flat on my bottom.

"What the hell?" I said, angry.

"Did you expect me to baby you? We are not in the commons Korina. Again!" He commanded.

"I apologize, you are right. Let's do it." I knew he wasn't intentionally mean to me, he just did what he was sent to do.

I barely had a chance to stand up, and he already assaulted me, his moves so graceful I almost lost my concentration.

We were moving around each other in a deadly dance as I tried my best, throwing punches with all of my strength. "Use your body, like this." He rolled his hips every time he threw a punch.

I followed his moves, but he was way too fast for me.

He wasn't as careful as Maximillian, his punches more lethal and devastating. I was constantly falling on my behind, surely bruising it beyond salvation. I was becoming so tired I could hardly stand, but he was relentless, attacking me over and over.

I faltered for a split second and suddenly there was a hard fist in my cheek, smacking me flat against the wall, knocking the air out of my lungs. My eyes rolled back as a sharp pain exploded in my head.

"The most important rule: Never lose your concentration." He said offering me his hand. I took it, wincing with pain as I stood up. We pushed on and on until I was just a wobbly mess on my weak legs.

"Good!" He said at last "I think we can call it a day."

"Thank God! You are ruthless, a tyrant!" I said, trying to keep myself up.

"Well you are not done yet, you still have a strength training to endure."

"I hope you all realize I couldn't lift even a straw right now." I complained.

He smirked at me "Your body is still weak now, you have to toughen it up a bit."

"So, what is your professional assessment? Am I as bad as Liam was, or even worse?"

He laughed loudly, saying "Considering you throw punches like a girl, well, about the same."

"Thank you, very encouraging, coming from your mouth!" I said, looking at his twinkling eyes.

"Come on, we have Universal studies to attend to." He sighed, his grim expression signaled at how much he hated it.

"You look beat." Sanna said as I sat down next to her.

"Actually, more like half-dead, I don't think that I can feel my body anymore."

I saw Daniel's head turn towards me, a slow smile spreading across his lips as he heard me.

"Lose your grin, it's your fault." I whispered towards him, knowing he would hear me even if he was sitting across the room.

He laughed shaking his head "My fault? You were the one falling on your ass." He mouthed the words.

I sent him a dark look and turned my attention away from him.

"What was that?" Sanna eyed me warily.

"What was what?" I asked in confusion.

"That!" She pointed at me and Daniel "Korina." She started, nervously biting her lip "Be careful around him, all right? I won't tell you what you should or shouldn't do, but-"

"-Oh no, stop right there!" I stared at her in horror "Before you say anything, I am all for the good guys. Bad boys do not sit well with me."

"Good, then you are a smart girl." She smiled, but her eyes were skeptical, not buying anything I'd just said.

Compared to the other warriors I actually found the Universal studies very enlightening. The older mage who was teaching us talked about the safety of humanity on

Earth and Universe in general. I drank the information in as he explained more about the races as found it truly fascinating.

I looked around at my so-called new warrior co-workers who were either sprawled on the tables, sleeping, or some even dared to snore. That, of course, would be Traxx. I shared a look with Sanna, smiling at the big guy. He was so enormous, his legs protruded under the table, therefore he had to extend them to the empty chair in front of him. He snorted and murmured something in his sleep making everyone laugh.

When the mage finally had enough of him he pounded his fist on the table where Traxx's head rested on. Traxx was so shocked he literally flew out of the chair landing on his ass.

"What the hell man?" He complained, looking lost, rubbing his behind.

"You were talking in your sleep, idiot." Said Ria, who was sitting beside him.

"So?" he said, his expression all puzzled.

"So, you were bothering everyone with your dirty mind." She stated.

"But I was dreaming of you." He said grinning as he tried to hug her.

She swatted his hands away "Get your filthy hands off me you pervert!" She sounded annoyed, but her eyes were twinkling with laughter.

"Are they always like this?" I asked, looking back at Sanna.

"Ria always acts like he gets on her nerves, but they are best friends since they got here. It is hard to dislike him once you really get to know him." She offered me a small smile.

*

I followed Ria and Traxx after the class was over as we dragged our feet to the gym. The place was already crowded, so it was a good thing that it was so massive.

All around the gym appliances was a long and wide running track, placed next to the big open glass wall, showing off a breathtaking view of the forest outside.

"How about we start with the athletics first?" Traxx asked me, carrying strange belts in his hands.

"Sure, but I must warn you, I am beat." I said, my muscles complaining with every move I made.

"Give it a few weeks and you will get used to it, believe me." He spoke, preparing the belts.

"What are those?" It looked like he wanted to strangle somebody with it.

"Those are going around your waist, upper arms and tights. They work on magnetic attraction force with the running track." He helped me fastened the belts on my body.

"On your waist belt, you have a little display. You can adjust the charge to increase or lower the magnitude of the magnetic force. The more you raise it, the heavier you will run and the more force you will have to use." He said. "Just don't set it on maximum, because I will have to peel you off the ground." He grinned widely.

"Oh God, I got it. Let's try with a minimum for now. Just to be sure." I adjusted the level of my waist, already feeling the strong pull to the track underneath my shoes. "Damn! The pull is strong!" I stared at him with wide eyes.

"Come on! I will run beside you." He said pulling me forward.

I ran, lifting my feet high, feeling like I was wearing an Iron man's suit. I heard Traxx laughing beside me, shaking his head. "Newbies, always fun."

"Well, I am glad to amuse you. I hope you do realize I have at least three hundred pounds less muscle mass on me than you do." I pointed at his chest, laughing.

"Well baby, women adore these." Showing off his bulging biceps he kisses each of them.

"Not when you look like a living bulldozer." Ria joined us, wearing her own belts.

"Excuse you woman?" He said, releasing an exaggerated harsh breath.

"You heard me right King Kong." She had to jump to swat him on the back his head.

Traxx dodged it at the last second his dreadlocks flying everywhere.

"Well you got that right, I am a beast and you love it." His eyes sparkled as he looked at her body.

"That's disgusting Traxx, truly vile." Her mouth turned down in distaste.

"You two are quite a pair." I said with a smug expression on my face.

The exhaustion has really taken a toll on me and I ran slowly, stomping as an elephant. We ran five more laps before I tripped, my body falling to the floor.

"All right, she had enough." Ria said to Traxx, unfastening my belts. "Let's move to the appliances."

I couldn't believe what she was saying "Are you two insane? How do you suppose I would move?" I said with a bewildered expression on my face.

"We will show you the basics, all right? How to use them and which muscles you are strengthening. But I must warn you, these machines have enhanced weighted plates, so they are adjusted to our body strength. They differ greatly from those you had back home in gyms." She explained.

"As if I was there so often." I ironically smirked at her.

In the next two hours, I was shown how to properly exercise. Every muscle in my body burned, screamed for release. I was dying for a hot bath and my soft pillows. Just the thought of the fact that I would have to go through this process every single day made me sick. But nonetheless, I liked training with them, because compared to Daniel's torture this was fun.

As I took a shower and changed out of my drenched gym clothes, I was ready to head out.

"Korina!" I heard, jerking my head in the direction of the voice calling me. "Wait up!" Traxx ran up to me to walk beside me. "I've got you something." He said, rummaging in his gym bag. "Here, take it, it's yours."

I gasped out loud, slapping a hand over my mouth. "Where did you get it?" I asked him.

"In the Central. When we were in Italy, the head of the IT had it. I know how hard it is to part with your family, so-" He didn't have a chance to finish as I hugged him, squeezing the life out of him.

"All right, all right!" He laughed, putting his hands in front of him when I finally stepped away from him.

I lovingly clutched the photograph of my parents, holding a baby wrapped in a pale pink blanket. "You don't even realize how grateful I am for what you have done. Thank you." I nodded at him, looking into his eyes.

"I just did what I thought was right." He shrugged, fighting a blush creeping up his cheeks. "See, women do love me!" He laughed, pointing at Ria, who stayed quiet, completely moved by his kind action.

"Did you also had to leave your family?" I asked Traxx as we walked towards our apartments.

"Yes." He told me "Men have to leave home when they reach maturity. When they become warriors, they are sent to the battlefield. My mission was to come here."

"Will you ever go back?" I looked up to his strange, bright orange eyes.

"I don't know, maybe someday. But I am needed here and I won't leave Maximillian." He said seriously. "He is much more than just a leader to us. He is a family, our home." Pride washed over his face as he spoke and I knew the man respected him deeply.

"He must be proud to have such loyal warriors." I looked at him and Ria.

"Thank you." Ria blushed "This is you." She nodded at my apartment.

I barely even noticed we've already arrived. I waved them goodbye, feeling relieved as I would finally get some well-deserved rest.

*

The next week was brutal as Maximillian and Daniel trained me mercilessly. I covered the basics of the punches and a few kick moves. My body still rejected the assault since I felt like every bone in my body was broken.

At least the strength training was fun.

As I was getting to know Traxx more, I knew his bullshit act was just a pretense, his way to entertain everyone around him. He was a kind and loyal friend, who would do anything to protect those he loved. He especially felt protective of Ria, glaring at every man who dared to get too close to her, but she didn't seem to notice his behavior.

My intense grief and fear lessened as days went by, and I started to care for the people I trained and lived with. Even if I knew they couldn't replace my family and friends back at home, but they still became a part of me.