Soul of the Cerberus [NEW]

Chapter 8 - Sucker punched

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.