Chapter 45: Training hall

The recruits spent the first day on Onia inside their flats. Most of them had to rest to recover from the negative effects of the teleport. Some of the soldiers inside the camp even opted to bring food directly into the building since the younglings didn't have enough energy to stand.

Khan remained alone in his flat. The special class had the entire ground floor of the building for themselves, so some managed to claim rooms for themselves. Still, that mostly happened to the wealthy kids, while Khan's situation came from the gossips that ran among his peers.

The other kids wanted to give him the chance to remain alone with Martha if the situation required it. Of course, Khan didn't learn about that on his own. Martha had to explain it through a message.

The Global Army's network worked fine on Onia. The soldiers had occupied the planet for centuries already, so they had many structures meant for those services. Almost every training camp worked as a station for the signal.

Khan ate, meditated, spent hours in his mental training, and repeated the various forms of the Lightning-demon style inside his flat after sealing the entrance. His day went by quickly, and he soon hit the bed to return to his nightmare.

Khan had set the alarm early as usual, but his phone didn't have the time to ring the next morning since a loud siren echoed through the entire building and forced all the recruits to wake up.

'It's four am!' Khan shouted in his mind when his sleepy eyes fell on his phone. 'Wait. Do Earth hours even count here?'

Khan browsed through the various menus and discovered that his phone had already adapted to Onia's time. He could see that the device considered the days thirty hours long now, but the Global Army didn't use that additional time to let him sleep a bit more.

"All recruits must gather outside of the building in five minutes," Lieutenant Unchai's voice resounded through the entire floor. "Don't be late. I don't want to show you my punishments so soon."

The recruits didn't have much choice after those threats. Khan quickly donned one of the clean uniforms inside his flat and washed his face with a cold liquid in the bathroom that resembled water before diving outside the building.

Khan was one of the first to arrive outside. Lieutenant Unchai was already waiting for them in front of the building. His eyes moved between his phone and the recruits as he kept track of the passage of time.

One recruit ended up arriving a mere ten seconds after the countdown reached zero. She was a tall girl with long blond hair and a sleepy face that Khan vaguely knew as Iris.

"Do five laps around the camp," Lieutenant Unchai ordered. "Report to me once you are done."

Iris widened her eyes, but she didn't feel too saddened about that punishment. After all, a mere five laps were nothing for the body of someone with attunement past twenty percent. However, Lieutenant Unchai soon shattered her dreams.

"The Global Army considers the mountain part of the training camp," Lieutenant Unchai added in a severe tone. "Don't get lost. It's hard to find recruits on Onia. Only the Ef'i can differentiate between the mountains."

Iris' expression froze, and she even tried to complain, but no words came out of her open mouth when she focused on Lieutenant Unchai's stern face.

All the recruits remained silent during those seconds. None of them dared to exchange glances with the girl. Iris could only walk toward the exit of the camp and start her punishment.

"The environment on Onia is harsh," Lieutenant Unchai announced once he confirmed that Iris had started her first lap. "We are only four hours into the day, but the temperatures are already high."

Lieutenant Unchai pointed at the sky to emphasize his words. The light radiated by the suns made the scene feel like one of the hottest days on Earth, but that was only a regular early morning for Onia.

"Longer days might sound like more breaks in your lazy minds," Lieutenant Unchai continued, "But I only see them as a chance to train more. You must abandon your human schedules during these two weeks. You'll live as Ef'i and work harder than them."

"What about our Masters, sir?" Luke politely asked after performing a military salute.

"They are still handling the paperwork for the travel," Lieutenant Unchai explained. "You are completely mine for the next few days."

Luke's expression froze, but he didn't dare to show any unpleasant feeling. He limited himself to break his salute and wait for the Lieutenant to give orders.

"Your new schedule will feature physical training, lessons, and more physical training," Lieutenant Unchai explained. "Your Masters can take care of the second physical session once they arrive here, but you'll remain mine for the first. Is everything clear?"

The recruits shouted a loud "yes, sir" at the same time, and the Lieutenant nodded before pointing at a large building near the mountain.

"You'll fight there," Lieutenant Unchai. "I'll use the first week to evaluate, fix, and improve your combat style. The best of you will have the chance to fight against Ef'i during the second week, so work hard."

Excitement inevitably spread through the recruits. The various training sessions were nothing unusual, but the chance to fight aliens was priceless. That feat would end up on their profile and improve their value in the eyes of the Global Army.

"Khan has been kind enough to defeat the best Ef'i in the other group while you were out," Lieutenant Unchai suddenly announced. "The aliens can't wait to face you all, so work hard."

All the recruits immediately turned toward Khan. They still recalled how hard it had been to recover from the harmful effects of the teleport, but their companion had managed to fight and defeat one of the Ef'i during that time.

'Did he really need to say it out loud?' Khan sighed in his mind while forcing himself to ignore those glances.

Khan knew that Lieutenant Unchai didn't have bad intentions, but being at the center of the attention was quite bothersome for someone who spent most of his time training. His political skills were still too poor to handle all the wealthy kids.

"You have watched enough," Lieutenant Unchai announced. "Move! March toward the arena and start warming up! I'll reach you in a few minutes."

All the recruits started to walk toward the arena, and Lieutenant Unchai oversaw their march. Yet, he placed a hand on Khan's shoulder to stop him and separate him from the rest of the group.

Many noticed that scene, but they ignored it after shooting a few curious glances. Only Martha inspected that action a bit more, but she turned when Khan nodded at her.

"Do I get to skip morning training after beating the Ef'i?" Khan asked after the other recruits were far away.

"In your dreams," Lieutenant Unchai snorted while leading Khan toward a different part of the camp. "I can't put you against the other recruits until I understand how strong they are."

"Will I have to fight you?" Khan asked as his mind silently prepared him for a beatdown.

"I have something better," Lieutenant Unchai exclaimed while revealing a proud smile. "You have never been inside a training hall, right?"

Khan's eyes lit up before looking around in excitement, and his gaze soon focused on a large building in the distance since there didn't seem to be anything else relevant on his path.

The building was two stories tall, and part of its large base was inside the mountain. It didn't have any window, but faint azure flashes ran through its black surfaces.

Lieutenant Unchai led Khan inside the building and tinkered with a few menus after the entrance to register Khan's genetic signature.

Ample insides unfolded in Khan's vision. The corridor after the entrance could contain a group of thirty people, and the many halls connected to it seemed as big as the various basements in Ylaco's training camp.

"I bet you don't even know how the training halls work," Lieutenant Unchai sighed while leading Khan into one of the rooms.

Khan limited himself to shake his head. The amount of space available in those halls already outclassed the cramped area of the prisons of the camp. That alone made his eyes shine in excitement.

Still, the surprises were far from over. Lieutenant Unchai tapped his foot a few times, and a series of menus lit up on the floor. He browsed through them with his legs and eventually arrived at a label that said "free advanced combat training".

Lieutenant Unchai pressed that label, and a mechanical noise immediately spread inside a wall in the distance. Gears and drills moved on the other side of the black metal, and a cavity soon slid open.

A humanoid puppet slowly walked out of the cavity. Wires and tubes that contained azure energy detached from its body during the process before returning inside the wall. The hole then closed, and white writings appeared on the wall as a mechanical voice resounded inside the hall.

"Level zero," The mechanical voice announced while the puppet took a simple battle stance.

"It won't start fighting until you attack it," Lieutenant Unchai explained. "Defeating it will make the training program move to the next difficulty level. Don't hold back. The Global Army makes them to take blows."