The next morning Kai woke up 6 am. Still groggy he climbed out of bed and walked to the kitchen then turned on the coffee maker. He took two shots of Drauton coffee beans. Then he poured in 470 ml of water into the machine. Lastly, he poured 100 ml of full cream milk into the machine and placed his cup in the holder.
After a few moments, the smell of home was wafting from the machine through the house. This was why Kai drank coffee. The coffee was decaffeinated though. He didn't need the energy boost. Eventually, his body would wake up normally. He only drank it for the taste and the smell. This was the coffee his parents drank every morning so he was accustomed to this smell in the morning.
Kai took a hold of his mug that was now full of coffee. The machine did everything for him. If he wanted 3/4ths milk with 1/4 water it would do so. If he wanted a 1/4 of low-fat milk, 1/2 of water and a 1/4 of full cream milk it would do that for him too. Whatever way he wanted his coffee he could have it as long as he had the ingredients.
Kai took a deep whiff of the coffee. As it filled his nostrils a sense of calm came over him. Unfortunately, his moment was cut short when he heard a disembodied voice,
"If you open your nostrils any wider you might rob the world of oxygen."
Still with his nose buried in the coffee, Kai wondered who was so brave to speak to him like that. First thing in the morning no less. Removing his face from the steaming hot cup of coffee he looked upwards to see Lexi with her arms folded. She was wearing a cerise pink onesie with bunny ears.
Kai creased his eyebrows while looking at her. He had to admit she looked cute in the outfit but now wasn't the time to admire such things, "Good morning to you too Lexi." He said sarcastically.
Then Lexi walked into the kitchen. Once she was in she held her hand in front of her mouth and yawned, "Good morning Kai."
Hearing her greet him he decided to let it go, "You up early. Didn't you sleep well?"
Lexi shook her head, "I'm usually up at this time. So when I smelt the coffee I came out."
Kai put on a smug face, "That's the smell of Drauton. Amazing isn't it?"
Lexi just rolled her eyes and then looked at Kai who looked like he was in heaven after taking a sip.
Kai furrowed his eyebrows, 'Why is she looking at me. Is it so interesting to watch a man drink coffee.'
He took another sip burying his face in the mug and then slowly lifted his face. On the way up he tried to sneak a glance to see if she was still looking and she was. She frowned at him with her arms crossed. Kai wondered what he did to deserve such behaviour but then he finally realized he had not even offered her a cup, how rude of him.
Realizing his mistake he laughed sheepishly while scratching his head, "I'm sorry I didn't ask much sooner." Then he lowered the tone of his voice, "Do you want a cup of coffee," Then he revealed a charming smile.
Happy she got through to him she smiled and accepted his offer. Lexi didn't drink coffee either but she was curious as to why Kai seemed so enamoured by the flavours. She knew it could be just for nostalgic reasons but even if that was the case, nostalgia had never smelt so good.
Lexi didn't drink much coffee hence she didn't know which way she liked it best. So Kai made it the same way he made his. That was the same way his parents made it, plus some milk.
Kai didn't need to put more ingredients in the coffee machine since he originally placed double the amount in. He took a mug from the cupboards above and then placed it in the coffee machine. Minutes later a warm brown and creamy liquid poured out and into her mug. When it was done the coffee machine beeped so Kai took a hold of the mug and gave it to Lexi with a smile, "Sorry it took so long."
Lexi took the cup from Kai and then smelt the coffee. She looked at peace with the warm cup of coffee in her hands as a symphony of smells coalesced in her olfactory system. After enjoying the smell she looked down at the mug. When she looked down she smiled. Kai had set the machine to put a heart symbol in the mug. He thought that she would appreciate it and judging by her smile he was right.
After she looked at the white heart made from the milk she took a sip. Her eyes almost rolled back as the rich coffee flavours strutted on her tastebuds. After a sip Lexi smiled again, this time more pure and unreserved. At that moment all the noise outside became quite. Then she took another sip. The kitchen was quite it was just them two drinking coffee and being at peace with the world.
Once the coffee was finished, Kai put the mugs in the sink. Currently, the dishwasher was filled with the stuff he used to eat and cook last night. He still had to pack that away before he could put dirty stuff in again.
After they had coffee, Lexi turned on the tv and began watching whereas Kai began unpacking the dishwasher. He also washed the cups and put them away. Then he cleaned the coffee machine. Once all that was done he was ready to take a shower and leave for work. However, before that, he wanted to go take a jog. He hadn't done that in a while. He felt he had slacked off enough and wanted to get back to routine. So Kai walked past Lexi and went to his room and then put on his running clothes. This was a pair of black breathable sweatpants his running shoes and a white t-shirt. It was July and in July it was winter in Strera.
Once he was dressed he walked to the door of the apartment. Then he opened the door but before he could leave, Lexi turned around. She saw what he was wearing and looked at him quizzically, "I didn't know miners worked in that."
"I'm not going to work yet, I'm going out for a jog. Work is only at 8 am and it's 6:30 am. It only takes 20 minutes to get to work via public transportation this is including the morning traffic. So I have time to kill."
Lexi nodded her head and then turned off the tv, "Can I join you?"
"Sure... But you probably wanna get changed unless you planning on hiding the eggs early this year (1)."
Lexi stifled a chuckle and then tried to return to her composed look but her smile was still slightly showing, "Of course." Then she stood up and went into her room to change.
After a few minutes, Lexi came out of her room fully changed. Her black hair was held together in a bun. She wore cerise pink breathable sweatpants as well as her running shoes and a black stretched camisole top. Her boysenberry purple sports bra was showing adding to her stylistic look.
After seeing Lexi, Kai gave her one glance, "Are you ready to go?"
Lexi nodded her head and off they went. They went down the elevator and then into the streets.
Once they were down in the streets, Kai bent down and fiddled with his shoes. He was making sure his shoelaces were properly tied so that he did not trip on them when he ran. Once he got up, "So originally I was just planning to run wherever the wind took me but now since you are here and you actually know the place. Do you know where are the good spots to go for a jog?"
Lexi looked to the left of the street and then to the right, "That depends... Do you like to run in between people or are you looking for the scenic route."
Without hesitation, Kai opted for the scenic route. As fun as dodging people sounded he could do that on the way to work. He couldn't take the scenic route to work. After Kai chose, Lexi began running to the left. They kept running on the streets until the reached a park. This was a massive park that was in the city. This park was rich and vibrant with colours, even the grass was painted in all shades of greens. It was an artists place of zen.
Once they were in the park they ran along the path provided. Lexi ran in front of Kai as she was leading him. While running, Kai couldn't help but admire the beauty in front of him, the nature was truly awe-inspiring. Unfortunately, it was short lived as Kai didn't have much time. He had to get home and shower so that he could be early for work. So Kai and Lexi turned around and went home again.
Once they took their first step in the house, Kai said, "Dibs, I am showering first."
Lexi rolled her eyes then Kai went to the bathroom and showered. After showering he put on his miner clothes and said goodbye to Lexi and left for work. Kai got to work at 7:45 am. He liked to be early, he was raised that way. When the clock struck 8 am, Kai took the elevator down to floor S with his fellow miners and then began work. He worked from 8 am to 6 pm. He was putting in as much as hours as he could while he still could because tomorrow he started training. Training would start at 2:20 pm and then end at 6 pm. That was about four hours that would be chipped away from his work time every day.
After work, Kai came home. He opened the front door and then walked in. As he walked, he saw Lexi sitting down watching tv and in her hands was a takeout box. She sat on the couch and munching away with her face glued to the screen. She only momentarily turned around to greet Kai. Then she returned focus to the tv.
Kai wondered what was so interesting so he looked at the tv and then he saw a picture of himself on tv. Immediately, he sat down one seat away from Lexi and saw that they were discussing whether he had the potential to be a successful Zolma hunter. They read his profile and they all agreed that there was potential. They also compared him to all the other promising surpassers of his age group. In the end, they ranked him as the 10th most promising male surpasser of the graduates. They also mentioned that he was partnered up with Lexi Montreal.
After the boys, they discussed all the most promising female surpassers. After a while, they finally began talking about Lexi. They said that they had their eye on her for a while. She was the one who was so talented that they had to create a new word to explain her rate of growth. She had always been one of the most promising surpassers. That was why she was so sought after. Then they started talking about her profile and they were impressed. She had been educated very well and by the best schools, money could offer. She also had a father who was a prominent figure in the lightning clan, The former Duke of The Lightning Clan. They questioned whether she could fill his boots but that remained to be seen. In the end, they ranked her as the third most promising surpasser. Then they said that she had recently found a partner, this was Kai Adler, number 10 on the list of the most promising male surpassers.
When they had finished talking about her, Lexi switched the channel and then Kai stood up and went into the kitchen. He was hungry and wanted to eat something. He didn't have much money left so he was just eating two-minute noodles. He also wanted to save as much as he could for a rainy day.
Kai put the kettle on and then poured the beef flavoured spices into a bowl. Then he placed the two packets of noodles into a bowl. He didn't crush it because he liked the noodles long. When the water had boiled properly he poured the water into the bowl and then mixed the spices in the water. Then he placed it in the microwave for 4 minutes. It was called two-minute noodles but if he only put it in for two minutes it would be half raw and taste powdery. After four minutes, it was finally cooked. There was still a bit of beef broth in the bowl which was they way Kai liked it. It was like ramen with the flavours cooked into the noodles.
Kai took the bowl out of the microwave with his hands. A passer would have to use a towel to hold the bowl to avoid being burnt. However, to Kai this the temperature wasn't hot at all. So he took it out of the microwave. Then he sat down next to Lexi and ate his food.
Lexi looked at him and then his food and shook her head then returned focus to the tv. After Kai had finished eating, Lexi said, "Wanna do that thing again?"
Kai agreed and so they practised utilizing their power. This time Lexi had asked Kai to try and project lightning with her. Maybe then they could increase the size of the lightning that was created. Last time it was just Lexi using the lightning that was surging inside of them. So Kai did what she said. However, he had never projected lightning before nor had he ever tried. He was so focused on his combat flaws as well as trying to perfect his lightning. Hence when he tried to do it he couldn't do it near as good as she could. When they tried to release the lightning at the same time the projected lightning increased in size but only by a centimetre. They would have to practise a lot more if they wanted to increase the size. There was so much they didn't know about this power. What was the benefits, what was the disadvantages, how much power could they muster, how do they use this ability to its fullest potential? All these questions they had flowing inside their minds. Yet they knew if they wanted to know more they would have to find out by means of experimentation.
After the first attempt, they did it another twenty times. Each time the result was the same but nonetheless, they were satisfied with there results and decided to give it a rest and then go to rest. They said goodnight to each other and then they went to bed. It was already 10.22 pm they had been practising for a while.
The next morning they both woke up . Kai greeted her good morning and then made coffee for them both. While he was drinking coffee, he ate breakfast too. He offered to make Lexi some breakfast but she told him that she doesn't eat breakfast in the morning. So she just had a cup of coffee in her hands. After they were finished they changed into their running clothes and went for a jog. This time they took the route where they had to run past a lot of people. They had a lot of fun on this route. It was fun trying to map a route ahead of time so that you didn't bump into people. They even made it into a competition. If you bumped someone it was minus one point and if you passed someone without touching them it was plus one. Unfortunately, no one lost so the result was a tie but Lexi had said that on Saturdays the streets are a lot busier in the morning. So then they would do it again and then they would be able to determine who the best was.
Kai and Lexi returned home after they are had done their morning jog session, Kai took a shower and then went to his room to go and change into his work clothes. Lexi sat down on the couch and waited for Kai to come out of the shower. She allowed him to shower first because unlike Kai she didn't have to work. Once Kai was done changing he put his bag on his back that was filled with a change of clothes. These were his combat clothes that he would need for training later today. After he was ready, he said goodbye to Lexi and off he went to work.
Lexi said goodbye to Kai and then watched him leave the apartment. When he was gone she could finally shower. When she entered the bathroom she saw that the toilet seat was up and then put it down. So far this was the fourth time she had come to the bathroom and the bathroom seat was up. But at least the floor wasn't wet. Kai at least knew how to clean up after himself. So she wasn't too annoyed about the toilet seat being up. However, she knew she had to tell him about it otherwise he would keep doing it.
After taking a shower, Lexi changed into formal clothes and then called her families chauffeur to take her to her father's work. Once she got there the receptionist said, "Good morning Miss, Montreal. Your father is in a meeting, he will be out in a few minutes. Until then can you please wait."
She nodded her head and waited patiently for her dad to come out of the boardroom. After ten minutes her father came out of the boardroom. He was walking side by side with an attractive blonde woman. While walking towards them Lexi noticed that the conversation looked far too jovial for a business conversation. She furrowed her eyebrows when she was in front of them.
When Jacques Montreal saw his daughter he smiled and put his hand on her shoulder, "Anelisa this is my daughter Lexi Montreal."
The woman smiled in return and extended her hand to Lexi, "Nice to meet you."
So Lexi extended her hand too and they shook hands. She shook hands with her but she was still curious as to what their relationship was.
After they greeted each other Anelisa turned towards Jacques, "She is adorable." Then she smiled and said goodbye to Jacques and left. Jacques and Lexi both waved at her.
Once she was gone, Lexi asked, "Who is she and what is your relationship with her? The conversation seemed quite friendly."
Jacques laughed sheepishly, "That is Anelisa Milton. She is the CEO of 'Earth Research'. We just signed a deal that will accelerate our research of metals. She is an old friend of mine. Me and a few friends of mine helped her get the position of CEO so she visited today to make good on an old deal."
Lexi nodded her head and then Jacques asked, "So what brings you here today?"
"Well for starters I wanted to talk about my future. I have decided that I will not be ranking up yet. I will wait for Kai to reach the required level of proficiency and then we will rank up together."
Jacques furrowed his eyebrows, "Are you sure you want to do that?"
Lexi nodded her head, "Yes since we are partners it would do us both good if we are similarly on the same level."
Jacques pursed his head and tilted it to the left, "Okay if you say so. Just know that he will only be ready in about two months according to the results his tutor sent over. Are you still okay with that?"
"I am okay with that."
Then Jacques let out a sigh, "Okay then... So is that all you wanted to talk about."
"No, I have one more thing. As you know the people have started talking about Kai and I. And I'm sure the interviews will start soon. However, I think that should you get a call for an interview you should cancel it. Right now we don't need any unwarranted attention on us. Kai and I first need to find our place together. I would like to do that without the whole world watching."
Jacques nodded his head as he understood her reason. He and his wife had to build their relationship in the limelight. His marriage was arranged so he had no say in it. Nonetheless, he felt he that had it not been in the limelight they would have fallen in love a lot sooner. As they would not have to pretend to be someone they were not.
After discussing what would happen with the interviews Lexi and her father talked about business-related issues. When they were done they left Element Production's headquarters and went home. It was already 11:45 am and it was now time for Lexi's daily training. At the Montreal Estate, they had a state of the art training ground. There was everything you needed to monitor your strength and everything related to it. There was a place where you could spar. There were surpasser fitness equipment, weapons and more. It even had a bar where you could sit down and eat when you needed rest.
Lexi and Jacques stepped into their training area. Then Lexi dressed into her combat clothes and walked into the ring. That's when Jacques said, "Since you have already completed your training today we will just spar, like always. You can never be too experienced to spar with someone."
Lexi nodded her head and then got ready. She pressed her kickstarter and off they went up and down the ring. Her father wasn't even using a tenth of his power but it was more than enough to face Lexi. When they fought he raised his power slightly above hers so that she had to be on her toes at all times. It also gave her practice to deal with people who were stronger than her.
They continued to practise like this for an hour and a half. After they were done it was already 1:30 pm and so they stopped. Lexi only trained for an hour and 30 minutes every day because that was all she needed to do. Any more would be useless. If this was yesterday she would be home back in the city. However, today was a different day.
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When the clock struck 2 pm, Kai put down his pickaxe and then signed out. He netted 6 hours of work today. Now it was time to go and train. Today was the first day that Kai would be training with Jacques Montreal and not only that. Today was the first day he would be practising with Lexi. Today was the day that would set the tone for the rest of their times to come.
Excited but also nervous, Kai took a shower and changed into his combat clothes that were in his bag he brought with to work. After changing he left work and took a cab to the Montreal Estate. He had to take a cab because the busses didn't go there. The Estate was not in the city. It was in the outskirts of the city. Where the land was bountiful enough to accommodate the huge mansion. Most of the mansions in Ginmon were situated in the outskirts of the city.
Kai climbed out of the car and stood in front of the black electric gate. Looking to the left and right Kai saw black fences that stretched as far as the eye could see. Then he walked forward and introduced himself to the two guards that were standing on either side of the gate. They were dressed in white and black suits. Kai couldn't tell for sure but he was sure they were surpassers and powerful ones at that, "Hello sir and Ma'am. I am Kai Adler, I was invited by Mr Montreal. You can check with him."
The female security replied, "Yes sir, we have been informed of your coming. And please call me Adderly." She said in a respectful tone and then bowed slightly.
When she bowed so did the male security. Then they opened the gate and so Kai walked inside. Once he was inside their premises one of the escorts inside drove Kai to the front door of the mansion as it was a 500-meter walk from the gate to the mansion. Kai climbed out of the car and was marvelled by the beauty of the place. Yes, this place was breathtaking at night but it was just as splendid in the day time.
After taking in the scenery, Kai opened the double door front door and walked inside. He was walking around the place but he had no idea where the heck he was going. So he asked one of the maids that was busy cleaning the white walls where the training area was. Instead of telling him where it was she took him there herself. Kai was grateful to her when he arrived at his intended destination. He thanked her for taking the time and then he opened the door and walked into the training area.
When he opened the door he saw how fancy it was. They definitely spent a lot of money on this place. It was nothing like the Training Centre in Drauton. After looking at the place, he saw Lexi sitting down at the bar eating food. Jacques, on the other hand, was standing in the ring with his arms folded. He looked at Kai with a stern expression, "Come Kai, let's start."
Immediately Kai jogged into the ring and the stood across from Jacques. Jacques still had his arms folded, "Today will be your first day of training with me, rejoice. You are the man that my daughter has chosen. Be prepared for the hardest training you have ever faced in your life. Now that you have me as a trainer I will make sure that all those flaws are properly ironed out. I can't have you hindering my daughter. She has already decided to wait so that you and her can go to rank 1 together." When Kai heard this he was surprised. His head moved back and his eyes bulged slightly. Then he tilted his head towards Lexi's direction and looked at her with the same expression.
However, Lexi just continued to eat her food as if it was a given that she would do that. After looking at Lexi, Kai returned focus to Jacques, "According to the results your previous teacher sent over. You will be ready in two months. That's if you are willing to put your all into it. Are you willing?"
Kai energetically nodded his head up and down. He looked like those bubbleheads that are put in cars, "Save that energy for later. You will need it. After your training with me, there will be an hour break and then I will be training you two to fight as a team. Are you good with that? Did you understand?"
Kai nodded his head, "Yes sir!"
"Then we start now!"
1. Kai is making reference to the Easter Bunny. They also celebrate Easter in this world but for different reasons.