Trash in the Apocalypse

For a short moment, Adrian thought that his teacher forgot something and returned to fetch his things. However, the person that appeared from the Red Portal sniffed the air once before growling at the nearby crowd.

The reserved trainees as if used to such events immediately went into formation. Calm and organized orders resounded in the area as numerous carriers streamed out of the Red Portal.

The flash of light continued until Adrian finally understood what was happening.

It was a monster rush.

Adrian faced Sheila and kissed her forehead. "Since we're already here, let's help out a bit."

Sheila loosened her hug and glared at the horde of carriers continuously appearing from the Red Portal. "Might as well exercise, right? I'm getting bored with teaching basic first-aid skills all day."

When there are no missions for the Elite team, Sheila acts as one of the instructors in Black Haven Academy. Her central subject was first-aid and healing, while she sometimes offers lessons on how someone could act better as support.

If people can become craftsmen by repeatedly producing items, medical personnel would surely appear after repeated studies, right? Although not guaranteed, as long as there is a chance, people would willingly try it. Besides, there are no risks in studying and the survivor only benefits by learning practical life-saving skills that would become useful in the future.

Sheila whipped out a gorgeous black spear from her inventory. It was the Tier 3 Spear crafted personally by Old John from the bones of a Rank 3 Destroyer. After several spins as if a majorette performing a series of baton twirl, she ended the showcase with a hard dash, running forward.

Adrian has been living with her ever since they got together, yet he still can't get used to the aggressive change when it comes to fighting.

Nevertheless, he still finds her cute whatever she does. Even the wild swinging and severing of the enemy's head shows her charm to the world.

This monster rush had at least 100 blackened carriers coming out. After the first month in the apocalypse, most regular carriers have evolved into a new version, Their skin color changed to black and has become much resilient. Still, they retained the iconic dark cracks around their eyes and the inability to speak.

Adrian followed after her and made sure that nothing could attack her from behind. He didn't even have to unsheath his katana and only bludgeoned most of the enemy's away, weaving and dodging every basic attack sent to him. They were just helping and the negligible amount of experience could help the trainees better.

Or so he thought. 

Amidst the shouts of order and slaughter, two hunters at the back of the horde focused on the two of them as if sensing that they were the most troublesome of the bunch. This was the only time that Adrian had to use his weapon. 

As he pushed the tip of the katana out, he remembered one of the lessons taught to him by his teacher. 

A drawn sword is the deadliest, and also the weakest. Once the sword is pulled out from its sheath, one must fully commit itself to strike. The katana isn't the most durable sword and it often leads to breaking if not used correctly.

A sheathed sword and a drawn sword are the difference between offense and defense. As someone who trains in the way of the sword, one must know how to protect his own sword.

As the Hunters lunged at them, Adrian pushed the hilt outwards with his thumb and lowered his body, making a dashing-leap stance.

Due to his natural skill as a thief, actively observing the surrounding has become as natural as breathing to him. He waited for the opportune moment to strike. 

Although the time didn't slow down, he was able to follow their trajectory thanks to his heightened speed stat.

With a forceful leap followed by a swift diagonal slash and a horizontal strike, Adrian managed to breeze through the air and land a few meters away from his original spot.

Two bodies fell to the ground, causing soft thuds. Seconds later, their heads detached from their bodies as dark blood trickled out from their necks.

And to commit to the way of the sword, after drawing the sword from its sheath, one must fully open itself to the offensive.

He didn't know what his teacher meant by offense, and his understanding of the sword was low. The only thing he knew was that katanas don't break easily when coated with his energy.

After unsheathing the sword, Adrian weaved around the horde easily thinning their numbers down. All the basic strokes taught to him were utilized and he even learned that he could use the sheath for defense when he gets surrounded.

His teacher didn't teach him any foot techniques because there wasn't enough time. Besides, with the enhanced bodily senses, Adrian doesn't need to be taught about footsteps since he could already do it on his own. His extreme speed allowed him to become a blur in the eyes of the carriers. Before the enemy's attacks could land, he was already wreaking havoc somewhere else.

It took less than 10 minutes to clear the whole monster rush, and Adrian killed almost half of the enemy. In his frenzied slaughter, he didn't even notice that the fight has ended until there was no enemy around him. 

At this time, all of the trainees felt awe after witnessing the shocking slaughter. One of the reasons why Adrian almost took half of the enemy numbers was due to the trainees slightly retreating afraid of getting on his way. If they were accidentally cleaved by a single attack, they all believe that they could die.

Adrian exuded the aura for slaughter as his eyes savagely looked around the area. His increased heartbeat produced unusual amounts of excitement that made him long for more.

Thankfully, someone was here to calm him down. 

A soft sensation came from his back and a pair of arms hugged him from behind. 

"Hey, are we eating now? I'm kinda hungry, you know?" Sheila asked while playfully biting his back.

At first, his instincts told him to turn around, but after feeling the warm sensation and hearing the familiar voice from behind, he managed to calm himself down. 

He turned and pinched Sheila's cheeks. "Let's go. I feel famished now after that bit of exercise."

Sheila pouted, making her face look weird. 

Seeing her cutesy face, Adrian laughed heartily before walking forward. "Where are we going actually? Are you sure they serve clean food?"

"Un." Sheila nodded her head cheerfully. "I found out about a shop run by a grandma who makes delicious handmade noodles. Not many people know about the shop, or was dissuaded by the service..."

"Why, is the service bad?"

"Well, she reduces the amount of noodles if she doesn't like you..."

"Eh?" Adrian was dumbfounded after learning that such an autistic shop owner existed. If it was in the old days, that shop would never customers and be constantly harassed by bullies.

At that thought, he realized one problem with the shop. How could the shop remain in operation when anyone is free to rob them?