Apocalypse After

Friends and Rival

THE PLAQUE! THE PLAQUE! THE PLAQUE!

“Ouch! Stop, Al! What are you doing?!”

Seeing his best friend slapping ferociously, Claude really felt puzzled. He did not expect that the young man was not only ungrateful, but instead slapped him so hard.

“What? Are you conscious? Still hallucinating from playing too much with women?”

“Stop! I am not hallucinating at all. I really saw it.”

Seeing Claude covering his head while shouting, Alexander stopped his hand. With a somewhat blank expression, the young man tilted his head.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course! I owe you. Why should I lie about such an important thing.” Claude hurriedly explained.

Actually, the relationship between the two of them is not that good. At least, until three months ago.

Unlike Claude who had been living in this shelter since childhood, Alexander had come three years ago. At that time, their relationship was quite estranged, even the longer it became worse.

Claude and some teenagers his age usually spend time lazing around. Save energy and only use it for work or foraging. But unlike them, Alexander looked like a fool.

How not? Not only did it not save manpower, the young man swung his sword every morning and afternoon with a blank expression on his face. It's really similar to a corpse. If it didn't move and breathe, people would have thought it was dead.

The teenagers in the shelter were very upset with Alexander. They thought that the young man was trying to show off and try to attract attention. But they ended up wrong.

After the people started to get bored and uninterested, Alexander still swung his sword in the morning and evening. Whether it was windy, arid, or rainy, the young man had never stopped swinging his sword at all.

It all lasted for two years. When people thought Alexander was giving up, some people including Claude got the information that the young man was finally 17 years old and could be considered a full-grown adult.

Claude was a year older than Alexander. At that time, one year ago, he was 18 years old and had no goals at all. But he's not stupid either. The young man knew Alexander's goal was to become a Hunter, a job considered very noble. Not only did he have a large income, but he also had power and status.

Hunter itself is a term for people who have achieved evolution. But that kind of thing is not easy to do. Although now potion recipes upgrading to level 1 were no longer rare, but the ingredients to develop them were much rarer compared to hundreds of years ago.

After hundreds of years, various potion recipes were developed and customized. However, the ingredients were increasingly rare and hard to come by. Now, in order to search for low-grade materials only, they needed to come to the monster nest (mutated creatures). Life and death are less than a thin thread.

So, many people gave up on becoming a Hunter. They choose to live in the usual way, and contribute in the way they can. Whether it's doing menial work or adding to the human population.

Claude looked at Alexander with a complicated expression.

“I have seized your chance, so it is only natural that I repay your kindness.”

Hearing Claude's words, Alexander raised his eyebrows.

“You must remember the important thing that mankind has learned for hundreds of years, Claude.”

“Eh? You mean?” Claude looked confused.

Alexander's words stunned Claude for a moment. After which, he immediately exclaimed with a careless grin.

“As a man, you should be ashamed if you do not return the favor. I am the one who repays evil and good. If I forget that, I better dig a hole and kill myself.”

Claude said in a provocative tone. However, he was truly sincerely grateful to Alexander.

One year ago, Claude thought that Alexander was just a fool asking for death. But after learning that the young man could get one potion in the first month, everyone knew that Alexander was not the same person as them.

Many people tried to hold Alexander's thigh, licking it so they could live better. But the young man was not tempted at all and continued to do everything as usual.

Claude was initially envious of Alexander's treatment, so he finally decided to follow the dangerous path. Armed with courage and luck, the young man managed to do so and walked behind Alexander. However, that did not satisfy him at all.

According to the normal speed, one could get 1 potion every month. However, it was not uncommon for those people to die halfway in search of strength.

Unlike those people, Alexander did not only get 1 potion every month. The young man sometimes obtained 2 potions in one month. In the end, completing 10 potions within half a year. It shocked the people in the shelter, even the superiors.

Many of the upper parties tried to extend an olive branch to Alexander, asking the young man to be their follower. Instead, he would be given a high position and assisted in hunting down the miracle root.

It made Claude very envious. But in contrast to the thoughts of the people, the young man politely declined. Although it makes many people dissatisfied, but they all do not do excessive things.

Most people think that Alexander gave up and chose to live in peace. However the people above knew, the young man seemed to have another purpose. They don't try to do stupid things like antagonists do without brains.

Those people knew that the number of level 1 Hunters in mid-level shelters was less than 40 people. Those at level 2 or above are rarer. After all, a level 2 Hunter could already be the leader of a small sanctuary and a level 3 Hunter became the leader of a medium-sized sanctuary. So they did not want to make trouble with Alexander who was young and had a chance to rise to level 2 or more.

It only makes trouble for them in the future!

Claude himself considered Alexander stupid and brainless. Feeling unacceptable, he continued to struggle and finally managed to absorb the 10 bottles of potions three months ago. The news made many people call them both geniuses from this 101st shelter.

As a so-called genius, Claude had his own pride. He politely declined the senior's invitation and chose to do the hunt himself. Preparing for a move to get past Alexander who stagnated in 3 months.

It's just, Claude finally realized that he was so naive. On that snowy night, he was actually dying. Feeling careless and almost dead at the hands of many level 1 ghouls.

At that very instant, Claude also found out that Alexander was not unable to defeat a level 1 ghoul, but did not want to take that root miracle. He knew it because the young man helped him overcome the ghouls.

In fact, in the end the two of them cooperated and managed to defeat the dark green-skinned rare ghoul. This type of creature is very rare and even sought after by many Hunters because it can give them ‘skill’ even though they have only made the first evolution.

Merely, instead of just saving him, Alexander let Claude obtain that rare root miracle.

‘I don't need it at all. If you don't want to, just let it rot there.’

Claude remembered what Alexander said at the time. Although he did not want it, he felt that Alexander was his benefactor. Hence, his attitude had instantly changed from then on. You could say, for him ...

Alexander was his friend, his comrade-in-arms, and his rival!

>> Connect.